Best Excursions Western Carribbean

SleepyDeb

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 16, 2012
I'd like to ask for some advice. DH and I (alone) are going to the western Carribbean on the Fantasy in Jan. We want to snorkel, see Mayan ruins, and see Stingrays, I'd also like to get some shopping in at Grand Cayman. We are going to parasail on CC and plan on spending the rest of the day on the beach. Any advice on which ports to do each activity? Thanks.
 
We did the Mayan Ruins (Chacchoben) at Costa Maya, mainly because if you do them in Cozumel, you'll have to take a 45-minute ferry ride from Cozumel to the mainland and I've heard some horror stories about that, though I'm sure it's fine most of the time.

Chacchoben was very nice - we got to climb on some of the ruins and our tour guide Miguel was first rate. It's about a one-hour bus ride from the port. It was definitely what we expected for a Mayan ruins tour and I'd recommend it.
 
STLEdge said:
We did the Mayan Ruins (Chacchoben) at Costa Maya, mainly because if you do them in Cozumel, you'll have to take a 45-minute ferry ride from Cozumel to the mainland and I've heard some horror stories about that, though I'm sure it's fine most of the time.

Chacchoben was very nice - we got to climb on some of the ruins and our tour guide Miguel was first rate. It's about a one-hour bus ride from the port. It was definitely what we expected for a Mayan ruins tour and I'd recommend it.

DH and DS did this excursion last week and really enjoyed it. There are two different excursions for Chacchoben. One is for families and the other is an adults only tour.
 
Myself , DH and DS 9 enjoyed the shipwreck snorkle on GC, Chacchoben in Costa Maya, the 3 reef snorkle in Cozumel, and we fed and swam with the stingrays at Castaway Cay - all with Disney!

Enjoy!

Marni
 


We did the Island Tour and Stingray City while in Grand Cayman. Stingray City was the highlight of all the excursions that we did. You will not be disappointed with it. It was also nice to see the Island and the stop at the Turtle Farm was fun.
 
We went to Chacchoben in Costa Maya with The Native Choice and had a wonderful experience.

In Grand Cayman we did the Island and Stingray tour with The Native Way and there was no snorkeling so I would not recommend that one. The experience was great but I wanted to snorkel.

Someone said the only ruins in Cozumel are on the main land and that is not correct. San Gervasio is a site on the island.
 
Yep, definitely hit stingray city in Grand Cayman. We went with Stingray Sailings because of their beautiful catamaran and the group they take out is very small compared to the others. Great excursion!
 


In Grand Cayman we did the Stingray City, Coral Gardens and Starfish snorkel tour with Native Way. We had a great time and the stingrays were a once in a lifetime experience. We were there right after the time change so there was a little confusion with that but we'd use them again. Andrew and Andrew were our guides and they were awesome!
 
You've got several options for ruins. I would recommend either Tulum (take the ferry from Cozumel to the mainland) or Chacchoben from Costa Maya. Yes, as mentioned, San Gervasio is on Cozumel, but it isn't nearly as impressive as the other sites. Both Tulum and Chacchoben are fascinating sites, and well worth doing.

The infamous ferry ride between the mainland and Cozumel can be rough. We've done it several times over the years, and had a truly dreadful experience on our most recent return. The afternoon ferry was crowded, hot, had rough seas, and lots of people vomiting. Tulum is gorgeous and worth seeing, but just be aware that you may have to put up with 45 minutes of misery. It isn't always that bad, but it can be.

Plan on stingrays on Grand Cayman. You can snorkel there too, and any of several good locations.

We also like Chankanaab on Cozumel for snorkeling, dolphin swims, sea lion encounters, and relaxing on the beach.
 
In Grand Cayman we did the Stingray City, Coral Gardens and Starfish snorkel tour with Native Way. We had a great time and the stingrays were a once in a lifetime experience. We were there right after the time change so there was a little confusion with that but we'd use them again. Andrew and Andrew were our guides and they were awesome!

We also did this and it was FABULOUS!! The Andrews are terrific, each stop was was amazing. Best excursion ever! Lots of snorkeling.
Here's some of the starfish:
dscn0257.jpg


and the coral garden:
dscn0316.jpg


of course, the sting rays (ds kissing one):
dscn0275.jpg
 
We also did this and it was FABULOUS!! The Andrews are terrific, each stop was was amazing. Best excursion ever! Lots of snorkeling.
Here's some of the starfish:
dscn0257.jpg


and the coral garden:
dscn0316.jpg


of course, the sting rays (ds kissing one):
dscn0275.jpg

beautiful pictures!
 

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