ATV excursion recommendations for Cozumel?

[millerse738]

Hello! I'll be Cozumel on Carnival Vista in February 2023. I want to do an ATV excursion. I've researched several, but would love to hear if anyone has any recommendations. Ship time in port 07:00-15:00, local time 08:00-16:00. 

 

The Carnival excursion has mixed reviews, and it sounds like the location is less than amazing. 

 

Playa Uvas has two that look like better locales - one is on the beach, which sounds amazing! I'm leaning towards that one as a preference, but I worry about timing for getting there and back to the ship on time. They have 08:30 and 10:30 departures and state a 3.5-4 hour length. I'm don't think I could make the first one on time, and I have concerns about making it back to the ship in time from the second one. Pickup is Royal Village Shopping Center, which is a little walk from the pier. Does anyone have any first-hand experience with their excursions?

 

I have seen too many pier runner videos. I do NOT want to be one of those people! 😅

 

Things to note: I will be on the excursion by myself. I am not very interested in beach time, snorkeling, or any other add-ons, but I would like to have a nice place to eat lunch. 

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[jbrinkm]

I won't be able to give personal feedback until April, but we booked an ATV activity at Eco-Park Cuzam on Viator that includes paintball at the park as well. It gets good reviews and isn't too far away from the ports (although taxi needed, not walking distance). We're just doing ATVs and paintball but the park also has zipline and horseback riding and maybe some other activities if you want to make more of a day of it. I don't know if they have their own website, but I *think* they're on facebook and you can read about them on TripAdvisor. 

[FlaMommy75]

Any updates? I am also looking at ATVs and debating if I should book the Carnival excursion. Thanks! 🙂

[jbrinkm]

We had fun at Ecoparque Cuzam on the ATVs but it is not an easy activity. We went up and down steep (small) hills, over lots of rocks and roots, and it was very, very dusty. Most was through trees but some was on a flatter, gravel road for going a little faster. 

 

I would highly recommend it for people who like rough adventure excursions, but not if you just want a leisurely drive around to view scenery. (I found it much easier to half-stand/keep my weight on my feet for the rougher parts of the trail and that saved my spine from getting jolted around. The people before us complained about how bumpy it was.) My 16 year old opted out of the activity after trying the trial route around the property before heading into the woods but my 14 year old absolutely loved it - he drove his own ATV. I've attached a few pictures. 

 

The course is very dusty - I'd recommend long pants (hot engines), closed-toe shoes, plus face and eye coverings. We wore cloth masks we had laying around and they worked as well as a bandanna would have. I wish I had had goggles - the dust really got into my eyes, maybe because my son was doing fishtails in front of me... My husband said that the dust even got around his sunglasses. 

 

They have a zipline course, a paintball area and a small pool there as well. The paintball was regular, not the airsoft. It hurt! My 16yo and I both quit after getting hit once each. They kept offering the pool but we hadn't brought swim suits. 

 

If you decide to go here, make sure you know the accurate cost each way for the taxi. It was about 15-20 minutes from the Royal Caribbean port, but not down the coast like the beach clubs - it was further into the town. We were rushed into a car and didn't look at the board ahead of time and got way overcharged. We ended up getting our money back after complaining at the port when we returned. In April, it was $16 each way. Ecoparque Cuzam is listed as one of the destinations on the board. 

 

Happy to answer any other questions!

[Nike4000]

My daughter and I did the Jade Caverns by ATV excursion in 2021 and had a blast. The ATV ride wasn't too difficult, but I preface that by saying that we've owned ATVs previously. Jade Cavern was interesting, only 1 person in our group of about 12 riders was willing to get in the water. The sulphur smell was overpowering. If I remember correctly, we were on the ATVs for about an hour and a half or so total, getting off to explore the cenote and then another break for water and bathrooms. The ATVs were serviceable, definitely high mileage and well used. A few of our group had to swap out their ATVs because they wouldn't start.

 

If you're looking for a fun little ATV ride, it's not too bad. If you're looking for challenging off-roading, it's not the right excursion. There were bumpy parts of the ride and a nice mud pit to drive through.

 

I second the recommendation for closed toe shoes, face and eye coverings, and some sort of mask to keep bugs & dust out of your mouth.

 

Happy to answer any questions you might have.

[Mum2Mercury]

On 12/21/2022 at 3:42 PM, millerse738 said:

Hello! I'll be Cozumel on Carnival Vista in February 2023. I want to do an ATV excursion. I've researched several, but would love to hear if anyone has any recommendations. Ship time in port 07:00-15:00, local time 08:00-16:00. 

