Details about Chankanaab Park, please!

[Mum2Mercury]

For our upcoming Cozumel cruise stop, we're planning to go to Chankanaab Park.  I'd like to know some details -- any information you can provide would be appreciated!  We are two adults, and we plan to take a taxi /go on our own -- no official excursion.  

 

- Is $21 /person a current ticket price?  

- My husband found an envelope of pesos from a previous trip -- isn't it nice when that happens?  Will the taxi accept pesos instead of American dollars, which are advertised?  Will Chankanaab accept pesos for tickets?  I know they accept pesos for food inside the park -- that's on the menus.  

- Do they have ample chairs in the shade?  What about hammocks?  

- We're interested in a nice beach day -- not the dolphin or manatee experiences.  Maybe snorkeling.  Which of the activities are worthwhile?  

- How are the food and drinks?  The prices look good.

- How are the massages?  Should we reserve ahead of time?

- Can we assume taxis will be waiting outside when we're ready to leave?  

 

Thanks!

Edited October 17, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[jean87510]

21 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

For our upcoming Cozumel cruise stop, we're planning to go to Chankanaab Park.  I'd like to know some details -- any information you can provide would be appreciated!  We are two adults, and we plan to take a taxi /go on our own -- no official excursion.  

 

- Is $21 /person a current ticket price?  

- My husband found an envelope of pesos from a previous trip -- isn't it nice when that happens?  Will the taxi accept pesos instead of American dollars, which are advertised?  Will Chankanaab accept pesos for tickets?  I know they accept pesos for food inside the park -- that's on the menus.  

- Do they have ample chairs in the shade?  What about hammocks?  

- We're interested in a nice beach day -- not the dolphin or manatee experiences.  Maybe snorkeling.  Which of the activities are worthwhile?  

- How are the food and drinks?  The prices look good.

- How are the massages?  Should we reserve ahead of time?

- Can we assume taxis will be waiting outside when we're ready to leave?  

 

Thanks!

price is $26.  Pesos are ok. Lots of shade.  lots of taxis.  Snorkeling is really good.  

 

https://cozumelparks.com/en/chankanaab/

[lixogab]

Followup question:

Does it get too crowded ?

There will be 6 ships in Cozumel with max capacity 25000 passengers (and most likely it will be close to that number).

Is Chanknaab a popular destination?

Should we expect crowds there or it should be ok ?

[Mum2Mercury]

Thanks for the info!

 

I'm confused on one point:  I've seen $21 and $26 on the internet, and they both appear to be current prices.   

 

I believe Chanknaab is a popular destination.  If I were traveling on such a busy day, I think I'd opt for Nachi Cocom instead -- it offers fewer activities and costs more, but it guarantees a smaller crowd.  I know only two ships will be in Cozumel on the day I'm traveling, so I don't believe you and I are visiting "the same Cozumel"; six ships is a whole different ballgame.

 

 

[kayjaypea42]

Yeah, there's gonna be 8(!!!) ships in port on our Cozumel day.  I wouldn't do one of the super popular places, like Mr. Sanchos when the port is so busy.  Maybe do an off-the-beaten path tour.  I'm considering doing an excursion for Tortugas' parasailing and beach day, myself. /shrug

[bguppies]

Six ships in Coizumel is a medium, to light day.

Eight ships is more the usual count. (I think almost every time we have been to Cozumel it has been 8 or 9 ships. Once we had a light day of only 6)

 

Honestly it depends more on WHICH ships are dovcking that day with you.

You can have 2-3 Fantasy/Spirit class ships for Carnival and 1 Oasis class ship will have more passengers.

 

If you have too many Oasis class or the Mardi Gras, etc. in at the same time, THAT is a bad day.

[MaggieNY]

My husband and I went to Chankanaab last November. We must have hit an off day because the park was pretty empty, so you'll have to take my comments with a grain of salt.

