Manly Snorkel Trip and Nature Walk with Local Guide

Damien was amazing

Damien was AWESOME! Super knowledgeable and very nice. I loved it all, from the tour at the start and the whale watching, to the water. An amazing experience with him, I recommend 100%

Very fun experience

It was well organised, chill and fun would recommend especially for people who haven’t done any snorkelling before

We had a great time!

It was a great experience! The guide Sam was really knowledgable and nice. It was our first time snorkeling but the instructions were clear and easy to follow. Would recommend 100%!

So many fish!

A wonderful experience. Our guides Christina and Cam couldn't have been more helpful or friendly. Loads of fish including my favourite, a blue groper!

High recommend - tourists and locals alike

As a local this is an unbeatable experience. The expertise of the friendly and knowledgeable guides meant I was able to explore this stunning marine environment with confidence.

Couldn’t be better

Such a wonderful morning with super friendly and knowledgeable guide. As a local I had no idea of the richness of this marine park. So glad I went with an expert to introduce me to this loval treasure.

Bad customer service.

We did not go do to the weather conditions it was a rainy cold day. We were refused a refund or a re schedule. Who wants to snorkel or go on a nature walk in the rain.

Snorkeling

The experience was amazing! I’ve never been snorkeling but the instructor was helpful and provided guidance until I was comfortable to go alone. The views were so beautiful! Definitely a great experience for nature lovers.

amazing day

had an amazing day, weather was perfect saw lots of fish, including a turtle and ray Our guide Krystina was amazing and super nice

Fun and relaxing excursion

Excellent tour with Christina!!!! Easy for those with little experience. Lots of marine life to see. Beautiful views.

This experience was worth...

This experience was worth it! My friend loves to snorkel so this was an "must-do" for her. I had only been one time about 10 years ago. We were concerned due to the rain and overcast weather that morning but don't worry the visibility was not impacted for us. Sam was a great tour guide starting us off with a nature walk including humor and fun facts about the land/nature. It was nice having a guide who pointed out wild life and gave background into the fish/sea creatures we saw. Highlight was a sea turtle for sure! Sam took videos and pictures throughout the tour to remember the day. They also have wet suits, snorkel gear, and rash guards for everyone! I would recommend this tour!

Great experience!!

Fun experience to have as a couple. We could see many different species and even a jellyfish! It was easy to follow along thanks to our tour guide's explanation, but the practice was not as easy haha

Informative and interesting

A really great and informative tour of Cabbage Tree Bay. Damien was a fantastic and knowledgeable guide. We saw so many different types of fish and a bonus...turtle!

Fantastic snorkel tour and nature walk

Our guide, Sam, was very knowledgeable and really took the time to make us all feel comfortable in our gear. He answered all questions easily and he was very quick to notice, point out and identify wildlife and fish. He would dive down to point out something interesting and used his go pro to take pictures which we could look at later - he had them on the website very quickly too. We weren't rushed at all and had plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful day and snorkelling. He gave us tips and tricks to improve our snorkelling and no matter what level of assistance or instruction was required, Sam gave clear directions that were easy to follow. We all had a wonderful time and highly recommend Sam - He even made sure we all had photos with our friends 😊

Worth the Money!

The guide is knowledgeable about the area and the marine life. He is friendly and patient with people. You could always rent your own equipment but you would be missing out on the educational piece. I highly recommend his tours!

Awesome

Catherline, She is so nice and energetic. I got the best experience. She drop me at ferry station as well. Thank you so much.

Fun way to spend a few hours!

A great way to spend a few hours! We even saw a turtle! The tour starts with a quick history of the area followed by about an hour of snorkeling. The instructions were very clear and we knew what we were getting into. Fun time and would do it again!

Great activity for a hot day

Sam was really chilled out, professional and knowledgeable. They provide all the equipment you need and some photos along the way. It was a really fun and relaxed experience for all levels and backgrounds. We got to see lots of marine life including wobbegongs, sting rays and blue gropers. Was able to learn a thing or too.

We saw a sea turtle!!!

What an amazing time snorkeling by Manly Beach! We had a wonderful time seeing the local wildlife species. Definitely would recommend to friends😊

Snorkeling in Manly nature reserve

We took a private snorkeling tour for two - me and my teen. Sam was an excellent guide who was very familiar with the Manly nature preserve and where specific fish like to hang out. We spent a couple of hours snorkeling along the coast line and spotting all kinds of wildlife. Sam took special care to point out fish. We spotted 3 fiddler rays, blue gropers, amberjack and many, many more. Sam spotted a cuttlefish, but we had removed our masks right at that moment. Elusive little devils! Two hours was the perfect amount of time. We would highly recommend this tour and Sam as our guide to any families with swimmers.

Amazing snorkelling opportunity!

Sam was super nice and knowledgeable about everything, especially the animals both on land and in the sea. He was kind and patient with everyone in our group and made sure everyone could see the wildlife. Can't receommend this tour enough!!

