We went on the full day catamaran excusion to Icacos/snorkeling. The boat was filled with a lot of party oriented people, many of whom never left the boat and were there solely for the alcohol. Despite being a family with small children, we did manage to have a lovely time. The beach of Icacos wasn't that great, in my opinion. I think perhaps that part of the trip is a little misleading--especially since every other tour group is also bringing people to the beach there. Not much beachcombing, and we were told not to bring anything back. The lunch was great. We all enjoyed the food and were feeling good as we moved to anchor for snorkeling. We really enjoyed the snorkeling experience, as it was our first time. The reef was fine, and we saw lots of activity.

The ride back was okay, though some people were getting a little rowdy at that time. It made for a festive atmosphere.

We had a great time with the East Island crew. We had a nice ride out to Culebra, the weather was perfect, got a little wet but it felt nice. We anchored at Flamenco Island for the majority of the time. They provided us with snorkeling equipment, so you could snorkel the small reef there, swim over the beach, hang out on the beach. Be sure to bring a waterproof camera because it is a little bit of a swim over to the beach. We also sunned ourselves on the boat while the crew served us unlimited rum drinks. They played salsa, jimmy buffet etc.

Then they took us to a 2nd location to snorkel at a better reef before heading back.

They were friendly and we met some great people on the boat.

Went with East Island Excursions for a full-day trip on their power catamaran to Culebra for snorkeling as well as the Flamenco Beach. It was my first time doing something like this so I can't compare to other experience but I definitely had lots of fun!

We had to be at the dock at 9 am, all told I think there were 17 people on the boat. Right away they served us sodas and pina coladas (unlimited) and we headed out for the island. Be warned, the trip across the ocean is not for the queasy! The boat goes fast and really punches through the waves. The staff is excellent, though, at serving drinks in very rocky conditions :)

Our first stop was a reef on the western coast of Culebra. We snorkeled for about an hour there (they do provide snorkels, masks and fins). The reef was great, not terribly large but there were tons of fish and life everywhere you looked. Next we motored around the northwest tip to Flamenco Beach where we put down anchor. They served us lunch - sandwiches, pasta salad, cole slaw, all about moderate quality. We could either snorkel more or swim to shore where we could walk along the beach. The swim to shore was actually a little bit of a distance so if you're not much of a swimmer it might be a challenge. Flamenco Beach is supposed to be the second best beach in the US and one of the top ten in the world... I don't know since I haven't been to many beaches but I definitely enjoyed it.

The trip home was a little bit smoother than the trip there but not by much. We arrived back at the dock around 4pm.