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When we were looking for a snorkel tour in Negril, Jamaica, I found that options were quite limited. A lot of the snorkel tours I found in our price range were combination booze cruises and from the reviews I read, you only got about a half hour to do some snorkeling. Thankfully, I found a company called JuJu Tours that offered a solid Negril snorkel option that gave us plenty of time in the water (plus a bonus walking tour of Booby Cay)!
Unfortunately, it seems as though Juju Tours is no longer running tours in Jamaica and I haven’t found anything comparable that I can recommend. So far now, this remains as a diary of our experience on what it’s like to snorkel in the Negril, Jamaica area.
Hotel Pickup for the Tour
Firstly, let’s introduce Richie: Richie was our tour guide and even after only spending a few hours with him, he will have you feeling like he’s your new friend. Talk BBQ and cooking with him and he’ll make a special stop for you at the store to recommend his favorite sauces to take back home with you. If we are ever back in Jamaica, we’ll definitely be booking another tour with Richie as our guide to show us around the island more!
Richie picked us up at our hotel in a private van and drove us exactly one minute down the road. If you are staying at Sunset at the Palms, you are practically across the street from the boat launch site. Almost zero travel time involved helps to maximize your day!
When we got in the car, Richie joked that we had an hour car ride to the first spot. I had to stop and think for a moment about what tour I booked. But when he pulled up to the gate across the street, it clicked that he was joking. Good one, Richie. Hey, it was early in the morning and my brain was in vacation mode…
First Stop – Office of Nature
Richie took us by the Office of Nature (a small beach-side grill) to grab a water, rum punch, or whatever our heart desired. Since it was 8:00 a.m., we passed on the rum punch and grabbed some bottled water. Not sure that you would really want to get in the water to snorkel while buzzed (although…damn…those rum punches are kind of hard to pass up!). The boat launch was just off the beach right at Bloody Bay. So easy! Just hop in the boat and you’re on your way.
The Boat & Boat Ride
It was a cloudy morning on the day of our snorkel tour, as I thought to myself – “Rats! Snorkeling is going to be a bust today.” Luckily, my fears turned out to be baseless as we ended up having a really great morning out on the water! The water was clear and calm, and we had miles of ocean to ourselves (except the lovely creatures under the sea of course). Even though it was cloudy, there was little to no wind and the rain decided to stay up in the sky that day.
It’s fairly common to see small glass-bottomed boats in the area, which is exactly what we went out on for our tour. Just a small portion of the bottom of the boat has glass so you can see a little bit of what the sea there has to offer. Not only did we have Richie as our guide, we also had Seymour as our boat captain!
First Snorkel Stop – 7 Mile Beach
It’s been a hot minute since I dove into the deep blue sea for a snorkel adventure. Practically growing up in the ocean in Hawaii, I’ve had my fair share of snorkeling experiences. You’d think I would be a natural, but I have found that the older I get, the more the sea puts the fear in me. Why? I’m not really sure. Maybe I respect it for the force that it is, or perhaps I’ve become more afraid curious about what lurks below me…dun dun dun.
But guess what? The experience was pleasant and it felt great to get back out in the water. Don’t let your small (or large) fears prevent you from experiencing all the world has to offer!
With that said, our first snorkel spot of the day was where we spent most of our snorkel time, just off 7 Mile Beach. From the boat launch site, it was about a 20-minute boat ride around the point of where the Royalton Negril hotel is, passing Booby Cay and settling somewhere off the middle of 7 Mile Beach.
The water was actually quite shallow (as you can see from the pics below) and Richie and Seymour guided us around, pointing out fish, sea creatures, and even an old cannon and anchor covered in sea life.
Seymour kindly dove down to the ocean floor to get up-close photos of some of the sea life.
I have to say, the fish weren’t as plentiful as I had hoped for. Snorkeling in a place like Hawaii is going to give you a much different experience with the different array of corals and sea life it offers; however, it was still cool to see everything that the Caribbean sea had to show for here in Jamaica.
Booby Cay Walking Tour
After we were done at our first snorkel spot, they took us over to a little island called Booby Cay for a walking tour. You’ll see a bunch of little hermit crabs along your walk and some red ant/bug type thing (they didn’t bite, but I would have felt more comfortable with my shoes on). It’s a nice chill spot where people can go for BBQs and just to hang out for the day and do some more snorkeling.
There are no restrooms here of course, and there is occasionally a man there selling fresh lobster meals and/or a woman who comes to sell trinkets and such. When we arrived on the island, there was not another soul there, so I could see how it can be a peaceful escape early in the morning.
After walking around the island barefoot, I would highly suggest wearing some shoes for your walking tour. I took water shoes on our Jamaica trip but didn’t get them on my feet in time for the walking tour so we all went barefoot! Probably not the greatest of ideas.
Second Snorkel Stop – Royalton Cliffs
Our second snorkel stop was at the cliff-side below the Royalton Negril hotel. It definitely wasn’t as exciting as the first snorkel spot in terms of seeing any new fish (in fact, there was actually less to see), and there were a lot more people there to navigate around.
However, there are some hidden caves (our friends swam through one) if you are feeling a bit adventurous! You can also get right up below the cliffs and take a rest in a shallow portion of the rocky shore to take some selfies like I did.
Breakfast at a Local Negril Spot
Dare I say that breakfast was one of my favorite parts of the trip? Dat foodie life though…
After a morning of snorkeling, we definitely worked up our appetite for breakfast. Did you know that swimming burns a hell of a lot of calories?
Included in our snorkel tour was an authentic Jamaican breakfast at a location chosen by our guide, Richie, who took us to a spot called Juicy’s. If you haven’t experienced local Jamaican food at your resort yet, this is a great opportunity for that. Indulge in what the locals eat!
I got the breakfast with saltfish and callaloo that also came with some dumplings, a yam, and a boiled green banana. While I will say the saltfish dishes have great flavor, the rest of the items will need a little extra salt as they are generally pretty plain in taste. Perhaps they do this to balance out the saltiness of the saltfish?
Everyone else opted for the ackee with the saltfish, even Richie! As you can see, prices are pretty reasonable for a full plate of food ($5.00 USD for the plates that we all got). Note that the cost of breakfast is included in your tour.
And of course, if you are not feeling quite as adventurous, you can get omelets, American-style breakfasts, and even an English breakfast (remember that Jamaica was colonized by the English – and the English also love to visit the Caribbean).
What to Pack for a Snorkel Tour
- Waterproof/Dry Bag: I recommend taking a waterproof bag. Even though your stuff stays safe on the boat, things do get wet with people walking back and forth, coming up out of the water, etc.
- Water Shoes: I would also recommend bringing some water shoes for your walking tour of Booby Cay.
- Sunscreen: Even on cloudy days, always wear your sunscreen!
- Waterproof Action Camera: For underwater photos, bring a Go Pro!
- Bottled Water: You’ll be out on the ocean for a few hours, so make sure you stay hydrated.
Also, check out our vlog for this day for more snorkeling clips!
Oooo, I love these photos! Which camera did you use for your underwater? Also, super cute swim suit!
Thanks Lisa! Funny story about the swimsuit, one of the straps broke on this snorkel trip and I had to have my friend tie it off for me. LOL. I used the Fitfort Action Camera. I put a link to it in my post 🙂 I wanted a GoPro but I didn’t want to spend the money since it was just going to be for this trip specifically – so it was much cheaper! It got some decent shots I think, though I don’t know that I could compare it to the quality of the GoPro. For the price, it was decent. I also took some video with it too but I haven’t edited it or reviewed it too much…stay tuned for that!