Really enjoyed this tour - the company is owned by someone from Vieques and the guides were knowledgeable. Since the moon was bright we put a tarp over our heads to better see the bioluminesce. Would recommend! read more

Note: this is only a review for the bio bay tour. Did not enjoy the head guide. He kept yelling at us over and over to follow him as he was dead stopped in the water and he was flush with the group. We went back and forth between being told to speed up or slow down and spent a lot of time just floating rather than kayaking. We were unable to see him at all and all of the yelling was very stressful, I wish we could have just had a dim light to follow like other tours offer. We were supposed to kayak for an hour according to the description but were out of the water by 8:30 and didn't even enter the water until after 7:50. And before you ask, no one was late so we didn't start late. We spent more time rafted together talking about the stars and the constellations than we did enjoying the dinoflagellates. For reference, I have been coming to mosquito bay every few years for nearly 25 years. I have never felt more rushed like cattle and unable to appreciate the beauty of the bay. Additionally we overheard the guides talking about various members of the group behind their backs afterwards. I speak Spanish and heard it all-- never appropriate to do this in front of customers no matter the situation. One other guest within earshot heard them saying the things above and commented to me about it as she could also understand them. Also overheard one joking with another about how they're essentially here for the money grab. Unfortunately I think that his phrase is the best way to sum up the vibes of our tour. Adding a star because the bay is amazing. Even though it's not as bright after Maria it's still such an amazing piece of nature. read more

My friend and I got a last-minute slot in the 10pm tour, which was such a blessing (we missed an earlier reservation because of ferry challenges and our lack of planning, but another tour company kindly refunded us) and wonderful because we were the only group on the bay. My friend kept saying it was a magical experience and I agree - what a blessing to be able to experience this and see the very cool bioluminescence of the bay. We left our phones in their van because our friendly and great vibes tour guide said a lot of folks lost their phones in the bay and that you needed special camera to capture the phenomenon. He also showed us the stars, which was great, and the bay was so great. I definitely recommend this spot and love the 10pm tour. Note that the kayaks are 2-seaters (the glass bottom was also so cool) so if you are alone or an odd number, you may be paired with a stranger or kayak alone depending on the size of the group. read more

A once-in-a-lifetime experience that was super worth it, we were guided by Peachy who had great energy and was very knowledgeable. Do it read more

Don't let Pichi, the tour guide intimidate you with his NY hurry and craziness. Once in the water kayaking into the bay he will calm and give you not only valuable information about the water and it's microorganism that makes the water glow, but also about all the planets and main stars visible from the bay. This was one of the highlights of our trip. Thank you Pichi and your crew for keeping us safe! read more

Melaya's Tours - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me

My family had an amazing time on this trip! We went when it was very close to the new moon, so we were able to see lots of bright bioluminescence. Our guide, Rodrick, was very knowledgeable and professional. Throughout the trip, he shared info about the natural environment and the bright constellations that filled the sky. My kayak partner and I had a little trouble keeping up with the group initially, and he was super supportive. The night felt magical. read more

This is a review for the bio bay tour in Mosquito Bay. If you REALLY want to see the bio bay light up, it's best to come when the moon is waning or there is no moon. The brightness also depends on the weather the previous two days, so that's something to keep in mind - the more sun they get, the brighter they are. Our tour group included 14 people. Unfortunately, it was a family of 12 and just me and my partner. This made the trip a lot more difficult. Most of the group had never kayaked before, and our guide was visibly frustrated with them. These kayaks are NOT the fully clear kayaks as I thought they would be. They are regular kayaks with a small square cutout in the bottom that is clear. It looked like another company there had fully clear kayaks, but I'm not sure which one that was. They are all two-seater kayaks, so they will put you in pairs (something to keep in mind if you have an odd number of people). The bio bay is small, and there are TONS of companies kayaking there at once. They wanted us at the front, since we had kayaked before, but that was a terrible idea. The inexperienced kayakers kept hitting us and weren't paying attention. Eventually I just went to the back because I could steer around them better than they could figure out where to go! Our guide was visibly annoyed by the inexperience of the group - he kept telling us all to go faster so he could take us to the edge of the bay, but people were not capable of doing that so he had to give us "plan B" - just staying in the bay and covering us with a tarp so we could better see the light in the bottom of the kayak. In my opinion, the better way to see the bioluminescence was to splash your paddle around and watch the water light up bright blue. That was super cool! We were there on a cloudy night, but I've heard the stars are amazing if it's clear. I would say come with very low kayaking expectations. read more