Great snorkeling off the beach

Christina was great. We had a walk along the highlands where she gave a brief tour and information on the plants and animals, history and on the marine life. We did an hour of snorkeling, very adequate time. She had prepped us about the marine life and how the trip would proceed. It felt very safe, there was an incredible amount of fish and kelp. The gear was fine. Even as a fairly serious diver, it was a great trip. The inexperienced folks in the group also loved it and felt well taken care of.

Great experience

Christine was very helpful and a pleasure to spend the morning with. I don't see the pictures from the date of our trip up yet?

Great fish

Had a great time looking at all the fish. It rained slightly but there were still quite a few people in the water, including a school group. Would definitely recommend. Note: Change rooms/toilets are near the beach (not near the car park)

review of Manly snorkel trip and nature walk

Excellent tour and well organised. The guide was very knowledgeable and ensured everyone had a good and safe experience

Beautiful Manly

Very good experience , our tour guide Christina was lovely , took good care of us and made it very enjoyable . I would recommend this trip

10/10

The tour was excellent! Lots of great information in the bush walk (we even saw a diamond python). The guide was very helpful with those of us that were new to snorkelling but also gave some good tips to people who had experience. The marine life was plentiful. Such a great spot for a couple of hours of fun!

Amazing afternoon

Amazing scenery, wildlife and very knowledgable and friendly tour guide. The best activity I’ve done in Sydney so far.

Best snorkel trip ever…Sam + Manly = Awesome!!!

What a day! Sam met my wife and me at Shelley Beach, got us set up and prepared quickly and we were in the water in no time. He knew exactly where to go and what to see, spent time describing the fish and reef along the way and made the trip one of our best ever! Great pictures and videos…just a great guide creating a great experience. Not sure we will ever have a better snorkel or water experience than our afternoon with Sam and Ecotreasures…thanks guys!!!

Manly snorkelling

Great tour, lots of information from a knowledgeable guide. Would definitely recommend! Probably a good idea to warn people that parking is limited, especially in the morning.

Worth doing in Sydney

Great snorkelling and tour guide my 12 year old daughter loved it and usually afraid of going in the ocean. Definitely worth a look and the location was amazing

Great snorkel

This was a great snorkel! We saw beautiful blue groupers, two types of stingrays, jellyfish, and lots of other types of fish. Probably the best snorkel I've been on, and I've snorkeled in Bahamas, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

Great experience for teenagers

AMAZING experience, my teenage son LOVED it, and my daughter now has an interest in Marine biology. Great company, thanks

Very good tour for first timers

Since the group stayed close to the shore, it was a great way for us to try snorkeling for the first time. Our guide was super friendly and explained everything very clear.

Had an absolute blast and Sam's a legend!

We had a blast doing the Manly Snorkelling Tour - our guide was Sam and he was a legend! Definitely the best snorkelling tour that I’ve ever done - we saw multiple sting rays, a wobbegong shark and Sam was super patient with us pointing it all out. You could just tell that he loves the water and knew everything about anything we asked him. 10/10 would recommend!

Unless you’re a true beginner, skip the hassle and expense

The good: Christina was lovely! Her kind and thorough guidance was the highlight of the tour. If you’re a total beginner, she will get you oriented and build your confidence. The so-so: the snorkeling itself was OK, but as others have said, if you’re a minimally competent swimmer, you can do this on your own. (I’m no expert swimmer, but I felt perfectly safe.) You will want a wetsuit, though, as the water is chilly, even in summer. And, the marine life is pretty, but nothing to feel bad about missing if you don’t get to it—the likelihood you’ll see something remarkable that you’ve never seen before is pretty low. The bad: Damien imposes an absolutely draconian policy re: late arrivals, as a result of which I entirely missed the intro walk and spent the first 15 minutes of the experience running around frazzled trying to find the group. And I wasn’t egregiously late. I arrived at the car park at 9:31 and had made a full loop running around it looking for the group by the time I called the number on the website at 9:34. He informed me that tour guides are instructed to leave at 9:30 on the dot, whether or not everyone is there. No grace period, no effort to find any stragglers. In fact, they’re told to turn off their phones at 9:30, so he couldn’t even call Christina once the tour started. And she isn’t given a way to call international numbers, even if she wanted to find me. I get that you don’t want to hold up the other guests, but this is a morning snorkel, not an international flight. It’s supposed to be fun and relaxing. I’ve done many, many group events while traveling where we’ve waited 5-10 minutes until everyone gets there and literally never once minded—after all, travelers by definition usually are not familiar with the place they’re going to. And it’s vacation! This was anything but relaxed, it was stressful. It turned a lovely morning stroll into a scramble. To his credit, Damien stayed on the phone with me for 15 minutes trying to give me directions as I ran around frantically trying to catch up with the group, but this could’ve been avoided by one phone call from the guide or just by waiting literally one minute longer. It was so, so stupid. Obviously, I’d really recommend changing this policy. But then, Damien doesn’t exactly have great people skills. When I tried messaging him questions on another platform, he just repeatedly directed me to his website, which is not super well organized and didn’t actually answer all of my questions. I definitely didn’t come away feeling respected or like he actually wanted my business, and I wish I’d taken that cue and gone elsewhere. (He probably feels the same way now, ha.) I’m sure he’ll respond to this review saying that I would have read his website more carefully—so fun to deal with folks like that on your vacation! DEFINITELY do not sign up for this snorkel trip if you haven’t got his website memorized! But don’t worry, it’s riveting vacation reading, I promise. My recommendation: unless you’re a very beginner, just do like the locals and put down a towel on the rocks and enjoy the beautiful beach, free of charge and free of Damien’s hassle.

