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Turtle Garden Snorkeling Tour and Island Break

Name: Turtle Garden Snorkeling Tour and Island Break
Brand: splash wave tours
SKU: 60655P6
Price: 90.00 USD
Rating: 3.5 (18 reviews)

Belize City, Belize

Hol Chan and Turtle Garden Snorkeling Tour

5 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Swim among sea turtles, sting rays, and tropical fish at one of Belize’s top snorkeling spots on this day trip from Belize City. Cruise across the turquoise Caribbean to the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, a protected channel in the Belizean barrier reef that draws countless sea creatures. After plenty of time in the water here and at a nearby turtle garden, soak up the laid-back vibes of Caye Caulker with free time to explore and grab lunch on the popular resort island.

Snorkel along Belize's barrier reef, just a short boat ride from Belize City
Get up close to sting rays and exotic fish at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Catch sight of amazing green sea turtles at the aptly named Turtle Garden
Check out the beaches and relaxed culture of Caye Caulker during a stopover

What's Included

Bottled water
Snacks
Professional guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Port pickup and drop-off

Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Meeting points

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Pickup points

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End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

Please note that we also have location for pick up and drop for non-cruiseship guests that want to book the snorkeling tour from the main land Belize city. Guests On Cruise, we notify you to come off the ship as soon as possible! Earlier the better. Recommend trying and board the first ferry. Thanks

What To Expect

Hol Chan Marine Reserve

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Caye Caulker

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
The duration of transfers are approximate, the exact duration will depend on the time of day and traffic conditions
At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
Near public transportation

Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Anyone with Covid-19 symptoms will not be allow on tour
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

3.5

18 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 18 reviews

Very poor excuse

mnblackshadows, May 2024

The company cancelled 12 prior only after I contacted them. Dam Viator don’t you know this? I contacted you! We didn’t go.

Great snorkeling - no turtles

Sandra_M, Dec 2023

Let me preface this by saying we had an amazing time on this excursion. However, I booked this excursion SPECIFICALLY because it was called snorkeling at a turtle garden. My husband loves sea turtles and I was so excited for this excursion. I was immediately disappointed to find out sea turtles were hibernating/out of season so we wouldn’t see any. There was no warning of this in any information we received. What we did get to do - snorkel with sting rays and nurse sharks was AMAZING and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We both got to hold the stingray and pet the shark. Snorkeling was very fun with lots to see. Our guide Stacey was great at pointing out fish and telling us about them. Lunch and drinks were good. We were told we had to order before snorkeling so it would be ready when we got there and we still had to wait. Overall - we had an amazing time and didnt let anything ruin our day but have to admit we were very disappointed about the turtles. I would absolutely recommend this tour as it was really fun - just know what you are getting and research the time of year for turtles on your own as they will not tell you ahead of time.

Good snorkeling!

June_R, Nov 2023

Great snorkeling. Tour guides were good. Too many people on this tour. Would rather pay more to have more space available.

Worst company ever do not book

Madison_T, Jun 2023

This was so unprofessional. I am extremely livid with this company. I booked 3 months ahead of our excursion date and we were ready to go at the pick up time on the date of the excursion. 15 minutes goes by so I call to check where they are. They tell me oh well not enough people booked to do the excursion and so we can't take you today. I am so pissed this was a total lack of respect they should have reached out and canceled before the time of the excursion.

Some drawbacks but overall a fun experience.

Mark_O, Apr 2023

There were 2 stops for snorkelling. The first stop had beautiful coral and fish but the guide wanted the group to keep following her so we spent more time trying to keep up with the group. Would have had a better time if we had been allowed to move more slowly and stay focused on the underwater scenery. Swimming with nurse sharks and stingrays was great and we enjoyed feeding the tarpons. The captain and crew worked very hard to provide a fun experience. Unfortunately, the boat ride from the cruise pier to the reserve was quite long and all the various tours were brought to the same area so snorkelling was quite crowded.

Loved swimming with the...

Rebecca_F, Mar 2023

Loved swimming with the sharks and rays as well as stopping at the beautiful Island! Excellent experience at the barrier reef!

