Little Buck Island
Little Buck Island
4.5
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This remote island off the St. Thomas coast affords a welcome getaway from the bustle of the main island.
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4.5
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Seabee-Officer-11
Atlanta, GA375 contributions
Apr 2015 • Couples
Took the Buck Island Catamaran Sail and Snorkel trip about 3 miles south of St. Thomas offered by our cruise ship, Celebrity Equinox on St.Thomas, Virgin Islands. It was perhaps our best tour during our 10-day cruise. You will sail out of St.Thomas harbor on a 55-70 foot catamaran and have drinks and snacks on board the trip as well. The sail out past many photographic scenes to Buck Island was fantastic, relaxing and most enjoyable. If you have an underwater camera, you must take it to forever enjoy the coral scenery under the water. There were singles, couples, families and other small groups on board for the sail. We anchored in one of the island coves to enjoy the sun, swimming, snorkeling and viewed the coral reefs, turtles, swarms of colorful tropical fish, small sharks and sting rays. We then pulled up anchor and sailed a short distance to another cove to snorkel around an old wartime era shipwreck. The shipwreck was pretty much split up due to tropical storms and hurricanes that roll through the area and that part was not quite as enjoyable as we thought it might be. But we had another look at coral reefs and the colorful tropical fish in the area. Minimum age for this sail is 4 and maximum age is 80 for the tour. There were several cruise ships and private sailing tours in the immediate area, and it can get pretty crowded at times. We also had rum drinks, sodas and snacks on board the catamaran, as I suppose do most of the sailing ships. We also enjoyed seeing several beautiful sail boats up to two-masters sailing to the island as well. The shorelines we passed were also quite magnificent. A most enjoyable and relaxing cruise to the island and snorkeling.
Written June 1, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jaxmaxdad
Arnold, MD266 contributions
Mar 2013 • Family
Our family of 9 thoroughly enjoyed this day in the sun. We sailed on the 65' Castaway Girl catamaran to Little Buck Island. Once there we were guided around the shipwreck of the "Cartanza", some nice coral, tropical fish & sea turtles! My dad (71) had a blast and all of the kids 7 11 14 & 16 were all smiles. Once the snorkeling was complete we had some of the best RUM PUNCH ever! Mango, Pineapple, Orange juices ice and golden rum that’s it! It was a great end to a fun trip. We would definitely go on this trip again!
Written April 18, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
regdwight
grimsby11 contributions
Mar 2012 • Couples
If you do not know much about snorkeling you will get out of the boat and swim around in deep water and see little. Understood. Having snorkeled throughout the Fl Keys and Carib for years let me tell you this is an excellent spot. We were in a horseshoe-shaped cove with no current and super clear water. You swim over to the rocky shore and follow it around and you will see a wide variety of fish, shrimp, corals, etc. If you know what you are doing in the water and know what to look for this is a very good place to spend the morning.
Written March 26, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kim A
Port Byron, IL135 contributions
Feb 2020
We did an excursion on Castaway Girl and had a great time enjoying the fresh air, the great crew. What I was disappointed in was the snorkel sight. It was gray rocks with very few fish around. What they described as a shipwreck was little more than a sunk boat. Take that there were many boats also there and it was not all that enjoyable.
On the positive side, we did see some sea turtles at the second stop.
Rum drinks flow freely on the sail back to port.
On the positive side, we did see some sea turtles at the second stop.
Rum drinks flow freely on the sail back to port.
Written March 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Skip P
Chico, CA63 contributions
In late January, my wife and I took a 1/2 sailing/snorkeling trip out to Buck Island, 3 nautical miles from Charlotte Amalie. Buck Island is an uninhabited government-sponsored underwater sanctuary that is home to large sea turtles. A large number of sailboat/catamaran day charters take tourists out there. It is heavily touted as a great 1/2 day of sailing/underwater experience.
