Chen Rio.....How is the Snorkeling?

[injunjoe]

I have seen a couple of pictures of this beautiful beach and would love to check it out. I would also like to do some snorkeling but it seems that a combination of a beautiful, sandy beach and good snorkeling is pretty rare. How about Chen Rio??? What is the snorkeling like there? We will be in Cozumel from 7 AM to 6 PM so, if necessary, we could split the day but I would rather not. Any input on Chen Rio? Any suggestions on how to split the day if needed?

 

Thanks

Injun Joe

[jgmpuma]

The first time we went to Chen Rio there were a couple of people snorkeling. Thay said that they had seen a few fish, but that was pretty much it. The best snorkeling is on the west side of the island, but the good spots don't have much in the way of beaches.

 

If you have the time and the transportation, you could do both sides. On our last two cruises the ship left at 4:00, so our choices were limited.

[p2lockhart]

We plan to rent a car, head to Dzul Ha to snorkel, and then on to the beach at Chen Rio. I have been to Chen Rio 3 times and it is beautiful. I did not see any snorkeling while I was there. I would be leary of the undertow. I hear that the food at Coconuts is better, but I had no complaints about the food at Chen Rio. We tried the seafood platter.

[injunjoe]

I am thinking that Dzul Ha and then Chen Rio would be an awesome way to spend the day but we are a little leery of renting a car in Cozumel. If we were to rent a car, what should we "watch out" for as far as the rental itself as well as driving habits in Cozumel? How cost efficient would renting a car be as opposed to taking a taxi to and from these places? Are we talking new car rental or jalopies?

 

Thanks

[jgmpuma]

The first time we went to Chen Rio was by cab. We tried to get the driver to agree to come back in three hours. He told us he had another commitment, but would send a friend. He did, but we were a little nervous until he arrived. There are no phones on the east side of Coz, but the people at the bars and restaurants usually had cel phones, just in case.The fare was $25 (plus tip)each way.

 

The last time, we rented a car from Alamo when we got off the ship at Puerto Maya. The total cost was about $60, including insurance. It was much nicer being independent. We stopped at a few places on the way to have a beer or just admire the scenery.

 

You get what you pay for. We had a VW semi-convertable (removable canvas top) with stick shift and no A/C, but it ran fine and was all we needed.

 

Once you get past the beaches and resorts on the west side of Coz, there is very little traffic and the road is pretty good. Mostly tourists and the lunatics on scooters.

[TexEm]

We rented a GeoTracker from Avis at the International Pier 2 summers ago, and it seems like it was about $60 then (it only had about 4000 miles on it, if I remember right). We drove through SanMiguel, across the island, stopped for a short time at SanGervasio ruins, then to ChenRio for a few hours. The beach itself is very nice, the restaurant had good food (we had the seafood platter, too, thought it was very good, but not cheap)--the restaurant staff looked after us, made sure we had a table, chairs and an umbrella, and took us up to a screened in eating area when the food was ready. We didn't go out far to snorkel, we were afraid of the undertow. We just played at it in the shallow lagoon area. We then drove south around the island and went shopping back near the pier. We still had time to spare. So I'm thinking you could rent a car, not worry about a taxi coming back for you, get to both ChenRio and a westside beach, too. People on these boards have raved about Paradise Beach, some said the snorkeling was good there. (Check out the multiple threads about PB.) My husband did the driving, it didn't seem too crazy, not a lot of traffic on the east side.

[injunjoe]

Where do you rent a car at the pier? Do you reserve in advance or just rent when you get off the ship? Also, how big is Cozumel? Would driving from the pier to Dzul Ha to Chen Rio and back to the pier involve 10 miles? 20 miles? 50 miles?

 

Thanks for the help

[MTV43]

Injun Joe

 

Chen Rio does not open until noon and close at 6:00 PM. If you are planning to eat there, make sure to ask for the price first, they do not have menu, just a few pictures of their seafood platters hanging on the wall. For shore snorkeling, Dzul Ha is great. Cozumel is very small, it is approximately 30 miles long, the driving is pretty easy, about 30 miles per hour. If you are planning to rent a car, you can reserve it online, Avis does not require a deposit (not sure about others), print a confirmation with you. When you get there, if it has better rate, go for it, if not the car is already there for you.

 

MTV

[p2lockhart]

Injun, find out what pier you arrive at and then check out what rental agencies are there. CozumelInsider usually has the pier info: http://www.cozumelinsider.com/cruiseships/

 

Here is another link to pier info: http://www.travelnotes.cc/cruise/index.php

 

I will be on the Elation, which normally docks at Puerta Maya, so I will probably rent from Executive. The mapchick has a great map of the Island and the town. It is extremely detailed and shows what rental agencies are at each port, it shows where all the beaches are located, and tons of other info. You can order it online at: http://www.cancunmap.com/

 

The map and site has rental car info as well:

http://www.cancunmap.com/car_rental_tips.html

 

Since Chen Rio does not open until noonish, you have plenty of time to snorkel at Dzul Ha and check out other places of interest along the way to Chen Rio. That's what we plan to do.

Hope this helps.

[wkwthme]

I have been to Chen Rio twice and was just there last week. It has gotten a lot more crowded in the past year! I saw several people snorkling though the margaritas there keep me out of the water : ). There are some rocks that keep the undertow at bay for a part of the beach and it seemed quite shallow. We swam every day on the 'wild side' (east) and never had a problem. Just use caution, dont drink and swim and know your limits. I never went in water above my chest there.

Do a search on car rentals in Coz, we used CP rentals and even the time-share pushers were amazed at the price we got (22.50 per day, including liability but not optional collision).

Hope this helps.