Awesome

Fantastic trip. Enjoyed the interesting walk and had a fabulous time snorkelling. Highly recommended.

Highly recommend!

Sam was an excellent, knowledgeable guide and made it a wonderful experience. We saw plenty of fish and bonus points for sting ray, jelly fish and squid! The nature walk was an informative and fun experience to set the expectations for the swim and learn more about the area.

See Australian wildlife on their terms

I wasn't expecting pictures to be taken, that was great. I thought it was really cool to have a private guide of the bay--she pointed out things to see and always checked in to see if we were feeling okay. I had a headache at the end and she was attentive to that; my friend got scared and didn't want to go in the water at all, and she was really encouraging and understanding about that. She made sure we all had a good time even though we had different levels of comfort and experience. We did several tours in our 2 week visit to Australia, and this was by far my favorite. The guide really cared about our experience and also we got to see Australian nature up close in a way that was respectful (another tour we went on with a different company the day before had unexpectedly threw in a trip to a zoo which I found repugnant). It might help to put some info on the site about how busy it gets--if we'd known how busy the Sunday had been we would have chosen another time. The most dangerous thing about the swim was other snorkelers crashing into me!

Relaxed and conservation-focused

Very relaxed and enjoyable morning in Manly. Our guide Christina was very knowledgeable and spoke with passion about the conservation of the local environment. She answered questions from other travellers with ease and made everyone feel comfortable. The snorkelling tour was excellent, the water was a bit choppy on our morning so visibility wasn't as clear as other days, but the chance to see a reef ecosystem was incredible. Christina found the excellent balance of checking up on our group's comfort levels and letting us explore independently. An excellent tour

Highly recommend

Awesome trip, highly recommend. The walk was short, but had lovely views, however I didn't feel it added much to the trip. The snorkelling was amazing, was able to see so many different fish and sea life, including a shark and a stingray. The guide was very friendly and knowledgable.

Fantastic experience

Incredible experience, our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly and even though we were part of a small group we felt comfortable, included and taken care of at all times. We saw beautiful fish, huge Blue Gropers which were docile and friendly, large cuttlefish and so much more. A fantastic memory I will cherish - thanks EcoTreasures!

AMAZING EXPERIENCE

This was such a great experience! The guide was super knowledgable and showed us some amazing wildlife (and pointed out surfers) both on land and in the water. Our things were safely locked in his vehicle during the tour. It was pretty cold the day we went, but we were provided with wet suits to keep us comfortable. The guide had a Go Pro camera to take pictures & videos throughout the snorkeling, which were later uploaded to their website. Would recommend! (And if you're staying in Sidney, you can take the ferry to Manly.)

Excellent Shelly Beach snorkeling and Eco walk.

The Manly Beach snorkeling and eco walk were amazing! I hadn’t snorkeled in years and was a little tentative but Christina was a great guide! Highly recommend!

Great snorkel and walk tour

Great tour even for other Aussies. The tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable on the marine ecosystems. Clean and good quality equipment. I had an incredible time! ( ’o’ )/ ><(((( *> ><(((( *>

Great snorkeling at Shelly beach

Exceptional experience with julie as our tour guide. Equipment was very good and plentiful enough to meet everyone's needs. The hike wasn't too difficult and it was interesting to learn about the aquatic reserve. The snorkeling was excellent with ideal water conditions and plenty of fish to see. The only suggestion I have is to come up with a clear description of the meeting point in all communications. Thanks for a great day.

First Snorkeling Experience

This is definitely a must while visiting Sydney. The guide was very knowledgeable and attentive to the needs of the group. The nature walk was relaxing and we got some nice viewpoints of Manly beach. The snorkeling was nice for first timers. Unfortunately, I got seasick halfway through the trip and had to stop. But the guide quickly helped me to shore where I waited for the rest of the group to come back. Overall it was a great experience even if it was cut a bit short for me.

Amazing snorkeling experience to appreciate Sydney’s marine life

Highly recommend this activity, snorkeling with EcoTreasures at Shelly Beach was the best experience I have had in Sydney thus far! I was meant to snorkel on one occasion but due to the poor visibility, we could not stay too long in the water. Damien was kind enough to invite me for another tour, and though it was very rainy in the morning, the snorkeling conditions were great and you could really appreciate the biodiversity that Sydney has to offer! You can see all kinds of aquatic species, my favourite being the massive male blue gropers! The tour guides are also very knowledgeable of both the wildlife as well as the history of the area, which makes for an overall spectacular experience!

Relaxing

The whole thing was wonderful. Sadly I hate wearing gear as it makes me panic, which ended up happening. Other than that it was wonderful.

Fun snorkel!

The provided equipment was good quality and our guide was great (thanks for helping us get those thick wetsuits on and off!) we saw several small sharks and blue groupers among other fish. So glad we did this!