NON-DISNEY COZUMEL EXCURSION IDEAS

[ForMyBoys]

Has anyone gone to Alberto's Beach?

 

[jeepnjudy]

Right across the street from port there is a place to rent a jeep....go to Carlos N Charlies Beach Club....eat and drink on the beach and there are water activities and beach for the kids. Took our 8yr old at the time and she loved it!!!

We also rented a Jeep there, went to the ruins, geocached, had lunch at a local restaurant instead of the tourist traps, and made a loop around the whole island before getting back on the ship. We rented our Jeep in advance so we knew we would have one.

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

Just chiming in with another low key beach option. Chankanaab was beautiful. We took a taxi to the beach (cheap), paid the entrance fee, and found loungers. There was another area with more water play stuff and dolphins, but we stayed on our loungers reading, enjoying tropical drinks in coconuts, and snorkeling. When we'd had enough, we took a cab back to the ship. We got back in time for a late lunch onboard. Bring a towel from the ship (take when you exit) and if you want to snorkel bring your own or you can rent. Great, inexpensive, relaxing day!

 

[ksucats]

We did Playa Mia, but through Disney. I am sure that it would have been cheaper going on our own, but I am not comfortable doing that. If you are, then I would say go for it. The kids loved Playa Mia as did the adults. My only complaint would be that the water trampolines looked like a lot of fun, but ended up being way too much work to get out there and climb them. I was exhausted by that time. And then my kids talked me into getting paddle boats with them. I was glad when that part was over and I could just enjoy the beach and then the waterslides.

 

[Heard02]

We did Playa Mia, but through Disney. I am sure that it would have been cheaper going on our own, but I am not comfortable doing that. If you are, then I would say go for it. The kids loved Playa Mia as did the adults. My only complaint would be that the water trampolines looked like a lot of fun, but ended up being way too much work to get out there and climb them. I was exhausted by that time. And then my kids talked me into getting paddle boats with them. I was glad when that part was over and I could just enjoy the beach and then the waterslides.

I agree! It was a lot of work getting on the trampolines there and at Carlos N Charlies!!!!

 

[CesD]

that sounds super fun! Did you reserve the jeep in advance? How much was it? Is it a stick shift or automatic? And then how far was the drive to Carlos? Did you take the Jeep option so you could other stuff in additional to the beach (vs. a Taxi?) Meaning did you also do an island tour? This is intriguing to me because it gives us more options to explore. Was driving around the island easy? And do the Jeeps fit 5? Sorry for so many questions!!!

Thanks for the additional info. We port at 8:30. Do you know how long it took for you to get to the chocolate place? I see they have a tour at 9. If we did that we could prob get to a beach by 10:30 and hang until 3:30 (boat leaves at 4:45).

I think it took 10-15 mins in the taxi.

 

[MunFam]

Check the day you will be there. If its a Sunday, you will not have as many options. The 2015 WBPC was there on a Sunday. Many parks listed, that are open to the public M-Sa were only opened through DCL paid excursions for 200-400% mark up on regular admission. Paradise Beach was open to the public but they offered "free local's admission" on Sundays.

We ended up skipping Paradise Beach, going to the Pixar Pals character greet and then walking down to Los Cinco Soles to shop and have lunch at Panchos Backyard. It was really good. The only reason the restaurant opened was because I emailed the owner in advance (DD has food allergies) to ask questions, found out it was closed Sundays for lunch, but he decided to open early that day when he found out the ship was going to be in port the following week. Lots of shops were closed or opened later in the afternoon. The shops in the immediate port area (they force you though a mall to exit) were open, but the stuff on the streets was hit and miss.

We went out on our own because I speak Spanish so we felt comfortable just wandering about.

 

[scootch]

Do you reall taxi fare? Is it cash or credit card? Thanks

 

[mrsshebu]

My travel agent recommended Chankanaab Park for us - kids are 5 and 3. Anyone agree with that? And do you know if its a far cab ride?
Thanks!

 

[Ofinn]

My travel agent recommended Chankanaab Park for us - kids are 5 and 3. Anyone agree with that? And do you know if its a far cab ride?
Thanks!

Cabs are cheap in mexico. Its a 20 minute ride. It seemed like it was 10 to 15 miles but the cab ride for four was 20 bucks. We enjoyed Chankanaab.

 

[ForMyBoys]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! I'm totally comfortable venturing out on our own and I know we do not want to go to an all inclusive beach. I'd rather hit a local place for lunch and have the flexibility to do more the one thing if we choose. Paradise beach does look like it has a great menu! I'm still interested in knowing about smaller, less traveled too beaches on the island as well. I've done some on-line reading but its nice to have some first hand experiences. We did honeymoon beach at St. Thomas last year and had a great time. A beach along that line would be great.