Just got back from Chankanaab Park

[rogerashley]

I was at the Paradise beach on the last cruise and hated beach and the push waiters so I went to Chanakanaab Park (CP from now on)

 

It was $10 for the taxi ride and pretty much down the street from the international pier.

 

Very nice park with lots of palapas and beach chairs for tanning or just sitting around.

 

Beach area is man made but who cares? Sand was soft and wide. Snokeling was excellent. Fresh water pool was nice for kids, Dolphins were a nice distraction and enough shops, bars and restaurants to fill you up.

 

Lagoon is absolutely incredible.... never saw any water that clear in my life.

 

Overall, a perfect place for family to hangout and learn to snorkel.

 

NOTE :

- Print out $2 off coupon from various websites for entrance.

- Hook up with fellow cruisers for taxi ride so you can split $10 if you want to.

- Buy beer and soft drink before you go into the park. There is a shop next to the ticket booth that sells 3 cans of ice cold beer for $5.

- Avoid ordering seafood cocktail in the CP. Overpriced for tiny portion.

- Get yourself a good snorkeling gear before you go. Although you can negotiate with the vendors for a deal ($10 for gear, fin and vest), quality of the gears are not that good.

- Bring some bread so that you can attract some fish

- Don't worry about bringing in natural tanning lotion...some people wrote about it in other posts. You can bring anything you want. They don't check.

- Teach your children not to urinate in the ocean water.

- Bring underwater camera. You will need it and it costs $20 at the CP.

[KVR]

From what times were you there? Was it crowded? Where there lots of kids? We planning on going to Chankanaab Park next month on our cruise, but we are looking for less crowds and children. Do you have any pictures?

[zantedeschia]

 

- Bring some bread so that you can attract some fish

-

Frozen peas are better. Bread falls apart in the water.

[TrqoisWtrs]

Originally Posted by rogerashley

 

- Bring some bread so that you can attract some fish

-

Frozen peas are better. Bread falls apart in the water.

 

Bringing nothing is even better.

[RNTMO95]

Thanks so much for the insight on CP, we will be there next week!!:D

I was a bit worried about the whole "man made" thing, thinking we wouldn't be getting the real island effect:rolleyes: , but now I'm even more excited!

As far as the excellent snorkeling, did you go from the shore or pay for an excursion?

And can you rent just vest and fins? we will be bringing our own masks and snorkels.

 

I was thinking about taking some "snacks" for the fish, but after reading Cruisntigger's reply.....Is it bad to feed the fish?

[kenf333]

Frozen peas are better. Bread falls apart in the water.

 

Feeding fish is illegal, and I highly suggest you leave food on the ship...

[RNTMO95]

kenf333....Thanks, didn't know that......

[BethCarp]

Thanks for the review. Was it easy to watch the dolphins without doing the experience? How was the food there? Good Mexican food?

[wonlife64]

Thanks for the information. We will be at CP next week Tuesday. Also glad to hear about the sun block. I have been looking all over for biodegradeable sun block with no luck. One other question, once in the park can you leave and come back in. You mentioned to buy beverages at a shop outside the park, can you take it in the park or do you need ot "sneak" it in?

 

Thanks!

[Stevesan]

Feeding fish is illegal, and I highly suggest you leave food on the ship...

 

You should remind all the dive and snorkel guides of the "don't feed the fish rule (law?)".:rolleyes:

 

The guides on our last trip to Palancar Reef used tortilla strips.

The fish are obviously either Texans or locals. They scarfed them up, without the salsa. We were swarmed w/fish of all varieties. The Bermuda Chum were especially fond of the tortilla strips. On occasion they confused me with the fish food, and avidly nibbed away at my bod!

[brownies95]

Does Chankanaab Park use purified water in their drinks and to prepare their food with? How was their food? What do they serve?

 

Thanks,

 

Tim:cool:

[kenf333]

You should remind all the dive and snorkel guides of the "don't feed the fish rule (law?)".:rolleyes:

 

The guides on our last trip to Palancar Reef used tortilla strips.

