Small Group Sea Turtle Tour (Guaranteed to see turtles)
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Avoid the massive crowds that can huddle near the beaches in St. Thomas and book this St. Thomas Sea Turtle Small-Group Snorkeling Tour. This tour takes you with a guide and small group to a special spot with guaranteed sea-turtle sightings. Plus, with a small group, your guide can focus on your needs more and all necessary equipment is provided for you for a stress-free, fun day of snorkeling.
- An adventure that guarantees you’ll see sea turtles in their natural habitat
- Go snorkeling in a secret spot in St. Thomas known by your guide
- A small group limited to 10 travelers provides an intimate experience
- Snorkeling gear, beach chairs, and bottled water are provided for ease
What's Included
- A cooler with bottled water
- Use of snorkel gear and floatation devices
- Gratuity for your guide - standard gratuity is 15 to 20%
- Lunch
- Photos and videos - they are available for purchase.
- Transportation to and from your hotel/ship port (excluding Emerald Beach Resort)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 8070 Lindberg bay, Charlotte Amalie West, St Thomas 00802, USVI
Please meet your guide in the parking lot of the Emerald Beach Resort. The tour departs exactly 15 mins before the start time, so you must arrive 15 mins before the start time or you will miss your tour. You will receive a text with the vehicle description (please call if you do not get the text).
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
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St. Thomas Adventure Tours
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Not wheelchair accessible
- A minimum of 2 adults per booking is required
- All participants must be able to walk over uneven surfaces and climb in and out of a vehicle.
- All snorkeling must have a minimum of beginner ability to swim and be at least 5 years old
- At time of booking, cruise ship passengers must provide the following information: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- Children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Please note that a 20% gratuity is due on the day of the tour in cash for groups of 5 or more.
- Most travelers can participate
- Tour will be cancelled if a minimum of four guests must be booked on this tour in order for it to run. The four guests do not need to be in the same group or booking.
- At the time of booking, all participants must provide: Adults: Sweater size with gender Children: Age, gender and weight.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Nicholas_T
We had a great time on this excursion! Our guide was Sophie and she was very friendly and knowledgeable. She made sure we saw lots of wildlife, including an octopus, stingrays, and multiple turtles of different sizes. Any questions we had, she was able to answer. I would recommend this excursion to anyone looking to see some turtles on their vacation!
Reviews
4.9
based on 113 reviews
Ohran_S, Mar 2026
Grate small group experience. Sophia was great and took time to explained and show the different sea life. I would recommend this experience for anyone that hasn’t seen sea turtles. I only rated as 4 due to the last minute notice of where to meet the group. I would recommend changing that process. The other was we had just experienced Brewer Beach 2 days earlier on our own. We were hoping for something different based on the meet location. If you haven’t experienced Brewers and its sea life I highly recommend this experience.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Hi Ohan,
Thanks for taking the time reviewing your tour. Nice to know that you had a good time and yes, Sophie is a great guide.
About the location:
The guide determinants the location we are snorkeling at the morning off the tour. So there is no way of letting you know before.
STEPHEN_R, Mar 2026
Was excited to have a small group snorkel experience. We were fortunate to get Sophie as our personal guide with only 4 in our group. I saw the cruise group go out with over 50 swimmers. We got to see sea turtles, octopi, barracuda and tons of colorful fish. perfect amount of snorkel time and enjoyed the scenic beach. Highly recommend!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thank you very much for sharing your experience with Sophie. On our trips you will never have more than 6 guests snorkeling because we know that it greatly improve your overall experience. Wildlife does not like 50 people in one group.
