Luminous One: Bio Bay Boat Ride With Swimming

Bad, poorly maintained car with bad smell. Rash driver who didn’t communicate clearly. It was late, and we didn’t see anything in the bay. No redeeming quality at all.

The driver drove like crazy, It was really scary it tooks us 2 hrs to get to the Purguera, then when we get to the bioluminescent place they let us swim for maybe around 10min or 15min the most. The brightness of the moon did not help either. Talk to other Excursion places and they told us that when the night is to bright they put a tarp/tent for people to see the bioluminescent better. Then ride back another 2 hrs. So is not worth it

Long drive to La Parguera All well worth it.Beautiful starry night enjoyed the boat ride in warm waters and impressive bioluminescence.Definitely a must do trip.

It was an experience to swim and sparkle under water. But for 5 hours in a van and to only spend 15 minutes in the water was hugely disappointing. I expected the water to be luminous but unless you get in the water, the luminosity doesn’t appear.

Too long of a drive both going and coming back 4 hours to be out on the boat for 45 minutes and the water was really not very illuminating.

The driver was personable, the food was decent, and the town was cute. The most important part was the water excursion to see the color. Originally when booked it showed a hand with bright blue colors around it. When we went you barley saw a white sparkle when swimming. If you didn't swim you didn't see a thing. Not worth the time to get there and back from San Juan or the money spent. 20 minutes to see what wasn't even visible before back to the van.

This tour was not what ot described. There was no bioluminicent experience or anything. There was nothing in the water. There was no interaction from the driver/guide during the drive. Disappointed.

Our experience overall was not that great and there are many things that could be improved on this tour. It takes about 2+ hours to get there and the driver stopped about 40 minutes out from the destination for us to eat deli sandwiches. They were good, but the biggest thing that could be improved is to skip the deli and spend that time in La Paguera, the village where the tour is. It was beautiful, vibrant, and full of culture. Unfortunately, we only had 20 minutes before and after the bioluminescent tour to enjoy it. It was consensus among everyone on the tour with us that we wished we had more time to explore in the village, especially again, because it took over 2 hours to get there. We did enjoy seeing the bioluminescent phenomenon. That part was exciting. We even had an opportunity to move our hand in the water to experience it for ourselves. Overall, I’d say if the tour made some improvements it would be worth it and I’d recommend, but I cannot recommend this experience based on how it went for our group. I hope this tour gets better for those who decide to try it in the future.

1. This trip is not as advertised and the reviews are either fake or come from a different tour. Many positive reviews mention kayaking. There is no kayaking. You’re on a large party-vibe boat and you only see mangroves/nature from afar. This is not a nature-centric tour. 2. There is no knowledgeable tour guide. There is a 90-second prerecorded spiel on the boat, but we had to use our phones to look up the science behind the bioluminescence. 3. It is NOT covid-safe as advertised. The guide did not wear a mask for the entirety of our 5 hours in the van. There was no social distancing- the van was packed tight and one member of my party had to sit up front with the mask-less driver. The boat was also clearly over 30 people (the advertised cap) because we were literally out of places to sit by the time we boarded. 4. The highlight of the trip was watching a local student jump in the water to activate the bioluminescence. This lasted about 10 min. However, we felt this was an unethical practice because they announced the student was unpaid and relied entirely on tips. The tour would be pointless without the student and yet they aren’t paying him. 5. The “sandwiches from a local bakery” was a stop at a strip mall. The sandwiches were fine but definitely oversold in the description. Even without these complaints, know that you’re going to be in a van for about 2-3 hours each way, for about 45 min on a boat, with 10 min actually experiencing the bioluminescence from afar. I have been taking Viator trips for 6+ years at this point and this is the first time I’ve ever felt the need to write a negative review. The rest of my trip in PR has been excellent outside of this particular tour experience.

The whole experience was a mistake the driver was late it was 3 hours to get from San Juan to destination, then the pictures are nothing like the website it is a very dark tour and u can see a little of the water glow and u are not able to get in the water.