Biobay Tour - Our private biobay tour began mid-day in Condado when we set off in a black Mercedes passenger van driven by Carlos, the irrepressible and indefatigable founder, CEO and sole guide for Bucketlist Tours. Over the next two and a half hours, Carlos engaged us in a freewheeling conversation about Puerto Rican politics, culture and history, pausing only to point out spectacular instances of natural beauty along the highway and the architectural peculiarities of the historic city of Ponce before finally arriving in La Parguera, our final destination. Once there, we boarded a pontoon boat and soon arrived at one of the mangrove cayos, where we spent the two hours before sunset relaxing in the shallow bay and exploring the marine life while being pummeled, in what we learned was a rare and unfortunate occurrence, by a replay of the Bad Bunny halftime show broadcast at stadium level volumes by a neighboring party boat. After sunset, Carlos led us back out onto the bioluminescent bay. Once anchored, Carlos led us into the water where we settled in a cavity beneath the pontoon boat, letting our eyes adjust to the darkness. On Carlos's cue, we began kicking and waving our hands beneath the water's surface. Suddenly, the water was luminous, filled with sparks trailing behind our hands and around our feet, as if we had landed on top of an underwater foundry. My surprise eventually gave way to quiet amazement, echoed by my daughter's giddy laughter. It was really extraordinary. The only suggestion for improvement would be a deletion, not an addition. The round trip from Condado to La Parguera is a solid 4 hours. The detour through Ponce doesn't really justify the extra half hour it adds to an already long day spent in the car. Otherwise, a uniquely memorable and enjoyable tour.

Glitter in the water, stars in the sky - My family had an amazing time on this tour. First, Carlos picked us up from our residence in Rio Grande, which is quite a drive from the bio bay. He drove us to La Parguera with history, good discussion and cool sites and beautiful views along the way. Upon arrival we had clean bathrooms to change into our swimsuits and we grabbed some snacks and ordered our dinner for later. We then drove to the dock where the Captains picked up our group of 8 in two boats and drove us to a beautiful location for snorkeling. The snorkeling was amazing! The masks were clean and nice, the water was crystal clear, and Carlos was with us and pointed out great spots to find fish, sea urchins, and other cool things to see! The Captains did a great job and had noodles on the boat for anyone who wanted them. More than one of us commented that it truly felt like we were swimming in an aquarium! We watched a gorgeous sunset from there and then took a boat ride over to the bio bay. In the bio bay we were able to see the water light up with every movement! When we pulled our hands out of the water, it looked like glitter sparkling on our arms! Carlos came into the water with us, until he headed onto the boat to take a video, because conditions were perfect for it! He is going to send it to us after he uploads it onto his computer and what a special way to remember a special night that will be! They then took us back to the restaurant, Brújula, where we rinsed the saltwater off in an outdoor shower, changed into dry clothes, and had our food ready to come out right as we sat down! The shrimp mofongo was outstanding. Finally, he drove us safely back to Rio grande, with more history and great discussion along the way. Carlos and his captains also did a great job with the entire family, from age 2 all the way to age 71. Thanks for a night that our family will remember forever, Carlos!

Fantastic, great guide!!! - What a great experience, Fantastic!!! Waterfalls were a blast! Bioluminescence was amazing. Carlos was a wealth of PR information and a fantastic guide. He got in the water with you and led the tour !!!

A Once in a Lifetime Experience!!!!! - My husband, myself, our son and 2 grandsons (14 and 17) shared this incredible experience. The ride from San Juan to La Parguera was long but very picturesque and we learned so much from our guide, Carlos, about the land and about Puerto Rico. He was so knowledgeable and passionate about his country!! La Parguera was a small, charming fishing village and we began our journey there. Snorkeling was first in a warm, quiet bay with crystal clear fairly shallow water. It was relaxed and unhurried. We watched the sunset there in the bay. It was stunning. Next came a slow easy ride to the much anticipated bioluminescent bay. It was very sheltered and the few other boats there were all respectfully quiet. No loud voices or music. We waited for complete darkness and then went in to the water. This is the only bioluminescent bay in Puerto Rico that you can actually swim in. Carlos had us go under the boat (pontoon) to start because it offered us a maximum contrast to experience the bioluminescence. Each and every move we made bathed us in shining, sparkling blue light. It took our breath away, it was so incredibly gorgeous!!!! When I would slowly lift my arms out of the water, it looked like they were covered in shimmering diamonds. This was Mother Earth at her finest!!!! Carlos video taped all of us in turn as we experienced the bioluminescence and sent us the video after we came back home from our stay in Puerto Rico. We had a full moon that night but it did not diminish the vibrancy of the bay at all. We all felt that this was a once in a lifetime, never to be forgotten experience. We all recommend this charter; I can not imagine anyone being disappointed.

Do not miss! One word to describe it - MAGICAL! - This is aptly described as “once in a lifetime” “only in Puerto Rico” experience. It’s a long ride but totally worth it! I felt like Elsa in Frozen where sparkles come out of my hands, to the graceful Manta Ray in Avatar. You lift your fingers off the water, and your hands and arm sparkle like a thousand stars. Felt like a goddess! There was no other words to explain it but MAGICAL. This is where the legend of the fountain of youth was born. So, swim in the fountain of youth!

