Sharks, a Turtle and beautiful fish - We went snorkelling here and we were debating whether to do this because of the price of the National Park entrance fee and we are a family of 5. There are other places you can go to like Coral Island without the fee. However, we swam with 6 sharks and a turtle plus all the other colourful fish and it was amazing. It was very crowded and perhaps it would have been just as good snorkelling elsewhere but for what we saw, I am so happy we went. Our hotel organised it through "Kingfisher Snorkelling and Whale Watching" who are located on the beach, so you could go direct, and they supplied all the equipment including optical masks for my husband and son who have bad eyesight.

Great tour with very good equipment and good company - Very nice trip to Pigeon Island. Staff were very professional and helpful. There is brand new snorkeling equipment, including oversized fins (my son is a size 48). When snorkeling we booked a guide (1,000 Rs. Per person). Worth it! He knows the best spots on the reef. We saw a shark and a water turtle and fish of all colors). 👍👍👍

Marine nature habitat - It's a marine park, where you can see all sorts of marine life in Sri Lanka. It is safe and educational for the kids where they can interact and explore within safe coral barriers. For more experienced snorkeling enthusiasts have the open ocean area where marked by floating buoys and lines.

Awesome but crowded site. - Awesome snorkeling site, highly recommended. We stayed at nilaveli beach and arranged the tour by walking in on one of the local dive shops (Ceylon divers), despite the lower price (48.000 srl for 3 persons), and can totally recommend it. The site is quite busy, and the water was best early, so recommend going there quite early (we went from 9-12 ish) Saw 8-10 reef sharks, 1 turtle and loads of beautiful fish.

Unexpected Delight: Exploring Pigeon Island in Trincomalee - Pigeon Island turned out to be an unexpected delight during our visit to Trincomalee in March 2024. While I initially hesitated, preferring to head straight to the hotel for some relaxation, my wife's insistence led us to this gem of an experience. The government's setup at Nilaveli Beach streamlined the boat and snorkeling adventure seamlessly. Although I hadn't planned on snorkeling, I'm grateful we did. It proved to be an exhilarating adventure, with an abundance of reef sharks and stunning coral formations. I'd recommend bringing your own snorkeling equipment for added convenience and hygiene. March seems to be an ideal time to visit, as it's less crowded compared to the peak season. Overall, Pigeon Island exceeded my expectations, offering a perfect blend of adventure and natural beauty.

Beautiful place - I paid about $80, this included entrance fee , guide and bost ride there and back . You can stay as long as you want. I definitely recommend a guide, he'll show you the best spots. I saw about 8 black tip sharks ,2 turtles and many coral and vivid colored fish. I used my new underwater camera and was pleased at what I saw. A very small area so not else to see. I had 2 45 min sessions

Nice but expensive - Beautiful place to snorkel, they take you by boat , and leave you in beach area , what is beautiful is its seabed on both sides of the island, but I find abusive prices for tourists, like most activities in Sri Lanka, I recommend going early since afterwards it is a pilgrimage where you barely have room to go out or enter the water

Meh, save your money! - I personally wouldn't bother with Pigeon Island. The entry fee and cost of getting there is not worth it for sub standard snorkeling. The visibility was poor, there's a few fish around bit nothing amazing. Saw one turtle and one reef shark. Save your money and try something else!

Beautiful Island, but sadly no facilities! - Beautiful island for snorkelling but sadly no facilities on the island. As couple of hours was enough for us. It’s quite expensive for the boat and entrance fee. If you want to go longer, take food and water. Probably better areas to see!

Ticket Issuing Thief - WARNING! Please refer to the government set (gazetted) price list when purchasing entrance tickets to Pigeon Island from the counter in Nilaveli Beach. The person there uses multiple receipt books and quotes multiple times the actual price literally stealing from tourist. We were quoted 15000 rupees per person when the actual price should be approx 9000 per person. He had also quoted another British couple staying at Nilaveli a whopping 300 British pounds! We obviously decided not to proceed with the tour when we heard the price and only found out that he was trying to rip us off after doing research for hours and calling Tourism development authority and tourism police. His response when I confronted him much later “who are you to enquire so much” “9000 and 15000 is very similar”. I couldn’t believe it!!! Disappointing that we missed out due to this greedy thief!