Chankanaab

[Jo and Rob]

Has anyone been to Chankanaab in Cozumel? Would you recommend it? We are thinking about doing it independently rather than with Princess. Any thoughts or advice?

[sandsgirl]

Went a couple of years back and it is soo corwded and the snorkeling is not that great. there are a ton of people feeding the fish and it is very overwhelming. last year we vacationed in cozumel and you can usually find an idependent boat to take you to various spots with a lot less people and the price is not outrageous.

[ShelbysMom]

We went last year. We didn't do a Princess excursion, we just got a taxi when we got off the ship.

 

We didn't find it crowded at all, even though it was Easter week and there were several ships in town. We had no trouble getting 5 lounges together.

 

I would advise visiting the Ports of Call board (Caribbean, then Cozumel) and doing a search this forum with "chankanaab" as the search text. You will find a wealth of opinions there.

[jimandtoni]

We have been to Chankanaab several times. We always enjoy it. The snorkeling, as someone said, is not great. The beach restaurant is very good...best nachos we have ever had! Also, the various trails through the park are a fun diversion. We have never found Chankanaab to be crowded even when there are several ships in port. Take a cab. It is a short cab ride. There is also a small admission charge.

[katisdale]

We enjoyed our trip to Chankanaab last November. It was not crowded when we were there. Luckily we found a wonderful young man named Marco Ceh at the place were you can rent snorkel gear. He took us on a 45 minute guided snorkel (just for tips) and we were surrounded by fish. There was not much coral but lots of fish. We really had a good time.

[adk0425]

We were there in May 2008 and rented a jeep and scooters and got there on our own (group of 6). It was wonderful. They have a dive shop/hut on site and you can either rent your gear or bring your own and dive right off the beach. If you have your own gear it was only $10-20 for a one tank dive. (I can't remember the actual cost I just remember it was super cheap for a private dive with a dive master) The snorkeling off the beach was very nice too.

There was hardly anyone there when we were there, service was prompt (on the beach waiters) umbrellas and chairs included with your entrance fee. Nice little walking trail where you can see lots of iguanas. There are lockers in the changing room that you can lock your stuff up in, I highly recommend it and go on your own not with a ship tour. We went for a few hours then got in our vehicles and circled the island. This was a second visit to Cozumel, so we had some beach bars we wanted to hit and then to town for some quick shopping.

Google it, I downloaded a coupon when we went that gave us $2 off of each adult entrance fee.

[rjack22]

It was not crowded while we were there either. Nice place. Taking a taxi is easy.

[geoherb]

We were there seven years ago on our Grand Princess cruise. It was very nice. I'm thinking of going back on our upcoming Crown Princess cruise. I enjoyed the replica ruins. But we may pick out another beach to go to instead.

[kwbound]

We enjoyed our trip to Chankanaab last November. It was not crowded when we were there. Luckily we found a wonderful young man named Marco Ceh at the place were you can rent snorkel gear. He took us on a 45 minute guided snorkel (just for tips) and we were surrounded by fish. There was not much coral but lots of fish. We really had a good time.

 

 

Can I ask how much you tipped Marco? We would like to do something like that, and I want to make sure I tip an appropriate amount.

[rjscott]

Has anyone been to Chankanaab in Cozumel? Would you recommend it? We are thinking about doing it independently rather than with Princess. Any thoughts or advice?

 

We've been several times and always on our own. Just grab a taxi at the pier and they'll take you there. There are always taxi's waiting to take you back to the ship or to town, whichever you choose when you are ready to return. We find the snorkeling to be good and the facilities are very nice.

 

Enjoy!

[MamaParrotHead]

Loved it, it was gorgeous. Had everything you could want, and more. My only piece of advice would be to bring your bug spray if you want to explore the interior of the park...the mosquitos can be insane, ;).

[oceanlovinmama]

My son and DIL are going to Cozumel in March and are looking for an inexpensive way to do some snorkeling....this will be her first time on a cruise and snorkeling....I think this was the beach we were at 4 years ago...hang gliding, horse riding? lot's of options If I remember...is this correct, or can anyone tell me other places. Also, do you remember the price of the taxi and the admission to the park??

[Kristi Williamson]

Loved it, it was gorgeous. Had everything you could want, and more. My only piece of advice would be to bring your bug spray if you want to explore the interior of the park...the mosquitos can be insane, ;).

 

Same for us! We loved it and the dolphins. My youngest still asks to watch "our movie"! lol

 

Bug spray is good advice, as well. When we walked the interior, they looked like jurassic age mosquitos that were going to carry us away! :eek::D

 

We had a great time. Nachi Cocum is our new favorite, but Chankanaab is a close second.

[rjscott]

My son and DIL are going to Cozumel in March and are looking for an inexpensive way to do some snorkeling....this will be her first time on a cruise and snorkeling....I think this was the beach we were at 4 years ago...hang gliding, horse riding? lot's of options If I remember...is this correct, or can anyone tell me other places. Also, do you remember the price of the taxi and the admission to the park??

 

Chankanaab doesn't have horseback riding or hang gliding, but does have many other attractions. You can also link to other beaches from this site:

www.cozumelparks.com

Also, here is a link to taxi fares around the island. You can see the rates from whatever pier your ship docks at to various attractions, beaches, etc.

http://www.travelnotes.cc/cozumel/links/taxifares.php