Guided Snorkelling on Menorca: Is the Marine Biologist Tour Worth €75, or Is a Beach Swim Enough?
4 min read
If snorkelling is the point of your day, book the guided snorkel tour with a marine biologist: €75, 3.5 hours, 4.7 from 37 reviews. If you only want a swim and a look under the surface, the 3.5-hour south-coast boat trip at €35 has a one-hour beach stop and 4.6 from 1,184 reviews. That is less than half the price.
Four ways to get your face in the water
| Option | Duration | Price | Rating | What the listing says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snorkel tour with a marine biologist | 3.5 hours | €75 | 4.7 from 37 reviews | guide and marine biologist, beaches and marine life on the south coast |
| Guided snorkelling from Son Xoriguer Beach | 1 hour | €50 | 5.0 from 2 reviews | swim along the coast, a small sea cave, marine life |
| South-coast sightseeing boat | 3.5 hours | €35 | 4.6 from 1,184 reviews | an hour at one beach to explore, snorkel and swim |
| Traditional boat to ten beaches | 3.5 hours | €110 | 4.5 from 139 reviews | snorkelling, SUP and drinks, with ten named beaches |
The marine biologist tour
The listing calls it the only guided snorkel tour from Cala’n Bosch, and it is built around the south coast’s beaches and what lives off them. The difference from a boat trip is the guide. On a sightseeing boat you are given an hour and left to it; here someone is there to tell you what you are looking at. That is worth paying for if you have never snorkelled, or if you are the person who asks what that fish is. It is not worth €40 more if you only want to swim.
The summary gives no age limit, group size or equipment details. Those are on the booking page.
Check dates for the marine biologist snorkel tour
The one-hour swim from Son Xoriguer
This is the short, land-based version. You start from the beach, swim along the coast and visit a small sea cave. It costs €50 for an hour, which is a high price per minute, and its two reviews, both five stars, tell you very little. Choose it if you are staying near Son Xoriguer and want a guided hour without a boat.
See the Son Xoriguer snorkelling tour
When a boat trip is enough
The €35 sightseeing boat gives you the south coast from the sea and a one-hour stop at a beach where you can swim or snorkel. The listing mentions no guide in the water and no promise of marine life, but it is the cheapest of the four and has by far the most reviews. The €110 traditional boat adds SUP, drinks and a long list of beaches, and is covered in our guide to the ten-beach boat trip. Neither is a snorkelling trip first.
Book the 3.5-hour south-coast boat trip
Who should skip it
Snorkelling is not diving: you stay at the surface. If you want to go under with a tank for the first time, read about an intro dive in Menorca instead. Anyone who is uneasy in open water should ask the operator about the ratio of guides to guests before booking. Visibility and what you see depend on the day and the site, so do not book expecting a reef like the one in the photo.
The recommendation
Pay €75 for the marine biologist tour if the underwater world is why you came. Pay €35 for the boat if you mostly want a swim. The full range is on the diving and snorkelling page.
