Snorkeling recommendations

Anyone have recommendations on a snorkeling excursion? Hubby wants to get to some awesome snorkeling off Cozumel.

TIA ....

Been there 5 x's and have yet to find a great place.

The closest we came was at Chakanab after swimming with the dolphins, but we are looking for something more it was off the shore and the water was kinda rough.

Eagerly awaiting to hear of a better place.

Sea Ya

We've been to Cozumel lots of times and have never found it to be a great place for snorkeling. :o

LuLu

Been there several times. The best place for snorkeling was Chankanaab. Water was not rough so I guess it just depends at the time you go.

Money Bar offers good snorkeling from the shore - some of the small boat snorkel tours even drop anchor there.

We had a good experience with Eagle Ray for a snorkel tour a couple of years ago. Rough water and clarity depend on the weather, something no tour provider can control.

I can't speak for this personally but this company has excellent reviews.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g150809-d636841-Reviews-Mystic_Snorkeling_Tour-Cozumel_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

I posted this in another thread, but the problem you have had is the location of the reefs. COZUMEL has fabulous, fabulous reefs but they are off-shore too far to get to them from shore. You need to book a BOAT snorkeling trip.

The boat can drop you off right on top of beautiful coral and zillions of fish.

I have been to Cozumel 9 times in 14 years, all as a land-based diver. In fact, we got certified on Cozumel back in 2000. The diving is fantastic there. Instead of doing the snorkeling, consider doing a Discover Scuba. You will be amazed.

I posted this in another thread, but the problem you have had is the location of the reefs. COZUMEL has fabulous, fabulous reefs but they are off-shore too far to get to them from shore. You need to book a BOAT snorkeling trip.

The boat can drop you off right on top of beautiful coral and zillions of fish.

 

I have been to Cozumel 9 times in 14 years, all as a land-based diver. In fact, we got certified on Cozumel back in 2000. The diving is fantastic there. Instead of doing the snorkeling, consider doing a Discover Scuba. You will be amazed.

I agree. We've been to Coz about 10 times and have snorkeled the heck out of the "tourist" spots. None of them compare to some other Caribbean islands and we've always been disappointed.....until we went to the East Side and snorkeled there. It can be rough (thankfully it was a calm day when we were there) and the reef is pretty far out. There were dive boat out at the reef, but we snorkeled all the way out. It was amazing. In 30 ft of water, the reef came right up to the surface. The water was crystal clear and we could see divers below swimming through the little caves and tunnels in the coral. The coral heads were extremely colorful (unlike the west side where they are all but kicked to death by tourists and hurricane damage) and there were gorgeous fish. I'd wished I was diving that day, but having had so many "blah" snorkeling experiences and wondering what all the fuss was about....I finally found it on the east side.

I agree. We've been to Coz about 10 times and have snorkeled the heck out of the "tourist" spots. None of them compare to some other Caribbean islands and we've always been disappointed.....until we went to the East Side and snorkeled there. It can be rough (thankfully it was a calm day when we were there) and the reef is pretty far out. There were dive boat out at the reef, but we snorkeled all the way out. It was amazing. In 30 ft of water, the reef came right up to the surface. The water was crystal clear and we could see divers below swimming through the little caves and tunnels in the coral. The coral heads were extremely colorful (unlike the west side where they are all but kicked to death by tourists and hurricane damage) and there were gorgeous fish. I'd wished I was diving that day, but having had so many "blah" snorkeling experiences and wondering what all the fuss was about....I finally found it on the east side.

Did you take a boat tour to the east side? I'm just starting to look at snorkeling options for next month. I don't get to snorkel often...

Did you take a boat tour to the east side? I'm just starting to look at snorkeling options for next month. I don't get to snorkel often...

Very few boats go over to the East side to dive or snorkel... reason is the cost of gas. It is a long long way from the westside boat caletas (where the boats are docked at night). That is not saying you couldn't get a boat to take you there, but it would cost $$$.

The reefs on the westside of the island are fantastic, but getting out to them will take a boat. As a diver who goes to Cozumel for a week each year average for 14 years, I love the reefs. That said, I have never snorkeled them from a boat. Several GREAT reefs come right up to within a few feet of the surface, those would be great to snorkel. The only one close in is Paradise Reef which is just south of the cruise ship dock Puerto Maya. It is a great reef to snorkel or dive.

I was just there diving Cozumel in May, and I have some videos of what the reefs look like if you are interested. My latest Cozumel videos are here:

the 2 shore diving videos from this trip will give you an excellent idea what can be seen in Cozumel snorkeling from shore. The coastline areas are all coral rubble, not pretty reef, but there are TONS of fish.

Did you take a boat tour to the east side? I'm just starting to look at snorkeling options for next month. I don't get to snorkel often...

No, we went on a dune buggy tour. It was the beach stop, so it was to the north of where the normal road goes (down a sandy path in the buggies). I would imagine there must be an operator (maybe look at the dive operators) that would take you there.

Very few boats go over to the East side to dive or snorkel... reason is the cost of gas. It is a long long way from the westside boat caletas (where the boats are docked at night). That is not saying you couldn't get a boat to take you there, but it would cost $$$.

 

The reefs on the westside of the island are fantastic, but getting out to them will take a boat. As a diver who goes to Cozumel for a week each year average for 14 years, I love the reefs. That said, I have never snorkeled them from a boat. Several GREAT reefs come right up to within a few feet of the surface, those would be great to snorkel. The only one close in is Paradise Reef which is just south of the cruise ship dock Puerto Maya. It is a great reef to snorkel or dive.

 

I was just there diving Cozumel in May, and I have some videos of what the reefs look like if you are interested. My latest Cozumel videos are here:

 

the 2 shore diving videos from this trip will give you an excellent idea what can be seen in Cozumel snorkeling from shore. The coastline areas are all coral rubble, not pretty reef, but there are TONS of fish.

Love the V's and music...thanks

Trying to decide if I should go to the ruins or snorkeling.....going on princess to Belize, Roatan and C......12-7