I highly do NOT recommend this tour to anyone. We booked this tour a couple days in advance very excited for what was supposed to be the highlight of our trip. The kayaks are regular kayaks with a foggy plastic bottom, not glass bottom. The tour began at 7:30 and was supposed to last a full hour on the water. However, our entire group was completely out of the water after 33 minutes of kayaking. As soon as we were able to see the bay glowing, they had everyone paddle back. When we complained to the guide, they originally tried to blame us for being late when we had arrived to the check in location two hours prior, they just didn't ask for the tour until 7:25. As we argued with the guide, they soon realized that they made a mistake because the company had recently changed the tour time from a 7pm start time. The main tour guide (Rodrick?)immediately corrected the issue and offered to take us on a later tour, but it's difficult to do that with a 3 year old especially with the time of the tour being so late, so they reimbursed us for half the tour. He did the best he could do to make up for the mistake and was informative on the tour. Another complaint is how rude the other employees were. They didn't realize my husband speaks fluent Spanish and were mocking and saying things like "if they wanted an hour and half tour they should have paid for it" (which we did). They were making fun of us and looked like they had seen a ghost once my husband talked back to them in Spanish and explained how it wasn't nice to mock us for their mistake. read more

Cancelled our tour only 3 hours before it was supposed to run. They said that they were overbooked but how can that be when I called to confirm 2 days before. They said it was an error on the website and they didn't have any other tours available. We tried to find another tour operator but the few we could get in touch with were full. We went to dinner really bummed, we'd spent a lot of time and money to come to Vieques for two nights only and this was the thing we really came to do. We mentioned our situation to Lulu, the hostess at the restaurant El Quenepo (amazing food!) and she said "oh no, we can have that, you will think badly of our island". She got on the phone to a friend and got us the last 4 seats on Fun Brothers last tour of the night. Fun Brothers was amazing and we had an awesome tour (thanks Nelson!) So I can't recommend Melayas because they cancelled but I can recommend Fun Brothers and El Quenepo. Say hi to Lulu for us! read more

I took this tour & so glad that I did. Our guide, Peachi, was so nice & informative. Peachi advises not to bring your cell phone as plenty of folks apparently have lost their cell phones down in bay... you are at your own risk with that one though. Well worth the trip to Vieques- what a beautiful memory! read more

You are in good hands with Melaya's Tours! The tour guides here were super friendly, knowledgeable/entertaining, and prepared. For example, our guide told us the legend of a famous pirate who had a ship named The Mosquito. This pirate would hide in the bay when he wasn't stealthily pillaging other ships which eventually earned this bay its nickname, Mosquito Bay. Rest assured, the mosquitos here are not extra deadly. Also, I really appreciated how the guides had jugs and jugs of clean water for us to rinse our feet with after we waded out of the muddy sulfurous smelling water at the edge of the bay. It was such a relief not to have to sit in a van with 12 other people all gross and muddy for the ride home. See my review of the Bioluminescent Bay for the full description of the magical experience we had here last night! Definitely worth it!! read more

My husband and I are on our honeymoon and the only reason we made the trip to Vieques was to go to the bio bay. We went with Melaya tours because Jimmy -our tour guide was recommended by our friends we met on our trip. He conducted the tour in English and Spanish, but was so impressive was his vast knowledge of the bay and the constellations. The Bio Bay is a little scary kayaking at night, but he guides you and doesn't leave anyone behind. Don't expect to jump or swim in the water because as of 2006, the government passed a law prohibiting anyone from doing so. I, felt no need to do so because I want these micro organisms to continue to flourish and provide the enjoyment of seeing something so spectacular from generations to come read more

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. Didn't receive a confirmation email. Cannot be reached by the phone number provided. Called to cancel only half an hour before the meeting time. The staff hung up the phone without giving a decent explanation. DONT BOOK WITH THEM read more

Unbelievably friendly and knowledgeable guide from beginning to end. I'd say the guy leading our tour was one of the most personable people I've come across in a long time. The bioluminescent bay was interesting. The kayaking exhilarating. And the stars shined brighter than I ever have a chance to see in New England. I'd recommend trying to time your trip when the moon is not out. read more

Last night my family went on the biobay tour with Melaya's and had an incredible experience. One of the other tour companies was full and recommended them. We met outside a store in Esperanza then we boarded his van and he drove us down an extremely bumpy road (imagine 4 ft hills) but that just added to the fun experience. After a short lesson, we got out on the bay and it was so amazing!! The water glowed with every swipe of the paddle! You could even scoop it up in your hand and see it sparkle! We stopped as a group at a few points while Jimmy, our guide, pointed out several constellations with a long laser beam. He was very knowledgeable and friendly as he gave us the history and science behind this wonderous phenomenon. I liked the fact that there was only 9 people in the group which made for a more personal experience. read more

