Paradise Beach Review (Cozumel)

[kaykels]

I heard so many wonderful rave reviews about this place and I couldn't wait to try it. First, let me start off by saying that Mexico is one HOT place. Paradise Beach is about a 20 min. cab ride from the ship. Don't pay more than 13.00 per car full. Negotiate this ahead of time!
The facilities at Paradise Beach are beautiful. The chairs and umbrellas are free and the atomosphere is great. For a 5.00 fee you can get a wrist band that enables full use of the water trampoline, water iceburg (floating rock climbing wall with slide), float mats, and kayaks. The nachos supreme were the best ever and they have pineapple drinks served in a pineapple with a kiwi face. I head the massages were great but I was too sunburned to try it.
There is also a trampoline on the beach. There are bathrooms, lockers and outdoor showers that are very very clean! The staff is sweet as well.
Now, the downside....
The sand is very rough. My kids said it felt like rice. The water has a lot of sea grass in the wading area and the floor of the ocean is rocky, not sandy. Also, there is a steep drop off. You HAVE to wear water socks in here. There was debris in the water as well since there was rock and sea weed. BUT with that said, I THINK all of the beaches in Cozumel are like this.
Because of my 4 year old that can't swim, I preferred Grand Cayman's Sea Grape Beach because of the white powder sand and crystal clear water in the shallow area. However, the facilites at Paradise are MUCH MUCH NICER.

Hope that helps the beach seekers! By the way, Mr. Sanchos is right next door and they look almost the same.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Thanks for a great report! I've been so curious about this beach. I wish Disney offered Paradise Beach as an excursion. I've been reluctant to want to try this on our own, as my teen daughter and I usually travel alone and I'm a bit leery of the two of us getting into a cab with a total stranger in a foreign country with no male accompanying us. Along with that, I wonder about the taxi ride itself. How was your ride? Did your driver tear through town recklessly or was he a safe driver? I know, I'm a worry wart.

We did the Fury Catamaran in Cozumel. It was ok, but we won't be doing it again. It just wasn't as much fun, imo, as the Golden Eagle in St Maarten, which was incredible!

We are doing the Western again next year. I would love to try Paradise Beach.

Tink

 

[kaykels]

The cab drivers were very nice. As a matter of fact, the locals in Cozumel were all very nice. Don't worry about doing this one on your own. We even asked about crime and we were told that there is very very little crime in Cozumel. We had a white knuckle cab ride in Grand Cayman but not in Coz! As long as you don't have little ones that can only wade in the rocky sea grass area..... you'll LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Thanks a bunch, Rachel. You put my mind at ease.

 

[Kim&Chris]

Just an fyi: the owner of Paradise Beach, Tom, is a regular poster on the cruise critic boards. I've "spoken" to him a few times and he is a very nice guy. He seems to be on those boards regularly, so I believe he answers all questions posted to his attention.

 

[JJsmama]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like a great idea for my family. Do they have life jackets for the little ones?

 

[Jillpie]

So if you go beyond the rocky area, is it nice and smooth on the feet? I have kids that are older, so am not worried about the shallow part of it. Are there local buses that take you to this beach, like in Nassau you can take a bus to Cable beach?

 

[windermerejudy]

I don't know if you are open to any other ideas, but we took DCLs Cozumel Beach Break and it was fabulous. We had a roped off area with chairs and umbrellas for everyone. The other cruise lines were staring at us because of the Disney treatment. There was a small zoo up front and a vendor marketplace. We were served a buffet lunch( not the best but it sufficed) free drinks, and a nice pool. The beach was very soft and sandy. Great for my 2 yr old. and they also had these inflatables in the waters rock climbing trampolines... our price included paddle boats too. Everything was taken care of

 

[kaykels]

The beach break sounded all great, only problem was it wasn't in our budget. I don't think there are buses but they have cabs and vans. The vans were 28.00 and the cabs were 14.00 There was sand underneath the deeper areas over by the trampoline and rock climbing wall. Others said the massages were the best ever and reasonably priced. There were lot of rafts and no wait for the kayaks. I invisioned 200 kids on the trampolines and climbing wall, but there were never more than 4 or 5 kids at a time. Go figure. It was a great day.

 

[KaitlinsMom]

We loved Paradise Beach when we were there - The food was spectacular and 5 beers for $12 (DH liked that part) We really had a great time there and the place is really well taken care of.

Karen

 

[tuckermom]

I also have to put in a good word for Mr. Sanchos. We had a great day there! The sand is a little course, but not bad. No sea grass anywhere. No water trampoline or climbing wall, but beautiful clear water, great service and nice clean facilities.

 

[Belle2667]

We were also at Paradise Beach on the 5/7 Western. I thought the place was great. Life jackets, along with snorkel equipment, are available for a $20 refundable deposit. The food was great and the water was warm. We had a group of 5 and our taxi ride was $15 each way. The cab drivers (in a minivan) were polite and I was not white-knuckled at all. Beyond the rocks in the shallow area, the water was too deep to touch bottom, so you didn't notice the sea grass or anything else. I made my DS9 wear the life jacket the entire time. He can swim, but I didn't want him to get tired and not have a way to rest without going under. The hammocks were great, too. My DS20 spent most of his time there with a Legal (drinking age is 18 in Mexico) beer. Their homeade salsa was the best too. Because of Paradise Beach, Cozumel is definitely a place I want to visit again. Now if I can just convince my DH to spend the $ to rebook!