champagne reef by boat?

[Hugh0906]

Not having a great deal of success arranging a tour by boat to the reef through diving companies we have found on the net.

 

Does anyone know if there are folks at the pier setting up folks with reef snorkle trips by boat?

 

We arrive on a sunday at 8a.m. if that makes a difference.

 

Hugh in Dallas

 

 

[LEESRE]

Hugh,

No need to go by boat you can either get a taxi to the site or the local bus runs right past.

 

Once you are there there is a boardwalk and it takes you right to the reef. It is not far from the shore.

We have done it quite recently in November and the cruise ship had boats taking the people to the reef but there was no need. Most people off the boats just came ashore anyway and then swan out to the reef.

 

I think it is about 5 dollars for the pass when you get there.

[CRUISERTN]

How far is it by taxi to Champagne Reef? Approximately how much is the taxi ride? Is the five dollars an admission price to snorkel the reef? Is there a beach area to leave your beach bag, towel, etc? Is there easy access from the pier/shore area? How far do you have to swim out to get to the snorkeling area? Seems like if it is close, it is much more practical to go there on your own rather than taking the ship's excursion by boat (and more economical, too, and then you can leave when you want to). Is the area in a sheltered cove with relatively calm water? How is the visibility as far as taking underwater photos? How deep is the reef (wondering about visibility for photos)? Was wondering if we needed to carry our fins with us if we went there on our own.

 

Are there taxis at the Champagne Reef area readily available to take you back to the ship?

 

We will be visiting Dominica in February 2009 and want to snorkel at this location. Any info will be most appreciated.

[LEESRE]

Not sure how far from pier as we went on Bumping Tours, but if you wish to do Champagne Reef only then the taxi drivers would take you there and bring you back, no problem. I would say it is no more than 20/30 mins drive.

The admission allows you to sknorel and use the boardwalk to get to the reef.

You walk along a boardwalk as the beach is pebbly no sand at the end you walk no more than say 100 yds and you come to the end of the cliff. You can leave your things on the pebbles, many people did. You can swim in and it is very nearly right at the wters edge that the reef starts. No need IMOP for fins. The water when we were there two weeks agao was really clear and no problems seeing the bottom with all the bubbles rising.

I still say it is far more practical to do it yourself rather than an organised tour, that way you can stay as long as you wish, keep coming out and then returning for another look. This we did and found that sometimes we were the only ones on the reef. If you are very stil on the surface of the water then you get far more fish etc. Reef ranges from a few feet to quite deep in places and very calm waters. If you swim out and go to your left you will find bloulders and sometimes we were told turtles around the bend of rocks.

 

We did not see any taxis waiting for passengers when we left but you can arrange for the taxi driver to come back for you. Also the local bus passes the entrance and quite a few from our cruise ship used this and it was 2 dollars single fare.

Hope you have a fantastic time, we have done Champagne Reef twice on our visits and not been disappointed.