Erica E.
Yelp
I recently enjoyed two different tours with VI Eco and WOW! Both tours were absolutely amazing, I can't thank the team enough for making my trip so wonderful.
My first tour came on my 2nd day of vacation, a Kayak+Eco-Hike+Snorkel trip was on the menu! I ventured over to a spot almost hidden in the brush and met the amazing team of Vi Eco Tours. Again, I signed up for a group tour so I could enjoy the fun of socializing while adventuring and not be floating up the river. Another great choice as I was paired with another fit woman a few years older than I, with the energy I needed to get through the 5 mile+ roundtrip kayak excursion to and from the specially protected island that we visited. Once we docked our kayaks on shore, we set off onto a 20 minute or so eco-hike around the secluded islands which was SO much fun! We saw Hermit Crabs, poisonous trees, and so much more! After a fun little hike, we got on our snorkeling gear and took a dip! This was my first official snorkeling trip in the ocean and it was something! I won't lie, it truly took me some time to get used to the salt water periodically getting through my mask/mouthpiece as a beginner, but it was so amazing to see what I saw! Among the Stingrays, fish and other living creatures that we saw, we also got to see a boat that was still embedded into the ocean floor from Hurricane Irma! This activity was definitely a treat.
For my last adventure, Snorkeling with Sea Turtles, I stuck with VI Eco Tours and was NOT disappointed. This package included my snorkeling trip AND all-day at the private Honeymoon Beach which included kayaks, beach chair rentals and a Café/Bar steps away in the sand. I truly wish I could do this activity all over again! Before I sat down to enjoy Honeymoon Beach, I prepped for my snorkeling trip with my amazing guide Mark, as it seemed that I was the ONLY guest going! (Can you say private tour?!) We hopped back on the boat driven by the awesome Captain, and headed over to the private island where we were to be snorkeling. Here on this private beach which only had about 8 guests relaxing when we arrived, my instructor and I slipped on our fins and our masks and set out for adventure. I had never swum with fins and honestly, they made me a little anxious to start. Well, it all made me anxious lol. Although I love taking a risk, please always understand that I get scared too. I just choose not to alarm others with my fear, or even discuss it out loud; I just tackle it. Although I'm a great swimmer, I feared drowning, my fins being too heavy, being unable to see underwater for whatever reason, any fears you can think of - I had them. My instructor was absolutely amazing and eased me through the snorkeling better than I even thought possible. He even grabbed my action camera and got a shot or two that I couldn't initially get (It's so much harder to push yourself to the bottom of the ocean floor than you can imagine!) I encountered about 4 sea turtles, plenty of fish, and so much more in the beautiful, cooling water along the VI National Park shore. This tour was by far, my favorite part of my vacation!
I can't recommend VI Eco Tours enough!!! The expertise and patience shown by the Tour Guides, the beautiful destinations and the amazing prices can't be beat! :)