Dune Buggy Tour

Hi -

Has anyone done the dune buggy tour recently? I searched for it, and read some read some posts and reviews -- but they all seemed to be pretty old.

Is it fun? Do you get a good, thorough to tour of the island?

Should we wear our swimsuits under our clothes, or change into them for the snorkeling portion?

Thanks!

x2 - My wife and I are looking to do this as well. Any info would be appreciated!

I am another who is interested in it. Like Leadft already said...I can't find a lot of info on it.

I'm assuming your talking about the one that you can book through royal caribbean. I will be doing this next week through them so I will let you know how it goes

I found it independently - not through RC. I think it was on shoretrips.com or one of those sites. But I am pretty sure that must be the same one, because I think there is only one company that does it. The guy makes the dune buggies himself, or so it says on his website.

I would appreciate if you post your opinion of it!

Thanks!

We went on this tour last year in July 2008. Not sure if that is what you are considering old or not??

When we went there really wasn't a place or opportunity to change clothes. We had our suits on under our clothes and that seemed to work out pretty well.

Not sure when you are planning to go to Cozumel. But when we went we did not get to ride/drive dune buggies. Supposedly the government would not give the licensing to let them out on the road??? We also heard later from someone else that they only use them during the "high" tourist season to save on wear and tear. Anyway, what we actually drove were VW Beatle convertibles - 60's-70's models. My husband drove and he said they were fun to drive. We got to take them to an open area and do donuts. Although my husband didn't realize at the time that our kids were not strapped in the backseat ( no seatbelts). But the kids thought it was great!

We had a snorkel stop which was good. I have only been one other time so I do not have a lot to compare to. We did see lots of fish and they were close enough to reach out and touch them. We stopped at El Cedral. Our guides advised us not to purchase anything at the shops there but to shop at the pier....better prices. From there we went to the other side of the island and had a Mexican lunch on the beach. The food was fantastic and the best chicken and guacomole I have ever had.

We also could have made other stops ( on the east side of the island) but we had younger kids with us and we did not get into Cozumel that day until after 1 o'clock so we opted to head back to the pier. I believe the standard is to tour a tequila factory?

If you have any specific questions, just ask away......:)

I'm assuming your talking about the one that you can book through royal caribbean. I will be doing this next week through them so I will let you know how it goes

There were 2 I was looking at and I have no idea if either is offered through the ship...

http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/CozumelDuneBuggyTour.htm

or

http://www.cozumel-tours.com/xrails-jade-caverns.htm

The top link you posted is the one I have booked.

Bindy1 -

Thank you so much! That was very helpful. Yes, the chopped VW tour is exactly the one I was talking about. Now I am really excited!

We went on this tour last year in July 2008. Not sure if that is what you are considering old or not??

 

When we went there really wasn't a place or opportunity to change clothes. We had our suits on under our clothes and that seemed to work out pretty well.

 

Not sure when you are planning to go to Cozumel. But when we went we did not get to ride/drive dune buggies. Supposedly the government would not give the licensing to let them out on the road??? We also heard later from someone else that they only use them during the "high" tourist season to save on wear and tear. Anyway, what we actually drove were VW Beatle convertibles - 60's-70's models. My husband drove and he said they were fun to drive. We got to take them to an open area and do donuts. Although my husband didn't realize at the time that our kids were not strapped in the backseat ( no seatbelts). But the kids thought it was great!

 

We had a snorkel stop which was good. I have only been one other time so I do not have a lot to compare to. We did see lots of fish and they were close enough to reach out and touch them. We stopped at El Cedral. Our guides advised us not to purchase anything at the shops there but to shop at the pier....better prices. From there we went to the other side of the island and had a Mexican lunch on the beach. The food was fantastic and the best chicken and guacomole I have ever had.

 

We also could have made other stops ( on the east side of the island) but we had younger kids with us and we did not get into Cozumel that day until after 1 o'clock so we opted to head back to the pier. I believe the standard is to tour a tequila factory?

 

If you have any specific questions, just ask away......:)

Do you have to go snorkeling?

