Qs about Chankanaab

[alexandrew]

Would like to snorkle at Chankanaab....went 12 yrs ago on honeymoon, but all I remember was that the snorkeling was fabulous!!! no other details....

1) Is it worth it to book the excursion @$55 through DCL, or do my own thing
2) For those of you who went to Chankanaab w/o excursion, how did you get taxi back to ship? were they waiting? also, how much was the taxi fare?
3) how much was it to rent snorkle gear?
4) DW and DS,4, will accompany me to Chankanaab but will not snorkle....what is there for them to do close by while I snorkle? is there beach close by? shelter from sun? food?

Thanks all....

 

[RKB]

We did Chankanaab on our own. The best things about this are lower price and moving at your own pace. We took a taxi for $10.00 each way (totally easy to get a taxi - there are a million of them waiting everywhere). Just verify the fare before the ride. Paid admission to Chan (don't remember amount - not that bad). We then did the Dolphin Swim that we booked through shoretrips.com. There are little shade structures all over with beach chairs, but first come first serve. There is a shallow sandy lagoon good for small children. There is a Sea Lion show - or you can watch people interact with the Dolphins. We just brought our own snorkle gear - much more sanitary. We used it at almost all stops so it was worth it. We bought our snorkles at a local sporting goods store. So my advice to you would be to get a taxi, pay your way in to Chan and stay as long as you like! Have fun...

 

[airtime247]

Hi There, We went to Chakanab on our cruise in May and had a great time. I will try and answer some of your q's.. what I can remember

We did not book an excursion we just took a taxi, If I remember correctly it was around $20 for four of us. I could be wrong about the number.. but it was easy to get a cab back, they were constantly coming through. There is an admission price to get in, I would check out there web site for that.

The snorkeling was great!, There were many places to rent gear and the prices were reasonable. The was also lots of lounge chairs to sit in the shade and restaurants.

They also many trails to walk throught that had fake mayan ruin artifacts and I think they had a a sea lion and a bird show.

All in all we had a great time and I dont think it is worth it to book the excursion it was easy to do it on our own.
Hope that helps, Have a great trip

 

[familydad]

We were at Chankanaab on a DCL cruise in November '04, and had a GREAT time!

We did the excursion on our own. You can rent snorkel equipment right there very inexpensively ($10-$15 each, I believe). We were a little concerned about germs and such, but saw that they disinfect everything, so we were OK with it.

We were told by a DCL cast member that the best way to do Cozumel (including Chankanaab) is to rent a moped so that you can tour the island any time you want. It was about the same price as a taxi, and it was REALLY cool! Added a little adventure to the adventure by driving in a foreign country.

We actually went with two other families, so we rented a Suburban and a moped - my wife and DS (14) on the moped and the rest of us in the Suburban. Again, it was about the same price overall as a taxi would have been, and we had the opportunity to check things out all over the island at our leisure. They do rent jeeps which would be more suited to a smaller group. You just ask around at the end of the pier where the ship docks. It was kind of weird following this guy around, down a couple alleys, etc. - but again, we're an adventurous lot!

The one down side to renting your own vehicle is that we had to have it back by 6pm, and we would have liked to do some more poking around. But we had a late start, so if you start earlier you might not mind a 6pm time to get back to the ship...

The beach where you snorkle has a restaurant and is very close to the dolphin swim excursion. Lots of sand and cool stuff to do and see. The dolphin swim area had lots of wild animals/birds (almost like a small zoo) that you could get close to/hold. Plenty of shelter from the sun if you get there early.

It is a bit of a walk from the main entrance gate of Chankanaab to the beach area, so if the kids tend to tire easily, you might want to have a portable stroller/wagon.