The Only Way to Really See The Lagos Caves (DEPARTURES AND SALES ONLY AT THE SOUTH END OF THE MAIN ROAD - not the bigger operators all along the main road)
This is a group of small boat captains (not a dedicated tour company) where you walk up to the tour Kiosk, express an interest and off you go; just you (your group/family) then and there. Also, these captains rotate sites so each gets a fair share of “the action” and there are several sites they depart from (we heard about 3 but suspect more so you may not see the same captain next week – talk with them they’ll tell you where you can get the same person next). Most all the other tour boat operators are bigger boats, with street hawkers selling their tours, fixed routes and set departure times and “canned” sure fire trips that are good. But usually, they have a bunch of other tourists with you and a lack of local feel and the detail that comes from a private or small group (4 or 5 max) tour.
These guys (and maybe a gal or two but not the day we were there) are mostly retired fishermen who know the water, rocks, shoals, and geography intimately and can really provide this local feel to voyage and who will let you see as much as you want with all the local color and stories of old. And Lagos has so, so, much history. Our captain was known as “Goody-goody” and said his name was (don’t quote my spelling it is a best guess) Petros Georje.
The only other operators that will go where and show you what these folks do are the Kayak trips. But again, that too is a large group experience, and you will not see as many caves, keyholes, notable rock formations and watery places because of the time limits of paddling/towing to the different locations.