Ismael es excelente guía porque tiene 50 años estudiando la bahía de la Parguera. Nos inspiró bastante con sus teorías y resultados de muchos estudios que el a investigado científico. Además es perfectamente bilingüe en Español y en Inglés. también nos hizo reír mucho. Ismael is an excellent guide, as he has been studying the Bay of La Palguera for 50 years and safely conducting tours and excursions To happy, curious visitors like us. His theories and results of his investigations make for a fun evening of fun exploration and fascinating conversation. Ismael is full bilingual in Spanish and English and is also very funny. read more

We had a wonderful time last night on the tour with Captain Ismael. He is so knowledgeable and knows the water, history and science around the area extraordinarily well. Highly recommend! read more

We had a great time swimming in the bioluminescent bay. Having a private boat was great. read more

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Best experience. Was knowledgeable and interesting at the same time. Captain Ismael even when wasn't feeling well but gave us the most memorable adventure. Many reasons drove me to chose him. And He delivered an extraordinary experience. My BF first Xmas in PR. He is originally from Iowa and this was his Xmas present. A moment to remember forever. I can't wait to be able to share this experience with My Oncology Surgeon from Nigeria and his wife from Russian, with my in-laws my friends from afar like my role model who is from Wales. I want to bring my whole tribe. Thanks Captain Ismael. Totally recommend this experience! read more

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We had a tour of the bioluminescent bay with Captain Ismael. He was a certified Captain and has been boating in the area for decades. For us, a small private boat was perfect as we did not want the experience of the being in the bay with 30 other people nearby. This tour did not disappoint as we had our fill of swimming and snorkeling. It felt like we were alone when we were in the water. The tour felt very personal with Captain Ismael sharing his decades of knowledge. He answered all of our questions about the biology of the area. Book in advance as his schedule fills up. read more

This was a life changing experience. It really felt like a gift to be able to spend the evening with Ishmael. He is a wonderful guide as well as an incredible human being. We had the best time kayaking out to explore the mangroves and see the bioluminescence. He gave us local history as well as information about the bioluminescent bay. It was such a magical night for all of us on the trip. During the quiet moments of this journey under the stars we were able to reconnect with the beauty and creativity and amazing vastness of nature. Something I highly recommend. This is not the same experience as taking a tour boat with a large group. This is an something different, more personal, intimate and offers you an opportunity to connect directly with nature. We will never forget this night we spent with Ishmael exploring the bioluminescent bay in Puerto Rico. #lifechanging ***if you plan on being in the area and are interested in make a reservation, do it! He gets booked for weeks in advance so plan ahead!**** read more

Ismael took us around La Parguera in his 19' skiff and then snorkeling. He is very knowledgable about the ocean and the environment and the area and he gave us a good time. He provided the gear, snacks and refreshments and met us at the appointed time. I don't think you can go wrong with this guy. read more

Amazing! I learned so much and enjoyed the bay for an hour and a half. I was a dream of a lifetime to go to the bay and I even though never visited it as a child, it was the best to go back home and live my dream lead by the wonderful and experienced captain. I owned the bay for the length of my tour since no other boats were around us. And I got to swim and glow for as long as I wanted. The captain was attentive and helpful. Everyone should try this! I took the powerboat tour and used all my energy swimming in the bay. I am returning home soon and Alelí Tours is on my speed dial! Absolutely and unequivocally the best! Thank you, Captain. Arleen Solá read more

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What an amazing experience! Ismael is a great guide. He clearly knows the area well and loves what he does. It rained harder than usual the day if our tour. Thankfully the rain let up before we went out. He decided to take us to a different area than the normal tours to try to get us the best experience after the rain storm. It turned out better than I ever could have imagined! It was beautiful. Like stars in the water. We also went through a tunnel of mango trees where the bioluminescence hit the roots. It was like a fairytale! Highly recommend you take the tour!! read more

This tour was OUTSTANDING! I didn't expect this experience to be this mesmerizing. I was scared at first to get in the water but did it anyways. Very magical. read more

A friend and I snorkeled and visited the bioluminescent bay with Ismael yesterday, and so far, it has been the highlight of my trip to Puerto Rico. Our day started with snorkeling in the ocean. It was really windy on the day we went, so the waters were pretty rough. Ismael warned us that it might not be a good day to go, but we decided to go ahead and push forward. The waters were pretty rough, but we got to see some really amazing things. Next, we went to the mangroves, and thankfully, the waters were much smoother. The mangroves were really cool if you're into getting up close and personal with sea creatures. Later in the evening we went to the bioluminescent bay by boat. It was, by far, one of the most awesome things I have ever done. I loved the way it made it look like my skin was sparkling (imagine the vampires from Twilight - lol). While the sites of the day were cool enough, the tour was one of the best I've ever been on because Ismael is incredibly knowledgeable. He knew the answer to every single one of our questions (and we had a lot). He was a great tour guide. I got a little seasick on the way back from snorkeling, and he went out of his way to take a smoother/longer way back, which was really nice of him. If you're in the area, you must do this tour. You will not regret it! read more

This was the best part of our trip I'm afraid to get into the water and I felt so safe that I enjoyed the luminescent water, Ismael the owner the guide the Marine biologist was amazing and made our family trip unforgettable Thank you happy new year and see you soon :)) read more