Sarah_B, Mar 2026
Sketchy. They tell you to meet at a parking lot in front of a hotel near the bay. They were in a rusted pick up truck and they did not have any identifying logos or names on their shirts. They looked like tourists. We did not see the note to meet in the parking lot or the hotel name. You have to click into the meeting point tab and it states it in smaller font below the bold address. Very easy to miss. We walked the entire beach trying to find them. Fortunately, one of the hotel staff members knew they existed and told us to walk to the parking lot in the front. When we got there, there was no visible concern that their directions were confusing. My elderly parents were overwhelmed from walking around trying to find the tour guides. No apologies. We were told it was obvious on the meeting notes. Again, it does state the notes about the hotel and parking lot, but you have to click into the meeting location. The meeting location just says the street address in bold. It doesn’t say the hotel name, so taxi drivers weren’t sure what we were looking for. If it said the hotel name clearly in the address, all issues would have been avoided. But again, the taxi drivers are more concerned with squishing 32 or more people into a vehicle that has a sign that says 25 people max. Sigh. It’s a USVI thing. Squish and hurry. Details later. So we found them and it was sketchy. A rusty truck with kayaks on it that looked to seat maybe 4. We were a party of six. They were very defensive about their meeting notes and more concerned about being right than any actual customer service. We didn’t feel comfortable going with them and instead got a taxi and went back to the port. On the ship, I got a late text from 10:18 am saying they expected an $80 tip up front when we arrived. The booking says nothing about mandatory gratuity. We are tippers, don’t get me wrong. But if the gratuity is mandatory before we even see how your tour is, I’m probably not going. I want to be generous with everyone, but we already had issues finding you, let alone even trying to verify if your tour is legit. If you want your personal business to be successful, fix these issues. Own your mistakes and shortfalls. Get some logo’d polo shirts for your staff. Don’t pick people up in a parking lot of a hotel you are not affiliated with. And above all, when your guests are in distress or seem overwhelmed right at the beginning, a simple “I can see you are frustrated and I apologize, please have a seat and we will make sure your concerns are taken care of right away.” Not belligerent or snarky comments that make your customers (yes, they are paying customers) feel uncomfortable or further frustrated. Perhaps you can hire a customer service team to train you on how to treat customers. A few bad reviews can kill a small business. You need to learn how to manage angry or disappointed guests BEFORE they leave a review. I guarantee you they will be brutally honest.
To future turtle seekers, there are many other tour options. Safe yourself distress, choose one of them.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Hi Sarah,
It is very entertaining to read your review, thanks!
Let me just set a few things straight. When you purchased your tour over Viator, you reserved your meeting location. You also got the phone number of our business and could have called us at any time, as we tried calling and texting you. Reading your paperwork, we suggest to all of our guests to take a working phone with them in case any problems occur. I'm sorry your taxi driver was dropping you off at the wrong end of the same beach but that is no reason to yell at our guides, manager, and owner of the company when we tried to sort things out with you. There is also no reason to use inappropriate language since this behavior does not set the right tone for a relaxing and fun snorkel trip with amazing sea creatures.
It is also interesting that you claim you had a medical emergency when you are trying to get a refund from Viator. That doesn't match your story, does it?
Joanne_C, Mar 2026
Lynne took us to a beach and into the water and found a lot for us to look at. We saw five different turtles as well as various fish, stingrays and an octopus. She knows a lot about marine life and was very interesting to talk to. Highly recommended activity.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thanks for sharing your experience with Lynne and St. Thomas Adventure Tours.
Nicholas_T, Feb 2026
We had a great time on this excursion! Our guide was Sophie and she was very friendly and knowledgeable. She made sure we saw lots of wildlife, including an octopus, stingrays, and multiple turtles of different sizes. Any questions we had, she was able to answer. I would recommend this excursion to anyone looking to see some turtles on their vacation!
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thanks for sharing your experience with St. Thomas Adventure Tours and Sophie!
Debra_D, Feb 2026
Unfortunately, our tour was canceled due to high swells and rip currents during the period our tour was scheduled. Although we did not get to see the turtles, I am giving this tour 5 stars anyway, due to the fact that the tour operator contacted us in plenty of time to allow us to make other plans for the day and kept us apprised if the situation throughout the two days that we originally scheduled, then rescheduled, the tour. We understand that safety is the number one priority and we appreciate the communication provided by the tour operator. If back in St Thomas at a future date, we would certainly book this tour again, thanks!
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thanks Debra!
Rose_W, Feb 2026
Sophie was our guide and she was super knowledgeable and personable. I really liked how our group was so small and that she spent time answering all of our questions.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thank you very much for sharing your experience.
Bo_M, Feb 2026
We had Sophie as a guide. She did a great job. She found many sea turtles. We also found a sting ray and an eagle ray. You could tell she really loves her job.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thank you very much for taking the time reviewing your tour!
