Dzul Ha Snorkeling

[jlines]

We were in Cozumel on 6/14. Our plans for the day were to hang out at Pal Mar Beach Estate and snorkel from the Dzul Ha beach area. We arrived at Punta Langosta ahead of schedule (about 11:00am) and were slowly hearded off the ship. There was a lot of construction going on and since we had never been there before we followed everyone else. We were guided up around and back down (way out of our way) to be able to get a taxi. Once on the road we were made aware of the construction and the flooding. The taxi seemed like a boat on wheels for awhile. Upon arrival at Dzul Ha we started looking for Pal Mar. This was when we found out it was closed and noone seemed to know why. Disappointment #1. We decided to stay at Dzul Ha upon the suggestion of a very friendly man named Freddie. There was a nice shady area for us to leave our stuff and order food and drinks. Disappointment #2 - the snorkeling. It was not overly choppy which was nice but there really didn't seem to be much to see either. It might have been OK for a novice but we have definately been to better spots. The water was refreshing though, the food and drinks good, and the walk we took was probably the best tide pooling we have ever done so we still had a nice time. We didn't stay as long as planned though since we didn't have the pool area to lounge at. We went back to town to shop and this is when we found out we could have gotten to the street quicker and paid $1 less for a cab than where we had been herded to - oh well, live and learn. The next time we visit we will either snorkel from a boat or spend the day at Paradise Beach which was my second choice for this trip. If you want to snorkel I would suggest going on a boat or choosing a different port such as Roatan which had excellent snorkeling.

[rjscott]

Sorry for your experience at Dzul Ha. We had thought of trying there on our April cruise, but opted for Chankanaab Park, where we've gone b/f. Chankanaab has great snorkeling and is a beautiful park with a nice beach and palapas (little thatched huts) to use if you want to get out of the sun. There is a concession area, and other activities are available there.

 

Try Cozumel again!

 

Becki

[RENEEG]

Going with a group of 15 in January. 6 members of group are very interested in good snorkeling. The rest just want to beach it. Where would be the best place for the entire group to go? or should we seperate. Thanks

[jlines]

The snorkeling at Dzul-Ha is as good as anywhere if you know where the patch reef is.

 

There is also a pool that you can use (not the one at Palmar) but you didn't mention that; so I assume you did not see it. It is located on the south end of Dzul-Ha. Here is a web site that will give you details about the Dzul-Ha that you missed. :0)

 

http://cozumelmexico.net/Dzul_Ha.html

 

 

Also the street repairs downtown had nothing to do with the flooding two weeks ago. These were infrastructure plans that were started before the flooding. All of the electrical and telephone wires are going underground so that the view of downtown will not be obstructed. Since this is "slow season" it was determined that it would be better to do the upgrade now rather then during "high season". There is also some additional drainage going in.

 

 

I am only responding to this thread because I don't want misinformation to turn into a rumor mill. :0)

 

 

Also, Paradise beach is wonderful!

 

I hope that you will give Cozumel another try. The Dzul-Ha/Cozumel you described is not the Cozumel I know...

 

 

Warm Regards,

Colonial

 

 

 

Thanks for the link you provided - I wish I had seen this before we went. You're right, we didn't see the pool and we thought we had explored the area pretty well. How far down is it? But I'm still disappointed in the snorkeling. We went out just as this website directs, swam all over, but still didn't see a lot. In fact, I swam out to where the boat trips had let their people out. In all fairness though it was an overcast day which I know hampers conditions. And the fact that we snorkeled in Hawaii last year probably has something to do with our opinion.

 

I'm sorry if I implied that the construction and the flooding were related - I know they are not. It makes sense that the construction is being done now. It has to be done sometime doesn't it?

 

I didn't intend to start rumors either. Its just that we were at Chankanab 13 years ago and had a wonderful experience. After reading these boards we thought we would give Dzul Ha and Palmar a try but they didn't meet our expectations. I just wanted to give those looking for info something to think about; i.e. if they are only going to snorkel in one port that maybe this isn't what they are looking for. We were most disapponted that Palmar wasn't open and there was no explanation for it - kind of bad for business don't you think? It was hard to make a decision between here and Paradise Beach. We had a nice day in spite of the disappontment, but we think we will opt for PB next time.

 

Cozumel is a beautiful island and we look forward to returning someday. I hope I haven't dampened its image - that was not my intent at all.