I wish I could give this review "infinite" stars! (Not just five.) Because infinite stars were above us in the dark sky and infinite stars flew from our bodies as we swam in the bioluminescent bay. We planned to take the kayak tour with Ismael but once on the dock he suggested that we simply power-boat out to the bay because the wind was blowing and kayaking would have been slow/exhausting. Good call. Once we entered the bio bay the water was calm. We slipped into the water and the famous show began. Unforgettable! I would strongly encourage you to use this tour operator if you can. Not only is he very knowledgeable with a scientific bent, the boat can fit only around 6 passengers so you're guaranteed a quieter, more personalized experience than the large-boat operators can deliver. On our 7:30pm tour, my husband and I were the only passengers. Since we used the boat instead of kayaking, the tour lasted around 1.5 hours. Bring money for a good tip - you'll be that appreciative for Ismael and for the glorious night! read more

Ismael was a very good tour guide. He was constantly checking up on us offering us water asking if we needed a break provided us with bananas to keep us going through the trip. He made sure we were still enjoying ourselves cause if it was too difficult to the point where we weren't he said we could get on the boat and go the rest of the way on the boat. But it was so fun we didn't even realize we had kayaked for miles! My favorite was going through the waves on the kayak so exciting & thrilling. Then we stopped in the clearest water we made us delicious sandwiches and had juice water & the island beer medalla for us. Then we rode the boat back. It was approximately four hours. read more

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This was by far the best thing we did in Puerto Rico. We had a private tour with just the four folks in our group. The bioluminescence was AMAZING. We swam around in it for over an hour and got to see fish skimming around in it too. Our guide gave us lots of info about the bioluminescence and the history of the area. Nothing compares to this tour, book it and you won't be disappointed! read more

Excellent experience. Ismael is a enthusiastic captain, guide, and educator. The snorkeling was isolated (making you feel like you had a private tour of private islands). It is more than a snorkeling tour though, Ismael is very personable and knowledgeable about the environment around you. Absolutely a must do! read more

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We did the afternoon snorkel followed by the bioluminescent bay tour. Left the dock at 3pm, returned a little before 8pm. Captain Ismael provided snorkel masks and fins, water, beer, juice, sangria in juice boxes (yay), and crackers. We hit two beautiful calm clear shallow reefs followed by the bioluminescent bay which, in the words of my fiancé, "will melt your frigging face off." The whole day was awesome. Ismael has been doing this since 1987 and in a former life was a marine biologist, so in addition to being a friendly and generous host, he also knows his stuff. And he takes credit cards. Highly recommended. read more

This was a fabulous excursion. We kayaked among the mangroves and out to the bay to nearby islands to snorkel. Ismael was very informative. There were four of us on the trip so we could ask questions or just enjoy the quiet and beauty. I highly recommend Aleli Tours. read more

AMAZING EXPERIENCE! Our bioluminescent bay tour was done on a small private boat, which created a wonderful and intimate experience for us. We did the 7:30-9:30 tour, which was plenty dark and gave us plenty of time for swimming in the bay. The captain was very knowledgeable, with a marine biology background so he can answer any questions you might have about the bio bay and surrounding marine area and the creatures there. He was very relaxed and never rushed us, letting us decide how long we wanted to swim and stay in the bay. A perfect way to experience an incredible natural wonder! read more

Our tour was so much fun and very relaxing. Ismael was so welcoming and a great host. He took us kayaking and then to a reef to swim and snorkel. We also enjoyed sandwiches and refreshments he provided for us which was perfect after being out on the water for almost 4 hours. He never rushed us when we would fall behind in the kayaks and we felt very comfortable letting him know if we were too tired to keep paddling. His experience defiantly reflects in the amazing quality of his tour. I would defiantly recommend this for all age groups! Thank you for a great time Ismael :) read more

Myself, my 6 year old daughter, my brother, and his girlfriend did a late afternoon snorkel, sunset, and biobay tour with Ismael on Friday, January 15, 2016. This adventure ended up being our favorite part of our 5 days in PR. Ismael is very knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions, and he also has a few entertaining stories of his own! The snorkeling was a ton of fun and watching the sun set over the water was amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed the nature aspects of our tour, but we also loved that Ismael felt like part of our crew. He shared a bunch of laughs with us while also giving us the space to enjoy on our own. If you are planning on a trip to La Parguera, I highly recommend choosing to do your tour with Ismael for an educational, intimate, and fun tour. read more

My family of 4 (2 children 11 and 14) just completed a custom kayak and snorkel tour with Ismael. The night before we did the motorboat biobay tour. Both experiences were the highlights of our trip so far. Ismael is incredibly knowledgeable about the local culture as well as the biological sights. As a trained scientist he was able to really share a lot of knowledge of all the ecosystems we saw. we learned a lot about the bioluminescent plankton as well as the mangrove forests and reefs. Although conditions were a little windy making the water rough for snorkeling at the reef, Ismael was open to our giving it a shot. It was great! A young reef, only 30 years old, but lots to see. A great first experience for my 14 year old. A little too rough for the 11 year old. So we went to snorkel behind the mangrove islands where it was a lot calmer. Saw amazing things there too. It was a very relaxing and fun day for us all. Hard to say whether the biobay or reef was better, so do them both! read more