Thoughts / Suggestions on itinerary Costa Maya, Cozumel, Belize

[tamiboo]

Hello.

 

I am hoping to find a bit of help/suggestions/reviews

I will be traveling with my husband and son (15) in April to Costa Maya, Cozumel and Belize City.

I am looking for a good mix of relax beach day/ culture/ Fun.

I had originally wanted to go to Maya Chan in Costa Maya, however, they are already booked up.

 

Of the 3 ports, which would be best for :

Beach day (preferably with decent snorkeling right from the beach that we dont have to take a boat out.---- also which is best for snorkeling as an excursion, taking a boat out?

Sight Seeing (what sights do you suggest)

Overall cultural experience. guess this could go hand in hand with sight seeing if we do the the Ruins.

 

Things I have highlighted to check out are:

Cave Tubing in Belize City (is it worth it or over hyped? I have read mixed reviews)

Krazy Lobster or Banco Chinchorro in place of Maya Chan in Costa Maya,  or do the Native Choice Chacchomen Extreme Tour

Mr Sanchos or do  a catamaran snorkel trip?   I guess i'm worried Mr Sanchos will be TOO crowded.  Although I love the idea of taking a jet ski out with my son.

Just not sure which port is best for the beach/drinking and which is best for sights.

 

Other Suggestions not mentioned......

Edited March 4, 2022 by tamiboo

[ColeThornton]

Here is a good place to do your research:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/456-caribbean/

 

There are sub-forums there for each port on your cruise with lots of info on thing to see, do, transportation, etc.

 

Enjoy.

[tamiboo]

17 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

Here is a good place to do your research:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/456-caribbean/

 

There are sub-forums there for each port on your cruise with lots of info on thing to see, do, transportation, etc.

 

Enjoy.

 

Thanks, I tried looking through those and i am not seeing some of my main questions being answered...

 

 

[ColeThornton]

6 minutes ago, tamiboo said:

 

Thanks, I tried looking through those and i am not seeing some of my main questions being answered...

 

 

 

You're welcome.  Feel free to ask your questions over there also.  Never hurts to get more input.  🙂

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've been to Coz and Costa Maya several times, Belize once.

 

We enjoyed the cave tubing a lot.  We used a private company and were glad we did.

 

Best beach day is probably somewhere on Cozumel--lots of choices, or do a tour with beach. We alswo had fun on a beach buggy tour.  Costa Maya also has a lot of places to eat and relax on the beach a short shuttle away from port.

 

In Costa May we enjoy going on a tour to one of the several ruins.  We have used Native Choice twice and I think ? we did the extreme tour on one of the tours.  There is a considerable amount of time in the bus.

 

IMO there is no good snorkeling from the beach In Coz or Costa Maya, and even from a boat the experience is not very good any more.  The best snorkeling will be a tour from Belize out to the Cays in the Blue Hole area, but it is a long haul there and back and probably very expensive.  We have not done this, but would love to.

 

Have not been to Mr. Sanchos but have been to Chaccoban and , oh gosh, Paradise Beach? (Pretty sure that's not right)  Chaccoban has more to do and sea, the second when we were there (quite some time ago) more of just a lovely beach with facilities.

[CPT Trips]

There are plenty of beach clubs at Cozumel. We went years ago, so our experience isn’t up-to-date. At that time they were more similar than different. Were I returning, I’d check on Trip Advisor in addition to the Shore snorkeling sucked
 

Belize is a tender port and it’s a long ride on the tender to the port area. From the port area, it’s a long trip out to the reef where there is great snorkeling. That’s what you need to do if you DIY. In years past, we found that the ships excursions had the advantage of going at least one way between the ship and the reef skipping the trip to the port. 
 

 

[dolittle]

For Cozumel we love Excrat it is on the mainland of Mexico the ship will sell you this trip . Look it up on You tube . It is a great attraction they have under water caves and many other fun things. The only down side is time ,you have to hit the ground running  to see most of it . I have sent friends and family   there all loved it. 

[dolittle]

Costa Maya is a fake Disney like town (done well ) most people like it . Besides the large free pool it does not do much for us. This would be a good port for ruins and and spend the end of the day in Costa Maya (near the end of the day it is empty ) This a good time to hit the pool and run for the ship.

[Aquahound]

For a nice beach day, I recommend taking the shuttle over to Mahahual from Costa Maya.  

 

The cave tubing in Belize is ok.  It's mildly entertaining but kinda crowded.  That said, Belize City is not a nice place to walk around from the port so definitely get out on an excursion.  