 

• We took a taxi out there and back. I don't remember the cost but I do remember it was really reasonable. There were several taxis waiting at the curb when we left the park.
• We got lucky and were able to get a beach wheelchair (I had an accident in a previous port on the trip). It was either the last or only one they had, so if you need a wheelchair and go on a busy day you might not get one. I would not have managed with the regular wheelchair I was using.
• I got a massage for about $50. I don't remember how long it lasted (not long enough!) but I want to say it was 60 minutes. It wasn't crowded at the massage area so they gave my husband a complimentary 10-minute massage. I really needed the massage after a week of pushing myself in a wheelchair and using crutches. (I just looked at the website - it says $75 for a 1 hour massage. Either the rates went up or we got a deal because they were so slow that day.)
• I got a lounge chair under a palapa and watched everyone snorkeling while my husband went scuba diving. There are 4 different dive shops on the beach and he had a private dive for $45 plus tip. (If you're not certified, no problem. It's $65 and they teach you the basics and then take you in.) He went into an underwater cave. The snorkeling looked good but it was kind of crowded at times.
• There were a lot of palapas and lounge chairs all over the beach but, like I said, the park was pretty empty that day so a lot went unused.
• The food and drinks were great. We ordered and got served right on the beach.
• The dolphin/sea lion show is on par with what you'll see in any U.S. amusement park. The host spoke rapid Spanish immediately followed by rapid English.
• There's a cute tropical garden to walk through and some building/statue replicas.
• There's a tequila tasting shop. I generally don't like tequila but this was very tasty tequila. But the price was outrageous.

 

Given our circumstances on that trip, Chankanaab worked really well for us.

 

[nimiq]

What is the actual website address for the park as it seems I can’t find it. 
 

iIs it better to reserve ahead of time or we can just show up ?

 

Thank all,

Sea Ya

Eric 

[jbrinkm]

On 11/13/2022 at 10:16 PM, nimiq said:

What is the actual website address for the park as it seems I can’t find it. 
 

iIs it better to reserve ahead of time or we can just show up ?

 

Thank all,

Sea Ya

Eric 

https://cozumelparks.com/en/chankanaab/

 

[jbrinkm]

Adult $26.00 USD
child $18.00 USD (aged 4-12)
Children under 3 Enter Free

[jbrinkm]

You can get discounted tickets into Chankanaab if you book a Cabana adjacent to the park. Cabana looks like currently $95 for up to 6 people and when we booked a Cabana last year and added Chankanaab tickets, they were $10 each and you get free snorkeling equipment (plus a fruit plate). We paid $120 total (Cabanas were $80 last year and there are 4 of us) when just entrance into Chankanaab would have been $96 (DS was still 12). So for $24 extra dollars, we got snorkeling equipment, a Cabana and a fruit plate. Depending on how many are in your party, and if everyone wants to rent snorkeling gear, it might be worth looking into. Cabanas have gone up $15 since then. Maybe spend the early part of the day exploring the park and the shows, have lunch, and then "retire" to your cabana for the afternoon with some snorkeling mixed in? (the food wasn't great at the Cabanas)

 

It was also not crowded the day we were there in April with 6 ships in port.

[c-leg5]

On 11/13/2022 at 9:16 PM, nimiq said:

What is the actual website address for the park as it seems I can’t find it. 
 

iIs it better to reserve ahead of time or we can just show up ?

 

Thank all,

Sea Ya

Eric 

We have paid on arrival. Look for the $2 off pp coupon online..

 

We have found it cheaper to book through the cruise line, if on sale , since this includes taxi transport and lunch.

[mitsugirly]

Check out the discount coupons HERE

[lelo14]

Above people mentioned knowing how many ships and which ships will be in port on a particular day. How do I find that information?

 

How crowded can I expect the sea lion show to be. How much time before the show starts do I need to nail down our seats?

 

Thanks

[fndecker]

It looks like the $26 from the park does NOT include the buffet, soft drinks, and 2 beers. What is the best way to do that? I don't think Virgin has that as an excursion, so if we take the taxi ($12), then pay the $26 entry minus the $2 coupon, do we still have the $5 ecological fee? And how to get the buffet?

