Cozumel by JEEP

[SouthavenMSCruiser]

My family has deciede that since our final excursion of the cruise will be at Cozumel we want to take a Jeep trip on the island. There seem to be several excursion operators that offer a jeep tour that are all about the same. What I really want to do is go and see the western side of the island and the beautiful seascapes. We also want to go to the eco park, snorkeling and lighthouse. We want to enjoy a great buffett and some time at a beach and of course a little while shopping before departure.

 

I know that the cruise line excursion is a no go. What independant tour operators have any of you used that would be able to offer this kind of adventure. Or would it be better to just rent a jeep for the day with avis or someone and take off on our own.

 

If you recommend on our own - please recommend some stops.

[LUVMYGSDOG]

We did the jeep tour through Island Marketing and loved, loved it. See my mini review on the thread about Dune Buggies. I highly recommend this tour!

 

 

Kim

[SouthavenMSCruiser]

Thanks for the reply to my inquiry. I have been looking at their tour. We are excited about it but want to make sure that we get the most bang for our buck.

[ocntscha]

The Eastern side of the island has the beautiful seascapes.

 

I'd recommend just renting a jeep when you get there. I've done the jeep rental thing twice. First time I booked in advance, and all the good it did me was a fat load of nothing. The jeep they gave me wasn't nearly as good as I what I had clearly reserved. I complained and they gave me like $10 off the price, woop dee doo. That was Avis. I'll never use them again. Last time I just got off the ship and rented a jeep from the first rental place I found that wasn't Avis.

 

We stopped at Playa Palancar, a couple random spots of nothing but beautiful seascape on the Western side, Coconuts and the Money Bar. Make sure you keep your jeep entirely off the sand. Particularly if its two wheel drive which it probably will be. Ask me how I know.

 

Tom

[ocntscha]

a couple random spots of nothing but beautiful seascape on the Western side

And by Western side I meant Eastern side.

Sheesh, after I'd just pointed out the seascapes are on the Eastern side.

[kew1031]

we did this tour in 2009. At the time, it was offered through Carnival and we booked it with the cruise line.

Carnival no longer has it listed in their excursions, but as a previous poster stated, it is available through Island Marketing.

It was great fun, the lagoon /beach area where they take you for snorkeling and lunch is gorgeous. The guides were very nice, professional, informative, and pretty funny, too.

We're going back to Cozumel this year and considered booking it again. We opted for Nachi Cocom, just to go somewhere different. But the jeep tour with snorkeling and beach break is great.

[kew1031]

We have never done it, nor would I be willing to myself.

Some folks say it's fine, but others highly discourage it, due to Mexican law, insurance, liability and such.

the island has one road that circles the perimeter and one that cuts across the center from west to east. I don't think you could get lost! Research a lot before deciding to rent your own wheels for the day.

[mamajules]

We've rented a jeep most of the times we have stopped in Cozumel. The hardest part of driving is downtown San Miguel - it can be a little confusing. Other than that, one road that crosses the island from San Miguel to the eastern side, and one road down and around the tip. We always get the FULL insurance, so there is no deductible, etc should there be an accident. The car rental place will have maps, but I would also recommend going here and getting the Cozumel map set: http://www.cancunmap.com.

 

We love the east side of the island. Stopped at Punta Sur twice - its beautiful. Also the Rasta Bar near the entrance to Punta Sur, Chen Rio, great little cove where you can swim, good food, and of course a visit to Coconuts. Will be doing this again in October when we're there on the Legend.

[SouthavenMSCruiser]

Thanks to all of you we have made up our mind. - We have booked the jeep tour of the island through Island Marketing. I am just a little to nervous about just heading out on my own yet.

 

The only thing that I am dissapointed on is I don't thing that the tour gets on to the eastern shoreline (looking out on the gulf/atlantic). I think it stays on the calmer western shore.

 

Either way - I will give you all my review of the tour once I return. We (all six of us) are excited and ready to go. I think from what you all have told me that this will be a great adventure.

 

Happy cruising to all of you.

[crusinpsychRN]

Good, I just posted agreeing with kew1031 and just erased my post. Have a grreat time!