Arnel L.
Yelp
A group of 14 of us, ages ranging from 14 to 50+, did the Bio Bay tour at 8:30p in the evening. Only 3 in our group has ever kayaked before. The tour guides, Sandra, Natalia, Javier, David and Catalina did a great job running the tour. Javier did a quick, but thorough job in explaining the Kayaking basics. First time kayaking is challenging enough, but doing it at night is even more tricky, so pay attention to Javier!
They use 2 person kayaks and we paired ourselves up. Not sure if you can go solo on this tour. They supply you with life vests and recommend you don't bring anything with you. You walk into the water and jump into the kayak, rear first, so prepared to get wet, at least to waist level. They do a decent job guiding you through the 3 mile round trip route. Its pretty challenging, especially at night, with 2 dozen other beginner kayakers out in the water with you. You go out about 1.5 miles to the Bio Bay, where the water is VERY calm. The trip out to the bay runs through some VERY dark, almost pitch black, sections of trees. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Haha. I was low key scared. "Scary movie" scared, not, "I'm going to die" scared.
Natalia gave some great background on how Bioluminescence forms. I was really impressed with the talk she gave. Clear, concise, informative, funny! She was also the one who gave a brief astronomy lesson, which I found very cool too!
Natalia helped us out a few times when we got stuck in the trees. We were lucky that she shadowed us the entire return route, keeping us out of trouble. We had such a great conversation with her on the way back. Although we had a great time, the 5 are really because of her!
There a few things to keep in mind when doing the Bio Bay tour.
First and foremost, APPLY BUG SPRAY! No joke! Almost everyone in our group got a mosquito bite.
Second, be prepared to get WET. Going in and out of kayak will get you soaked.
Third, make sure you've eaten something. It's a 3 mile, mildly strenuous tour.
All in all, we had a great time with great set of guides.