Ultimate snorkeling or Reef & rays???

[dablondebabe]

Will be in Grand Turk in February and am trying to decide which trip to take. I am an avid snorkeler/diver and am looking for the best places to see abundant fish life. Anyone who has taken either of these or even another suggestion??? Thanks

[dst]

I posted the same question not too long ago and had no responses. Maybe because GT is a newer stop not alot of people have had the opportunity to do the excursions. we are in GT in January on the Triumph and I will certainly post a review- we decided on the Reef & Rays excursion because I have been told by the tour guides in GT that the reef is beautiful.

 

I hope you get some reponse to this

[olsoncam]

We were on the Triumph in Sept. and did the Reef and Rays tour. This was the only ship's tour we took, and we were pleasantly surprised. They took us out to a reef for our first stop, and it was the best snorkeling we have done in the caribbean. The visibility was very good, and we saw a very good variety of fish, from small fish to large barracudas and Rays. The next stop was Gibbs Cay, and there must have been at least 15 Rays swimming around you. I was able to hold a large Ray in my arms, and it was a wonderful experience. I would highly recommend this tour.

[dst]

Olson: Thanks so much for sharing your experience; we are booked on this tour in January and I am traveling with family who have never snorkeled before so i wanted this to be a special experience for them

[Laura135]

Just got back from our cruise and did Reef & Rays in Grand Turk. We enjoyed it tremendously. We have snorkeled all over Caribbean as well as Hawaii. I would not say this was a phenomenal snorkeling spot, but it was still very good. We did see/photograph 2 barracudas, but they told us quietly that they think something has happened to the nurse shark as they haven't seen it in a while.

 

After snorkeling, we went to play with the rays. This is in water that is shallow enough to stand. You do not use your snorkeling gear here. We were at least the second boat there that morning, so the rays had already been fed quite a bit by the first boat and after a short while they were no longer taking food, but still stayed in the area. We were able to hold them and touch them.

 

We originally were scheduled for the 11:45 a.m. tour, but due to lack of interest, we were re-scheduled for the 9 a.m. tour. I was glad that we had checked our tickets when they arrived. 6 people must not have checked as they totally missed the tour. CHECK YOUR TICKETS TO VERIFY THE INFO WHEN THEY ARE DELIVERED.

 

All in all, it was a fun morning and well worth the money. By the way, the second time we went to Grand Turk we just went snorkeling/swimming at the beach next to the pier. Not much interesting snorkeling there. We also had some jellyfish, so be on the lookout just in case. Finally, bring your own water from the ship. The guys selling it on the beach were charging $3.50 for a 16 oz bottle.

 

Enjoy the beauty of the island!!

Laura

[dst]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. We have booked the excursion and I believe there are 10 of us going - so I guess they won't be canceling our excursion; what a shame for those people who missed it.

 

Again thanks for sharing

[dablondebabe]

Thanks so much for the info! I am looking forward to my trip!!

[mgm3430]

Does anyone know the price if you book through Carnival for the Ultimate Snorkeling tour?

[MamaDona]

Thanks for all the great info on Reef & Rays Tour. I'm also curious as to the price and does anyone know if there is an age limit. We will have two girls 9 & 11 with us.

[dst]

I believe they will be fine, we have booked children on this tour in a few weeks and had no problems.

 

If anyone get the Currents magazine, there was a nice write-up about the "Reef & Rays" tour and a beautiful picture. We are very excited for this excursion....

[lovebugs]

Does anyone know the price if you book through Carnival for the Ultimate Snorkeling tour?

 

The price for adults is $57.00 and $44.00 for children

[mgm3430]

The price for adults is $57.00 and $44.00 for children

 

Thanks for the info!!:D

[TKDLady]

Anyone know the difference between Gibbs Cay with Stingray Experience and the Reef & Rays Excursion. They sound almost identical but there is a $10/person price difference. Any ideas? I know Reef & Rays is 30 minutes longer.

[TKDLady]

Anyone know the difference between Gibbs Cay with Stingray Experience and the Reef & Rays Excursion. They sound almost identical but there is a $10/person price difference. Any ideas? I know Reef & Rays is 30 minutes longer.

 

 

 

Sorry, Duplicate - Hit Submit twice :)

[Wineguys]

Anyone know the difference between Gibbs Cay with Stingray Experience and the Reef & Rays Excursion. They sound almost identical but there is a $10/person price difference. Any ideas? I know Reef & Rays is 30 minutes longer.

 

 

 

Sorry, Duplicate - Hit Submit twice :)

 

I can help you there! I did the Reef & Rays Excursion and the boat that docked on the Island at "Gibbs Cay" next to us was the Gibbs Cay with Stingray Experience. All the Stingrays come to Gibbs Cay.

 

On ours, our original snorkle site was too rough for snorkeling, so we did the rays first and then went and snorkeled the deadest reef I've ever been on. It was too deep to see many fish (not that there were many) and all the coral was dead.

 

I wished we had been on the Gibbs Cay expedition, because then you play with the Rays and just hang out on a nice beach (no amenities) for an hour more or so.

 

If I could choose over, I would do the Gibbs Cay, but then again, if the water is calm, then I hear the snorkeling at the original site is fairly good.

 

Actually, if I could choose over, I would do Gibbs Cay and then spend some time on the Margaritaville Beach with a nice tall cold tropical drink!

[TKDLady]

Thanks, that's the kind of info I needed. I think we'll take your advice and do the Gibbs Cay.