Roatan v Cozumel Snorkelling?

[tp cruiser]

We want to snorkel and we want a beach day. Two of our stops are Cozumel and Roatan. Does anyone have insight as to which is better to do which?

[clackey]

We want to snorkel and we want a beach day. Two of our stops are Cozumel and Roatan. Does anyone have insight as to which is better to do which?

Snorkel Roatan. We went to Tabyana Beach where the reef is a stones's throw from the beach. Another tour that I wanted to book there was with Upachaya Resort but they were full. They usually book full five or six weeks out. If you are interested, check out their website: www.upachaya.com.

 

If I wanted a good beach day it would be Paradise Beach, Playa Palancar or Nachi Cocum on Cozumel. Nachi takes only 100 people so book it early.

[chewap]

We want to snorkel and we want a beach day. Two of our stops are Cozumel and Roatan. Does anyone have insight as to which is better to do which?

 

Both has excellent beaches, but Roatan has better snorkeling-the best I have ever seen, including St John marine park.

[newcrew42]

Just back from our cruise on Sunday March 28. We snorkeled with Upachaya in Roatan. It was amazing. The reef there is absolutely beautiful. The corals are living and vibrant as well as abundant. We saw lots of fish, held a conch, star fish, saw an eel, a lion fish, a lobster and more. I have snorkeled St. Johns several times, St. Thomas, and scuba in HI, this was the most amazing snorkel I have experienced including scuba. You are VERY close to the reef on this tour. At one point you snorkel over the reef to an area where there is a natural break in the reef and it drops off 50 feet. Amazing! You can see the bottom of the ocean even at that distance and the side of the reef is beautiful!

 

We snorkeled with the glass bottom boat at Nachi Cocum in Cozumel. It was a very laid back, float with current snorkel. I thoroughly enjoyed it. You see a lot of fish as the snorkel guide feeds them when you first start, but it just cannot compare to the Upachaya tour. This fish at Nachi will even brush against you. They are very brave and apparently very used to being around humans. I would say that we did see A LOT of fish here, but it was sort of a swarming effect as they were all after the tortillas the guide brought for them. We also saw a manta ray.

 

This trip was the first time for my 12 year old to snorkel. When we got back to shore she went on and on about beautiful the reef was on Roatan and the sea life we saw there. I think the snorkel at Nachi was good for her as it gave her a point of reference to see how truly amazing the reef at Roatan was.

[Krazcruiser]

I too just came back from Roatan. We booked the beach bus excursion through V.Bodden and it was great. While at the the beach we booked a snorkel tour for 20.00pp out to blue channel ref, while there we saw plenty of fish including a few schools of blue fish and a barracuda, it was great

[pjpu]

Just back from our cruise on Sunday March 28. We snorkeled with Upachaya in Roatan. It was amazing. The reef there is absolutely beautiful. The corals are living and vibrant as well as abundant. We saw lots of fish, held a conch, star fish, saw an eel, a lion fish, a lobster and more. I have snorkeled St. Johns several times, St. Thomas, and scuba in HI, this was the most amazing snorkel I have experienced including scuba. You are VERY close to the reef on this tour. At one point you snorkel over the reef to an area where there is a natural break in the reef and it drops off 50 feet. Amazing! You can see the bottom of the ocean even at that distance and the side of the reef is beautiful!

 

Was this something you had to book ahead of time or just do on your own once you got there? Was it located near the port and what was the cost?

TIA! :)

[newcrew42]

Was this something you had to book ahead of time or just do on your own once you got there? Was it located near the port and what was the cost?

TIA! :)

 

 

http://www.upachaya.com/snorkeltour/info.php

 

Here is the website.

 

You must book ahead. We were on Royal Caribbean and Barbara gave us very detailed instructions about where to meet the van. You meet them just outside the gate 7 at the port. They were very easy to find. The cost is $60 per person. Hope this helps!

[newcrew42]

Also, they only take 10 guest to snorkel, so it is a very limited group. We were the only boat in the water that we could see. We were the only people snorkeling. We had 8 people in our group plus our guide Al. Omar, the first mate stayed aboard while we snorkeled.

 

Coming back to Upachaya, we saw two local boys in a small wooden boat, like a hollowed out tree log as well as a man in a another similar type of boat. The man was fishing and the boys were rowing their boat. That was a beautiful site as well.

[Quincella]

How long is the tour with Upachaya?

[kodiac]

Snorkel Roatan. Been there 3 times and going back again in 2 weeks. West End is the spot for scuba, snorkeling, or hanging out on the beach. I recommend Paul David with Salt & Pepper. He will arrange your transportation, all your gear, and take you to one of the best resorts on the West End. He can be reached here: roatanrock@yahoo.com. Tell him Ryan sent you and he may even buy you a drink. :)

 

To recap, If I had to pick - I would rather snorkel or dive in Roatan than Cozumel.