Snorkeling in Costa Maya: Opinions, please!

Hello, we have never been to Costa Maya & are wondering about the quality of the snorkeling at this port. We are avid snorkelers & are looking for opinions on the snorkeling here. We normally get a snorkeling tour to take us out to the reefs, not much for shore snorkeling, unless it's in the Keys. Any information/pictures would be great!

Hello, we have never been to Costa Maya & are wondering about the quality of the snorkeling at this port. We are avid snorkelers & are looking for opinions on the snorkeling here. We normally get a snorkeling tour to take us out to the reefs, not much for shore snorkeling, unless it's in the Keys. Any information/pictures would be great!

Not much good snorkeling in CM as it is alot of seagrass and little reef.

Good snorkeling in Cozumel and easy reef excursions if you don't enjoy shore snorkeling.

Good snorkeling anywhere along the huge reef in Belize.

Great snorkeling from shore in Roatan at West End beach and even better by reef excursion.

There is awesome snorkeling in CM. There are areas with sea grass but any snorkel boat would not put you on that. Lots of reefs. Snorkel boats in town are about $25 a person and inside the port about double that. Check this blog for a better description of how to snorkel the area. http://ahhhmahahual.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/how-to-snorkel-costa-mayamahahual/

Also, ships use Uvero Beach for some snorkeling/beach break excursions. It's north of Costa Maya. I think you can still head there for just the day, but not sure what the taxi would cost you. Better snorkeling there, or south of the malecon at Almapena or Maya Chan, both A.I.s requiring reservations. These latter two are a little out of the current for the sea grass, but at times in the year they can have their share.

What makes the malecon not as enticing for snorkeling is the lack of abundant sea life as motor and boat traffic are all along the breakwater. You do have to take a boat out to take advantage of that.

Thank you for the info...any suggestions for tour operators for snorkeling for this port?

I can't speak to the other places recommended but I did enjoy snorkeling at Almaplena Resort. Their fee included taxi to and from the resort, food, drinks, etc. We brought our own snorkeling gear and swam a ways off shore to the snorkeling where they indicated the best reefs were.

we did Uvero Beach through the cruise line (RCCL) 2011 and it was fabulous. Played driving a speedboat (ourselves) around in circles for awhile and they had a floating dock at a reef for snorkeling. Highly recommend it. We paid $79 then and it included transportation as well. Had never snorkeled before. They provide all the equipment as well. Had showers too. It had a very resort feel.

Thanks for the recommendations. We are hoping to find an independent provider are having a hard time finding one that's NOT affiliated with a resort. We have our own gear & are really lookin for a provider that will be able to take us out to a farther reef or past the breakers of the reef. Any suggestions for that would be great.

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What??? Someone wrote that there is not much snorkeling in Costa Maya. I disagree. We just got back from a cruise which stopped in Costa Maya, and we took a fishing and snorkeling excursion. The snorkeling was wonderful!

Here are a few pics:

You can also find more pics and a complete review of our day in Costa Maya which includes the beach club Pez Quadro at: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1976718

mpcaruth, who did you use for your excursion??? Those pics are great! Love the sea fan one!

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mpcaruth, who did you use for your excursion??? Those pics are great! Love the sea fan one!

 

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We booked our excursion through Island Marketing, Ltd. We have used them at other ports in the past. The excursion that we booked is called "Costa Maya Private Snorkeling, Fishing & Beach Exploration Excursion!" The excursion includes snorkeling (of course), and you get to pick another activity either fishing or a deserted beaches exploration tour.

The tour starts at the Pez Quadro beach club, which is very nice might I add.

we to used Island Marketing, Ltd, but we didnt book till we got off the boat in CM. With limited snorkeling experience between us, and the kids never had done it, they were friendly and helpful and pointed out a lot of things we as novices would of missed if solo. It was a blast. We also did some snorkeling in Coz and saw less sea life and more sea grass then anything, but it was still fun. Hope this helped.

Thank you both mpcaruth & joyride37. We have used Island Marketing for our Dune Buggy & Snorkel tour in Cozumel & loved them. I will look into what they have available for Costa Maya. I really appreciate it & LOVE the pics!!! Thank you again!

I confirm great snorkeling in CM. I recommend Puerto Angel beach at Almaplena Resort located south outside of the village. Unspoiled beautiful beach for relax and snorkeling paradise at the same time.

They don't rent snorkeling gear.

Thanks for the info! Has anyone used the snorkel company near the Yaya beach club?

I confirm great snorkeling in CM. I recommend Puerto Angel beach at Almaplena Resort located south outside of the village. Unspoiled beautiful beach for relax and snorkeling paradise at the same time.

They don't rent snorkeling gear.

Chili,

Is there a compny at this resort that will take you out to the reefs or is this shore only snorkeling? We have our gear, but not everyone in our party does.

Also having a hard time finding an independent snorkel trip for our group of 7. One from ship is $59 pp but doesn't seem to be more than a couple of hours. Allot of $$$ times 7. Did look at Island Mktng but their catamaran trip appears to be mini catamarans that hold four adults -- not really what I'd like. Did look at Pez Quadro site but not sure which kind of boat they use :confused:

Best option at the moment is to go to Tropicante and then book one of the little independent vendors after arrival. This will also give the option to not be locked in if the weather isn't great that day. All those vendors seem to use fishing boats to take you out to the reef. While workable, not quite as fun as a sailing or snorkeling excursion. Also emailed Steve @ Tropicante and he had no referral for a catamaran.

ALadyNCal,

We are looking into Doctor Dive, located within the Yaya Beach Club, but not associated with them directly. We have emailed them & they said they would be able to do a longer snorkel tour. We were told the boats hold up to 8 people. From the website, the price of a beach day there doesn't seem terrible. We are going to have a large group (probably 20 in all), 8 definite snorkelers and the rest may lounge about, shore snorkel, paddleboard, whatever.

If you take the $3.00 shuttle to Mahahual, can you just enter on of the beach resorts or is there a fee?

Do they charge for lounge chairs and such?

Where is the best snorkeling from the beach?