[cruiseaholic777]

Mr. Sancho's will not be crowed. They limit the number of guests.  We love Mr. Sancho's. Playa Mia is also a great choice. It will depend on your sons age on which one you should pick.

[LandlockedCruiser01]

 

On 3/4/2022 at 8:51 PM, CarelessAndConfused said:

The thing I would want to do more than anything is the monkey and sloth tour where they crawl all over you and you can feed them a bit as well.

 

I would NOT feel comfortable with large non-domesticated animals other than dolphins crawling all over me.  I like animals, but I keep them in perspective.  Wild dolphins have a decades-old track record of being friendly to humans.  Monkeys and sloths, not so much, although with sloths, I do have a speed advantage. 😊   Even though monkeys are more than 90% similar to humans---with chimpanzees being 98% similar---they're still wild animals with instincts to match.  And getting close to them isn't as good idea as it seems.

 

[CPT Trips]

Swim with dolphins programs don’t involve dolphins living freely. in the wild. They are captive wild animals kept in very unnatural conditions. Animals attacking humans in these situations happen more frequently than you suggest. The track record of captive dolphins is not benign.

[Host Kat]

On 3/7/2022 at 10:23 PM, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

I would NOT feel comfortable with large non-domesticated animals other than dolphins crawling all over me.  I like animals, but I keep them in perspective.  Wild dolphins have a decades-old track record of being friendly to humans...

 

On 3/8/2022 at 10:08 PM, CPT Trips said:

Swim with dolphins programs don’t involve dolphins living freely. in the wild. They are captive wild animals kept in very unnatural conditions...

 

I suggest everyone reading this thread to also read the Cruise Critic articles Are Dolphin Tours Humane? last updated January 08, 2020 and 9 Ethical Alternatives to Cruise Ship Animal Excursions last updated July 07, 2021. I sincerely hope all will find the articles enlightening, insightful and thought-provoking for future conversations with family and friends. 

 

[dolittle]

On 3/7/2022 at 11:23 PM, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

 

 

I would NOT feel comfortable with large non-domesticated animals other than dolphins crawling all over me.  I like animals, but I keep them in perspective.  Wild dolphins have a decades-old track record of being friendly to humans.  Monkeys and sloths, not so much, although with sloths, I do have a speed advantage. 😊   Even though monkeys are more than 90% similar to humans---with chimpanzees being 98% similar---they're still wild animals with instincts to match.  And getting close to them isn't as good idea as it seems.

 

Agree I love wildlife but do not like touching . Have never understood these ''swim with ''type attractions .

[LandlockedCruiser01]

On 3/15/2022 at 7:54 AM, dolittle said:

Agree I love wildlife but do not like touching . Have never understood these ''swim with ''type attractions .

 

That makes one of us.  I did a dolphin swim excursion 10 years ago, and I still fondly remember it.

 

But how's this for a "wildlife" encounter?  I bet if such an excursion was offered, I'm sure there'd be lots of willing takers.  Heck, I'd do it.  Puppies are incredibly fun.  Since dogs are domesticated, there'd be fewer issues of what's natural or humane, and what's not.  The only catch would be making sure the excursion provider treats the puppies well and they get properly adopted after they grow up.  After all, good treatment of dogs isn't a high priority in poor countries.

(If the video isn't loading for you, it's a man getting mobbed by golden retriever puppies.)

Edited March 20, 2022 by LandlockedCruiser01

[notalandlover]

I loved the combo tour.  Our guide Joel was amazing.             Costa Maya Excursions | Activities in Costa Maya, tours and travel information (thenativechoice.com)     

[Midwestern Cruiser]

Will just offer one suggestion: Nachi Cocom in Cozumel.  It is very similar to Maya Chan in Costa Maya (I've been to both), so switch to your beach day there and you've covered one thing you want.  It is all inclusive, limited capacity, reasonably priced.  Have gone six or seven times and it's never disappointed.  Pretty sure Nachi has jet skis, but my grandsons are younger, so we do the banana boat.
 

Side note: cave tubing in Belize is just OK, and a long ride.  I'd prefer Goff Caye, however, now that the ships book tours there, I'm sure it's crowded.

[nolatravelgirl]

we did Paradise Beach club in Cozumel. It was well worth the $55 (pre booked online for a discount) per person. There were endless drinks and food. All the food is served to order (no buffet!!) and the servers were amazing. We ended up spending most of our time at the pool but the beach was lovely as well. We ended up eating fajitas on the steps of the pool. As you can see it wasn't crowded at all.