The fish are obviously either Texans or locals. They scarfed them up, without the salsa. We were swarmed w/fish of all varieties. The Bermuda Chum were especially fond of the tortilla strips. On occasion they confused me with the fish food, and avidly nibbed away at my bod!

 

Any company that operates in cozmel knows of the law, unfortunatly they consider the entertainment value of feeding fish more so than the future of the reef system.

[Suzanne74]

Thanks OP - are there a lot of kids there?

 

We are there from 10-7 so I think we are going to Paradise Beach in the AM until lunch and then heading over to CP for 2pm dolphin encounter and then hang out, snorkel and check out the park.

 

Where in the world would someone find frozen peas on a cruise?

[Hugh0906]

Avon makes a fish friendly sun screen. Most dive shops in the states also sell them. If you don't believe it matters, go sometime to Garrafon reef in Isla Mujeres off of cancun. The reef there is just now coming back after years of neglect and party boats full of folks.

 

the CP employees were feeding fish tortillas the time we were there.

 

 

Hugh

[rogerashley]

1. Food inside the park is overpriced. Ceviche was OK but had better elsewhere. So... have a big breakfast in the ship then skip lunch and have a big dinner... in the meantime... fill yourselves up with icy cold beer... sounds good?

 

2. Yes, you can leave after you enter the park. When you enter, they give you a wristband which is your ticket or stamp that allows you to go in and out.

 

3. There are shops inside the park and outside the park. Outside shops are cheaper. 3 for $5 beer selections were Dos Equis, Tecate, Sol, etc... no corona. Soda was $1.50 and 1 liter water bottle was $3

 

4. Plenty of area for kids to run around so lots of kids but park itself is big enough that kids won't bother you.

 

5. Instead of worrying about biodegradable sunscreen, just get yourself a shirt to wear when you snorkel.. Problem settled?

 

6. Dolphins are right next to the boardwalk where other guests line up and take pictures. Freshwater pool is located across from the dolphins so chill out and have fun with little kids (there is an ice cream store there as well)

 

7. From the beach, you walk down the steps into the clear water to snorkel. There are stone steps and handle bars so not dangerous at all. There are many entrance points so don't worry about a thing. Just as you get into the water, you will see many fish. Also, ocean floor slopes down pretty quick so after few strokes, you will be in 8-10ft deep water. There is no wave or undertow that will carry you or your children far from the steps so feel free to jump in and have fun. Perfectly safe as long as you don't pull a dumb stunt.

[sharecruises]

Did you see Playa Uvas there?? It is supposed right beside CP...

 

a gal on my roll call is interested in doing the dolphin swim then maybe come over to Uvas for some relaxtion/food. I think the food would be better there. People on another board felt it was "walkable" to go from the 2 clubs.

 

Thanks in advance

[TrqoisWtrs]

5. Instead of worrying about biodegradable sunscreen, just get yourself a shirt to wear when you snorkel.. Problem settled?

 

Are you talking about just a t-shirt? Unless the shirt is UV protected or a rash guard it won't do much, and I don't see how wearing a shirt will stop the backs of your legs from getting burned...:rolleyes:

[kenf333]

Did you see Playa Uvas there?? It is supposed right beside CP...

 

a gal on my roll call is interested in doing the dolphin swim then maybe come over to Uvas for some relaxtion/food. I think the food would be better there. People on another board felt it was "walkable" to go from the 2 clubs.

 

Thanks in advance

+

Nice sales pitch!!!!!

[sharecruises]

+

Nice sales pitch!!!!!

 

Very annoying....a poster on my roll call thread asked this, and I asked this question on another board too.

 

Please stop disrupting every thread thanks

[kenf333]

Very annoying....a poster on my roll call thread asked this, and I asked this question on another board too.

 

Please stop disrupting every thread thanks

 

And you do the same!!!

[zantedeschia]

 

Where in the world would someone find frozen peas on a cruise?