If you want to experience a 1/2 day on the ocean, aboard a nice sailboat/catamaran, this is a great way to do it. If you are going expecting to experience excellent snorkeling/coral reefs, rich colors, vast schools of fish, you WILL be HUGELY disappointed. They just aren't there. The pics in the tourist brochures and on the "net have been digitally enhanced (I've done it hundreds of times myself) - there are NO bright colors, huge schools of fish, etc. at Buck Island. What you will see is maybe 1manta ray, 3-4 large sea turtles, a few fish and a whole panorama of drab, olive green/gray small sea plants and coral. There are NO bright coral reefs teeming with huge schools of fish like the photos indicate.
Having dove/snorkeled in the Southern Caribbean and off Cozumel, Mexico - this underwater experience was poor in comparison at best.
Having said that, if you have never set foot on a sailboat/catamaran and only have a 1/2 day to spend (or can afford), this is still a worthy trip to experience. And kids always love this kind of stuff.
My 2 cents.
If you want to experience a 1/2 day on the ocean, aboard a nice sailboat/catamaran, this is a great way to do it. If you are going expecting to experience excellent snorkeling/coral reefs, rich colors, vast schools of fish, you WILL be HUGELY disappointed. They just aren't there. The pics in the tourist brochures and on the "net have been digitally enhanced (I've done it hundreds of times myself) - there are NO bright colors, huge schools of fish, etc. at Buck Island. What you will see is maybe 1manta ray, 3-4 large sea turtles, a few fish and a whole panorama of drab, olive green/gray small sea plants and coral. There are NO bright coral reefs teeming with huge schools of fish like the photos indicate.
Having dove/snorkeled in the Southern Caribbean and off Cozumel, Mexico - this underwater experience was poor in comparison at best.
Having said that, if you have never set foot on a sailboat/catamaran and only have a 1/2 day to spend (or can afford), this is still a worthy trip to experience. And kids always love this kind of stuff.
My 2 cents.
Written February 5, 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
cttravelgal
North Naples, FL107 contributions
Apr 2011
We were taken by a sailboat called The Fury to "buck island" only to find out it wasn't the national park off St croix but "Little Buck island" instead just off the coast of St Thomas. Very disappointing to say the least. Yes, we saw several sea turtles however every cruise ship in Port dumped off hundreds of guests so the area was overcrowded to say the least. Many were new to snorkeling and did not respect the reefs. They broke coral by dropping their fins down, and chased the sea turtles. We felt like we were in a Disney show gone bad. And one of the boats blasted music so the serenity of the location was lost completely
The captain and crew of the Fury were very nice but the sail boat was in disrepair to the point that they could not hoist all the sails because of a "hole" in the sail. The "snacks" consisted of a few pretzels and a granola bar if you were lucky to get one. I could not recommend the location unless you went either very early or later in the day. I also would not recommend the Fury since it was $75 pp....$300 for two adults and two teens for 3 hours.
The captain and crew of the Fury were very nice but the sail boat was in disrepair to the point that they could not hoist all the sails because of a "hole" in the sail. The "snacks" consisted of a few pretzels and a granola bar if you were lucky to get one. I could not recommend the location unless you went either very early or later in the day. I also would not recommend the Fury since it was $75 pp....$300 for two adults and two teens for 3 hours.
Written April 20, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Della W
Omaha, NE90 contributions
May 2013 • Couples
We went on a cruise ship tour to Buck Island and quite frankly it was the worst trip i have ever taken, the sea was so choppy we had three people have panic attacks because the water was washing over their snorkels. After 10 minutes in the water we gave up and got back on the boat, trying to fight the current was exhausting. i can honestly say i saw next to nothing of the reef. To top it off they served rum punch in huge quantities and people were completely sozzled by the time we got back to the dock. It was a waste of money and time.
Written May 16, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
amc54321
Trinity, FL23 contributions
Jun 2016 • Family
We booked this excursion for our family through a Royal Caribbean cruise. We have a 6,8 and 13 year old and all of them were able to snorkel easily! The crew meets you at the pier and takes you to their catamaran. The catamaran takes you to Buck Island and you get to snorkel there and see turtles and many fish(one of the crew snorkels and guides the group once in the water). Then you get back on the catamaran and boat a short distance to a ship wreck which was a very cool experience to snorkel. The snorkeling gear is all provided(and clean!) and it was very easy to put on and off(which was a blessing with the kids!) They also had "pool noodles" available if you wanted them to help you float...which I took advantage of with my 6 year old(even though she is a good swimmer...this helped since there was a current). My 8 and 13 year old didn't need our assistance in the water. On the way back to the pier...rum punch and soda or water was served and one of the crew was putting on fake tattoos(which my younger kids thought was cool!) We absolutely loved, loved this excursion and would do it again!!!!
