Which has better Snorkeling, Rotan or Cozumel??

[lilybug23]

My DH and I are trying to debate on where to go snokeling. This will be our first cruise and we have never been snorkeling before. I just wanted to know which is the best place to go.:confused: We are doing the Western Carribean itinerary for the Dream 7/24/2010. Any advice is greatly appreciated. :D

[SCUBA Mark]

My DH and I are trying to debate on where to go snokeling. This will be our first cruise and we have never been snorkeling before. I just wanted to know which is the best place to go.:confused: We are doing the Western Carribean itinerary for the Dream 7/24/2010. Any advice is greatly appreciated. :D

 

If forced to choose one or the other, I think Cozumel is better for snorkeling because there are a lot more fish.

 

Roatan is very beautiful and maybe you can do both.

 

Mark

[TakeMeAway1001]

We did some amazing snorkeling in Roatan, we booked a private sightseeing tour that ended up at a beautiful beach where we snorkeled. It was by far the best we have done :)

[ringram]

IMO, It's not even close - Cozumel is way better. I've been to both and snorkeled both, and the water in Cozumel is so much clearer, and there is so much more to see. If you've never snorkeled before, and don't have anything to compare it to Roatan is OK, but I'll never bother snorkeling there again.

[vossjemi]

Ok, we are doing a Dream cruise too, and the ports are Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, and Costa Maya. Which of these 4 is the best snorkel spot? Which is the best for deep sea fishing?

[navybaby1113]

We're looking into snorkeling in Belize because they have the great barrier reef.

[TakeMeAway1001]

This is where we went in Roatan

http://www.roatanonline.com/moreroatan/westbay.htm

[rebeljohn]

Overall, we prefer Cozumel. We've had the best luck there, and it is easy to find great snorkeling spots. My best snorkeling experience, however, was in Roatan, West Bay area. I was snorkeling a sea wall, and was amazed at all the different sea creatures, including an octopus that would not cooperate when trying to take his picture........

[susanf31]

Roatan, by FAR, if you go to the right beach.

 

I've snorkeled and dove all over the Caribbean and have never seen better snorkeling than Tabanya beach in Roatan.

 

I don't know where the poster - who said that Cozumel's water is clearer was in Roatan - but Tabanya Beach is CRYSTAL clear, with AMAZING snorkeling.

[beachbum6264]

Another vote for Roatan... some of the best - if not the best - snorkeling we've ever done.

[jetskier]

Another vote for Roatan at Tabyana Beach. Another good place is at Fins and Flipper. The reefs in Cozumel took a huge impact when Wilma hit and is not as good as it used to be.

Dave

[navybaby1113]

Hmm...after these recs I think we'll start looking into Roatan for our snorkeling.

 

We were originally going to go to Fins and Flippers, but they raised their prices.

[spaceflower77]

Roatan, by FAR, if you go to the right beach.

 

I've snorkeled and dove all over the Caribbean and have never seen better snorkeling than Tabanya beach in Roatan.

 

I don't know where the poster - who said that Cozumel's water is clearer was in Roatan - but Tabanya Beach is CRYSTAL clear, with AMAZING snorkeling.

 

 

Did you snorkel Belize, too? I had heard (as another poster just posted) that Belize had a barrier reef second only to Australia and so that seemed like the best option. We will also be going to Roatan and Tabyana beach -- when snorkeling Tabyana beach do you need to do an excursion or can you snorkel right off the beach. We had just planned on going to Tabyana for the beach -- I didn't even know you could snorkel there.

[rjkcubs]

In our experience you can snorkel directly off of most of the beaches in Roatan. Of course it will almost always be better snorkeling by boat with a guide, but we had a blast last year snorkeling off the beach in Roatan. I think both places are great to snorkel and both different.

We love to snorkel Chankanaab in Cozumel. The problem we have run into there is if the water is rough at all you will not be able to snorkel. At least at Chankanaab, the beach doesn't enter "smoothly" to the water. You climb down sets of stairs in the water amongst the rocks. Which is obviously why you can't snorkel in any type of rough water. It seems like everyone has their own opinion as to which is better. I really think alot depends on the particular day you were in port and if the weather was partial to snorkeling. I don't think you can go wrong with either. If you are really wanting to snorkel, I would plan to try it both days in case day 1's weather doesn't cooperate. Just in case.....

[TakeMeAway1001]

Hmm...after these recs I think we'll start looking into Roatan for our snorkeling.

 

We were originally going to go to Fins and Flippers, but they raised their prices.

 

Check out the reviews of Victor Bodden on the Roatan board, he will customize a tour for you and it's very reasonable. We ended our day right next to Tabyana/Carnivals excursion and we were pretty much alone, our guide set us up with snorkel gear for $5 each.

[Cayoooga]

There is never any guarantee for the amount of fish you will see, or the water conditions. It can change for many different reasons. We have snorkeled both places and they are both fantastic. Belize is also a great place to snorkel.

 

Are you both good swimmers? Are you comfortable snorkeling in 40 feet of water from a dive boat? :D Do you want to snorkel from a beach?:(

 

Roatan has nice snorkeling from a beach, probably better then Cozumel. If you go from a dive boat they can take you to the best places.

In Cozumel, we have used Eagle Ray divers, snorkeled from a beach, and from a cataraman.

In Roatan, we have used SubWayWaterSports divers, snorkeled from the beach .

Were out to Shark Ray Alley in Belize.

All are very different, more or less fish, better coral, but excellent. Go out there and give it a try, maybe you'll have to book another cruise to try it some more :D

[VABeach]

I don't think you can go wrong at either one. Cozumel became Cozumel for a reason! (The SCUBA Divers) :D

 

On the other hand, Roatan is more "virgin" and undesturbed by all of the tourist. (Tourons will eventually tear everything up wherever they go). :cool:

 

Take your pic! :)

[imluvncruzn]

We've snorkeled in Coz, Belize, GC, and Roatan. Some places more than once and Roatan was far and away the best snorkeling we've every done! Beautiful reef and literally surrounded by hundreds of fish. We also did shark ray alley in Belize. We didn't see any sharks but plenty of rays. However, it didn't compare to Roatan. It's any easy choice for me. Roatan all the way!

[smarks]

Roatan gets my vote also. Beautiful and still unspoiled. Catch it before it changes.

[PinkJellyFish06]

I went on my first cruise in July to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, & Roatan. We did some pretty good snorkeling in Grand Cayman. We went to Nachi Cocoum in Cozumel, not that great snorkeling there, the water wasn't crystal clear, I think it was just the weather. I wish I could have snorkeled in Belize, I have heard great things about it. BUT Roatan was AMAZING. We went to fins & flippers. The water is ALOT of seaweed right by the beach, but you walk down a small pier to get in at the snorkeling spot. The coral was so beautiful & we saw alot of fish & even a squid. I could have stayed there for the whole trip!

[tikimon]

In my opinion Belize has the best snorkeling in the western caribbean, then I would have to say Roatan.