Cozumel snorkeling? and other western carribean

[firstalaskatrip]

I've read a lot that Cozumel has great diving and also read that a recent hurricane damaged the reef. How is cozumel for snorkeling? Where do you recommend snorkeling from? How does it compare to other western carribean snorkeling? Any turtles?

 

We are thinking of taking a western carribean cruise with cozumel, belize, and roatan as stops. I think we would likely snorkel in roatan - recs on which company or where? In Belize, I'm really torn between trying to get to Hol Chan or going to Lamanai, so I was wondering how cozumel snorkeling would compare to see if it is an alternative. I've been snorkeling near Caye Caulker - it was great, but I hear Hol Chan is much better - though much harder to get to from a cruise. Appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

[OCruisers]

Snorkeling in Roatan and Belize can be great if you take a boat/catamaran to the Barrier Reef (2nd largest in the world)! Please don't miss the opportunity to do this. :)

LuLu

[snc_cam]

I agree with LuLu about snorkeling in Belize or Roatan. However, in Roatan, you can actually snorkel from the beach whereas in Belize that is not possible. The barrier reef is truly amazing.

[ABQrobin]

Cozumel reefs were damaged in the hurricane over 8 years ago, they have almost fully recovered. We dive there for a week almost every year. BUT the reefs are not close to shore, you cannot snorkel out to them from shore, plus Cozumel has current. It is all drift diving for that reason. Boat snorkeling can take you out to a shallow reef.

 

Better snorkeling will be Belize or Roatan. Belize by boat, as others have said, as Belize has rows and rows of barrier islands. I have a video of my recent snorkeling excursion there that I just posted on another thread.

 

Roatan... take one of the catamaran snorkel tours OR go on the Maya Key excursion and shore snorkel. The reefs are very close to shore, but you have to get away from sandy beaches to get to the reefs.

[snc_cam]

Cozumel reefs were damaged in the hurricane over 8 years ago, they have almost fully recovered. We dive there for a week almost every year. BUT the reefs are not close to shore, you cannot snorkel out to them from shore, plus Cozumel has current. It is all drift diving for that reason. Boat snorkeling can take you out to a shallow reef.

 

Better snorkeling will be Belize or Roatan. Belize by boat, as others have said, as Belize has rows and rows of barrier islands. I have a video of my recent snorkeling excursion there that I just posted on another thread.

 

Roatan... take one of the catamaran snorkel tours OR go on the Maya Key excursion and shore snorkel. The reefs are very close to shore, but you have to get away from sandy beaches to get to the reefs.

 

Wife/I have done the Maya Key excursion. Was a great snorkel at the end of the reef. They also have a building with restrooms and lockers that were very cheap to rent for the trip.

[a&wcruising]

I've read a lot that Cozumel has great diving and also read that a recent hurricane damaged the reef. How is cozumel for snorkeling? Where do you recommend snorkeling from? How does it compare to other western carribean snorkeling? Any turtles?

 

We are thinking of taking a western carribean cruise with cozumel, belize, and roatan as stops. I think we would likely snorkel in roatan - recs on which company or where? In Belize, I'm really torn between trying to get to Hol Chan or going to Lamanai, so I was wondering how cozumel snorkeling would compare to see if it is an alternative. I've been snorkeling near Caye Caulker - it was great, but I hear Hol Chan is much better - though much harder to get to from a cruise. Appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

 

if you want to snorkel from shore in Roatan, try Tabayana Beach- we loved it. an easy shore snorkel in Cozumel would be Chankanaab

[Smilefy]

I will echo this sentiment. Tabayana Beach was a trip of a lifetime. I've been there twice, but the first time I did not snorkel. The second time we snorkeled there I was hooked. Did not want to leave and even looked into booking a resort in the area.

 

if you want to snorkel from shore in Roatan, try Tabayana Beach- we loved it.

[WisCruiser2]

Another nice place to snorkel in Cozumel is Money Bar -- no fee (but do buy some food & drink), tables with umbrellas or loungers available, rental equipment. We saw quite a few fish there!

[Stevesan]

Eagle ray in Cozumel.

I strongly recommend the three reef trip. Excellent guides and great snorkeling.

 

http://www.eagleraydivers.com/snorkeling_caribbean.htm

 

Coral Breeze In Belize

 

http://www.coralbreezetours.com/current_category.15/Product.2/tours_add.html?t_product=2

 

Tabyana Beach In Roatan. Good shore snorkeling and nice beach. Your ship will run round trip shuttle throughout the day.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Stevesan

[MaureenNC]

We (me, dh, tdd-12) did a similar cruise in 2013- with Costa Maya as a 4th stop (you're really not missing much if your cruise does not stop there!). We love to snorkel, and try to incorporate it on all of our excursions. On our trip, we went to:

 

Cozumel-CHANKANAAB... we loved it here! We splurged and did the whole package with the dolphin swim and manatee encounter (which was great fun!!). After that, we walked over to the beach part and went snorkeling- I would say it was good, but not great. But overall, we loved Chankanaab and recommend it as a nice full day on Cozumel.

 

Belize- we took the Coral Breeze tour to shark ray alley and Cay Caulker. This was so so for us. We made a snorkeling stop first, but we didn't see much. My daughter's mask kept leaking- actually, all of their equipment was marginal at best (we have since purchased our own!). They weren't terribly interested in helping her, so dh & I tried swapping, adjusting, etc. and we all missed most of the stop. But when everyone was back on board, no one seemed to be raving about the sites, so I'm thinking we didn't miss much. The Cay Caulker stop was for lunch, which was pretty good. Not much else to do there that I could see. Our final stop was shark ray alley, where we got out and snorkeled with sting rays and nurse sharks- what an experience!! This made up for the disappointment of the first stop. The ride out and back was pretty long (30-45 minutes) but it was absolutely gorgeous! Bluest water I have ever seen, the mangroves were very cool, and I loved the little houses that were just sitting out on their own little patches of sand. Overall a nice day, but I would probably try something different if we went back.

 

Roatan- Maya Key: I LOVE THIS PLACE!! I wish we could have stayed longer! It is a private resort with beach, plenty of lounge chairs (including some in the shade, which we liked), and AWESOME snorkeling!! You walk out to the end of the pier and enter the water there. They have a path marked to bring you out to the reef (not far), and there is such an abundance of fish and coral- I was in heaven! We snorkeled for an hour or 2 in the morning, stopped to have lunch (included in our pass, and pretty tasty), looked around at some of the animals they have there (quite an assortment), and then hurried back for more snorkeling! There was also a pool, and some re-created ruins to look at, and probably other stuff.... but I was happy to stay at the beach all day!

 

Happy planning!!

[snc_cam]

Eagle ray in Cozumel.

I strongly recommend the three reef trip. Excellent guides and great snorkeling.

 

http://www.eagleraydivers.com/snorkeling_caribbean.htm

 

Coral Breeze In Belize

 

http://www.coralbreezetours.com/current_category.15/Product.2/tours_add.html?t_product=2

 

Tabyana Beach In Roatan. Good shore snorkeling and nice beach. Your ship will run round trip shuttle throughout the day.

 

Steve, thanks for posting the info for Cozumel. Have added it to my list for things to do on WestCarib cruises.

 

Maureen, I have done MayaKey and agree with you, very nice snorkeling area. I am going to try Tabyana next time and see how it compares.