Seaweed conditions in Cozumel

[crusingmomof4]

Has anyone been to Cozumel recently? We will be there next week on a cruise stop and was wondering if the seaweed situation was under control. Trying to decide what to do in port! Thank you :)

[JohninDC]

Seaweed comes and goes - with most of the beach clubs lined up along the same side of the island, if it affects one it will likely affect them all.

[mrsfuzzmo]

Are you talking about the sargassum problem that's been plaguing the Caribbean this year? I haven't heard too many complaints about any beaches in Cozumel. We spent a week in Riv Maya in May and it was awful. Literally knee deep along the beach every morning. Of course the resorts do their best to clean it up but sometimes it's ovewhelming. I remember flying out of CUN and seeing the huge floating patches of it out in the sea off of Cancun. I'm guessing Cozumel had seen its good days and it's bad days, but most of the beach clubs and resorts will work to clear it off the beaches before the crowds arrive.

 

I haven't heard much about it lately, so maybe the sargassum problem is over.

[VidaNaPraia]

Don't know if there are live cameras on Cozumel, but check the ones in Tulum, Akumal and Playa del Carmen. They seem to be showing significantly less seaweed on the beaches, even after what looked to be some stormy days with wind.

Akumal live cam:

https://www.locogringo.com/akumal-beach-webcam

[tomko2]

I saw pictures of tons of the Sargussum seaweed on the shores in Cozumel taken this summer, the article said the Mexican Government was spending 10 million and had hired 4600 people to work on the problem in along the Mexican Riviera and Cozumel. I cannot find any updates.

Does anyone know what the current situation is in Cozumel?

 

Many thanks

Kathy

[OCruisers]

Updates on the seaweed conditions in Cozumel are always appreciated.

Last January it was really bad. :(

[watermelonqueen99]

We were in Cozumel in early October and went to Nachi. The seaweed was HORRIBLE and the smell from it rotting was even worse. It literally triggered my gag reflex. We stayed under 2 hours, we just couldn't take the smell any more. We didn't even attempt to get in the water and just swam in the pool. Many, many people were upset that in order to get in the ocean, they would have to wade through seaweed, and were quite upset there was no sort of warning issued before we paid our balance to get in. I used to belong to a couple of FB groups and warned others there that they may not want to go there and waste their hard earned money because of the very bad seaweed situation and I immediately got ripped apart and flamed for steering people away from Nachi because of something "our of their control", so I was reluctant to answer your question. But if you're like us, you are not a millionaire and we like to get the most bang for our vacation buck. We were not able to enjoy Nachi at all, and I was hoping I could maybe help some folks out by passing that along. I left those groups, as I certainly wouldn't want to try to help any of them again. But then again, I'm sure a lot of them are CC members and may very well resume the flaming right here on this thread. :) LOL

[tomko2]

We were in Cozumel in early October and went to Nachi. The seaweed was HORRIBLE and the smell from it rotting was even worse. It literally triggered my gag reflex. We stayed under 2 hours, we just couldn't take the smell any more. We didn't even attempt to get in the water and just swam in the pool. Many, many people were upset that in order to get in the ocean, they would have to wade through seaweed, and were quite upset there was no sort of warning issued before we paid our balance to get in. I used to belong to a couple of FB groups and warned others there that they may not want to go there and waste their hard earned money because of the very bad seaweed situation and I immediately got ripped apart and flamed for steering people away from Nachi because of something "our of their control", so I was reluctant to answer your question. But if you're like us, you are not a millionaire and we like to get the most bang for our vacation buck. We were not able to enjoy Nachi at all, and I was hoping I could maybe help some folks out by passing that along. I left those groups, as I certainly wouldn't want to try to help any of them again. But then again, I'm sure a lot of them are CC members and may very well resume the flaming right here on this thread. :) LOL

 

Thanks for posting this info. We are like you and don't want to spend money if the seaweed problem is still active. I have a sensitive stomach and we wouldn't last 5 minutes if it is still smelly.

[blue_water]

We haven't been to Coz this year but we've been to the Riviera maya (Playa Del Carmen) area 3 times this year and can comment on the sargassum situation.

 

It has not subsided yet, but conditions have improved immensely since our visit in March, and moreso since our visit in July/August. The ocean color was brownish on both our earlier visits, but on our most recent visit in early November the gorgeous colors had returned and the amount of sargassum had shrunk noticeably.

If you follow the threads on TA and playa.info you'll find that the shifting currents between Coz and the Yucatan Peninsula can determine on a daily basis whether the beaches of Coz will be affected or those of Playa. So you really can't tell until you are there that day...You will probably still see huge patches from the ship while at sea, and you may see turtles resting on them as well.

