Snorkeling in Western Caribbean

[KAZ35]

We're on Splendour of the Seas departing 1/29 out of Tampa, with ports of call in Grand Cayman, Belize, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. Given those locations, where do your recommend snorkeling and which excursion? Not looking for a real intense day, just the basics, at a reasonable price. Thanks in advance for recommendations.

-- KAZ:cool:

[pnorth]

In Cayman we chose sotoscruises.com and we loved them! In Cozumel, we went to Chankaaba park (spelling?). We did the royal dolphin swim there but the snorkeling was fantastic.

[morks1303]

In Grand Cayman we used Captain Marvins. It was a great day and I definitely recommend them. You can find them at: http://www.captainmarvins.com

[rjscott]

I would say that Chankanaab Park is your best bet. You can hop a cab over there, stay as long as you want and then cab back to town or to the ship. Much more relaxing than being on a tour, and entry into the water is easy. If you don't have your own equipment, rentals are available. The park is really lovely, with little palapas for getting out of the sun, and very nice bathhouses for cleaning up after your snorkel. There is also a concession area for snacks/drinks.

[Gramsof7]

In Cayman we chose sotoscruises.com and we loved them! In Cozumel, we went to Chankaaba park (spelling?). We did the royal dolphin swim there but the snorkeling was fantastic.

 

I'm hearing horror stories about the super long, hot lines and hordes of people waiting to do the dolphin swim. Has anyone found this to be true? What company did you use to schedule this swim? How many people are in the tank at one time? How long is the swim?

 

Is there a map of Chankanaab Park? This is the first I've heard of snorkeling there.

 

Thanks!

[rjscott]

I've never found a map of Chankanaab, but here is a website that gives a bit of info on the park. We've snorkeled there on 3 different occasions.

 

http://www.cozguide.net/chankan.html

[Gramsof7]

Thanks, rjscott. This looks to be a man-made park? Did you find the snorkeling beaches quite crowded?

[rjscott]

Chankanaab is a "state" park. I believe the "beach" is man-made, yes. None of the times we've been there have we had a problem finding a palapa to put our stuff under and catch a little shade. There are several points of entry for snorkeling, but it's not directly from the sand into the water. It can be a bit rocky going in, but there are some "steps" (flat areas on the rocks) and handrails, so it's not too bad. There are also other activities at the park; a nature trail, a small Mayan ruin, a concession area, etc. The bathhouses are very nice, with showers and dressing areas for changing. I believe they have lockers for rent also.

 

You can catch a taxi from your ship to Chankanaab, and there are always taxis available to take you back to the ship or into town. There is an admission fee to the park also, but altogether, it is less than taking a ship's snorkeling excursion and you can spend as little or as much time as you want at the park.

 

Becki

[simkoreb]

In Cozumel, I have read you can't beat the snorkeling off a boat, so we booked with Eagle Ray divers. They have a 2 reef or 3 reef w/ lunch excursion. I hear it's supposed to be awsome, and I'll be finding out in 2 weeks!!!

We did the stingray swim with Nativeway in GC, and I didn't think the snorkeling was that great. The stingrays were fun tho.

 

In answer to the question about the dolphin swim on Cozumel, I did that last time and booked through the ship. They only take a certain number of people, so I'm not sure where there can be long lines....there was like 8 in a group, and they can only take so many groups at a time...it was the first excursion to fill up, so I suggest booking right away if you know you want to do this. You can also book it independently. See the cozumel board.

[weluvcruisin']

We just got back from the western caribeean. In grand cayman we went with nativeway....was great swimming with the sting rays..the snorkling was at coral gardens..which had great coral but not a lot of fish. Would highly recommend nativeway...they have small boats about 25 people thats very nice. Book on the internet with them and its $25 for the singray and coral gardens.

 

In Cozumel we went to chankanaab park was great snorkling just off the beach..just get a cab, $5 each person in the cab and $12 each to get in the park...plan on spending lots of time there its really nice.

[Bosun]

Hi

I did the dolphin tour and thought it was just our bad luck. We waited forever! People were upset, some even left. I still don't understand why we had to wait so long to this day. There was no real explanation given.There were no line-ups because we booked through the ship and it seemed very organized and only one other group in the water when we got there. Then another group showed up a while later and went ahead of us and even though we complained about this, nothing was done. We were told to wait.

 

It seemed that the tour ppl forgot about us. We had all of our gear on, and everything else locked up in the lockers. Then everyone left us waiting! Even the man in charge of the lockers left! So we had no money or water and therefore some people got sick from heat exhaustion. Most of us stuck it out and it was a lot of fun:)

 

I had to post this now that I know there are other people out there like me. It seems I am after reading a lot of complaints about the service in cozumel in general unlike other places. I am suppose to go back there again in an upcoming cruise.. but I'm not sure if i will even venture of the ship.

 

Take care and happy cruising!

[kaliente]

We are going on our first cruise in a few weeks. We are going to go snorkeling with Coral Breeze in Belize and were thinking about trying the stingray tour with Nativeway in GC. Do the stingrays get really close to you? Does the Nativeway tour provide lunch?

[kirbmeister]

Check out this thread. The OP has a link to video from Stingray city. You'll see how close the rays get. He also has still pictures with the travelougue.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=64838

[MinnesotaMan]

How much is the gear? We are also doing the dolphin swim but have booked directly with Dolphin Discovery. Have others had a problem with this?

[kellig]

we went to belize on our own last year, and the snorkeling on the reef near Ambergris Key was awesome. Don't miss Hol Chan and Shark-ray Alley. In Hol Chan we saw, a few fish, but the amazing things were Green Moray Eels, spotted eagle rays, and nurse sharks. The eagle rays glided one after another just below us. In shark ray alley you can get in the water with the nurse sharks and sting-rays. It is no where near the crowded scene that Stingray city in Grand Caymen seems to be, but it is also a little less controlled and you can't stand on the bottom. We also snorkeled at Mexico rocks there and saw lots of fish, lobster, reef crabs, baracudas, and beautiful displays of fire coral.

 

Belize was the best snorkeling we had ever experienced.

[clackey]

We're on Splendour of the Seas departing 1/29 out of Tampa, with ports of call in Grand Cayman, Belize, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. Given those locations, where do your recommend snorkeling and which excursion? Not looking for a real intense day, just the basics, at a reasonable price. Thanks in advance for recommendations.

-- KAZ:cool:

Hola Kaz,

 

I have to second the Chankanaab Park thing. We spent a day there in January and had a ball. There were 8 ships in port but the park didn't fill up till 10:00 and everyone started to leave at 2:00. You might want to check out Dzul-Ha or Nachi Cocum also. Both can be accessed like Chankanaab via Taxi.

 

My brother-in law booked a snorkel tour at the pier in Belize and got a great deal for $40.00. I missed that one. We had a cave tubing tour already booked.

 

What ever you do, have a great time and eat a shrimp for me.

Clackey