Edge of the Banks Tour

Posted By : tr4vel4food
Trip date: July 13th

I’m sorry to say that I was very unimpressed with the BBC all day snorkel tour. Went last Wednesday with Hugo and Gustavo, very uninterested guides, and sometimes rude. I expected more for the money I paid. There were 3 snorkel stops with 9 guests. It felt a bit crowded for the size of the boat. The little kids spotted all the wildlife, including turtle and the rays. Never got to see the eel some of the guests saw and the dolphins spotted by the kids. The captains were on the their phones while at the wheel. The guides rarely engaged with the guests outside of the snorkeling ‘brief’ at each stops. The last stop was so boring, I think they were killing time snorkeling over rocky reefs that some guests wanted to go back to the boat. There was no guiding or spotting whatsoever! One of them spotted a lobster, literally that’s it. It was so sad. May be just the luck of the draw that day. If the company is reading this, pls contact your guests for feedback, I’d like my money back or an explanation of why my experience was so bad.
To add to the injury, I was completely ignored while snack was served. Hugo literally walked past me multiple times to hand out the snack boxes. I had to ask for one, and the only interaction with me was ‘good?’ Throughout the day.
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Posted On : 2024-07-13 22:53:47

Posted By : michaelgL894EB
Weather was amazing as were Jake and Ellie. Very personable and informative. Boat was in very good condition and appropriate size for our group size and adventure. Saw amazing things such as: eagle rays, great variety of reef fish, hawk bill turtle, squid, sharks, southern rays, and a small group of dolphins (with calf) - with whom we swam! The whole group had a really great day and we made new friends. The day with Blue Collective was a real highlight of our trip to TCI (we have gone to TCI numerous times over the past 15+ years. Thanks Jake and Ellie!
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Posted On : 2024-05-21 17:23:35

Posted By : Aaron R
We did the edge of the banks tour with Mitch and Cole and we had an absolutely AMAZING time with them! We got to experience and interact with sooo much stuff when we did our tour! We swam with reef sharks, nurse sharks, stingrays, barracudas, parrot fish, conch, and so much more! The edge of the banks was our favorite portion of the snorkel! Mitch and Cole both were very knowledgeable and helped answer any questions we had and showed us a ton of cool things while out on the water! When we come back this is easily on the top of our list, thank you so much for the experience of a lifetime!

Thanks,
Aaron R.
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Posted On : 2024-05-09 12:00:02

Posted By : FTraveler3
Fabulous tour. Sharks, dolphins, rays, barracudas, turtle, beautiful and diverse sites: fringing reef, garden, wall, cave. Caleb and Mitch could not have provided a better day for us.
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Posted On : 2024-04-24 18:02:41

Posted By : X7551DHlarrys
This day was the highlight of our trip. Taken out on a nice comfortable boat with just a few people. The crew served us fruit, drinks and sandwiches all day. Stopped at 3 different magnificent reefs for snorkeling. And lunch at a small deserted island. I’ve never seen so many colors of turquoise in the waters we traveled. Turks and Caicos is expensive but I consider this excursion a bargain. Thanks to Libert and Mike who made it so fun and informative
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Posted On : 2024-04-24 17:55:06

Posted By : Shelly_Z
Definitely worth the money! We stopped at three snorkel spots and to different places - away from the other excursions. We say stingrays, sharks and beautiful fish of all kinds. Best excursion so far!!
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Posted On : 2024-04-06 17:57:25

Posted By : G1194UKheatherc
Excellent !! Must do trip. Ellie and her partner were excellent. Ellie is as sweet as sugar and we saw many wonderful animals. From nurse sharks to barricudas reef fish and more. Top notch trip !!
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Posted On : 2024-03-27 17:15:16

Posted By : Bdamo
Based on previous reviews and the cost of this tour ($1,150 for 2 people), we were anticipating a fantastic day of snorkeling, great crew interaction and service. Sadly, this was not the case. Some of this disappointment stemmed from the weather, it was quite windy and choppy. However, we knew this heading out and were still disappointed. Firstly, the boat was nowhere near big enough for 8 people and 3 crew to spend a whole day. We were also warned that the toilet was not working and would only be able to be used in "emergencies". Otherwise, we were to use the ocean. Thankfully, no one had an "emergency". At the price of this trip, I expected a working washroom.

