Cozumel Excursion

[SouthernMouse]

What's the best excursion to do in Cozumel?

 

[Keggy]

I can only speak from my experience... Last time we were there we just got off the ship and shopped and then we had lunch at Pancho's Backyard. It was wonderful! Very beautiful restaurant and based on the surroundings we were very surprised by it. My mother was with us and she really wanted to go shopping. We had originally planned on 1/2 shopping - 1/2 beach but it was very hot and we were tired when we were done shopping (December).

I really wish we had gone to Naichi Cocum. I had read wonderful things about it and this is what we are doing next year. It is around $50 per person and includes drinks and food.

We are 2 adults - no kids.

 

[kaydoggy]

We did the dune buggy excursion through Island Marketing. It does seem to get mixed reviews, but we had a GREAT time. It was one of the highlights of our trips. The dune buggies are very "unique". They took us snorkeling at one spot on the western side, drove around to some kind of mayan ruins, and then went all the way around the eastern side to swim. Lunch was very good and Omar the guide was great. i would definately do this again. We booked outside of Disney since it was cheaper and our kids are 6 so they weren't old enough to go through Disney.

Mark

 

[dvanhazel]

We were just there and went to Chankanaab National Park (about a 15 min cab ride). We were there to do the Royal Swim at Dolphin Discovery Center but ended up spending the entire day there. The water was warm, clear and the snorkeling was great (we took our own). We had a nice lunch there (although expensive $50 for 4 of us) and the beach was not crowded at all...plenty of charis and umbrellas. If you are not participating in a dolphin program there is an entrance fee to the park although I don't remember what it was becuase it was included with the dolphin package.

My whole family thought this day was a highlight of the trip...it certainly was the best snorkeling...which was a major disappointment at CC.
If you google Chankanaab or Dolphin Discovery you can get alot of info there...hope that helps with your decision.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Now don't laugh at me, ok? LOL What I recommend is renting a VW or Jeep from ISIS and touring the island. They provide all necessary insurance and are extremely reasonable. The East Side is unbelievable. Tour the lighthouse. You can stop at Coconuts, the highest point on the island, for their well known fish tacos and a drink and then head back into town for shopping. I have always found us doing the snorkel thing or whatever water related. Seeing the island was different and fun. We did it on our own. No worry about getting lost. It just goes in a circle.

 

[lbgraves]

You can check out a thread for each regular port in the FAQ thread at the top of this forum for reviews from DISers about what they did both with DCL's excursions and on their own.

 

[Yvet]

I say go for culture and go to Tulum it's fantastic!!!

 

[Zandy595]

I say go for culture and go to Tulum it's fantastic!!!

Can you tell us more about the Tulum ruins excursion? We booked it, but I don't know much about it, except that it's a long day.

 

[Magic3forme]

we did the Dolphin Encounter at Chank. it was awesome. Their pool was great too.

 

[CraftyMouse]

We were just there and went to Chankanaab National Park (about a 15 min cab ride). We were there to do the Royal Swim at Dolphin Discovery Center but ended up spending the entire day there. The water was warm, clear and the snorkeling was great (we took our own). We had a nice lunch there (although expensive $50 for 4 of us) and the beach was not crowded at all...plenty of charis and umbrellas. If you are not participating in a dolphin program there is an entrance fee to the park although I don't remember what it was becuase it was included with the dolphin package.

My whole family thought this day was a highlight of the trip...it certainly was the best snorkeling...which was a major disappointment at CC.
If you google Chankanaab or Dolphin Discovery you can get alot of info there...hope that helps with your decision.

Ditto! Ditto! Ditto!

The Royal Swim and visit to Chankanaab was the highlight of our last cruise. Here's a link to my trip report, in case you'd like to read about our experience... http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1636950&page=6 (It's the second post on the page.) You can only book the Royal Swim by going directly through Dolphin Discovery. DCL does not offer it. Even if you want to do the version DCL does offer, I'd still suggest booking on your own as it is much cheaper. Getting to Chankanaab is VERY easy and just requires a 10-15 minute cab ride.