Written September 8, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wyatt K
Clemmons, NC68 contributions
Jul 2016 • Couples
This was a cruise excursion "Buck Island Catmaran and Snorkel with National Geographic Snorkeler". The catamaran crew picks you up at the cruise pier and you walk a short distance to their boat. They offer you water and soft drinks on the way out to (Little) Buck Island, as you sail through the beautiful Charlotte Amalie harbor.
After a short sail (30-40 minutes?), it's time to get wet, and there are a number of coves and bays and reef areas at Buck Island. Those of us who got off the sailboat soonest saw turtles in Turtle Cove. The reef there, toward the island, has suffered damage from sea urchins, and probably from storms and tourists, but still has some interesting formations and fish. I really enjoyed floating around in the 4-8 foot-deep areas, but most people like to go into the deeper spots I guess. There is plenty to see!
Then we got back on the sailboat and went around to the shipwreck, which I would say is in about 30 feet of water. It was an interesting sight to see, and one of the guides entertained us by free-diving down to it. That takes some practice!
When we were done at the wreck, it was time to load up and head back to the dock. Rum punch and other beverages were made available at no additional cost, and the sail back is a bit longer to let you soak in the rays and the booze and feel the sea breeze. The staff was friendly and fun and helpful.
The "National Geographic Snorkeler" part was the gear - it was branded such. I liked the gear fine, it was easy-on, easy-off, and easy to adjust/fit. The snorkels that used to have a water-stop to keep your breathing dry, well, they were mostly busted. But if you snorkel much, that's not really a problem.
This was the 2nd time I had done this specific tour (1st time in 2007), and I would do it again. The catamaran, the staff, the reef, the rum punch, the sailing - it was all very nice! We happily tipped them both times, really enjoyed ourselves!!
After a short sail (30-40 minutes?), it's time to get wet, and there are a number of coves and bays and reef areas at Buck Island. Those of us who got off the sailboat soonest saw turtles in Turtle Cove. The reef there, toward the island, has suffered damage from sea urchins, and probably from storms and tourists, but still has some interesting formations and fish. I really enjoyed floating around in the 4-8 foot-deep areas, but most people like to go into the deeper spots I guess. There is plenty to see!
Then we got back on the sailboat and went around to the shipwreck, which I would say is in about 30 feet of water. It was an interesting sight to see, and one of the guides entertained us by free-diving down to it. That takes some practice!
When we were done at the wreck, it was time to load up and head back to the dock. Rum punch and other beverages were made available at no additional cost, and the sail back is a bit longer to let you soak in the rays and the booze and feel the sea breeze. The staff was friendly and fun and helpful.
The "National Geographic Snorkeler" part was the gear - it was branded such. I liked the gear fine, it was easy-on, easy-off, and easy to adjust/fit. The snorkels that used to have a water-stop to keep your breathing dry, well, they were mostly busted. But if you snorkel much, that's not really a problem.
This was the 2nd time I had done this specific tour (1st time in 2007), and I would do it again. The catamaran, the staff, the reef, the rum punch, the sailing - it was all very nice! We happily tipped them both times, really enjoyed ourselves!!
Written July 26, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dmcc404
Wellfleet, MA20 contributions
Jan 2015 • Family
We went on a snorkel trip on the CAT from the Marriott Frenchman's Reef dock. Great staff, nice Catamaran. Exceeded our expectations. We saw many, many, many turtles (15-20). Also saw 3 rays, squid, small shark, and a variety of fish. If you're looking for coral and reef fish, not the best, but if you're looking for turtles, amazing! The most turtles I've ever seen snorkeling.
Written January 6, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What type of excursions are offered and is the bedding (mattress) luxuriously soft?
Written March 21, 2015
What are the companies that offer day trips to Little Buck Island and have permission to anchor there?
Written December 28, 2014
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