My husband and I, along with two other couples, booked the dune buggy tour from Celebrity when we were on the Century cruise in March. It was a lot of fun and a great way to see the island. We did snorkel for a short time (1/2 hour) and there was a building with bathrooms that we were able to change in. Be sure someone in your party knows how to drive stick! Probably the only negative was that sitting in the back of the buggy was that it was very, very windy. Make sure you wear sunglasses that day.

We drove around to the other side of the island (away from where the ship docked) and enjoyed a buffet lunch and some time at the beach. The lunch was pretty good and the bathrooms were clean. The beach was beautiful, but really rocky, so no swimming or anything. They did offer massages under a cabana, and one of our couples took advantage of that and said it was really worth the extra money.

Winding back to port, we stopped at a place called the "PePe Station" and the guys had to have their picture taken standing well, you know, in front of the sign. Pretty funny. We then drove through San Miguel which was very humbling. Although I felt safe with our caravan, I don't think I would want to wander around on my own. We were lucky to have a wonderful, very personable, funny tour guide - Memo (not to be confused with Nemo as he said) and he made the whole experience that much better. He really watched out for us and made sure we all had a great time.

Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to share what my husband and I thought was one of the highlights of our cruise. Although middle age, we felt like teenagers driving around in the dune buggy!

PS to Hazeleyez3 - on our tour, the snorkeling was optional. If you didn't snorkel, you could sit on the beach and watch the others. A couple of people in our group tried snorkeling, but just couldn't do it. Our tour guides were great and helped us back on the beach to relax while the others snorkeled. Again, that part of the excursion was not very long for us, so if you opted not to snorkel, you wouldn't be wasting a lot of time.

Hope that helped.

TNT - I love your pictures! Thank you much for sharing them. I'm super excited. Only 42 days!

For the snorkeling portion, are you just walking/swimming out to the area or do you have to take a boat out? We will have our 5 year old and are hoping we can both get to snorkel while switching off with our 5 year old on the beach or playing in the shallow water.

Thank you,

Elizabeth

Response to Kallista - I'm not sure what other dune buggy trips there are, but the one offered through Celebrity had us taking the dune buggy not too far to a gated building where we changed clothes and then were instructed on how to snorkel. We walked from the building, across a street to the beach access area. You just walked into the water and started snorkeling. It was a pretty rocky area at the beach, not smooth sand which made entry a little tricky. We had three guides helping us get situated. I don't know if it's typically rougher water, or we just had a bad day, but it was difficult to maneuver to get in position. I actually had to get out because I'd left my contacts in and the salt water got under my mask, so after snorkeling for about 5 minutes, I got out and sat along the beach. Our guides were great, though, and helped everyone. They only snorkeled maybe 100' off shore, so it was easy for people to come back in if they got tired.

Hope this helps, have fun!

Lisa

Lisa,

Thanks for the info. Were there any services on the beach where they took you? Did you eat lunch there or at another stop?

Thanks,

Elizabeth

After snorkeling, we went back and changed if we wanted and then got back in the dune buggies and drove to the other side of the island for a buffet lunch that was included in our excursion price. There really wasn't any other place that we stopped that we could pick things up. I did have a bottle of water that I'd taken from our room on the ship, and was glad that I had it with me.

When we stopped at the PePe Station, they had gifts and knicknacks to buy, but I don't remember if they had drinks you could purchase. They may have and I just didn't notice.:confused:

Sounds great, I contacted shoretrips and they said the snorkel right off the beach. I think we might book this. It is either this or Paradise Beach.

We went on this tour last year in July 2008. Not sure if that is what you are considering old or not??

 

When we went there really wasn't a place or opportunity to change clothes. We had our suits on under our clothes and that seemed to work out pretty well.

 

Not sure when you are planning to go to Cozumel. But when we went we did not get to ride/drive dune buggies. Supposedly the government would not give the licensing to let them out on the road??? We also heard later from someone else that they only use them during the "high" tourist season to save on wear and tear. Anyway, what we actually drove were VW Beatle convertibles - 60's-70's models. My husband drove and he said they were fun to drive. We got to take them to an open area and do donuts. Although my husband didn't realize at the time that our kids were not strapped in the backseat ( no seatbelts). But the kids thought it was great!