 

This is a major event and is unprecedented and it will take some time to get back to normal. Conjectures as to the cause range from warming ocean temps to this being a long-term cycle not yet tracked.

[tomko2]

We haven't been to Coz this year but we've been to the Riviera maya (Playa Del Carmen) area 3 times this year and can comment on the sargassum situation.

 

It has not subsided yet, but conditions have improved immensely since our visit in March, and moreso since our visit in July/August. The ocean color was brownish on both our earlier visits, but on our most recent visit in early November the gorgeous colors had returned and the amount of sargassum had shrunk noticeably.

If you follow the threads on TA and playa.info you'll find that the shifting currents between Coz and the Yucatan Peninsula can determine on a daily basis whether the beaches of Coz will be affected or those of Playa. So you really can't tell until you are there that day...You will probably still see huge patches from the ship while at sea, and you may see turtles resting on them as well.

 

 

This is a major event and is unprecedented and it will take some time to get back to normal. Conjectures as to the cause range from warming ocean temps to this being a long-term cycle not yet tracked.

 

 

Thank you for the information - I am going to try and learn (and hopefully understand) more about the event.

[BlueSkiesTX]

I was just in Cozumel at Nachi Cocom last week. The water was crystal clear....just like a Corona commercial. :)

[tomko2]

I was just in Cozumel at Nachi Cocom last week. The water was crystal clear....just like a Corona commercial. :)

 

That is great news! Thank you.

We will be there in a few days.

:)

[c-leg5]

We were staying on Cozumel last week. No problems on the west side but lots of seaweed on the ocean on east side and very smelly at Bob Marley's.

[blue_water]

Yes the east side will be continually bombarded until the event clears, the west side is just dependent on the winds between Coz and Playa and you'll see good and bad days for some time.

 

Too bad about Bob Marley's - our favorite spot on Coz to lime and stare at the beautiful ocean... :(

It will get better! ;)

[c-leg5]

Yes the east side will be continually bombarded until the event clears, the west side is just dependent on the winds between Coz and Playa and you'll see good and bad days for some time.

 

Too bad about Bob Marley's - our favorite spot on Coz to lime and stare at the beautiful ocean... :(

It will get better! ;)

 

Yes too bad.

 

We like to bar hop on east side but checked out Sky Reef, Palancar, short stop at Bob Marleys and back round the coast to the Money Bar!

[vkb2751]

is there seaweed at Paradise Beach? we will be in Cozumel next week. Thank you

Edited December 10, 2015 by vkb2751

[tomko2]

is there seaweed at Paradise Beach? we will be in Cozumel next week. Thank you

 

Just off the Oasis. Unfortunately the weather was cloudy and it wasn't an overly warm day when we were in Cozumel so we stayed on the ship in the morning and just walked around the pier in the afternoon. Did not hear anyone complaining about the beaches so guessing things were good.

[trystran72]

We were just at Nachi on Friday and the seaweed was almost non-existent. Quite a change from Tulum in March when it was pretty overrun! The beach was really perfect last week - enjoy!

[zqvol]

is there seaweed at Paradise Beach? we will be in Cozumel next week. Thank you

 

 

It is an hour by hour thing. It might be good when you are there or it might be terrible.

[Ivanna Cruz]

We were in Cozumel in early October and went to Nachi. The seaweed was HORRIBLE and the smell from it rotting was even worse. It literally triggered my gag reflex. We stayed under 2 hours, we just couldn't take the smell any more. We didn't even attempt to get in the water and just swam in the pool. Many, many people were upset that in order to get in the ocean, they would have to wade through seaweed, and were quite upset there was no sort of warning issued before we paid our balance to get in. I used to belong to a couple of FB groups and warned others there that they may not want to go there and waste their hard earned money because of the very bad seaweed situation and I immediately got ripped apart and flamed for steering people away from Nachi because of something "our of their control", so I was reluctant to answer your question. But if you're like us, you are not a millionaire and we like to get the most bang for our vacation buck. We were not able to enjoy Nachi at all, and I was hoping I could maybe help some folks out by passing that along. I left those groups, as I certainly wouldn't want to try to help any of them again. But then again, I'm sure a lot of them are CC members and may very well resume the flaming right here on this thread. :) LOL

 

Wow, I was at Nachi last month (November) and had no seaweed or foul smell issues. There must be a lot of variables. That was my second time at Nachi in two years and neither time was there a problem. My problem with Nachi is that it is getting run down and they just aren't fixing things up. Service and quality definitely had gone down in the months since I had last gone there. I'm going to Cozumel again in April 2016, but I won't be going back to Nachi.

[blue_water]

As mentioned in previous posts the shifting current between Playa and Coz determines the sargassum situation that day at that spot. You really can't plan your day until you arrive.