Tuff e Nuff Tours operates water and land based tours out of Ambergris Caye. They offer tours to all 5 major Mayan archaeological sites in Belize, as well as the ATM cave. They offer many other land-based tours, including cave tubing, zip lining, and visits to the Belize Zoo. On the island, they offer sailing, fishing, snorkeling, and diving tours.
Tuff e Nuff’s water-based tours are conveniently based off the dock at Coco Beach Resort, where we were staying. We booked ahead of time directly through the company but could have also booked through the resort’s concierge and charged it to our room. We chose Tuff e Nuff after reading reviews and calling around to find the best rates on private tours. While they did offer us a discount which made their price very competitive, they also erroneously charged us a park fee for our oldest son. When I questioned the age requirement for the fee, they confirmed that he didn’t have to pay and that they owed us $10 but the money was never refunded. Because it was only $10 I let it go (mostly because the card I had to use on their website was subject to foreign transaction fees) but I felt like we had intentionally been overcharged since I had clearly stated his age at least three times in our email exchanges.
The afternoon before our scheduled tour, I went down to the dock to confirm everything. At that point they asked me to change from a morning to an afternoon tour. They claimed to have enough boats and guides but said that there were so many morning tours booked that it would be very crowded on the reef. It definitely felt like they had overbooked and were looking for an out, but we went ahead and changed to the afternoon because I figured a less crowded time would benefit our boys, who were first time snorkelers.
So we ended up on a private afternoon tour to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. Immediately after leaving Coco Beach, we headed to a dock where our guide picked up our wristbands that gave us access to the reserve. From there we headed out to Hol Chan.
Edward, our guide, was good. He was very knowledgeable, although not the most dynamic or engaging with the kids. He gave us some of the history of Hol Chan and then helped us get our gear on and get into the water. The idea was that he would take us around the reserve on a set route and point out things along the way. As often happens with kids though, things did not go to plan.
We had brought our own full face snorkel masks for the kids, and RB almost immediately had issues with his. Edward tried to help him get it fitted properly but RB just continued to mess with it, which caused even bigger problems. So before even leaving the side of the boat, RB had to switch out his gear to the company’s.
I will note that none of us were fitted for our gear before we left the dock. They simply gave us two kids masks and two adult masks that they believed would fit us. I have a very narrow face and as soon as I tried on the adult size small mask (when we were already at the reef), it was obvious that it wouldn’t fit me. There was no way to get a proper seal and Edward said it would leak water the entire time. So I ended up using one of the kids’ masks. RB used the other kid’s mask. If JB had had similar issues with his own mask, one of us would have been without a mask. I was disappointed that they had just handed us masks at the boat without actually sizing us or that they didn’t have any backups on board.
In any event, we got basically settled into our masks and the water and Edward started the tour. But RB was really struggling to get comfortable and to keep up. Edward did his best to ease him along but he was getting more and more agitated the further we got from the boat. At this point I was very thankful we were on a private tour because we certainly would have held up a group and made their experience less enjoyable.
Despite the challenges, Edward pointed out some cool stuff. But overall, I’d say the experience was underwhelming. It just wasn’t as amazing as I had imagined it. We saw a few cool things here and there, like an eagle ray and a moray eel, but the area was not teeming with colorful ocean life like I had expected. The coral was bland shades of brown and green and the fish were few and far between. We did pass one school of fish on our way back to the boat. They were gray snappers, so not exactly the most exotic of fish, but it was cool to see so many in one place.
Edward gets huge props for towing the boys back to the boat. RB was super upset and just wanted to get back on the boat. JB was tired and struggling to make it back by himself (he had a life jacket but lacked the energy to swim). Edward told us to enjoy our last few moments on the reef and he pulled them back to the boat using the life preserver ring. We were extremely appreciative to have a few stress-free minutes to explore on our own, knowing that the boys were taken care of.
So the overall Hol Chan experience was disappointing. I will admit that the boys struggling probably kept us from going the complete tour route. So it’s very possible that we missed out on some of the best parts of the reef because of that. But what we did get to see didn’t wow me.
From there we went to Shark Ray Alley. This was definitely a manufactured experience – all the boats go and chum the waters and have you jump in to swim while the fish come in to feed. But given our boys’ experience in Hol Chan, this was definitely more our speed. We stayed right next to the boat and the fish came to us. It was exactly what they needed to salvage something from this trip.
The whole thing happened very quickly. Edward warned us that we’d have to get in the water as soon as he threw in the fish, but I didn’t feel like we had time to adequately prepare before he did that. JB had decided to stay on the boat and see the sharks and fish from above. I was desperately trying to get out his camera so he could take pictures from the boat but ended up having to just jump in the water so I wouldn’t miss the whole thing because Edward was already chumming the water.
The feeding lasted less than 5 minutes but it was definitely an action packed few minutes. Hundreds of fish and about a half dozen nurse sharks swarmed around the boat. A ray swam in circles directly underneath me. It was truly amazing to see this quantity of fish up close. The were completely oblivious to people and a few even bumped into me or my camera.
So in the end, our snorkeling experience was a letdown. The majority of this was due to the boys’ difficulties, which Edward handled well. But aside from that, I just wasn’t thrilled with Tuff e Nuff. I felt like they were dishonest, both in overcharging us and in pushing us to move to a later time. They also didn’t properly size us for the equipment, which could have caused one of us to miss the experience entirely. The guide was good but the company overall didn’t give me the warm fuzzies.
A few notes – remember to bring your own towels and your confirmation. We did not bring towels (nobody mentioned this until we got to the dock) and had to air dry, which was chilly on a fast moving boat. Also, they want to see your email confirmation before you go out. Even though I had been down to the dock the day before and spoken to the same person (who recognized me), he still wanted to see my confirmation, which I did not have readily available.
