Distance to Punta Sur

[traya2]

We are renting a car in San Miguel & driving to Punta Sur, where we are, hopefully, going to meet up with friends who will be in Cozumel from another cruise line. How long should it take to drive to Punta Sur?

[sddiver]

~15 to 25 minutes depending on where you start from

[jgmpuma]

It was about 20 minutes from Puerto Maya, so probably closer to 30 from San Miguel. There is little traffic once you pass Puerto Maya.

 

We stopped in Punta Sur on our last trip to Coz in February of 2003, but access to most the attractions, including the lighthouse, was closed because it was turtle breeding season.

[traya2]

Does this mean that it may have most of the attractions closed again? Suppose they could have things tied up by the 24th? ;)

We'll be so disappointed, since it was our main destination.

[solita]

Hmmmm, there seems to be alittle confussion. Turtle nesting season here is late May to early September (more or less). But the turtles only nest at night - I work with a group that does egg collecting/nest location during that time from 11pm-7am. Punta Sur is open 365 days a year...okay, the exception this year was a couple of days after Hurricane Ivan came through due to debris on the road. Maybe Punta Sur is being confussed with another location on the island. I just double checked with one of my friends who runs a tour out there. Now, there are a couple of areas that are closed for bird nesting but they are in areas that no swimming is allowed anyway. You will love Punta Sur if you like wildlife, nature and gorgous snorkeling.

[traya2]

Whew! Thanks! I was about to start a frantic search for some other not-so-popular,

nature thing to do! Can't wait to go :)

[solita]

You will absolutely love it! In my opinion, the best of Cozumel. The tour with Eco Jeep is just wonderful.

[sparks]

We will be in Cozumel in March doing a self tour in a rental car. We had planned on visiting Dzul Ha to snorkel, but we are interested in your desription of Punta Sur because we love birding/wildlife. Can we visit it with an ordinary car? Is ther good snorkeling in that area? Any adivse on where to go/what to see would be helpful. Thanks

[Carey on Cozumel]

You can absolutely visit Punta Sur yourself via rental car. In fact, that's going to be your most economical way to get down there especially considering that, afterwards, you can take the car around the wild side of the island and take a look at the lovvely landscape, perhaps have a drink at some place like Coconuts or Chen Rio.

 

It's a piece of cake getting there. Rent your car and turn right (south). Impossible to miss it. Snorkeling? Well, they have what they call a "snorkeling center". But it's not great snorkeling from there. To get to that, you have to walk a good long way along the beach and then swim out to the Columbia Shallows reef area. So, no, for snorkeling, I wouldn't rec Punta Sur. But for the $12/person admission it's very interesting, gorgeous view from the lighthouse and you can take a shaded pontoon boat ride in the lagoon. A very laid-back, Yucatecan experience.

 

Go early in the day, however, as they limit the number of visitors per day to keep the park pristine

[solita]

Wow...what a different opinion you have of the snorkeling there. In my opinion it is one of the prettiest spots around the island. Fabulous fan coral, lots of stuff to see including turtles and barracuda usually. I am heading out there this weekend to test a water scooter. I could have gone to any reef areaa but this is one that I choose over the others. And I also prefer going with Eco Jeep and Snorkel for several reasons versus going on your own...

1. You get a guided tour of the nature reserve...the flora as well as the fauna

2. Great info about the small Mayan ruins there

3. Same goes for the info about the crocodilles (about 2 weeks ago a pelican got in the way and became lunch)

4. Guided tour of the lighthouse

5. Refreshments along the way

6. Fun 4 wheel driving

7. EXCELLENT guided snorkel tour with backup boat

8. Very nice bi-lingual tour guides that are just adorable

9. You assume liability when you are on the ship sponsored tour versus

When you go on your own, you can't drive all around. They have big trucks that you will transported to and from stuff.

[Carey on Cozumel]

Well, I haven't been on the tour you describe, it's true. Just gone on my own several times and stopped at the beaches. We didn't find the snorkeling we could reach from shore to be all that great although I understand you can walk way down the beach and get to good stuff.

 

I've seen kayaks for taking people across the lagoon and to the beach out there -- Is that the place you're talking about that has the good snorkeling?

 

Also, tell me, is this Eco Tours a tour that has to be booked through a cruiseship company? Or is it something people can sign up for independently via the internet. If it's an indie, do you have a website I could look at?