Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, Costa Maya - Where to splurge/save?

[cruising with the family]

We are on the Carnival Sunshine in 12 days :eek: and just booked last night! We have never been to these ports, other than Cozumel. Last time we were in Cozumel, we went to Nachi Cocum. Given the short notice, I am in a rush to figure out what we are going to do in each of these wonderful places. :)

 

We are a family of 5, with three kids (9, 11, 14). We would like to take advantage of these ports but not necessarily book a full excursion at each one. If you were visiting these ports and only wanted to pay for excursions in 2 of the 4, where would you spend the money? Where could we explore easily on our own and/or spend just a little bit of cash?

 

I realize this is a port/excursion question, but it is not an easy question to ask in the port forum...not sure which forum to post?!?!

 

Any advice is appreciated!

[evandbob]

We are on the Carnival Sunshine in 12 days :eek: and just booked last night! We have never been to these ports, other than Cozumel. Last time we were in Cozumel, we went to Nachi Cocum. Given the short notice, I am in a rush to figure out what we are going to do in each of these wonderful places. :)

 

We are a family of 5, with three kids (9, 11, 14). We would like to take advantage of these ports but not necessarily book a full excursion at each one. If you were visiting these ports and only wanted to pay for excursions in 2 of the 4, where would you spend the money? Where could we explore easily on our own and/or spend just a little bit of cash?

 

I realize this is a port/excursion question, but it is not an easy question to ask in the port forum...not sure which forum to post?!?!

 

Any advice is appreciated!

 

Spend for an excursion to snorkel in Belize, best in the hemisphere. On the cheap: 1) Roatan, go to West Bay and visit Tabyana Beach. 2)Coz you know where the beach is, or just walk about the town and 3)Costa Maya, get off the dock, walk 1/4 mile and grab a cab to Marajuel, old fishing port.

[Ally22]

In Cozumel, we did Mr Sanchos. Really enjoyed it (my 8, 14, 16 and I).

In Belize, we cave tubed and enjoyed that. We booked privately and only paid $25pp

In Routan, we did Victor Bodden Fun and sun for $30pp and all the boys still rave about it.

We havent been to Costa Maya yet

Allyson

[cruising with the family]

In Cozumel, we did Mr Sanchos. Really enjoyed it (my 8, 14, 16 and I).

In Belize, we cave tubed and enjoyed that. We booked privately and only paid $25pp

In Routan, we did Victor Bodden Fun and sun for $30pp and all the boys still rave about it.

We havent been to Costa Maya yet

Allyson

 

Thanks for the suggestions! Allyson, where did you get cave tubing that cheap, and was it an OK trip?

 

I will check out your other suggestions. I saw Mr. Sanchos before...did you do all inclusive or pay as you go?

[Ally22]

At Mr Sanchos, we did do the AI, only because there was alot of ships in port, almost double the average and we wanted to have something guaranteed. We booked online and save $5 at Cozumel Water Sports

 

We book the cave tubing at cave-tubing dot com aka Butt's up. They told us how they are in a price war with Carnival and that is why the price keeps going down. They were awesome and fed us chicken tamales for lunch (included) and even my picky eaters loved it

[jenniferop]

Costa Maya, we did an all inclusive day at the beach... Maya Chan beach resort. They pick you up at the port..Loved relaxing in our private Papala for all you eat and drink. Snorkel equipment provided.

 

 

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[OCruisers]

Just an opinion but since you did ask and with your requests in mind ....

Cozumel: Mr. Sanchos

Belize: Absolutely take an excursion! Easy way is through the ship.

Roatan: Easy, you're already docked at a beach area. No need to go any other place unless you wish.

Costa Maya: Has a port facility but do recommend going to Majahaul which is a very inexpensive taxi ride away.

Look forward to having a great cruise! :)

LuLu

[KatieCharlotte]

We did this itinerary minus Costa Maya. Belize was the only port where you really must have an excursion. We did River Wallace and Mayan Ruins, which was expensive but good. Our youngest was too young for cave tubing then, but if we went back that's what we'd do. In Roatan, we took a private tour with Victor Bodden. It was very reasonably priced for a family of five and you can tailor it to your interests. Our kids had fun and learned a little. I highly recommend Victor Bodden, but Roatan can also be a cheap or even free beach day. If you don't want to see the "real Roatan" and would rather save money, you're probably docking right at Mahogany Bay beach. In Cozumel, we took a taxi to Paradise Beach and bought wristbands for the water toys since we were not interested in an all-inclusive. They have a website and facebook page, if you want to look them up. We decided that Cozumel was best for a relaxing beach day because other excursions involved too much travel time for the kids.

