Pirate Snorkeling Shack — Attraction in Fajardo

A heads up may help prevent the loss of life. Bought a coupon for a kayaking/snorkeling tour for two. The SELF-GUIDED tour consisted of kayaking first for an hour or so and then snorkeling. After an hour of strenuous kayaking activity, we were given our snorkeling gear (a life jacket, mask, and breathing tube, no fins) I neglected the life jacket, as I am a pretty good swimmer and am in fair shape. I believe this is where the guides should have given us a brief advise as to what we could have expected to find in the water and around the area. It was a Monday, there were barely any other customers and the guides were really laid back that day, which they even told us themselves. The guides just told us that we should swim over to the reef where most of the sea life is found. This reef was near the second buoy, around 200m-300m from the shore. This is a pretty fair distance to swim after having kayaked for a while. No warning was given or suggestion that we should stay ashore for a bit. We slowly swam, but mostly floated our way to the reef and indeed plenty of colorful fish and sea life was quite in abundance. So much so, that I very suddenly encountered a 6-8 ft. shark. I did not stop to verify the species at the time due to the imminent panic I immediately felt. We started to franticly swim towards the shore but exhaustion, panic, and the sheer terror began to overcome me as I began to succumb to the waters. I mustered a solid call for help and BEACHGOERS, strangers, came to my rescue. I thank these people, whoever you are, wherever you may be, thank you, thank you, thank you. I OWE YOU ALL MY LIFE. The tour guides never even noticed the commotion or the sounds of my girl screaming at the top of her lungs, relaying my single call for help. When we inform the guides of our almost deadly event, they told us that they didn't even notice anything happening in the water (all within their sight) and that it was a certain privilege, a PRIVILEGE to have been in the water with such a creature, "an inoffensive nurse shark". Total and complete disregard of the fact that they almost had a customer die on their shift and watch. I was still gathering my breath and processing what had just happened, as he then gave me a laminated card with all the fish and life in the reef. Pros: The anti-fog chemical they use in their masks is amazing. Cons: Well, you...

Pirate Snorkeling Shack is the best! I recommend booking directly with them. You’ll save a bit of money and they will communicate directly with you for updates and reminders. We booked through Viator and didn’t get our email confirmation that explained that we should arrive 30 minutes prior to the scheduled time, in addition we were running behind the morning of our tour and we arrived at 10:15 for a 10am tour. The folks at Pirate Snorkeling Shack could have sent us on our way with nothing and no refund since there policy clearly states that scheduled tours depart on time. Not only did they not send us away empty handed but they set us up with our snorkel gear and sent us out into the bay for an hour of snorkeling with a guide. They were all so wonderful and calm even though I started out like a hot mess because I thought we’d missed our chance to snorkel on this day. Jose was an amazing guide despite the fact that I’d been a blubbering, crying, b*#%!y mess just a few minutes earlier. He pointed out lion fish and lobsters among many other fish and coral. They are very motivated to be a sustainable operation and so you will not get the experience of being swarmed by fish looking for crackers, fyi, those crackers are really bad for the fish. This operation protects and respects the wildlife in the bay and lagoon. After snorkeling with or private guide PSS was going to let us take kayaks on our own to the lagoon so that we would have the full tour experience but after snorkeling we were ready for lunch,( the seafood restaurant across the street is amazing!) I loved these guys so much that I wanted to come back on our free day but we didn’t make it back. Maybe on another trip. Book a tour with Pirate Snorkeling Shack, you’ll have a great experience without disrupting...

Pirate Snorkeling Shack is an AMAZING EXPERIENCE!!!

Hector and his crew are the absolute best! He is a super professional and licensed captain with decades of knowledge on the local ecosystem and culture.

We have been using them every year for 6 years now and every adventure is just breathtaking! We have done Many different adventures with Hector and he just blows us away every time! We have gone snorkeling in the bioluminescent bay at night (which was a magical once in a lifetime experience for us), swimming with sea turtles and rays off the coast of Palomino Island, a remote beach experience on an abandoned limestone mining island (Isla Icacos), and several other adventures that we will keep just between us.

Hector has a beautiful big white Boston Whaler boat that is in perfect condition. He also has all the floaties, masks, snorkels, wetsuits, rafts, accessories and equipment you could possibly want in order to make your trip unforgettable, and the equipment is properly fitting and kept in perfect condition and is obviously well maintained. He even includes snacks and soft drinks.

Hector is also an incredible resource on all information related to the ocean or the island of Puerto Rico or any wildlife you may come across. It is very obvious that he is very passionate about protecting the beautiful environment he is bringing you into.

You seriously cannot go wrong with Hector and Pirate...