We did an ATV excursion years ago -- sorry, can't remember the company, but it wasn't the cruise ship's offering.  We still rank it as one of THE BEST excursions EVER.  We saw some places of minor importance to the Mayan culture, but mainly riding was just FUN.  

On 12/21/2022 at 3:42 PM, millerse738 said:

I have seen too many pier runner videos. I do NOT want to be one of those people! 😅

1.  Watching You Tube videos can give you the idea that pier runners are common.  They aren't.  Seriously -- if your ship really has people who haven't logged back onto the ship, Guest Services will start calling their names over the loudspeaker every 10-15 minutes as the deadline approaches -- I've only ever heard that once.  

2.  An ATV excursion in Cozumel is likely to be a 3-4 hour morning experience /will return you to the pier around noon.  You won't sail until evening.  This excursion is not going to endanger your return to the ship -- not even close.  Test what I say by checking the length of the excursion vs. the time you'll meet your guide.  

2 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

The course is very dusty - I'd recommend long pants (hot engines), closed-toe shoes, plus face and eye coverings. We wore cloth masks we had laying around and they worked as well as a bandanna would have. I wish I had had goggles - the dust really got into my eyes, maybe because my son was doing fishtails in front of me... My husband said that the dust even got around his sunglasses. 

Our experience was different:  Cozumel had had about a week of rain just before we had our ATV ride, so it was MUDDY!  We ended up throwing away the clothes we wore, even our shoes -- I wish we'd known to purposefully bring something old.  After our ride, we bought a few snacks and shopped a bit at the pier; one shopkeeper asked my husband not to stand in front of his stand (because he was so dirty) ... then he felt bad for what he'd said, and he offered to spray my husband with his water hose!  We took no offense; the man wasn't wrong.    

I recommend a bandanna and a can of mosquito repellent.  Maybe a small string backpack or fanny pack so you can easily carry your things.  I had a disposable camera in my back pocket, and it fell out.  A fellow rider saw it fall and had his young daughter jump off /pick it up for me -- I was so grateful!  

 

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[Mum2Mercury]

38 minutes ago, Nike4000 said:

and some sort of mask to keep bugs & dust out of your mouth.

Because you will be smiling and laughing!

[Mum2Mercury]

You got me thinking we might want to repeat the ATV excursion, so I've been looking online.  I'm pretty sure this is the company we used before -- the stops sound the same.  They picked us up at a shopping center walking distance from the port and (after the ride) they gave us the option of being dropped back at the port, at the beach or at a restaurant.  If we go again, I'll pack a set of old clothes that can be thrown away after the ride.  

 

I see that the first ride of the day is 8:30, and it's a 4-hour excursion, so you'd be in NO DANGER of being late back to the ship.  

 

https://www.cozumelcruisetours.com/cozumel-atv-tours?utm_source=bing&utm_content=ATV&utm_campaign=Mexico&msclkid=750d75afb32513b8fd64116dc8921825&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=cozumel+atv+tours  

Edited July 27, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[mitsugirly]

On 7/26/2023 at 5:39 PM, Nike4000 said:

My daughter and I did the Jade Caverns by ATV excursion in 2021 and had a blast. The ATV ride wasn't too difficult, but I preface that by saying that we've owned ATVs previously. Jade Cavern was interesting, only 1 person in our group of about 12 riders was willing to get in the water. The sulphur smell was overpowering. If I remember correctly, we were on the ATVs for about an hour and a half or so total, getting off to explore the cenote and then another break for water and bathrooms. The ATVs were serviceable, definitely high mileage and well used. A few of our group had to swap out their ATVs because they wouldn't start.

 

If you're looking for a fun little ATV ride, it's not too bad. If you're looking for challenging off-roading, it's not the right excursion. There were bumpy parts of the ride and a nice mud pit to drive through.

 

I second the recommendation for closed toe shoes, face and eye coverings, and some sort of mask to keep bugs & dust out of your mouth.

 

Happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

We did this as well in Cozumel and had a great time (now we search for excursions like this when we go to ports or land vacations). But, we did the buggy's instead of atv. We used Wild tours. 

 

We did do this when we were actually staying on the island, so weren't under any time restrictions, however these companies know when the ships are in port and usually have times to correspond with that. 

 

It was definitely something "different" to do other than your regular beach days and we got to see the beautiful caverns (we went to Jade, the "wet" cavern and another that was a dry cavern, and learned about the history...which was pretty interesting. 

 

Our pick up was at Playa Mia.

 

If interested, I have a complete review located HERE and there's plenty of pictures to see what it was like.