Snorkeling in Cozumel

[Grits53]

First, let me say that I have visited Cozumel over 20 times, including 3 resort stays, so I am fairly familiar with the island. My friend and I will be going for a resort stay in Sept., and she wants to snorkel for her first time. I want her to be able to see lots of coral and marine life, while doing an "easy" snorkel from shore. My first thought is Chankanaab for this, but I thought I would ask if anyone knows of a better place to snorkel from shore in Cozumel? Since we will be there for a week, we will not be rushed to get back to the ship. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[JohninDC]

Check out the Money Bar - great snorkeling from shore and no admission fee.

[kesham13]

I second Money Bar. We went there when our cruise stopped in Cozumel and we saw numerous excursions pull up just off-shore via boat and drop people at the exact reef you could swim to from the Money Bar shore. Keep in mind, it is very rocky at the entrance and not a "traditional" sandy beach, but we found it very easy to enter and exit the water. Great food and drinks at reasonable prices, you could easily stay here for an entire day!

[skittl1321]

For an "easy" snorkel, I'd recommend a boat snorkel.

 

The hardest part about a shore snorkel is that the current moves you away from where you started. So you have to pay attention to where you are, and be able to swim well to get back.

 

With a boat, the boat will come and get you if you drift too far.

 

But if you want the shore- I found Money Bar to be better (and so much cheaper) than Chankanaab.

[Grits53]

Thanks for the tips! Sounds like Money Bar is the place to go.

[clackey]

Grits,

 

We snorkel anytime we can and have visited for or five different areas on Cozumel. We snorkeled the Dzul Ha area before it was the Money Bar. It is ok but not outstanding. Other beaches that we have visited were Playa Corona, Playa Uvas and Chankanaab Park. You will see some fish a few fans and some smaller coral but to see good coral you need to take boat trip. The deeper reefs didn't get damaged by the storms like the shallow areas. To be honest, the best snorkeling that we have had was in Belize and Roatan.

[oldmedic]

I agree,,, money bar

[kwbound]

We have been to the Money Bar and Chankanaab and we prefer Chankanaab. I feel like the snorkeling is better, and if you want to take a break and get out of the water for a while, the beach is beautiful and relaxing. There really is no beach at Money Bar and it can get quite crowded. People are more spread out at Chankanaab. It's not that expensive if your party is not too large and you can get a coupon online. If you do decide to go to Money Bar, just be careful getting in and out of the water. We once saw a teenage boy slip trying to enter. He fell back and busted open the back of his head on the rock. There was quite a bit of blood. An ambulance was called and it arrived very quickly. Some of the family members had ordered drinks, but the accident happened before they could even drink them. As they were gathering up their things and trying to hurry to a taxi to follow the ambulance, a waiter was trying to make sure they paid for their drinks. There were only 2 or 3 drinks sitting there, basically untouched. I thought that was kind of tacky.