Perfect Day in Brazil

Linda_S, Mar 2023

Stacey is an amazing guide, we took the tour with her last year and rebooked this year because it was so much fun. I’m sorry I have forgotten our captains name but he was wonderful and felt totally safe on the entire trip and getting in and out of the water. Jerome was nice enough to take my camera and get some good close up pictures for me. The entire experience was worth every penny and I recommend your company to anyone I hear talking about a cruise and to my friends and family. Thank you!!

An unbelizable time

Denise_H, Jan 2023

Captain Mark, Stacey and Jerome were amazing. So thoughtful and really made sure we had an amazing experience. They also made sure things stayed on schedule So we could all make it back to port for our ships departures. It is a 40-45 minute boat ride to the snorkeling reef but so worth it. We stopped a few times on the way to see wildlife and learn about indigenous species of pants and wildlife. Dolphins swam next to our boat also saw manatee. Swam with nurse shark, sea turtles, sting Ray and barracuda. Stacey was amazing at pointing everything out to us. Thank you Denise and Nicole from Michigan

As good as the ' Great Barrier Reef '

Gaye_L, Jan 2023

Being able to touch Sharks and Rays. The abundance of fish and watching a Turtle surface for air right next to you.

Great day trip from Belize City!

Sondra_S, Dec 2022

This is a great day trip if you don’t have a lot of time to see the islands. The tour guides and Splash Wave Tours were excellent! They were friendly, professional and knowledgeable. It was my first time snorkeling and they helped me with the equipment and explained everything well. These tours do wait for he cruise ships so if you are not on a cruise, be prepared to leave 1-2 hours later than the scheduled time. 200% worth it though! Great experience!

SCAM

maurisa_c, Sep 2022

i booked this tour a week in advance confirmed day before and was canceled minutes before …. no one contacted me i had to call and find out such a scam

Not a good experience!

Susan_C, Apr 2022

The beginning of the excursion went fine. We were met outside of the cruise terminal as stated in the directions. We were taken to a pier and told that everyone taking an excursion with this company had to come here first. Well, that is when the issues began. This company was highly unorganized and not extremely concerned about the allotted time for our excursion. We waited over an hour for other people to arrive. I finally went inside where all the staff was talking, drinking and eating. I asked what was going on and why hadn't we left yet. She said that we were still waiting on people. She referenced the local time and I said she needs to be concerned with ship time because that was the time the cruisers had to follow. I asked how long were going to wait. A few minutes later and we started boarding our boat. Meanwhile, there was an elderly couple waiting to go on an excursion to the pyramids. They were extremely concerned and asked on multiple occasions if they were in the right place. They were told yes and to just wait. Shortly before we boarded our boat, I heard one of the workers tell them that they were the only 2 and the trip didn't make due to the number. They took them back to the terminal. Don't you think they should have known that before an elderly couple had to sit in the hot sun for over an hour to find out they weren't going on the trip they had paid for? The day was very windy causing the ride to be extremely rough!! Not the tour company's fault I know, but it was so rough that many people were scared and worried about injury. The snorkeling was fine even though there was heavy currents and tough to stay together. The restaurant they took us to on Caye Caulker was quaint and the food was tasty. However, they were so unorganized about checking the group out, we made it back to the cruise terminal only 10 minutes before the last shuttle left! To me, that is way too close for comfort. I would not recommend booking with this company.

Perfect experience especially if short on time

CarlynCrawley, Feb 2020

Stacey was our guide and she was incredibly knowledgeable about Belizean culture and marine life. The crew was so friendly, helpful, patient, and genuinely kind. I would book & recommend those tours over and over again. Perfect if you only have a short amount of time in Belize City. It didn’t take the whole day or wear you out but we saw and learned a lot. We went to the Traveller’s Rum Factory & Bar afterwards and still went out that night. Perfect.

WOW

Julie_B, Nov 2019

Omg what an experience. This is a must tour to go on. Never in my wildest dreams would I think I’d be swimming among sharks! The crew absolutely fantastic.

Terrible Customer service

Explore48345563074, May 2019

The trip was cancelled without any notification. I had to pay for a shuttle to the take-off point because no one came to pick me up from the hotel, only to find out it was cancelled.

Rien

Stphane_R, Jan 2024

J'ai paye mais j'ai pas pu le faire car vous avez pas donné mes renseignements a l'établissement rembourser moi