Swimming with turtles is one of my favourite underwater activities. It feels like such an honour to be sharing the waves with these chilled out denizens of the deep. That is why we had to ensure to book onto a turtle tour from The Club Barbados during our visit.
We were guests of The Club Barbados but all opinions are our own.
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The Club Barbados
The Club Barbados has an amazing location, right on the Gold Coast of Barbados and just a quick zip away from an area popular with turtles. There is an onsite watersports office that arranges all kinds of excursions. Lots of them are included but this costs a little extra.
We popped down to the watersport hut on the seafront and signed a waiver. We were handed our mask and snorkel, and prepared to board the boat straight from the sliver of beach in front of the resort.
Getting to the Turtles
After a day and half of rain, we were incredibly anxious that our tour may be cancelled but we jumped on the boat and within five minutes we had reached the snorkelling area. We passed the world famous One Sandy Lane en route, and our guide Sylvester pointed out the spot where Rihanna stayed!
Snorkelling with the Turtles
As the boat slowed, we spotted a turtle. I was thrilled! I thought we would be floating for a while waiting for a turtle to arrive. This youngster stayed near the boat and so we slipped into the waves as carefully as possible. We didn’t want to scare it off.
The Club Barbados turtle tour is a feeding trip. The guide, Sylvester in our case, has fresh fish ready to lure the turtles to come and say hi. They get a darn good meal and we get a darn good photo! If you don’t want to look at loads of photos of turtles, look away now:
After a couple of minutes, a larger turtle joined us. It kept a bit more distance and couldn’t keep up with the younger turtle in the race for fish. These two swam so close to us, I couldn’t believe it! The smaller of the two even darted between my legs at one point neccesatating a quick floating manoeuvre so my legs didn’t bump him.
I think we were only in the water for about fifteen minutes but I spent whole time enraptured by turtles.
Read all about our travels in gorgeous Barbados
Anniversary Treats
We scrambled back aboard as I whimpered that I could stay there all day. The salty drips of seawater running down our faces were quickly dried as the boat picked up speed, heading North. We whizzed past The Club and then slowed so that Sylvester could let go of the wheel and reveal our surprise. From the seat below Mr Fluskey, emerged a bottle of sparkling wine and two champagne flutes.
What a special treat for our third wedding anniversary! The golden bubbles slipped down beautifully, cooling our throats and removing the tang of seawater. After a few minutes of bobbing along, sipping our champers, we cranked up the engine again and made our way to the Sunken Barge.
Snorkelling at the Sunken Barge
The sun disappeared behind a big cloud so I couldn’t see what was below us as I prepared to jump in. It was, therefore, a revelation to see an absolute abundance of fish swimming around me. Below loomed the sunken barge. This was deliberately dropped to the bottom to promote reef and sealife…and boy has it worked. At just 40 feet down, it makes an excellent snorkelling spot. The tide was quite strong so we fought it for a while and then just drifted watching the darting fish below us.
Final Thoughts on our Turtle Tour from The Club Barbados
I was surprised just how successful this short tour was. I will always struggle with a tour that feeds animals to lure them in a little bit but there is no doubt that it was still an amazing chance to swim with some gorgeous turtles!
Now time for something even more relaxing, check out the Tranquility Spa at The Club Barbados – A Review
Rosie xx
Swimming with sea turtles is my dream! I was able to see them at the Turtle Conservation Center in Grand Cayman but I have yet to go snorkeling and actually see a turtle swimming next to me in the ocean. Looks like I need to head to Barbados!