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I have done it several times and would recomend doing it.I have done it on scuba and snorkeling,I prefer snorkeling.I might be a little spoiled because we did on all occasions as a Surface Interval with no cruise ship tour boats around.
I look at it as one of those "been there - done that" dives but in my opinion it was worth it. Some of those rays are absolutely huge and it was fun interacting with them.
I only did it in scuba. I think we were in about 10 ft. of water but it may have been less. I do remember that we were told to add extra weight so it would be easier to stay on the bottom. I think that helped.
Then there's the dive - 15' for 45mins. Once the squid is gone so are the Stingrays. They move from boat to boat. They're going to rub themselves all over you and do anything they can to get you to release the squid. They're suprisingly good at it...lol.
You can also snorkel at the dive site off the dive boats. This has the advantage of having just your group with a given bunch of rays. On our trip there was a large family group - the parents dove while the kids snorkeled. We had almost as much fun timing the feeding so they could be part of it as the feed itself.
I've done both scuba and snorkel, both are great, I would prefer scuba any day. I will say though it's been quite a few years since I've gone to Stingray City, maybe I should go again...no rush, especially when there may be cruise ships near. Here's a more recent picture from a friend.
For the "snorkeler version" they have two type trips.
1.) one is Sting Ray City only (sand bottom you stand in on sandbar + stingrays)
2.) the other is Sting Ray City plus a side trip to a snorkel area with fish/reef/etc.
The trip is simple.
They pick you up in a mini-bus and take you to a dock area. They then load you on a boat, such as a 50' pontoon boat with 75 other people. You get given a snorkel mask, snorkel, and a blow up snorkel inflation vest.
You enjoy a short 10-15 minuted ride out to the sandbar. You then get off and stand i the water (waist to chest deep) and the stingrays come and run into you and then turn upwards or sideways up your sides, seeing if you have any squid in your hands. I'd say we stayed for 30-45 minutes (guess). You won't wear snorkel fins as the fins on the people will only stir up the sand and "kick" each other and the sting rays.
if you're going on a reef snorkel trip as part of the tour, you'll get snorkel fins then. Our reef was the one just north of Sting Ray City.
Originally Posted by diversteve
There's several ways to do it. One is the Sandbar snorkel with you and 200 of your closest friends. More than that when the cruise ships are in town.
Yes it REALLY is that crowded with that many people.
Look at all the boats there that can be seen from Google Maps.
I've done it multiple times both ways. I honestly prefer the snorkel. The dive get's tiresome and quite repetitive after about the first 10 minutes.
Unless you're on a cruise ship, go when they are not in port. The size of the crowd when you're there depends on what time of day you go and where you go from. We've had the best luck going out in the afternoon on the glass bottom boat out of Rum Point. I think it maxes out at about 12 or 15 people and, more often than not, we were the only people at the sand bar.
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Originally Posted by diversteve