Peg_A, Jan 2026
Wonderful, easy snorkeling adventure for first timers and advanced swimmers alike! Lynne was a fabulous snorkel guide! First we searched for turtles. Lynne zigzagged across the cove to find them and motioned to us when she did. Not only did we see multiple turtles, we also saw stingrays, Then we went to a small reef area where we saw lots of fish swimming among the recovering coral. We even encountered an octopus and 3 squid.
Getting to the meeting point was a little challenging, but this was due to St. Thomas’s taxi monopoly on transportation on the island. (The taxis are basically open air trucks with multiple benches. They wait until the trucks are filled, and make multiple stops along the way.) So give yourself extra time to get to the meeting point. We docked at West Indian Company Dock and allowed an hour to get to Emerald Beach, arriving in plenty of time.
Jean_K, Dec 2025
Sophie was early to meet us at the parking lot and she was very cheerful and excited to guide us on our beautiful coastline snorkeling experience. She’s very informative and made sure to give everyone in our small group special attention. Sophie swam deep into the water to locate octopuses 🐙 and she swam around to find the green turtles 🐢 we were guaranteed to see. We also saw rays too.
Shelby_S, Dec 2025
This has been the highlight of my trip so far! I was the only guest so Sophie was pretty much my personal snorkel guide haha but it was great! She is very kind and very knowledgeable! She was very informative about everything we seen from sea turtles to octopus to sting rays all the different fish everything! I highly recommend!
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your tour. Greatly appreciated!
Shaheed_D, Dec 2025
Comes as advertised. Sophia, our guide, was great! The weather was perfect. The beach wasn’t crowded at all. We had a great time.
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your tour. Greatly appreciated!
Robert_L, Dec 2025
This was a fun kind of minimalistic type excursion in that it’s very simple and laid back. Our guide Lynne did a fantastic job of guiding us around the beach front waters coming across tons of water life from a baby octopus, to Manatee, and to obviously Sea Turtles! Lots of cool sea creatures and fish but the Sea Turtles steal the show! Lynne was very knowledgeable and would swim around to highlight the next area for us to gather. She took great videos and even tho i also took very good vids during the snorkel I recommend as it’s $40 and her camera is high quality. My one recommendation is maybe tell people to look for your vehicle by description bc the parking lot of the resort was too ambiguous, and we were waiting for a while until we just got curious walking around the full parking lot.
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your tour. Greatly appreciated!
Allison_K, Dec 2025
First off Sophie passion for sea turtles is amazing she was great ! Second I have never had such a good snorkeling experience there was so many turtles and other wild life. We all really enjoyed this tour it end up being just the 3 of us too so that was nice to getting one on one!
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your tour. Greatly appreciated!
Melissa_K, Dec 2025
Beautiful calm waters and lots of aquatic life. Yes, saw turtles! Sophie was an excellent guide. Highly recommend!
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thank you very much Melissa
Claire_S, Nov 2025
If you are joining from a cruise two big things to know: 1. Your tour is in LOCAL time. The ships always emphasize staying on ship time, but that may be different from local time 2. Your meeting point is at Emerald Beach Resort in the parking lot. Google maps makes it look walkable, but it is not. Spend the $6 for a taxi.
Company was flexible in rescheduling our tour when we had a mix up with cruise/ship versus local time.
You will see a lot of neat wildlife, including turtles! Consider investing in a waterproof box for your phone so you can get your own videos—someone on our tour had one and was kind enough to share their photos and footage.
The guide was nice and provided good knowledge and facts about the wildlife.
Another major point to know is that while the snorkeling doesn’t require significant physical strength and the ocean is a gradual walk-in, you must be able to pull yourself into a pick-up truck bed that has been modified with beach seating.
Antonio_R, Oct 2025
The experience was great but expensive for the accommodations. All you have to do is find the beach and swim around until you see turtles. Don't really need a guide.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Nice to hear that you had a great experience.
I wish we could offer this experience for a more affordable price but this is not possible for a small group tour. Our tours are priced the same than tours with 50 guests and up- I think that is extremely competitive. Of cause not everyone appreciates getting all the knowledge and service - like checking on the conditions of the snorkel area before the trip.
