Cozumel with kids

[ableeks]

Should we get off the boat in Cozumel? We have a 6 and 5 year old and not sure what we should do! Any suggestions???

 

[quickcat]

Fury Catamaran- Great excursion to the beach and lots of fun. It was the highlight of my sons trip last year!

 

[Aggiegrl]

We decided not to, but we've been there before (without kids). We stayed aboard the Magic and had the pool entirely to ourselves that morning.

 

[believinthemagic]

We went to paradise beach in cozumel. Very nice & clean. Also has the option of swimming in the ocean or the pool. Nice restaurant & bar.

They have large water toys in the ocean. A slide, trampoline, climbing wall, etc. It is $12 per person to use them. My opinion would be if my kids were 5&6 I would not pay for them. They are in pretty deep water, and fairly hard to do for that age. We payed for all 3 kids to use them, including our 6 yr old (since her brothers are 9 & 13 and she wants to do everything they do ) But she really only got on the trampoline and then played in the pool most of the day.

We had our taxi driver drop us off at a shopping area near the pier and shopped around for just a little while before walking back to the ship.

 

[chudson98]

Has anyone tried the Cozumel Ruins and Beach Adventure or the Mayan Ruins and Discover Mexico Cultural Park? Thinking about one of these for me and my DS 10?

 

[stichandangel]

We just did the amazing race cozumel and it was a blast you race around downtown seeing statues, a musuem , shops, get a free henna tattoo. Its about 2 1/2 he walking and running thru the town. So many kids were doing it and did very good at it. A family with 2 kids won. And I will say it's the best time I have ever had in cozumel.

 

[sbridgeman]

I would recommend getting off the boat. We just got back from and had a great time that day in Cozumel. We ended up spending the day at Chankanaab National Park. This was actually our back-up plan, we were planning on Paradise Beach, but our DD wanted to do the dolphin swim, which was a lot of fun. Paradise Beach will be next time.

Transportation around the island is great (taxi's and the rates a set by the gov't.) and we found everyone on the island very friendly and hospitable.

 

[Golden Rose]

Another vote for Chankanaab. We've done this twice, and will almost certainly do it again. You can book either through the cruise line or independently, and you can pay to do dolphin, sea lion, or manatee interactions. You can also not do the interactions, and just hang out on their private beach, snorkel, play in the tide pool, watch the sea lion show, and generally have a lovely and relaxing day.

 

[slg4crzn]

Love it

 

[wallawallakids]

I haven't been yet, but I had this debate with my husband and he really thought we should get off the boat. We don't know if we will ever go back and his point was a good one. Might as well try it and let the kids see it. We ended up booking the Discover Mexico tour because our time in port is short and the longer excursions were not offered. I don't know if your kids like little mini things (mine do for some reason) but it goes to the Discover Mexico museum (Which surprisingly gets some great reviews online ) The museam tells about the culture in Mexico and has a little mini park with replicas built. The kids can walk around and look at all the tiny houses. (Reminds me of Storyland boats in DL). They also take you to see the small ruins on the island. At the end there is a fiesta with lunch and local entertainment. They have a piñata for the kids after the party as well. I am not sure how good it will be but I thought it was a nice mix of teaching the children about the local culture and a little bit of fun too. Good luck with your decision.

 

[avinsmomma]

How much is Discover Mexico?

 

[mawhite424]

Another vote for Chankanaab. We've done this twice, and will almost certainly do it again. You can book either through the cruise line or independently, and you can pay to do dolphin, sea lion, or manatee interactions. You can also not do the interactions, and just hang out on their private beach, snorkel, play in the tide pool, watch the sea lion show, and generally have a lovely and relaxing day.

a third vote for Chankannab! We went in December with our 2 grandkids, 11 and 8 for the dolphin swim, and this April I plan on going back with the 11 and 8 (9 then) and an almost 4 yr old to do the beach/snorkel/shows. It was a great place with lots to do, and not a ton of $$ if you don't do the encounters. We didn't eat there, but I heard the food was really good!

Cozumel is too nice to miss!

 

[momof2minnies]

Paradise Beach!!!!!!

 

[Ancaster]

Should we get off the boat in Cozumel? We have a 6 and 5 year old and not sure what we should do! Any suggestions???

+1 for Paradise beach.

$5/p taxi to take you there (about 20min).

$2 admission gets you a chair by the beach or pool. They ask for $10/p food but nobody monitors it. Food is reasonably priced of the bar/grill/mex type.

Don't pay the all-inclusive $12 for the large inflatable water toys, your kids have to be big and be able to swim out to them.

Imagine being at a resort pool/beach. That's what it looks like without hotel rooms.

Check tripadvisor for pics and comments.

If you decide not to venture into Cozumel, if anything, walk to the port and it's a plaza of tourist shops.

 

[wallawallakids]

How much is Discover Mexico?

$59 for adults and $49 for children. It includes lunch.

 

[sbridgeman]

here's a photo of a small bay/kids beach at chankanaab that we spent a lot of time in. our kids (5 and 8) loved it.

 

[mawhite424]

here's a photo of a small bay/kids beach at chankanaab that we spent a lot of time in. our kids (5 and 8) loved it.

Great pic, and it's worth noting beyond those rocks and along that pier there is a great place for snorkeling. We saw puffer fish, trumpet fish, lots of sea urchins (on the back of the rocks) and a huge school of pipe fish!! It was perfect for my 8 yr old grandson who was new to snorkeling at the time.

 

[dunnhorn]

Should we get off the boat in Cozumel? We have a 6 and 5 year old and not sure what we should do! Any suggestions???

We did the Fantasy last summer and love love loved the Fury. Kids were 8 and 10, and there were all ages of kids (including kids your kids age) on there. We did a bit of snorkeling and then the Fury took us to a nice private beach with inflatables. On the way back we had a dance party - it was a blast. Loved it. We got T shirts, and the kids still wear them to this day and talk about how wonderful that excursion was. HTH

 

[Keyser]

Out of curiosity, for the beaches in Cozumel (Chankanaab, Paradise), is it rocky or sandy in the water? When I hear "snorkel" and "tide pool", I usually think rocky (which means wading and swimming aren't so great), but I had thought it was sandier...

 

[jm106]

here's a photo of a small bay/kids beach at chankanaab that we spent a lot of time in. our kids (5 and 8) loved it.

Is that the only beach? Looks very small, does it get crowded? I am torn between chankanaab and paradise beach. Can anyone tell me what chankanaab offers to do? The web site is vague, looks liek mainly dolphin activities? My kids 4 1/2 and 7