I was waiting for someone to point this out!:D:D:D

 

I suppose you could hit a grocery store before the fish-feeding police descend.:eek:

[Stevesan]

Does Chankanaab Park use purified water in their drinks and to prepare their food with? How was their food? What do they serve?

 

Thanks,

 

Tim:cool:

\

 

You need not worry about water purity in the Yucatan region. The water is posibly cleaner than in your home town. The water is filtered thru layers of limestone and is very safe to drink. Even after exercising what I thought to be extreme caution, I was stricken with a rampant case of Montezuma's Revenge on the way home from Mexico City. Never, however, have had a problem anywhere in the Yucatan Peninsula, including Coz.

 

The food was good, especially the ceviche. The resident restaurant cat got a fair share.

[cruisin4funtoo]

We are a group of 11 and considering CP. Problen is, some want to snorkel, some want just the beach. Is there a beach for swimming w/o snorkel for teens? A few snorkelers are first timers and prefer snorkel off a beach as oppposed to deep water. Is this area large enough before water gets deep? leaving in 9 days so help is appreciated!

[rogerashley]

There is a shallow lagoon right next to the snorkeling are where kids can swim without any worries but it has lots of algae. You can send your kids there but snorkeling area is much more fun...

 

As for the person who criticized my comment about wearing a shirt to avoid sunburn.... well... if avoiding sunburn is your number one priority where you have to consider UV protected shirt and your uncovered legs, go to New Mexico and visit a cave rather than going to caribbean.

[Tennessee FAN-VOLS*COLTS]

We were at Cozumel on March 1st, 2007.

 

We rented a Jeep ($50 for all day and it was a VERY nice Jeep - looked brand new) and made our way to CP. Taxi's were about $5 per person just to get there. We had four people going so we decided it would be just about as reasonable to rent a Jeep vs paying a taxi. This gave us the freedom of coming and going as we liked (and to as many places as we wanted to visit without paying for each ride across town), a place to store stuff (snorkel gear, purchased goods, etc), and was fun to drive.

 

CP was simply BEAUTIFUL! Bright white sands, very clean, cool looking "huts", and awesome waters.

 

Snorkeling was great. Granted, this is coming from someone who has very little snorkeling experience but I think it would enjoyable even by "experienced" snorklers. The wind was a little high making entry into the ocean a little tough - due to the small crashing waves. But after a few tries, it became comfortable. Fish were plentiful - especially when I pulled out the cheez whiz (by the way, a native was "feeding the fish" as he would take pictures of visitors so I don't think the cheez whiz was out of place). Several "man placed" items were on the bottom (statues, cannon, etc). We never made it out far from the shore, maybe 15 - 20 at the most, but saw plenty of fish and that was really what we were after.

 

Swimming pool was excellent - not saltwater either. Completely tiled and clean.

 

Restuarant was IMHO a little pricy but the food was good and the view was TERRIFIC!

 

Dive shops were available with gear for rent. Since the waters were a little rough, I rented life vests for my kids (10 & 12). We brought our own snorkeling gear but it was available if needed.

 

Gardens were lush and in bloom - very pretty.

 

Walking path (for a lack of the proper description) was really neat. A lot of different varieties of plants, faux ruins, butterflies, and Iguanas.

 

Dolphin Encounter looked neat but was too pricy for us. However, we enjoyed watching the people who did fork out the money for the swim. We sat by the pool and had a good view of the show.

 

Alternate swimming area was a small sorta jettied area that several younger kids were swimming in. This is simply an ocean area with very little wave/wind impact.

 

There is more to the park than just what I mentioned - we never made it around the entire place. We arrived early, about 8:30, and wondered if the park was even open - didn't look like anyone was there. But it was open, just a handful of people that early. As the day progressed, it started to fill up but never felt "crowed".

 

I am working on posting a few pictures that I took - nothing professional mind you, but they will help give you an idea of the beauty of the park.

 

Posting to come soon...

 

Hope this helps,

 

Douglas