Moby Dick Stingray City Tour is the Best Tour in Grand Cayman

Have you ever wanted to swim with wild stingrays? Stingrays who measure nearly four feet across and can weigh up to 200 pounds? On our most recent adventure, I managed to convince our party of 10 to give Moby Dick Tours of Grand Cayman Island a try. It was an adventure that nobody will soon forget, and remarkably one of the best experiences of the vacation.

Moby Dick Tours in Grand Cayman

If you are looking for outstanding service and a quality experience while visiting Grand Cayman's famous Stingray City, look no further than Moby Dick Tours. The tour offers guests of all ages a chance to have a private boat ride out to the Stingray City area in Grand Cayman, as well as to a nearby reef for some snorkeling time. Moby Dick Tours is especially courteous to travelers on the cruise ships, and a bus is ready to provide all transportation to and from the cruise ship ports.

The tour includes all transportation, some education and in-water guidance, a boat ride out to the reef and Stingray City area, fruit punch refreshments onboard the boat, and all snorkeling equipment. The general time frame of the tour is about 3 hours. The cost for adults is $40 flat, and the fee is collected upon arrival, so no prior deposits are required, other than booking the tour.

The Stingray City Experience

The experience of visiting Stingray City was greatly enhanced by the quality of our Stingray City tour guides with Moby Dick Tours. The staff members greeted us at the port with a large Moby Dick Tours sign and we easily located our guides, even with the crowds of other tour operators soliciting tours at the port pier. Once we checked in, the guide told us we had about 20 minutes before the bus would arrive to take us across the island to the Stingray City boat. The area by the pier had a nice little beach where we went to take a few photos before the tour began.

Once on the bus (an apparently former school bus painted purple) we had a quick mini tour of the island of Grand Cayman. Though this was not part of the tour, it was nice to be able to get a quick look at the sights of Grand Cayman along the way to our boat. When we arrived at the boat dock, we were greeted by a team of 3 tour guides who quickly assisted us all onboard. Our tour guides were both entertaining and educational on our tour and our group of ten felt very comfortable with their expertise with the stingrays.

Snorkeling was good on our tour, but slightly affected by the recent hurricane that had just missed Grand Cayman a few days before. The water was a bit choppy and the current made it hard to stray too far away from the boat. One guide even went out to pull in a snorkeler who had gone too far and was having trouble with the current. The Moby Dick tour provides good quality equipment and vests for snorkelers of all ages. On our tour we had kids as young as 9 snorkeling and a few senior guests.

The real highlight of the tour comes when you head to the natural sandbar in the middle of the Carribbean, surrounded by clear, turquoise water. The water temperature was 84 degrees and very comfortable. The guides all go in the water with the group and the group can then split up, giving smaller groups a more personalized tour experience with the stingrays.

The guides held the stingrays and allowed guests to try holding, petting, and feeding the stingrays. During the experience, stingrays swim all around you in the water. Prior to entering the water, while on the ride out to Stingray City, one of the Moby Dick tour guides gave a detailed description of the stingrays while using a stuffed stingray toy. The guide was very thorough in explaining the history behind Stingray City as well as how to handle the stingrays.

Overall Recommendation

Moby Dick Tours has earned a reputation for giving high quality tours and our experience with a group of 10, ranging in age from 1 year old to 63 years old, was one of the most memorable. This is the kind of experience that many might want to consider adding to their "bucket list." The $40 fee is more than half of what the cruise tours were charging for a less personalized experience. On our tour, there were only 14 other guests, riding along with our group of 10.

The Moby Dick Stingray City Tours go out twice a day and should be booked in advance at www.mobydicktours.com. Photos and more information about the tour is available at their online website. If you are traveling to Grand Cayman, this is a must-see experience!