Barrier Reef Schnorchel & Angeln Combo

EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME!!!! I am not a swimmer but somehow I swam like a mermaid while snorkeling and also believe I saw Dory in the water…kidding kidding…It was truly a beautiful and all around fun and beautiful experience that Theodore and Big Grouper helped us to have!! I felt safe enough to go into the water after they practice me with us and explained things. AMAZING!!!! And it didn’t even end there. We speared for our food, well they did and we had a picnic. Delicious!!!!

This is a locally owned tour company that hire locals who are professional, well trained, and know the local area and culture well. I like that if others join your tour they give you a discount, which is very fair. We went on 3 of their tours and all were great: the Jaguar sanctuary hike, the all day snorkel and fresh-caught lunch, and the ATM tour. I wish we could afford to do them all. It feels good to support the local businesses.

My only other deep sea fishing experience was a captain that stopped the boat, put live bait on the line, taught us how to cast and reel in fish. This experience was VERY different. The boat was constantly moving. The crew used lures. They cast four lines, making sure they didn't cross, and as soon as we saw a line tug, we all yelled "FISH!!" and one person would jump to the fishing pole that was sitting in one of four holders and they'd start reeling in the fish. The crew handled removing the fish. It was basically a one-at-a-time kind of fishing experience. All six of us took turns, waiting for the next line to tug. Everyone got 3-5 opportunities to reel in a fish over the ~2 hours of fishing. We were lucky and caught/kept about 15 fish - mainly barracuda and yellow-tail snapper. The small ones were tossed back into the water and we had a few really good battles where the fish won. All in all, a ton of fun and a lucky day of fishing (some guests mentioned that they'd done similar trips elsewhere and caught only 1 fish the whole day). The snorkeling was great. We saw more variety of fish, sea cucumber, coral, and sting rays snorkeling than when we did a scuba dive a few days earlier. Our snorkel instructor was a true local guide, stopping to point out and name different varieties of ocean life. Learning while viewing real-time made it a much more enjoyable experience. Lunch was rice, beans, salad, grilled chicken and soda/water. Traditional local fare. Tasty. There are basic bathrooms on the island, none on the boat, (toilets didn't reliably flush). A few recommendations: - If you feel you have faulty equipment, speak up. I was initially given flippers that had a tear in the heal that would have likely fallen off in the water. I said something on land and they immediately replaced them. I had (what I believe to be) a leaky snorkel, which I didn't know until I tried to use it. I should have said something because it really detracted from my snorkeling experience, but there were no extras on the boat, so I sucked it up (literally sucking in ocean water every 3 breaths). Everyone else's equipment was fine. Maybe it was user error. - Always ask for soap in your mask to prevent fogging before you go into the water. The crew didn't always remember to offer. It makes a huge difference. - Take motion sickness medicine if you think you might get seasick. Better safe than sorry. They didn't offer any on the day we went, which was windy and rough waters. It took over an hour of slamming surf boating to get to our first fishing destination. I'm so glad I took some 20 min before left. - Don't forget to put sunscreen on the back of your legs! The boat had some covering and you could switch sides to find shade most of the time were were moving. - If you have sensitive feet, wear water shoes for transferring from the boat to the island shore where you have lunch and downtime. There's a short span of crushed shells that can be a bit uncomfortable for those without leathered foot soles. - No need to bring water. They provided a cooler of bottled water and served cold watermelon on the boat. I would definitely recommend this tour. I gave 4 out of 5 stars because I felt the crew could have been a bit more engaging. The snorkel instructor was GREAT, but otherwise, the crew generally kept to themselves unless actively engaged by a guest. They were all nice and polite, but quiet. If it wasn't for a few talkative guests, it would have been a very quiet day on the boat. A little more excitement by the crew and it would have been a 5-star experience.