Cozumel Beach Advice

We have 2 girls (ages 5 & 7) and we are also traveling with Grandma & Grandpa. We are looking for a "free" beach in Cozumel not too far from the pier. We have been to Nachi before and loved it. We were thinking about paying for Playa Mia since its more family friendly but kind of want to wing it when we get to Mexico. Is Paradise beach the best low cost option or should we just suck it up and pay for Playa Mia or is there another good "free" beach?

Paradise Beach is a great low cost option with kids. It used to be free (you paid for the wristband for the "toys,") but now has an admission charge. Sorry. I'm not aware of any free beaches near the dock. Sorry, but Cozumel is not a place where it is safe to get off the tourist track. Paradise Beach is the best optionI know of.

I was at Paradise Beach in December. It was a $15.00 cab ride( no matter how many were in the cab, so go with others if possible). It was $3.00 a person to get in with the stipulation that each person spends $10.00 in food or drink. And believe me, they are a little pushy if you havent ordered something within an hour. They have a wonderful assortment of blow-up structure to climb and jump on in the water, but there was a $18.00 dollar fee to use them. There is a pier to walk out on and snorkel off of, and the snorkeling was decent.

All in all it was a nice beach, safe, clean and monitored, but i didnt like their policy of not letting a customer move a sun lounger to face the sun. The chairs had to remain in straight lines, for some unknown reason.

I was at Paradise Beach in December. It was a $15.00 cab ride( no matter how many were in the cab, so go with others if possible). It was $3.00 a person to get in with the stipulation that each person spends $10.00 in food or drink. And believe me, they are a little pushy if you havent ordered something within an hour. They have a wonderful assortment of blow-up structure to climb and jump on in the water, but there was a $18.00 dollar fee to use them. There is a pier to walk out on and snorkel off of, and the snorkeling was decent.

All in all it was a nice beach, safe, clean and monitored, but i didnt like their policy of not letting a customer move a sun lounger to face the sun. The chairs had to remain in straight lines, for some unknown reason.

Wow, other than the cab ride, they have really increased prices. Must be taking lessons from DCL.:)

Honestly, Mr. Sanchos has a really good setup, we've found. Really great pools, swim-up bar, tasty food, beautiful beach. Service with a smile. $25 cab ride one-way for a family of 5. We've been twice in the last 18 months. Love it!

I would skip Playa Mia. It gets expensive really quickly. It's been two years since we were there, but as I recall it's an expensive cab ride from the port and expensive to get in. The beach is nice, but you are constantly hassled to buy hair braiding, or crafts or any number of other things. It wasn't a bad day at the beach, but it costs us $175-$200 for a family of four when you factor in the transportation, tips, food, entry fees, etc. We have friends that swear by Mr. Sanchos but I don't know anything about the costs there.

We were at Paradise Beach last December. I thought it was perfect, and we were NOT bothered by people trying to sell us stuff. The beach next to us had all those wandering vendors, but none were allowed in our area.

I didn't find our PB waiter pushy at all. If you're there for 5+ hours, it's pretty easy to spend $10/person, even if it's all food.

I also liked the available sun vs shade. We're a family of red heads, so accessible shade is important. There is also a nice, clean pool.

A word of caution, the inflatables are in fairly deep water, and are very large. Unless your little ones are seriously good swimmers, don't bother with the wristband for them.