BEST GUIDE AND BEST TOUR - if you’re worried abt the 2 hour drive, DONT!! the views were unmatched, and our guide knew the answer to every question along the way. we had the best time in the water and on the boat! we got to play our own music and even beautiful pictures of us in the most beautiful spots. we ended up on a little island and looked at shells and hermit crabs! when we were in the bioluminescent water, our guide had an insane camera to pick up the glowing water that our phones couldn’t even pick up! this was an unmatched and unbelievably amazing trip. wish i could do it again for the first time. he deserves all the glaze! if you’re looking for insta pics- this is the tour for you

Mind blowing and amazing! - Had an amazing experience with Carlos! He drove us from San Juan to La Parguera and back on a private trip .. very knowledgeable and full of info! Boarded a private charter boat , went snorkeling, saw an awesome sunset and then went to bioluminescence bay! It was pure magic! Swimming and splashing around to create the sparkles and light was an outer world experience! We then went to a restaurant to change and have a delicious dinner and headed back Recommend this highly!

Bio-bay tour Jan 2026 - We originally booked the "Puerto Rico's Only Private VIP & Filmed Bio Bay Swim" Tour on Trip Advisor for our group of 9 people. We needed to reschedule the tour to a different day and my friend called Carlos to arrange that. He then recommended she book our group instead directly off his website (Bucket List Tours), and she was instructed to book the "Mystic Waters Under the Sun & Stars" tour as it was supposed to be the same thing, but would be a little bit cheaper for each traveler when booked directly off his site. From what I can tell this is the only tour on his website that involves the bio-bay. We arrived at the pickup point that was emailed to us (1309 Ashford Ave) which is not the same pick up point listed on the Trip Advisor site. We were all staying at a different hotel nearby (about 7 km away), and had to take two separate Uber's (totaling about $40 each due to surge prices). He called my friend to ask where we were and then promptly drove to the location where we were waiting. I am not sure why we could not get picked up from our hotel but we were not too upset about it other than the tour is already pricy and we spent extra money to go to the incorrectly listed pickup point. It took a little over two hours to get to La Parguera. The drive was long, but beautiful, and Carlos gave us some history about the island. We stopped at the restaurant (which is inside of a nice boutique hotel) to order our dinner ahead of time for later, use the restrooms, and then proceeded to board two pontoon boats to a nearby cay. We spent time there and then watched the sunset. It was beautiful (despite raining off and on all day) and actually the weather cleared up for us to be able to snorkel and see the sunset. Carlos' boat crew consisted of 2 or 3 people and they were very nice and we felt safe. After that we boated over to the bio-bay. The bioluminescent water was absolutely incredible and was like nothing we had ever seen. Carlos and his crew did not rush us and allowed us to take our time exploring. Pool noodles were provided. After we were done at bio bay we boated back to dock and then drove to have dinner at the boutique hotel . Food and drink prices were not included, but it does state that on the websites. The food was amazing. Some people in our group thought it was a little pricy, but we thought it was fair. After dinner Carlos did take us back to our actual hotel, not the pick-up point, which was nice, consider we had a 4 year old with us. Some of our group did get upset as they were under impression that Carlos was going to film some of the tour and take photos as this is stated on the Trip Advisor site (and also the title of the tour). On his actual website, there is nothing mentioned about any filming whatsoever. So our tour was exactly as listed on his website. Since our tour I see he has added additional language on the Trip Advisor site stating, "Film of biokumunscent swim is conditio mns dependant and is an added bonus to this experience". In my opinion, when he told us to book on his website for that other tour, I DO think he should have told us the one we were booking did not include the filming - that did seem misleading. And I am not sure what "conditions" he needed, as like I mentioned above, it was definitely raining off and on during the journey there, but was great weather after that. I think our group would have even appreciated the simple gesture of offering to take a group photo - and if conditions were truly not right or safe for his equipment, then he needs to verbalize that to everyone, so there is no miscommunication. And again, his actual website does not mention any filming at all for the tour we booked. For me personally, I did not book the tour because of potential filming or photos. I was really there for the experience. And it was really a GREAT experience. It was a little pricy for what it was, but it lasted from about 2 PM to 10-11 PM, and we did a lot of cool things in a short period of time. This is the only bio bay in PR that you can swim in - the others are kayak only I believe and are much more crowded. Carlos and his crew never rushed us. The tour was EXACTLY as described on his Bucket List Tours website, however, did not follow what was listed on Trip Advisor. I would recommend the tour, but if he recommends booking on his website, just make sure to clarify the details. Especially if the primary reason you are booking is the filming. If you do not care about that part, then there's other swimming bio-bay tours to consider online

Tour owner ghosted us! NO SHOW! Do NOT reccomend - Paid over $1700 for 4 people to have a whole day tour in Puerto Rico ending at the bioluminescent bay. Booked on a Monday, for the following day. Recieved a call from Carlos Alexis asking if we could do it another day (after already paid). I told him no as we were leaving the following day of the scheduled tour. He was concerned about “weather” which was not an issue at all, we only had light wind. He told me he would call me in the morning to confirm and assess. He never called so we all assumed it was still fine. We packed our bags and paid to get dropped off at the meeting location (hotel), and Carlos Alexis NEVER showed up. I called him over 10 times, messaged through Viator, called Viator customer service, and he never responded. We all were extremely angry that our last day of vacation was ruined due to this person. DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS TOUR TO ANYONE.

BUYER BEWARE! BAIT AND SWITCH! - Trip not as advertised! We intentionally booked this trip even though more than twice as expensive as other tours for same experience ( minus the video) due to fact that professional video of experience was included. However, no photos or videos taken with a variety of excuses ( conditions have to be perfect, he doesn’t have the gear but National Geographic did, we booked a different tour that didn’t include the video package). Carlos that states that clearly communicated that video is not included when booking. See if you can find that anywhere. Read the fine print and make sure you get what you are paying for with him! Additionally, not at expected “VIP experience” level. No drinks or snacks provided, van was dirty and smelled of cigarettes, and Carlos spent much of time on boat and at restaurant scrolling on phone. I’ve been treated better at many non “VIP” tours. Not worth the cost!