Favorite Cozumel Excursions

[starrydominique]

Me and the husband are kidless and loved the Salsa and Salsa cooking/dance class. And the resort had the BEST vanilla bean ice cream you will ever taste. I think it was like $80 pp or so?

 

[My2litteprincesses]

Been there twice, in '14 and '15. First time, we took the ferry to Playa and subsequent short drive to Xcaret (DCL excursion). It was great: park was very clean and beautiful, service was great, and the included meal was excellent (we like Mexican food). Second time, we rented a van+driver and took the drive round the island. Is was a really nice, pretty, half-day trip. You can get a feel for it by checking out Google Maps. We very much enjoyed both and it really depends on whether you want to spend the whole day or, as we preferred last year, get back on the ship by noon to have more time to relax or shop near the pier. The other major factor, I was not aware of the first year, is that the ferry ride to the mainland is notorious for sea sickness. We saw people getting sick on the way back and, although none of us (6) got sick, everyone agreed that it was really nice to get off that ferry! Quite frankly, I would be very concerned about committing to taking the ride without knowing the weather on the day. The weather happened to be beautiful with calm seas when we were there last year, but it could have been a nightmare otherwise. For the same reason, I would feel nervous booking any excursion that involves a lot of sailing. One alternative, I seriously considered last year, was to wait and see what the weather was like when we arrived and then decide whether to take the ferry and go shopping in Playa del Carman on our own. We went back there after our cruise in 2014 and there is a very large and extremely nice shopping district that, at least to us, was well worth a half or full day trip. I am pretty sure that we will go for the last option next time.

Doing Xcaret this May and can.not.wait! Sounds like such a great place! (Slightly nervous about the ferry ride, but I'll suck it up!)

 

[Kesohio63]

We did the Tulum Ruins trip and enjoyed it very much. You do have to ride the ferry to Playa del Carmen (45 minutes or so) and then a bus (1 hour +/-) to the archaeological site. It takes the whole day, and there is no time to shop in Cozumel, although you do have time at the gift shop/restaurant area near the ruins. A few people got seasick on the ferry ride; the crew will hand out barf bags. We were fine, maybe because we were sitting on the top deck in the fresh air, where we could see the horizon. We also saw flying fish! The tour guides were great, although they did push us to buy Mayan souvenirs. We were there in February, and it was hot; it would be miserable in the summer. Also, the beach was closed due to high tide, so don't count on being able to swim there. They do give you food and water, but it is very basic and nothing to write home about: wrapped muffin, bag of chips, sad banana, juice box, bologna sandwich. There is a Starbucks at the gift shop area and at least one other restaurant. You get a guided tour of the ruins and then have an hour or so to walk around on your own, which is plenty. We got back to the ship just in time for all aboard, so I would have been nervous if we hadn't booked the excursion through DCL. I don't think I will do this trip again, since you spend more time in transit than at the site, but I'm glad we did it once. If you have young kids in your party, do yourselves a favor and leave them in the kids' club on the ship; they will have a better time, and so will you!

 

[melsmommy]

Has anyone done the Fury Catamaran Sail Snorkel and Beach Party excursion?

We are also interested in this excursion. Thanks!

 

[Mageemommy]

We did Fury Catamaran a few years ago and had a blast! We are going back to Cozumel in Sept and will mostly likely book this again. My son (7 years old at the time) had a blast!

 

[Reddaisy]

We did Fury Catamaran a few years ago and had a blast! We are going back to Cozumel in Sept and will mostly likely book this again. My son (7 years old at the time) had a blast!

Thank you!

 

[Tequilamamacita]

Has anyone been to the Xel Ha? Park

 

[KVH]

We did Xel Ha several years ago as part of a company-awarded trip. We were with a group of other company people. That can be good or bad at a place like this. There is a LOT to do.

Pros include a cliff dive area, some great snorkel spots, a mangrove tube float, a HUGE lagoon, cenotes, dolphin swim, and snuba.

Cons are meh food, the overall size of the place, crowds in the smaller spaces, and camoflaged soldiers with automatic weapons in the parking lot tree line.