This was the best, and I have been on 3 other tours on previous visits. It was a fantastic night. And now I know that the owner is the son of the famous best flan maker on Vieques. Went with my cousin and his wife and it was an enchanting night. Thanks Melayas Tours! read more

Best Bioluminescent Bay in the world and best tour guide ever! Thank you Fraciel you made our trip even more special. Everybody should do the biobay at least once in their lives but have to do it with Melaya's Tours. The glass bottom kayaks are the best! The experience is better if you book it a moonless night. read more

So after speaking to another bio tour that was not running that day, the man actually recommended melayas tour to me. He basically explained to me that all Tours are the same and what makes them different is the guide. He recommend Melaya because of jimmy the tour guide and he was spot on. No only was jimmy passionate and extremely informative. But he has as awesome personality and made the trip a lot of fun. I highly recommend this tour, and by the way the bioluminescent bay was absolutely amazing. Everything you're expecting and more! read more

EXCELLENT biobay tour experience!! Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. The glass bottom kayaks were awesome! I would definitely recommend those. The group was small so it was much more personable than other tour companies I've used before. Great experience. read more

The best thing any business can do is to serve its customers with the highest-quality service that they can give and that's the kind of experience that you can expect with Melaya's Tour. They provide an amazing and informative experience that you will never forget. I don't think I'ver ever experienced such an enchanting night in my life. It's family friendly and fun. The staff will take care of you and make sure that you leave with a sense of appreciation, adventure and wonder. Melaya's Tours are simply incredible! read more

I was very impressed with this tour company. After reading recent reviews, I was a bit wary but everything went smoothly. I booked the 7:30pm Bio Bay Tour with this company because of their clear bottom kayaks. What impressed me most was the knowledge of our guide for this unique ecosystem and her passion really showed. She answered our questions as we floated as a group back to our starting point. We went on the best night of the moon cycle (darkest night) and the bay has recovered nicely post hurricane. Our college-age children thought this excursion was a unique experience not to be missed. The staff was friendly when I called to confirm our reservation. He called me back promptly due to the computer was slow in bringing up our reservation. I liked that they have small groups (15 max) and safe with experienced, knowledgeable guides who seem to care about this environment. read more

We asked our AirBnB host for recommendations on Bio Bay tours, and we got into Melaya's Tours. My friend and I were the only two that day, and the staff called us if we could change from 9PM to 7PM, wasn't a big deal. Our guide took us out to see the still-recovering Mosquito bay, talking about everything of these small creatures. We even got some advice on where we should go to take breathtaking photos the next day! It was an interesting tour and I would recommend Melaya's to you. read more

This was an absolutely amazing experience -- Jimmy, our guide, was entertaining and extremely informative. It was a beautiful, calm night so we enjoyed both the amazing stars above and the technicolor glow of the bioluminescent bay, made even better by the glass-bottom kayaks. A truly unique experience and one I would absolutely recommend wholeheartedly. read more

What an amazing experience! We did the bio bay tour and although I had fallen sick on our trip I managed to get myself out on the kayak tour to see the bioluminescent bay and I am so glad that I did. Our tour guide was helpful and funny and showed us the wonders of the bay. One of the most breathtaking experiences of my life. read more

once in a lifetime experience, glass bottom kayaks to tour bio bay, our tour guide Jimmy was amazing, it's a must do in Vieques

We are traveling with our two teenage boys, and it's hard to get them off their electronics. We spent all day at Playa Novio, which was gorgeous, then came home, showered, ate dinner and did the 930pm bio tour. It was a beautiful evening, and we really enjoyed it. It's two to a kayak, and my husband and I split up with each of our boys. It was fun to try to keep up in the kayak and not get soaking wet. It was balmy, mild weather, with gorgeous stars in the sky. The water really glowed once the moon went behind a cloud. I would highly recommend this. Memorable. Jimmy was a great tour guide. He talked about constellations as well as the bio water. read more

Wonderful BioBay experience! Although this particular company does not offer hotel pick up, they have a standard meeting point, which I believe most cab drivers in the island know of. After meeting, the van goes off road and drives into the shore of the bay. You're given paddles, a lifevest, and helped into your kayak. We visited on a cloudy night and used the clear bottom kayaks (get these, they're worth it). We paddled for about 10-15 min before reaching the center of the bay, where the guide goes over the details of the dinoflagellates and the importance of the bay. The whole time you feel safe and looked after, while enjoying this truly unique and almost magical place. After kayaking, they're nice enough to rinse off the muddiness from your feet, and promptly drop you off at the meeting point. Our cab took a few extra minutes to pick us up and the tour guides happily waited with us, which we greatly appreciated. If we were to do it again, we'd book Melaya tours in a heartbeat! read more