Bioluminescent Bay Night Kayaking Tour | pickup point in San Juan

We had a great time! Pros: the bus ride from neighboring hotel was quicker and easier than we expected, the kayaking tour guides were friendly and knowledgeable and kayaking at night was a unique experience. Cons: the weather was not the best and we were also not able to see the full bioluminescence due to the moon. However the tour guides pulled tarps over our kayaks so we could see it when we put our hands in the water. The restroom facilities were awful. There were only a few stalls for at least 75 people who were all coming and going at the same time. We brought a change of clothes but didn’t have time to wait in the long line to change after the tour. I wish I would have invested in quicker drying clothes (other than a swimsuit) and brought a raincoat for this particular trip. All in all, would recommend this tour with the caveat of coming prepared for the conditions.

Super unique experience, and good communication on pick-up time once we were in the destination. The transfer van was nice, the driver was friendly, and it made the longer ride out there pleasant. (I will say the timing pick-up on the voucher is confusing since there are two tour options, and they don't reflect both.) Would I do it again? Yes, and so glad we tried the excursion. A few points to be aware of, though: for the late tour, you need quality night vision. The guides are great and try to flash light on dark spots (and there are many parts that are), but there are a lot of large tree branches, and if the guides get distracted by other guests, they may miss a few. Tree branches to the face can dampen the experience; keep that in mind if you are very tall as well. We went on the late-night tour to better see the bioluminescents, but they still covered us with a tarp at one point for more darkness (probably not needed), and I can see how going on the earlier tour would also allow you to better see the flora/fauna and have better visibility for the kayaking portion. While they will take on any skill or experience level of a kayaker, some basic experience kayaking would make your trip, and everyone else's, more enjoyable. There were many complete newbies on our tour, and while it was still fun, some parts felt more like bumper boats.

The guides made the best of a moonlight night by using a tarp to show the bioluminescent dinoflagellants.

We weren't prepared for the long trip to Fajardo...we thought the kayaking tour was closer to San Juan, and we didn't bring a change of clothes because we thought we were nearby, BUT the experience was AMAZING and our leaders were very thorough and kind. I would do it again for sure!!!! I will never forget this for the rest of my life.

Project Expedition picked us up in San Juan and drove us to the lagoon (about an hour drive). Angel told us about the area and we learned quite a bit. When we arrived at the mangroves we had 2 guides who showed us how to use the kayaks. There were 3 pairs of guests in our small group. They guided us through the narrow mangrove to get to the lagoon. At the end they towed us back to the docking sight because it was dark and we couldn’t see where we were We enjoyed the adventure very much. We were soaked from the waste down including our shoes.

This is not with Project Expedition it is with a local vendor and Project Expedition is on no signage, so a little odd. We enjoyed the people and the kayaking. We were told to bring extra clothes to change into because you will get very wet, but after the kayaking, we were not given enough time to change clothes (the kayak village has multiple night kayaking companies with a bathroom of three stalls…so it not a quick process. We did see the luminescent phenom but because it was a full moon, it had to be done under a tarp which wasn’t as magical as we expected. Also the guides take pictures of you before you leave and tell you briefly how to get the link for the photos. We did not quite understand and when I sent a message asking how to access, no one has responded. It would have been better to receive a small card with instructions on how to leave a FB review and how to access the pictures.

Overall fun experience, I understand the need for no flashlights when we anchor, but a bit of light would have been helpful on the way out and back. Other kayakers kept crashing into us in the darkness and I still have bruises almost a week later from being whacked on the arm by a paddle. It would also helped if they enforced the rules of single file (not purposely passing) as this caused issues too.

The staff were professional and very cordial! They went above and beyond in assisting us inexperienced kayakers through the 1+ hr (roundtrip) kayak journey to the lagoon. Emily, the team captain, was informative and hilarious. Would definitely choose them again!