[jbrinkm]

On 1/17/2023 at 1:23 AM, lelo14 said:

Above people mentioned knowing how many ships and which ships will be in port on a particular day. How do I find that information?

 

I use cruisemapper. Put in Port name, click, go to schedule, click your month and then find your day.

[Mum2Mercury]

On 10/21/2022 at 9:30 PM, bguppies said:

Six ships in Coizumel is a medium, to light day ... Honestly it depends more on WHICH ships are dovcking that day with you ...

I haven't been to Cozumel in a long time, but -- yes -- it's a big port.  And, yes, some ships are much bigger than others.  You make an excellent point. 

On 11/13/2022 at 10:16 PM, nimiq said:

... iIs it better to reserve ahead of time or we can just show up ?

I'm inclined to pay "day of".  If it happens to be rainy, we wouldn't want a beach day.  

On 11/24/2022 at 1:44 AM, c-leg5 said:

We have found it cheaper to book through the cruise line, if on sale , since this includes taxi transport and lunch.

I will compare, but I don't really want lunch -- maybe a snack, but not the full buffet.  

 

Thank you to ALL who shared information! 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[jbrinkm]

On 11/23/2022 at 11:11 PM, jbrinkm said:

You can get discounted tickets into Chankanaab if you book a Cabana adjacent to the park. Cabana looks like currently $95 for up to 6 people and when we booked a Cabana last year and added Chankanaab tickets, they were $10 each and you get free snorkeling equipment (plus a fruit plate). We paid $120 total (Cabanas were $80 last year and there are 4 of us) when just entrance into Chankanaab would have been $96 (DS was still 12). So for $24 extra dollars, we got snorkeling equipment, a Cabana and a fruit plate. Depending on how many are in your party, and if everyone wants to rent snorkeling gear, it might be worth looking into. Cabanas have gone up $15 since then. Maybe spend the early part of the day exploring the park and the shows, have lunch, and then "retire" to your cabana for the afternoon with some snorkeling mixed in? (the food wasn't great at the Cabanas)

 

It was also not crowded the day we were there in April with 6 ships in port.

 

I'm editing this as Cabana Beach has changed their pricing. The Chankanaab fee is no longer optional. It is build into what they are calling an "individual access fee" (they state that this fee includes the wristband for the park). Each Cabana is $95 with a minimum of at least one person, and the individual access fee is $15pp, so the pre-total when you go to check out comes up $110 automatically. Then you add another $15 (required now, not optional) for each additional person - up to 6 total.

 

[c-leg5]

17 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

 

I'm editing this as Cabana Beach has changed their pricing. The Chankanaab fee is no longer optional. It is build into what they are calling an "individual access fee" (they state that this fee includes the wristband for the park). Each Cabana is $95 with a minimum of at least one person, and the individual access fee is $15pp, so the pre-total when you go to check out comes up $110 automatically. Then you add another $15 (required now, not optional) for each additional person - up to 6 total.

 

I think the previous was just a promotion after Covid in fact they were even lower initially and I am still cross we didn’t have time on our land visit!
 

Prices  have been steadily rising but are still not up to what they were when they opened. The inclusions  are slightly different I think.
 

I don’t see how the park fee could ever be optional since there is really nothing to stop you accessing the park as far as I could see but perhaps it was just written off/included in the promotional price? Are they still using a back entrance for access? I know sometimes they have private events when the park is closed.

Edited January 27, 2023 by c-leg5

[kayjaypea42]

Re: buffet + drinks...Not worth it! There are two dinky buffets of very bland food and the drinks are watered down so much they may as well be colored water.  There were also lines that spiraled inside the building for the buffet because people bought the AI and that's all you got.  It took more than 45 mins to get to the buffet and when I did there were a lot of options that were out.  No guacamole either.

 

I'll do Chankanaab again, but pay for a restaurant on the beach instead.  I'm sure it would take much less time and be a much better experience in terms of quality and experience.. 

Edited February 6, 2023 by kayjaypea42