On our previous Western we did the Tulum tour through DCL and it as also wonderful. With Tulum I'd definitely suggest going with DCL as it is quite far from the ship and they will wait for any DCL-run excursions that are late.

 

[Yvet]

Tulum.

It's along day but worth it totally.

First you go in the morning to your designated meeting area, there you will get bonine, my suggestion take it!!!!
Then you go on a ferry (there is the Bonine for) and that's rocky!!!
But it's not that everyone gets seasick but it's rocky.

Then on mainland you have a little bit of a walk to the busstation and you walk thru streets with shops and you can't stop.....
Then at the busstation there will be your bus that brings you to Tulum and back.

On the way to Tulum you stop at a souvenirshop.
It's nice and you can buy there everything you want t-shirts and crafty art.
But most important you can buy there drinks and chips and candy.
My advise buy some drinks because you need water at least 2 bottles a person at Tulum.

Before you get back on the bus you will get a lunch, a cup of water a subway sandwitch and a cany.
Then it's 15 more minuts drive to Tulum.

When you get off the bus you go on a little train to bring you to the site.
When you are on the site the guide will explain a lot of Tulum and it's great.
There is a lot to see actually.

Then after the guided tour you will get some time to spend there on your own, you can stroll a bit more at the sight and see some great overvieuws and you can also go to the little beach and take a dip.

Then you go back on the train to the bus, and inbetween the trainstop and the bus there are shops where you can buy souvenirs and drinks again. Not expensive at all i thought a $ for a drink.

Then you return to the ferry dock where you ga back with the ferry to Cozumel.
The ferrydrive is about 20-30 min.


Hope this is helpfull.

 

[JenniferAtl]

We love to get a taxi and head to Paradise Beach. There is no entrance fee and they have water activities, food, and chairs.

We always shop at the areas near the port when we return. We used to head downtown for shopping but many of the same stores have relocated to the port since the hurricane and reconstruction.

 

[Zandy595]

Yvet ~ Thanks, that was VERY helpful!

 

[WDWADDICTS]

Tulum.

It's along day but worth it totally.

First you go in the morning to your designated meeting area, there you will get bonine, my suggestion take it!!!!
Then you go on a ferry (there is the Bonine for) and that's rocky!!!
But it's not that everyone gets seasick but it's rocky.

Then on mainland you have a little bit of a walk to the busstation and you walk thru streets with shops and you can't stop.....
Then at the busstation there will be your bus that brings you to Tulum and back.

On the way to Tulum you stop at a souvenirshop.
It's nice and you can buy there everything you want t-shirts and crafty art.
But most important you can buy there drinks and chips and candy.
My advise buy some drinks because you need water at least 2 bottles a person at Tulum.

Before you get back on the bus you will get a lunch, a cup of water a subway sandwitch and a cany.
Then it's 15 more minuts drive to Tulum.

When you get off the bus you go on a little train to bring you to the site.
When you are on the site the guide will explain a lot of Tulum and it's great.
There is a lot to see actually.

Then after the guided tour you will get some time to spend there on your own, you can stroll a bit more at the sight and see some great overvieuws and you can also go to the little beach and take a dip.

Then you go back on the train to the bus, and inbetween the trainstop and the bus there are shops where you can buy souvenirs and drinks again. Not expensive at all i thought a $ for a drink.

Then you return to the ferry dock where you ga back with the ferry to Cozumel.
The ferrydrive is about 20-30 min.


Hope this is helpfull.

Ditto on Tulum! We just did this on the 10/4 Western and the whole family enjoyed it. DS 16 and DD 12 enjoyed it and the ruins were much better than expected. Wear swimsuits under your clothes as you will get 1/2 hour of beach time and get towels when you leave the ship. Also, take at least one bottle of water for each person for the ruins.

The guides were great and we throughly enjoyed the day. You'll get back to the ship about an hour before the ship leaves so shopping in Cozumel will be limited.