 

BTW, I'm so jealous of your last minute trip.

[tncruisergurl]

We will be on the ship at the same time. We have a dolphin swim booked in Cozumel. Belize we have booked cavetubing.bz we did this last year and it's great. It's $50pp. After you go though the caves they take you to eat at a family restaurant and it's all you can eat/drink. Honduras we do the private tour, going to see the monkeys, snorkel, and go to the beach. Costa Maya we don't have anything booked. We will probably hang out in the port at the pool.

 

 

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[OCruisers]

Belize was the only port where you really must have an excursion. .

 

So agree! Please do book some sort of excursion in Belize! ;)

LuLu

[ocholoco]

A couple of cheap recs if you like to snorkel:

 

Cozumel - if you aren't wanting an AI to reduce costs of boozing it up, taking a cab to Dzul Ha (public beach) makes for a pretty good trip. You have great facilities as part of the Money Bar/BC including changing areas, bathrooms, locker rental, gear rental if you don't have your own and a pretty good bar. I haven't had their food (love El Fogo in town), but I suspect from the looks of it it is anywhere from acceptable to good. Lots of people pay for boat based excursions that take them here as one of their stops, you can see them coming by all day, but you get a much better experience in my opinion going from shore. Do check out the up close stuff, but definitely swim out to the boat-stopping areas. There are some *big* coral heads.

 

I've had cab drivers do fine with "Dzul Ha" but I did have one, that for some reason of his own, seemed 'confused' at that and adding "Money Bar" straightened it right out. When you get to Money Bar, just veer right to find the little building with lockers, etc. The beach area is free, no entry costs. Googling Money Bar will give a good sense of the place.

 

Roatan: If you are on Carnival, Mahogany Bay, also free, has some really great shallow snorkeling. You just need to keep walking all the way down to the very end of the beach and then go out onto the pier. If facing out at the end of the pier, the area to your left has a good bottom for all sorts of small fish and sea creatures. We saw a lot of octopus and sea cucumbers last time. Don't get me wrong, driving out to Half Moon Bay is great, but Mahogany is nice if you want a cheap, simple option. There are bars all along the boardwalk there but it's pretty simple fare. If you do decide to go out into Roatan proper, eat anywhere that is a creepy looking shack on the side of the road. Doubly so if the eating area is a picnic table facing the ocean. *grin*

 

If you A)want an oh wow, never forget, active excursion for this trip and b)don't get seasick, the Rio Secreto tour from Cozumel is insanely awesome. It's pricey, has some travel time, requires going on the ferry to Playa del Carmen and you need to be fit-ish (not 'I free climb mountains for fun' levels of fit, more like 'able to move around easily' fit), but it's awesome. I'd recommend heavily doing it through the ship because of the ferry. I don't get seasick, but I have never been on that ferry and not seen at least one person lose it and several more green around the gills. Don't want to scare anyone off, but if it's a problem anyone has, I'd like to warn. For every person taking a sickness-bag, there are many more happy, smiling faces watching dolphins. Do a google image search for Rio Secreto. It's a flooded cave. You get to wear a hardhat. There is a long lake portion that you get to float through on your back while looking at stalactites and stalagmites. Cave fish! How could you go wrong?

[patopato1]

cozumel:

we just did the xplor which was ai. longest ziplines in mex, swim underground river, rafts, and offroad. we also enjoyed the xcarets a few year back?

[preschool teacher]

Here's my take! Belize...yes do an excursion go to caye caulker or geoffs to snorkel and enjoy the beach...or do a Mayan. Ruin....Lamanni is great...one hour bus ride then a one hour boat ride..fast and fun! Lunch included....

 

Costa maya...take a taxi ride for 5.00 round trip to go the fishing village....great beach, restaurants, and a mile long boardwalk that runs along the beach....fun place to hang out...can get a snorkel boat out to snorkel is cheap and also snorkel from the beach...

