Fajardo catamaran snorkeling

Sixteen boats leave Fajardo for the same stretch of water, and on paper they read almost alike: head out, stop over a reef with a mask and fins, then anchor off a beach for the rest of the day. What separates them is how far they go, how long they stay out, and what the listing says is waiting on board.

Geography does most of the sorting. Seven listings cross to Cayo Icacos, an uninhabited cay about thirty minutes out. Four carry on to Culebra, a separate island with Flamenco Beach on it, and those are the long days. Four stay nearer home, among the reefs of the Cordillera Nature Reserve and the water off Palomino and Piñero. The sixteenth is a private charter that picks between them.

Length follows geography. The Culebra crossings run six hours, and the power boat version six and a half. The Icacos trips go from four hours to six. The shortest listing here is a three-hour afternoon sailing charter with appetizers, drinks and views of Palomino or Piñero.

Per person the range is $95 to $299. The lowest number belongs to a five-hour beach day on Icacos, and its own description makes snorkeling optional: enjoy the island on your own, or join the crew for snorkeling and hiking. The cheapest trip built around the snorkeling is the four-hour reef tour in the Cordillera Nature Reserve, at $110.

Between them the sixteen listings carry 5,714 reviews at an average of 4.73. One of them holds 1,743 of those: the six-hour Culebra snorkeling and beach day with lunch, rated 4.7. The Icacos full-day catamaran trip is next with 1,013 at 4.8, and the Cayo Icacos cruise with the slide and lunch has 948 at 4.7.

The boats are not interchangeable either. Some sail, some are power catamarans built for the crossing, and one reaches Culebra on a power boat. One Icacos cruise carries a water slide in its title; another is a luxury sailing catamaran whose description promises a guided snorkel clinic and a secluded beach.

Food is the other thing worth reading closely. Eleven of the sixteen name it in the title or the description — lunch, a buffet, appetizers, snacks. The rest say nothing about a meal, and silence is not a promise, so read the listing you are about to book rather than this page.

So the choice is a short one. Pick the island first — the near cay, the far one, or the reefs in between — then decide how many hours you are willing to give it. Price follows both, and the live listing is the only place the open dates show.