To preface this: I went on a Bio Bay tour with Black Beard Sports in August, and it was a great tour. Personally, though, I believe Blue Waters Caribbean blew them out of the water, as the tour was almost twice as long (about an hour and a half, versus 45 minutes with BBS) and the tour guide, Arnold, was amazingly informative. Not only did Arnold tell us all about the history and the science behind the bay, he also gave a talk about constellations and the mythology surrounding them. In addition, on the way back to the parking lot of Sun Bay, water bottles and snacks are provided. It was awesome!For everyone's information, the tours are done on brand new tandem kayaks (2 person kayaks) and the groups seem to be fairly small (as opposed to one of the other tour groups which I believe had a 40 person group out with them!). We met at the parking lot just inside Sun Bay, where we hopped in a shiny new van and headed off to the bay. The guides were organized and helpful, even guiding one of my friends to soft spots on the walk to the water when she forgot and wore nicer sandals that she didn't want to ruin. We got right in the water and hit 3 spots before finishing the tour: the monitoring station for the bay (hadn't seen that on my previous tour), a spot out in the middle of the bay where we talked about some of the stars and the history of the bay, then a spot by the mouth of the bay.Truly an awesome time with awesome guides! Highly recommended!
One if the reasons for coming to Vieques was to experience Bio Bay. I was not disappointed. One word describes the tour - Magical. The stars above and the glowing waters surrounding the kayaks, was more than I ever expected.There are many companies offering this tour, but for us, Blue Waters was a great choice. Everyone was very professional and informative. Arnold was great, sharing some local history and scientific knowledge. Muriel (sp ?? ) was quite knowledgeable and gave us a great star gazing show.Since they are a fairly new company, their kayaks are top notch and quite easy to maneuver. I appreciated the small group (there were 7 of us) and the individual attention. There were other larger groups in Mosquito Bay at the same time, some of them quite noisy. I enjoyed the peace and serenity of gliding across the bay, enjoying this phenomenon of nature.I would definitely go with them again.
We live on the island and have been out with several tour groups. This was by far the best, most professional and informative that we've been on! Our guide (Arnold) was very knowledgeable about the Bay and very courteous and professional. All the equipment and transportation is brand new and they keep the group sizes smaller.Trust me, the larger group sizes of some of the other tours are downright obnoxious. The small group size with Blue Waters made it easy for our questions to get answered and to keep close to our guides. Between the new construction at the Bio-bay and Blue Waters, our most recent trip was the best by a long shot. Highly recommended!
This was my second bio bay excursion. The first was in Fajardo and the one in Vieques is a much better trip. It is brighter and calmer and Blue Waters is a superior tour guide. First, the kayaks are much more comfortable than the ones in Fajardo. They appear to be brand new. This is important since you will be spending over an hour in them. They glided easily over the sparkling blue water. Next, the guides themselves were very professional and incredibly informed. They gave us history lessons as well as a biological understanding of the mechanisms involved in the glowing bay. They were enthusiastic about everything they talked about and also pointed out all the visible constellations with a bright laser pointer. I walked away feeling informed and entertained. There are over a dozen companies that do bay tours but you would be hard pressed to find a better one than this.
Courteous, gracious and attentive staffIncrease brilliance experience in Mosquito bay- Nature at its bestWonderful fund of biological and astronomical knowledge exhibited by the tour guide- truly a memorable experience well worth the price.
We were a party of 3 who have traveled together for over 30 years, we came to Vieques to enjoy the island the weather and especially to visit the bio-bay. We had a perfect night, the stars shined brightly and best of all the bay glowed brightly for us with its magical bioluminescence. Our group was small which was perfect because our guides Arnold and Mariel were fantastic; because we were a small group it was easy to interact and hear all of their informative information. They offered many pauses for questions and we never felt rushed into a schedule. It was truly awesome!
This is ranks up there as one of the best natural attractions on earth, with the professionalism and small group size that the place deserves. The trip leaders were prompt and the equipment flawless. Our guide Arnold Arambulo gave us the best tour imaginable, full of great information about the bio bay, and sprinkled with a good sense of humor. Assistant Maliel helped point out highights we might have missed and made sure we were well taken care of. Having glowing bioluminescent sharks swim under the boat was a high point, as well as just being out in the soft night under a blanket of stars. Don't miss this one with Blue Waters!
This is my second time at the Biobay in VQS and I have to mention that the guys of Blue Waters are very professionals... friendly and helpful. They took good care of us since the pick up in a new labeled SUV. They offered water at the beginning and some snacks after. The equipment they use its brand new and they are very well organized. They are very well trained to explain the biobay either in Spanish or English. They include some tips of the cosmos... I will sure contact them in my next excursion at the VQS Island.
The bay is spectacular and should be experienced in a quiet, small group, which is exactly what you experience with this company. Arnold is knowledgeable, fun, and respectful of the bay. Blue Waters costs a little more and is worth every cent.
My boyfriend and I did this tour on Friday, Feb 13th with Arnold and Mariel (sp?). We were in good hands with both. First, we were pleasantly surprised to find out it would be an intimate group of us going out on the bay -- just us and one other couple. Paddling in the kayaks at night was extremely peaceful in its own right, and then we started seeing the bioluminescence. Watching the fish dart around glowing was breathtaking. Arnold was a wealth of knowledge about the biochemistry at work in the bay, as well as the history of the bay and the island. Definitely do this tour.