Description: On the grounds of the RIU Club Hotel, you’ll find Scuba Carribe. Included in the cost of the RIU are many water sport activities, such as catamaran sailing, surfboarding, sea kayaking, paddle boating, and snorkeling (just off of the beach.) Jet skis were available for rent at $50 per half hour, and you could also purchase excursions such as snorkeling and diving trips. NOTE: If you don’t know how to sail a catamaran, they make you sign a liability waiver before you go out. Lessons are $17, and you can then take a catamaran out anytime after that. The lessons are a good investment because the wind out on the ocean (especially in the afternoon) can put you in some tricky situations, and the lessons will help you avoid them.
Our first experience with Scuba Carribe was a catamaran lesson. We went out on a catamaran with a couple from Canada and our instructor Kenny. Kenny was a very good teacher and quite entertaining as well. For the next 3 days, Kenny made sure to watch out for us when we had the catamaran out, just in case we screwed up and tipped over.
We also purchased a snorkeling excursion through Scuba Carribe. For $25, we were taken to two snorkeling spots during a 2-hour trip. It turned out to be a snorkeling/rescue cruise. We had to rescue a jet skier, two catamarans, and even a lonely paddle someone lost from their kayak. Our first actual stop was Paradise Island. Here the coral peeks out above the water, and underneath, houses a LOT of fish. Our next stop was a place called Middle Bay. By this time, the wind had really picked up, and the water was very choppy. However, if you are a strong enough swimmer, the coral reefs below are teeming with fish. I saw brain coral, and fans, and urchins, and this long fish that looked like a long leaf but was indeed a fish! It was beautiful, but it was hard work to tackle those waves and not get smashed into the coral. The captain cut our time here short, just because it was starting to get too dangerous. Perhaps it’s not always this way. However, on this particular day, these were the conditions.
Our boat captains also took us for a cruise along Seven Mile Beach, narrating the sites along the way. There were about 10 of us on the boat, which made me much more comfortable that I wouldn’t get forgotten and that they would be paying more attention to us in the water.
I do want to note that the RIU Club Hotel also has a few desks in the lobby where tour companies also offer excursions around the island. The snorkeling trip they were offering was $55 and an all-morning ordeal. Since our stay was so short, the 2-hour version at Scuba Carribe worked better for us. Also, it was a cheaper alternative.
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