 

We had a snorkel stop which was good. I have only been one other time so I do not have a lot to compare to. We did see lots of fish and they were close enough to reach out and touch them. We stopped at El Cedral. Our guides advised us not to purchase anything at the shops there but to shop at the pier....better prices. From there we went to the other side of the island and had a Mexican lunch on the beach. The food was fantastic and the best chicken and guacomole I have ever had.

 

We also could have made other stops ( on the east side of the island) but we had younger kids with us and we did not get into Cozumel that day until after 1 o'clock so we opted to head back to the pier. I believe the standard is to tour a tequila factory?

 

If you have any specific questions, just ask away......:)

This sounds like the one my family has taken the last 2 years. We loved it. I believe it was through cozumelcruiseexcursions.com

You don't have to snorkel but it was rocky where you entered the water. Kids and I waited there while DW snorkeled. Had to leave our sandals on because of the rocks.

That chicken...mmmmmm

Almond tequila from the tequila factory....mmmmm

And they have an ice chest in each buggy with drinks (beer included!!!!) If you run out, just tell them, they will keep it full.

In 2007 it was dune buggies but in 2008 it was VW bugs. The guide, Omar, told us the buggies were having modifications and being inspected. Don't know much more about the story with that.

Ali McG

The top link you posted is the one I have booked.

I have that same one booked (cozumelcruiseexcusrions) so I will be interested in what the reviews are.

we did this through http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/C...eBuggyTour.htm

in 2007 not booked through RCL The only down side was there were only 2 families . My 2 boys then 20 and 17 wanted to be around more of a group and the other family had 2 small children. The guide guy led us to a beach to snorkel for awhile and then we drove to another area that had some shops like in a village area,there was an old church and we hung out there for awhile then went to another beach area where they made lunch then we drove again to another beach and then back to the start. I think we went around the island. There was a cooler in the car that was full of all drinks and I guess you can drive and drive in mexico. It really was fun but we did not go off road they said it was baned. The food was good the snorkeling was OK not great. Im not sure if we would do it again,Im not sure how much it would be to rent a jeep yourself but you would really get the same experience and do what you want.Maybe if we were with a bigger group it might have been more fun. But it was a lot cheaper than to book through cruise line.

And they have an ice chest in each buggy with drinks (beer included!!!!) If you run out, just tell them, they will keep it full.

 

I read about the beer which I find quite amusing. Let's put people behind the wheel of the car and give them access to alcohol while driving. :eek:

 

 

we did this through http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/C...eBuggyTour.htm

It really was fun but we did not go off road they said it was baned.

 

 

That is one of the reasons we might choose to do a dune buggy in a different port.

The one booked through the Celebrity Century did not offer alcohol at all - only bottled water and soft drinks. Our guide, Memo, even replied to someone asking that they don't allow drinking and driving because most people have enough trouble driving manual already! We also didn't go to a tequila factory. Guess we had the G rated dune buggy adventure, but it was still a great time!

we did this through http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/C...eBuggyTour.htm

in 2007 not booked through RCL The only down side was there were only 2 families . My 2 boys then 20 and 17 wanted to be around more of a group and the other family had 2 small children. The guide guy led us to a beach to snorkel for awhile and then we drove to another area that had some shops like in a village area,there was an old church and we hung out there for awhile then went to another beach area where they made lunch then we drove again to another beach and then back to the start. I think we went around the island. There was a cooler in the car that was full of all drinks and I guess you can drive and drive in mexico. It really was fun but we did not go off road they said it was baned. The food was good the snorkeling was OK not great. Im not sure if we would do it again,Im not sure how much it would be to rent a jeep yourself but you would really get the same experience and do what you want.Maybe if we were with a bigger group it might have been more fun. But it was a lot cheaper than to book through cruise line.

Was it difficult to find the meeting place. According to the confirmation we have to make our way to some memorial to meet.

And they have an ice chest in each buggy with drinks (beer included!!!!) If you run out, just tell them, they will keep it full.

 

 

 

That is one of the reasons we might choose to do a dune buggy in a different port.

Beer for all but the one who is driving is fine with me.