 

Cozumel...a really fun tour if you want to see the other side is the beach and bar bus...it's a good price and many people that do not drink booze take it cuz it's a good price and the wild side is fun to see and walk around....about an hour at each stop..see the sights, get a bit to eat, I think it's like 5 hours...

 

Roatan..Mahogany bay is a man made beach...get away from there...for about 25.00 a person you can get a private driver for the day and the can take you anywhere you want to go....gas is expensive and that makes taxis expensive....

A lot of people talk about victor bodden, but there's also Rony's and Theris Dixon, we went with Dixon and the were great...

 

Have fun and report back about your trip....

[sirenitas]

We have the same schedule (but our trip is in Oct) and the plan is -

 

Belize - cave tubing (http://cavetubing.bz/)

Roatan - Bodden Tours (http://boddentours.com/)

Cozumel - hire a driver (https://www.facebook.com/Cozumeltaxitour)

Costa Maya - Chacchoben ruins (http://www.thenativechoice.com/)

 

I think it depends on what you an your kids like. DD is a fish so we have to do beaches, I love history hence the ruins, DH will go to whatever I book ;) with the drivers I hope to do a little bit of everything - beach, shopping, museum (Roatan), ruins (Cozumel) etc.

 

I have been looking into paddle boarding in Roatan (https://www.facebook.com/RoatanSUP), has great reviews in Tripadvisor.

[JimAOk1945]

How about a bit of ancient history? Pick a shore excursion that will take you to see Mayan Ruins.

 

We did the same itinerary on a Royal Caribbean cruise. It's fantastic! Happy cruising!

[ehfl]

Xcaret in Mexico is really nice. You float on the underground river to the beach where you have lunch. Then you can explore, swim with the dolphins, SNUBA, feed the sharks, pet the rays, or just relax.

[wrennies]

My family will also be with you on this cruise. We are a family of 5 from TN and will be in two connecting oceanview rooms. I have three sons (16, 17, and 19).

We did this same itinerary last year (minus Costa Maya) and I am an OCD planner.

 

Costa Maya - this year only - After reading many reviews I have reserved a table, chairs and umbrella at Tropicante through Steve. There is no fee for the chairs. Steve just asks that you purchase food and drinks while there....not a problem!!!

 

Cozumel - last year we did the mini sub excursion. It was $79 a person and included use of the Cozumel Hotel and Resort facilities for the day ( about a 5 minute taxi ride). It was awesome but not worth $80 each to do again. While there (last year) we snorkeled some and so decided this would be a snorkeling stop this year. We are booked ($36 each) for a 3 reef snorkel tour and full use of the el cid la ceiba resort for the day. It is less than 5 minutes (walking) from the dock.

 

Belize- Last year we booked cave tubing on our own as Carnival charged $79 and we booked it for $50. This year we are doing the same but through Carnival as the price has now dropped to $50.

 

Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan - last year and this year, this will be a beach day. It is a man-made beach that takes about 10 minutes to walk to ( through the cruise village which is just a bunch of shops that Carnival built). We did not pay the money to ride the chairlift, after all the eating on the cruise we needed the exercise.

 

I will answer any questions I can...just let me know.

[dom89]

My family will also be with you on this cruise. We are a family of 5 from TN and will be in two connecting oceanview rooms. I have three sons (16, 17, and 19).

We did this same itinerary last year (minus Costa Maya) and I am an OCD planner.

 

Costa Maya - this year only - After reading many reviews I have reserved a table, chairs and umbrella at Tropicante through Steve. There is no fee for the chairs. Steve just asks that you purchase food and drinks while there....not a problem!!!

 

Cozumel - last year we did the mini sub excursion. It was $79 a person and included use of the Cozumel Hotel and Resort facilities for the day ( about a 5 minute taxi ride). It was awesome but not worth $80 each to do again. While there (last year) we snorkeled some and so decided this would be a snorkeling stop this year. We are booked ($36 each) for a 3 reef snorkel tour and full use of the el cid la ceiba resort for the day. It is less than 5 minutes (walking) from the dock.

 

Belize- Last year we booked cave tubing on our own as Carnival charged $79 and we booked it for $50. This year we are doing the same but through Carnival as the price has now dropped to $50.

