Cenotes and Turtles Snorkeling Excursion

I thought I would share my experience on this excursion since information has been very limited. We signed up for this excursion on the Regal Princess.

After a rough ride on the ferry from Cozumel, we arrived in Playa Del Carmen and were divided into groups of 10. We were assigned to a van, a driver and our tour guide Cedric. Shout out to Cedric. We really liked him. He went out of his way to make it fun and to give a helping hand when things got a little challenging. The van was comfortable, clean and cool. They gave us a bottle of water and we set off to our first stop, the cenotes. The ride wasn't very long by mainland standards.

I think we got to the cenotes is around 25 minutes. They are located on private property and the tour company rents out a couple of the 12 cenotes on the families property for their customers to use, so it isn't very crowded. The have restrooms, but they lack toilet seats and you are not permitted to flush any paper.

You are given a life vest or snorkeling belt and you go down steep narrow steps into the hole in the ceiling of the cave down into the underworld. The water was a comfortable temperature to me, but some found it chilly. It is dark, but there are several lights on the walls and our guide had a flashlight. You snorkel thru the cave. Its very peaceful and calming, with the exception of the masks fogging up, which could get frustrating. It is very clear water and you can see the ground. There are some catfish and bats. The bats kept to their own. There is a slight current. I recommend wearing water shoes.

After the cenotes, we were giving a snack of organic cookies and a banana and then set off to visit with the turtles. Again, the ride was not more than 15 minutes. We arrived at the beach and were given fins and a life jacket and divided into two groups. We had to walk thru a lot of seaweed, some of which had dried and had gnats around it..not pleasant, however we were told that it happens every year in april and would be there for another month then it would go away. We had to climb up a ladder into the boat. The last step is pretty high, and the railing didn't come up high enough to make it easy to get on the boat. We were taken a couple of minutes off shore and jumped off the boat into the water. The water was a little rough. We did see one turtle and some reef and a few fish. I wouldn't consider it a good snorkeling area. Getting back into the boat was challenging. Our guide helped with getting our fins off so we could climb up the ladder, which was much more difficult with the boat moving in the waves.

We were then taken to a restaurant on the beach for a fajita lunch. The food was included with our excursion, and was very good. I don't remember the name of the restaurant. The tour normally goes to a different one, but there was a wedding there that day. Lunch came with two drinks, Including alcoholic beverages as options, but you couldn't get a soda. Once again, you weren't permitted to flush paper in the rest room. Does that happen everywhere in Playa Del Carmen?

We had an hour of free time to walk along 5th avenue and check out the shops etc. We were then driven back the dock and given our ticket for the ferry to go back to our ship.

We took this excursion in Nov 2016 while on the Royal Princess. This is a definite 10 out of 10 for excursions. Was the highlight of our 14 day cruise.

On the turtle portion though, we did not get on a boat. We simply snorkeled out from the shore (no seaweed at that time of year), and found multiple turtles (probably 8-10 total I believe), plus a few rays and other critters.

The cenotes were the highlight for us though. Crystal clear waters; all fresh water but still little tropical fish in them. Stalagmites and caves under water. Just a beautiful wonder of nature. Refreshing but not cold imo.

Don

Thanks for the detailed feedback - glad you enjoyed the excursion. :cool:

Lots of places in Mexico and around the world do not have sewer systems that can accommodate toilet paper.

I thought I would share my experience on this excursion since information has been very limited. We signed up for this excursion on the Regal Princess.

 

After a rough ride on the ferry from Cozumel, we arrived in Playa Del Carmen and were divided into groups of 10. We were assigned to a van, a driver and our tour guide Cedric. Shout out to Cedric. We really liked him. He went out of his way to make it fun and to give a helping hand when things got a little challenging. The van was comfortable, clean and cool. They gave us a bottle of water and we set off to our first stop, the cenotes. The ride wasn't very long by mainland standards.

 

I think we got to the cenotes is around 25 minutes. They are located on private property and the tour company rents out a couple of the 12 cenotes on the families property for their customers to use, so it isn't very crowded. The have restrooms, but they lack toilet seats and you are not permitted to flush any paper.

 

You are given a life vest or snorkeling belt and you go down steep narrow steps into the hole in the ceiling of the cave down into the underworld. The water was a comfortable temperature to me, but some found it chilly. It is dark, but there are several lights on the walls and our guide had a flashlight. You snorkel thru the cave. Its very peaceful and calming, with the exception of the masks fogging up, which could get frustrating. It is very clear water and you can see the ground. There are some catfish and bats. The bats kept to their own. There is a slight current. I recommend wearing water shoes.

 

After the cenotes, we were giving a snack of organic cookies and a banana and then set off to visit with the turtles. Again, the ride was not more than 15 minutes. We arrived at the beach and were given fins and a life jacket and divided into two groups. We had to walk thru a lot of seaweed, some of which had dried and had gnats around it..not pleasant, however we were told that it happens every year in april and would be there for another month then it would go away. We had to climb up a ladder into the boat. The last step is pretty high, and the railing didn't come up high enough to make it easy to get on the boat. We were taken a couple of minutes off shore and jumped off the boat into the water. The water was a little rough. We did see one turtle and some reef and a few fish. I wouldn't consider it a good snorkeling area. Getting back into the boat was challenging. Our guide helped with getting our fins off so we could climb up the ladder, which was much more difficult with the boat moving in the waves.

 

We were then taken to a restaurant on the beach for a fajita lunch. The food was included with our excursion, and was very good. I don't remember the name of the restaurant. The tour normally goes to a different one, but there was a wedding there that day. Lunch came with two drinks, Including alcoholic beverages as options, but you couldn't get a soda. Once again, you weren't permitted to flush paper in the rest room. Does that happen everywhere in Playa Del Carmen?

 

We had an hour of free time to walk along 5th avenue and check out the shops etc. We were then driven back the dock and given our ticket for the ferry to go back to our ship.

I'll be sailing on Carnival in a few weeks and I don't think they offer this excursion. Do you think its offered privately? Do you remember the name of the cenote or anything that would help me find it. Carnival offers a tour to the secret river "Rio Secreto" that I will likely book if I can't find any cenotes.