Anyway we deliver what we promise and more but if you prefer snorkeling alone you should save your money and don't go on a guided trip.
Kimberly_C, Aug 2025
Great experience! We saw many Sea Turtles! We also saw sting rays, grouper, jelly fish, reef fish and sea urchin. Description is as promised!
Bambi_T, Jul 2025
Our guide Sven was fabulous!! He led us to all the right places. I can’t even name all the unique fish we saw. Not to mention the sea turtles and sting rays. We even saw a juvenile eagle ray!! I was a first time snorkeler. And felt very comfortable. I would highly recommend this to anyone.
Nicole_C, Jul 2025
Our tour guide was AMAZING! I think his name was sen? ( I'm sorry I forgot!) He was the absolute beat! We told him it was our first time snorkeling and he gave great instructions! He stayed by us and gave us a nature tour before the snorkeling which was super cool! Once in the water he stayed with us the entire time! Everytime we saw something he would explain what it was etc! We saw a sea turtle that survived a shark attack! I got tired quick and hung out on the beach while my boyfriend continued with the group! He said the guide even asked if I was okay etc! I would 100% go with him again on this tour! We had the best experience! My boyfriend had an amazing birthday! Thank you so much! 10/10 fully recommend!
Munib_R, Jun 2025
Sven and Lea were amazing! My wife and I really enjoyed our time out there together. Sven started with a super informative and laid back botanical tour of some of the trees and fruits in the area, before taking us out onto a beautiful beach. It was our first time snorkeling, and I couldn't have asked for a better scenario. Relaxed, low stakes, and chill. We got out into the water, and Sven and Lea told us about all the fish and various creatures we saw. The sea turtles were the main reason we were there and we were not disappointed. By the time we were through, we had seen 6-8 different sea turtles up close and, frankly, I could have stayed out there all day.
Thank you Sven and Lea!
Heather_C, May 2025
Amazing experience, friendly and knowledgeable guide. Had an awesome time swimming with sea turtles and beautiful marine life.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your tour.
Laura_J, May 2025
We had the best time with James!! He was so knowledgeable and called us over to see the sea turtles. I would definitely do this excursion the next time I’m in St. Thomas.
Thanks James for everything!!!
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your experience.
Nick_P, Apr 2025
Great experience seeing the turtles and fish. Gave some history about Virgin Islands and surrounding places
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your experience.
Madison_P, Apr 2025
James, our tour guide, was very friendly & knowledgeable. It ended up being a private tour since others canceled last minute. We saw plenty of sea turtles, rays and fish.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your experience.
Michelle_D, Apr 2025
Sven was extremely knowledgeable and was so kind! We saw a few sea turtles, sea urchins, plenty of fish near the coral, and my favorite was the giant puffer fish. This was such a fun time and I will be doing it again. I could spend all day in the water snorkeling. Thank you Sven!!!
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your experience.
Amy_R, Apr 2025
It was an amazing experience you won't wanna muss when they guaranteed to see turtles they mean it we saw 4 or 5 and they were very close to us. Breathtaking!!!
Lots of other sea life as well.
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Thank you very much for your great review Amy.
Synda_N, Apr 2025
This was an absolute blast for a grandma, daughter and granddaughter! None of us had snorkeled before but it was so easy to our guide Sven gave us some history of the turtles then took us out where we discovered so many turtles. We also saw starfish, an octopus and tropical fish amongst the reefs.
This is so worth the money if you want to see turtles like my granddaughter did.
2 hours was over before we knew it.
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Thank you very much for coming out on our tour and taking the time to write a review.
Meghan_E, Mar 2025
James was an excellent guide and very knowledgeable. He was able to provide facts about many of the species we saw. We saw about 8 sea turtles, three stingrays, a barracuda, and an abundance of other fish. We purchased the photo package, and James worked hard to get good shots. It was a great experience that we would do again.
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your tour. We hope to see you soon on one of our other adventures.
Helen_K, Mar 2025
This experience was so great! The vibe was so chill and James was so informative. He literally told us about the whole ecosystem around the beach including the trees and reef life. He was kind and polite and we had an amazing time! We so so many turtles and we saw a fantastic sea star
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your experience.
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