We have snorkeled in many places (Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii, all over the Caribbean, Greece, Portugal) and have always opted for tours with fewer people. We were not looking for a party, all you can drink boat. However, each time the boat has been big enough (minimum 40' catamaran) to allow everyone to sit outside in good weather or inside in bad weather or to escape the sun. There was seating for 6 guests "inside" plus the captain, with 2 of those guests sitting at the back of the boat not escaping the splash/wind. The unlucky 2 guests that sat up front all day were exposed to the sun and waves all day. The husband of this couple ended up going back to the dock after the first snorkel site because of sea sickness. I'm convinced this occurred because he was sitting up front and getting the brunt of the waves. His wife who was also sitting up front, was throwing up too. He was an experienced boater who this had never happened to before.

Our second issue was with the service/crew. All very nice people but I was looking for a bit more interaction and knowledge from them. I had read reviews of having a marine biologist on board. We had this when we snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef and it was an incredible experience with tons of information about the area/island given during the ride to the snorkel spots. We did have a bit of a talk before heading out to the boat, but that was the extent of info/background given. As I've said we weren't looking for an all out, all you can drink party boat (I don't even drink), but on any boat we have been on, there is always crew coming around to offer a drink - juice and water would have been fine. We were offered water once, and a rum punch once at the end of the day. The food quality was subpar as well. We each received a container of fruit and mini muffins after the first snorkel, hummus and veggies after the second, and for lunch we were given a turkey sandwich and pasta salad. This would have been acceptable on a much cheaper tour. However, when spending $450 each plus tax and service charge (almost $600 per person), I expected better quality food with a wider selection. On previous snorkel tours, we've had buffets of hot and cold food. With the number of islands/sand bars around, I thought (and had read in previous reviews) that lunch would be served on a beach, which also would have given us some respite from the cramped boat.

Our third issue is the length of time we spent in the boat travelling from one snorkel spot to the next. The first spot was about 10 minutes away. The second spot was about an hour travelling at full speed (remember, choppy, windy day). The third spot was probably another 45 minutes at full speed and wasn't really a snorkel spot. It was more of a chance for one guest to jump off a cliff and to see rock formations at the "iron shore". The 4th spot was maybe another 20-30 minutes, and was the edge of the banks. Not many fish, although we did see a small reef shark, and then were able to see the drop off, which was cool to see but again, didn't see many fish and as we weren't scuba diving and the water before the drop off was at least 25' deep, we couldn't really see much. Then over an hour to get back to the dock. So, on an 8 hour tour, we spent half of it in the boat driving full speed getting to the next spot. I understand the crew can't position these snorkel spots close together, but it may deliver a better experience if the trip is planned better so there is more time actually spent snorkeling at locations nearer each other.

And finally, on our previous snorkel tours, we have always had fresh water available to rinse off after coming out of the water. The boat did not have any fresh water available to guests. The captain did have her own jug of water and after coming out of the water, she used it to rinse the saltwater off. The rest of us were left to sit with sticky, saltwater on us for the whole day. If we had been warned, there was no fresh water, we could have brought our own to rinse off with, but again, for the cost of the tour, fresh water (and a working toilet) is a service which is expected.

This is not related to the Edge of the Banks tour, but later in our trip (March 3) we were looking to rent kayaks to paddle ourselves over to the mangroves. We were not looking for another guided tour. We called numerous times one morning, after the office had opened. And no one answered. So, we decided to drive to the office as it wasn't that dar away. We arrived and there were 2 staff members there. We asked about renting kayaks and were we could do a guided tout at 12:30 that day, but they weren't starting to rent the kayaks out until the next day. No reason given, just "we aren't renting them until tomorrow". Another bad experience with Big Blue Collective.
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Posted On : 2024-03-13 12:23:20

Posted By : JULIE_F
Captain Trish and Ketlan were friendly, attentive, informative and happy to answer any and all questions. We enjoyed three different snorkeling experiences. The snorkeling was fabulous. The food served on board was outstanding.
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Posted On : 2024-03-11 21:57:09

Posted By : John_M
My wife and I did the full day Edge of the Banks snorkel trip and it was awesome! Jake and Liberte were our guides and took us off the beaten path to some amazing snorkeling spots.

Lunch and rum punch was great and we had a lot of fun learning about the islands from our guides!

Highly recommend!!
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Posted On : 2024-03-10 12:03:36