Beautiful but packed
This was an overall nice day spent on the boat doing activities but it felt a bit like a money making scheme. Pros: - nice boat and crew for the most part (the captain was constantly screaming abuse at the crew) - great experience snorkeling but due to the number of people it was less enjoyable - orange bay beach was beautiful - food was decent, as was the tea served along with Fanta, Coke, sprite and instant coffee - we got some snacks and water bottles when we got on the boat Cons: - on the booking it says to be ready for pick up at 8:30, after booking we were told to be ready for 8:10. In the end they came at 8:30 so we all lost sleep - we spent about 40 mins in the car driving around picking people up - the snorkeling gear is of the MOT.basoc quality - you'll be herded as a group the entire day, the only free time will be on the island and even that is strongly recommended to be confined to a specific area with a specific bar they get commission from, all in USD, all cash, expensive cocktails - we only had an hour and a half or so in the actual island which was the entire point so it was very short. You either swim and take pics or chill with a drink but no time for both - we didn't receive any more water after the initial bottle at 9am and the trip ended at 16:00 - due to the boat being crowded and overbooked, the water activities at the end were completely cancelled in order to get everyone off the boat quickly before the inspector arrived - we ended up then waiting for 15 minutes in the hot sun for our ride back to the hotel because they were not prepared - a lot of time was spent taking in water videos and photos offered but at expensive prices,I wanted one or two underwater videos as a souvenir and was told it would be €40 whereas I have friends that have all gotten some for €10, beware - local ice cream that costs LE30 was offered for $3 USD Overall it was a nice day, but I don't think I'd do it again. All of the tourist trap moments and cancellations/changes/ delays really made the experience less and less enjoy. The tour guide also wasn't present with us after the water bottles were handed out after getting on the boat, didn't hear from him again except to ask for reviews which were asked for along with tips before they informed us that the water sports activities were cancelled and we'd be taken back to the port. The contact who organised it did call one of us to offer the water sports for the next day as a recompense but it was a Monday and we were leaving. He was apologetic.
Andreea_A · 2024年9月 · Viator より