 

Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan - last year and this year, this will be a beach day. It is a man-made beach that takes about 10 minutes to walk to ( through the cruise village which is just a bunch of shops that Carnival built). We did not pay the money to ride the chairlift, after all the eating on the cruise we needed the exercise.

 

I will answer any questions I can...just let me know.

 

Why wasn't the mini sub worth it? I was looking into doing this excursion.

[wrennies]

Why wasn't the mini sub worth it? I was looking into doing this excursion.

 

The mini sub was definitely worth it. We really enjoyed it. We were the first group that day that everyone actually made it down. It was quite amazing and fun. The guides brought animals/fish for us to hold and we "fed" the fish out of our hands. One of the guides is taking pictures and a video. They offered it to us for $40. Another family had told us to offer $20 and they accepted. While we were waiting at the resort, we snorkeled some. it was awesome and so my husband really wanted to snorkel some this year and we decided Cozumel was the place to do this.

BTW...I have seen the mini sub offered for several prices. We paid $79 but I have seen it as low as $69 this year.

[#1TravelMom]

We are on the same sailing! If your DD9 goes to kids club - I'm sure we'll meet. Our DD9 will go for a few hours here and there - mostly in the evening.

 

As I said, we have a DD9 and our nephew13 has done this itinerary with us several times.

 

COSTA MAYA: We always have a great time at Tropicante. Steve and Jorge will take great care of you. If you email in advance, he will reserve seats for you. We always order great local food for lunch there. The restaurant and restrooms are very clean. We walk down the malecon(brick paver walkway) along the shops and then walk back along the beach. Always a great day!

 

COZUMEL: Punta Sur is our absolute favorite beach. We use Crescencio Lopez (creslopez41955@yahoo.com) as our driver. He is such a sweet man. The beach is gorgeous. The food is made fresh while you wait. There is a fabulous reef, crocodile lagoon, and lighthouse to climb. There are hammocks for relaxing. Only drawback - it is that it is about 30-35 minutes from the pier and the last 20 minutes are on a long bumpy dirt road.

 

This year, we are taking Twister to Passion Island. In 35+ cruises, we've only booked a handful of excursions with the ship, but, this is not offered privately, so we booked with Carnival. We've also been to Mr. Sanchos and Paradise Beach - both nice, but a little too crowded for us. Chankanaab is great for snorkeling and the animal show is nice, but there is not a sandy entrance to the ocean.

 

Coba Mayan Ruins are soooo incredible! It is the 2nd highest in the America's and you can climb to the top. This trip involves a ferry and a bus ride, but the educational value is worth it. How many kids can say they've climbed a Mayan pyramid. Amazing experience!

 

ROATAN: Ronystours is our go to company here. Rony is an awesome guy. His private tours are only $25pp and you get your own driver for the whole day. The monkeys are really fun. South Shore Canopy is REALLY fun! The beaches are crystal clear. The monkey stop will add $8-10pp and the zipline $35. Although many prefer to stay at Mahogany Bay, if budget allows - the beaches on the west are fabulous. Mahogany Bay is okay, but gets murky and very crowded. You would have a great day with Rony!

 

BELIZE: Lamanai is incredible! You ride a van and meet a boat, travel up a river to the ruins in the jungle. It involves lots of travel time, but really an amazing experience to climb the Mayan pyramid. Super views out over the jungle canopy into Guatemala. While lots of people will spend their day worrying about the timing to catch the last tender, I have never heard of a single person missing their ship. The tour companies are very aware of the time throughout the day.

 

Cavetubing is really fun also. We use Vitalino who owns cavetubing.bz. He has very nice, new equipment. His guides have excellent safety training and they are all extremely friendly. The speed of the floating is totally dependent on the rain. You can have a trip where you slowly float in very shallow water or quickly float down the river with deeper, fast-moving water. The hike is nice(not difficult at all) - taste a termite, hold a tarantula - FUN!

 

I would totally suggest splurging on a ruins excursion in Cozumel or Belize. Our DD9 has loved both of the ruins trips and the photos we have are amazing!

[RunnerGirl26.2]

Roatan-another vote for Bodden tours. We did the Zip n Dip.

 

Cozumel-we did a ship sponsored excursion that used Fury Catamarans. Snorkel trip with beach time also.

 

Belize-we did ship sponsored trip to Mayan structures-Altun Ha.