Snorkeling in Cozumel - shore or boat?

[lilshorty317]

Just wondering if anyone could provide some insight. We are stopping in Cozumel and we are trying to decide if we should book a snorkeling excursion or if we will be able to see just as much going out on our own from the shore. There are 4 of us. We've all been snorkeling before and we will be bringing our own gear. My husband and I are first time cruisers but the other couple we are traveling with have done two or three.

[wantocruisemore]

The snorkeling from shore is ok but not spectacular. The shore reef got damaged in a storm a few years ago and is on its way back. But there are some places that is not bad.

 

2 couples might just enjoy the day at THe Money bar. Search for it on this board in the Cozumel section. Great place to hang out, food is good and reasonable, drinks cold, can snorkel right there. Waiter watches your stuff while in the water or you can rent a locker.

 

DH and I really liked it this past sept.

Edited January 25, 2014 by wantocruisemore

[lilshorty317]

We have been reading a lot of great things about The Money Bar. Also reading a lot about Columbia, Palancar, and Ceilo reefs. It seems like there are quite a few 3 reef excursions that do those.

[wantocruisemore]

One thing we found interesting is that we saw several group boat snorkel tours that snorkeled right off the shore at Money bar. I think that was one of their reef stops.

[jaasb0808]

We stopped in Cozumel last month and all we wanted to do was snorkel off the beach. We were originally planning on heading to Chankanaab (sp) but once we were in the taxi we started talking to the driver and he said he thought we would like Playa Palancar better so we took his advice and went there. We were so happy with it, it was the best day of our cruise. There is no cover charge to get in, they just want you to order food and drinks sometime during the day. The beach is beautiful and the food was surprisingly great!

 

Now back to the snorkeling....there is not a reef here so it is not the most amazing snorkeling I have ever done but if you swim out toward the buoys there are several places with tons of different species of fish, several people were finding starfish, and two members of our group say a stingray.

 

We loved it because it was a great beach to hang out at, good snorkeling, and all it cost was the taxi fare and food, if you have your own snorkeling gear. We purchased some at Sunplay before our trip.

 

I can't really comment on the boat excursions as I haven't done one but Playa Palancar was great for snorkeling right off the beach and relaxing, like I said best day of this cruise!

[mitsugirly]

We love snorkeling at Chankanaab. I have 2 reviews listed in my signature line with tons of pictures that show the snorkeling area (underwater pictures) and the entire park.

[skittl1321]

The reef off of Money Bar is called Dzul-Ha. If you pay to go on a snorkeling boat (especially if it is just 1 stop!) make sure this is not the reef you are going to. You can take a cab and do it on your own much cheaper. There were TONS of snorkel boats that dropped people off, and I think they paid more than the $8 (for 4!) cab fare we paid to get there! Money Bar doesn't require you buy food or drinks to use their chairs or their (clean) restrooms, but it is a courteous thing to do for spending the day there. The prices are not expensive.

 

We LOVED our day at Money Bar- so much so it was what caused us to spend a week in Cozumel.

 

Snorkeling at Chankanaab National Park was also excellent- but for the entry price, you could probably do a boat snorkel trip. Though the park was not very crowded (and quite beautiful) the snorkel area was very crowded. We had to dodge people at times. Money Bar was not like that for us at all.

 

If you go on a boat snorkel- ask how deep the water was. When we were scuba diving on Paradise Reef there were like 50 people snorkeling above us. They were like 30 feet from the reef. While the visibility is great, the fish were down with us... I would want the reefs to be in the 15-20 foot range if I were snorkeling. I can't dive more than 8-10 feet...

Edited April 12, 2014 by skittl1321