Full Day Ponce, Yauco, Caracoles Cay & La Parguera Bio Bay Tour

Posted By : Kerri_A
When you book a tour that is all day long and very expensive, it is a risk. It can go great, badly, or anything in between. Well we had one of the best days EVER on this tour. Tour guide and owner Laura is AMAZING! She communicated so well with me before our tour and she is an excellent driver. We loved getting to know her over the course of the day and the places she took us to in Ponce and Yauco were beautiful. The coffee shop we stopped at and the lunch place were both excellent -- Isla Cueva was one of the best burgers I've ever had! the boat was super clean and Captain Jonathan was great. We got to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience swimming with the bioluminescent fish. The entire day was absolutely perfect. We could not have asked for more and we cannot wait to book something with Laura and Sofrito tours again in the future. Thank you, Laura, for showing us the beauty of Puerto Rico and for an amazing adventure - you are wonderful!
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Posted On : 2024-06-24 15:29:43

Posted By : derek_k
Favorite activity during our trip so far! Really enjoyed the opportunity to take some great pictures. Loved being out in the clear waters of the Caribbean.
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Posted On : 2024-06-15 12:56:00

Posted By : Diane_K
your vans should be upgraded for the price of this tour. It was an older van air conditioning was terrible - Van broke down 15 minutes on the way back we had 11 people including young children standing along the guardrail in the rain/dark until a new van could come. tour guide was great and our water time was great.
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Posted On : 2024-06-15 09:20:27

Posted By : 591alannas
We really wanted to tour the biobay. We booked a tour and received a note cancelling at 3:30 the day prior- no explanation, no opportunity to reschedule, and no one answering the phone to speak with the next day during business hours or who responded to the voice mail we left seeking an explanation. We ended up renting a car and driving to La Parguera. We booked a tour through a different company, saved a lot of money, and had a great experience.
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Posted On : 2024-04-04 20:38:26

Posted By : Amishi_C
Viator’s description of tour is unclear and incorrect. This tour is NOT private (not huge, but is with at least 8p people total), and actually offers pick up in San Juan through Ponce and presumably along way; you can meet them at Ponce if you need to and proceed in your vehicle. The tour then proceeds as follows:
1) Ponce historic square- 5 min run down of one bldg, and then 20–30 min to explore
2) drive to Yauco- two stops for 10 min each - mainly scenic spots to take pics, and a couple min where Laura explained history of spots.
3) drive to La Parguera, to firstly pick up a take out dinner and then get on a boat for 60-90 min at a cay, where we were provided masks (no snorkels) and opportunity to swim around. Then we boated to Boo Bay to view amazing bioluminescent creatures.

Overall, the guide/driver were very nice and responsive to all questions. The stops were a nice way to see a teeny bit of the towns/culture of this side of PR, and the water part was wonderful. Guides mainly facilitated a visit to this part of island- suggesting the three stops, but providing minimal info about the stops (with exception of boat captain who was well informed about the key and bay). I wasn’t in van so not sure if more info was provided there. If you’re expecting a more informative or educational trip, this is not that, but if you’re good with an easygoing drive in the area with some good stops, it serves that need- which worked for us to fill one day of our two-day visit to SW corner of PR. Some folks may think it’s costly for what it is, esp if you don’t utilize the transport from San Juan.

Viator’s description was hard to follow and inaccurate; furthermore I’d actually called for help to find a tour that fulfilled what I wanted - the agent tried to be super helpful and was great, but u fortunately he didn’t have the right info about the tour (I thought it was to be private and I thought it picked up in La Parguera- both of which the agent assured me the tour did and both of which were completely wrong).
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Posted On : 2024-03-30 17:38:17

Posted By : Matthew_K
Team was great. Tour guide helped pass the time for the 2 hour drive. very knowledgeable on the history of the are and the cities. Very personable. Stopped in some cities along the way. Saw the city square in ponce for some coffee and a bite. The stopped in another small town along the way. Ordered lunch and changed in. suites before the boat. Nice ride then snorkeled for 1-2 hours. Watched a beautiful sunset and then a short boat ride to biobay. The pontoon boat was the magic. There was a bright 3/4 moon which typically causes many boats to cancel their tours. We were able to swim under the pontoon boat which made for a great experience. in the biobay despite a lot of ambient light. Would not have missed this experience for the world
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Posted On : 2024-03-23 11:24:58

Posted By : Alicia_A
Really good tour. The biobay was incredible but this is quite a short part of the tour once it gets dark. It was an amazing experience for both the adults and kids in our party and 100% worth experiencing. Youco was really cool for photos. Would definitely recommend - thanks!
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Posted On : 2024-02-24 18:14:34

Posted By : Kelly_D
We had a great time. Our tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable, and gave great recommendations. The van picked us up at our hotel right on time. It was really nice to have someone else do the driving for us. Swimming in the bio bay was an amazing experience. We would definitely book with this tour operator again.
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Posted On : 2024-02-24 11:46:20

Posted By : cpanthers84
My wife and I did the full day Ponce, Yauco, Caracoles, and La Parguera tour and it was awesome. Jan Carlos was passionate, knowledgeable, and attentive during the tour. I could not have picked a better tour for my first trip to Puerto Rico. The stops in towns gave my wife and I a glimpse in to the diversity and deep cultures of Puerto Rico. The food was great and it was nice to have an authentic experience with the people. Caracoles was fun and it felt like hanging out on a lake back home when we got to pull up, anchor, and chill where the locals chill. There was music, dancing, jet skis, folks were having a good time. To cap it all off the bio bay was just as amazing as we had hoped as it got darker the brighter the lighting effect was. All in all, great trip, great people, and I hope to do another tour next time I go to Puerto Rico.
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Posted On : 2024-02-23 13:45:16

Posted By : Alicia_P
I booked this trip because travel was included. Our tour guide Jancarlo was absolutely amazing. He was very nice, shared a large number of historical facts, and navigated crazy traffic and detours. We were a bit bummed that the stops in Ponce and Yauco were only 10-15 minutes as we had expected there to be time to shop and possibly grab a bite. Due to the length of drive this detail would have been helpful for planning snacks.
The swim at Caracoles was fun, especially with the fish around, and the sunset was breathtaking. The captain was super nice and it was very relaxing. Being able to swim in the bio bay made the entire trip completely worth it.
Couple tips for readers that would have helped us:
1. There is a public bathroom for changing before and after the boat
2. Bring 2 towels because you will go into water twice in a fairly short period
3. While lunch isn't provided, our tour guide called in a dinner order, at our cost, that we ate on the boat
4. If you need a bathroom break, take advantage of Ponce
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Posted On : 2024-02-16 19:04:59