St. Thomas Adventure Tours

St. Thomas Adventure Tours: Turtles, Small Groups

Built around one thing and built tightly. They run one guide for every 6 guests, the smallest ratio of the three, and the day is designed around finding turtles.

Two trips. A 2-hour turtle snorkel, and a 5-hour snorkel and kayak excursion that strings several spots together with kayaking through protected bays and a nature walk in between.

Underwater photography comes with the trip rather than as a $50 add-on, which is unusual here and worth real money if you want pictures of your group in the water. They arrange resort pick-up and drop-off, so no rental car is needed. Reach them on 340-227-8383.

They advertise the only excursions in the Virgin Islands that guarantee you will see turtles. Treat that as their promise rather than a fact of nature, since nobody controls where wild turtles feed on a given morning. What genuinely raises the odds is going where the seagrass is, which is what they do.

Book this one if the group matters to you and turtles are the point of the day.

St. Thomas Scuba and Snorkel Adventures: Private, and Almost Anything

The widest menu on the island, run out of 10-1 Hull Bay on the quiet north shore.

Snorkel and scuba by day and by night, kayaking, hiking, surfing, paddleboarding, island jeep tours and private luxury yacht charters, across St. Thomas, St. John and the British Virgin Islands. Their night snorkel is the one trip they run as a shared group; everything else is private, meaning your party alone rather than strangers on a boat.

Guides are certified first responders, rescue divers or instructors, they teach snorkel lessons to beginners, and they carry life vests for anyone who cannot swim. An eco-guide stays with you in and out of the water and talks through the marine life as you go.

The published costs are the extras: a photo package at $50 for at least 50 pictures, a $10 saving for paying cash on the day, and lunch averaging $10 to $15 per person.

Their booking terms are the most generous here. Full refund up to 72 hours before, and a 100% refund if your ship never ports or arrives late, which removes most of the risk for a cruise passenger. They held a top rated TripAdvisor listing from 2013 through 2024 and took a 2025 Travelers Choice Award.

Book this one if you want a day built around your group rather than a schedule, or if you want to combine water and land in one booking.

VI Ecotours: The Shore Turtle Swim You Can Book Today

The third name in these results and the one whose trip prices on screen.

Their Brewers Bay shore snorkel with turtles runs $89 for two hours, entering from the beach near the airport rather than from a boat. Green turtles graze the seagrass at Brewers Bay through the day, which is why a shore trip there beats a boat trip somewhere prettier if turtles are what you came for.

No enquiry, no wait for a quote, free cancellation. Book this one if you have a fixed window and want certainty.

Where to See Sea Turtles in St. Thomas

Two answers, and they are not interchangeable.

From shore: Brewers Bay, on the west side by the airport. Green turtles feed on the seagrass through the day, the water is shallow and calm, and you can walk in without a guide at all. Every turtle-focused operator on the island uses it for a reason.

By boat: Turtle Cove, off Buck Island. You cannot swim to it from any beach on St. Thomas, so it needs a ticket. A Buck Island catamaran sail and snorkel books at $109 for 3 hours, and the VI Cat works the same water on a larger boat.

Secret Harbour holds hawksbills in the rocks along its eastern side, and hawksbills pass through Coki Point without being reliable there.

What These Tours Cost

The two private operators quote on enquiry rather than publishing prices, which suits a custom day and frustrates anyone comparing options on a phone.

For a reference point, trips that price on screen run $89 for a two-hour shore turtle snorkel, $99 for a three-hour mangrove kayak and snorkel, $109 to $157 for a half-day catamaran sail and snorkel, and $1,495 for a whole-boat private charter. A private guided day sits at the upper end of that or above.

Budget the extras: a photo package around $50, lunch $10 to $15, and a taxi to the north shore on a port day.

Our comparison of St. Thomas snorkeling tours ranks everything bookable on price, rating and group size.

A Small-Group Turtle Day, Start to Finish

Worth knowing what you are buying, because a two-hour turtle snorkel and a five-hour excursion are different days.

The short version starts at the beach. A guide takes six people or fewer into the shallows over the seagrass, and the swimming is easy because turtles feed in water you can stand up in. Green turtles surface to breathe every few minutes, so once the guide finds a feeding patch the sightings come steadily rather than as one lucky glimpse. Underwater photos come back with you.

The five-hour version adds kayaking through protected bays between snorkel stops and a nature walk on land. It covers several spots rather than one, which matters because a single beach can be stirred up on a windy morning while the next bay along is clear. A guide who can move the day is worth more than any particular destination.

Either way, the small ratio is the product. Six people and one guide means somebody is watching you specifically, which is why nervous swimmers and families with children keep choosing this format over a catamaran with eighty on board.

Booking Direct or Booking on Screen

The two private operators quote by enquiry. The third prices on screen. That is the real decision here.

Booking direct buys a smaller group, a guide who adapts to the weather on the day, and in one case a 72-hour refund window plus a full refund if your ship never docks. It costs you an email exchange and a wait for a reply before you know the price.

Booking on screen buys certainty: a price, instant confirmation, free cancellation on most listings and a review count you can weigh. It costs you the group size.

Most people staying a week book direct for one standout day. Most people off a ship book on screen, because a fixed window and an unanswered email do not mix.

Jeep and Land Days

For a rough-sea day, a second port call, or anyone in the group who will not get in the water.

St. Thomas Scuba and Snorkel Adventures runs island jeep tours alongside its water trips, on the same private basis.

On the bookable side, a private island tour with a local driver-guide starts at $199 for two hours and runs to six, covering Mountain Top for the view down over Magens Bay, Magens Bay itself and the Charlotte Amalie viewpoints at your own pace.

How to Check Which Operator You Have Reached

The names sit close together, so confirm before you pay a deposit.

St. Thomas Adventure Tours answers on 340-227-8383. St. Thomas Scuba and Snorkel Adventures lists a different line and a Hull Bay address, 10-1 Hull Bay, Estate Hull, on the north shore, which is nowhere near the cruise piers and matters if your ship leaves at five.

The products tell them apart faster than the names do. One sells turtle snorkelling in small groups at a fixed guide ratio. The other sells private days spanning night dives, jeeps and yacht charters. Both hold separate TripAdvisor listings, so read the address on the listing before the reviews.