mitsugirly

We did a private jeep tour a few years ago that took us to the "Wild Side" of Cozumel and enjoyed it a lot. They allowed us to stop anywhere we wanted to check things out...including showing us some blow holes. Then we went to Punta Sur to the lighthouse, museum, the lagoon with the gators (also had a small tower to climb up) and also the beach (which I know you don't want to do). But you can come and go as you please. HERE is my review of our day (scroll down a ways and you'll find tons of pictures of the area at Punta Sur, including pictures from the top of the lighthouse).

We stayed on the island and I agree with buses being few and far in between. They also weren't the typical bus you would think of that's huge. They were more like mini-vans and didn't fit a lot of people in them so the odds of them maybe already being full is up there.

So glad you liked Sky Reef and it all worked out good. 🙂

So glad you enjoyed it and had a great day! 🙂

I find it so weird that when I do a search on Deer Island there is absolutely no threads with it in there other than this one. No one has been there out of all the cruisers?

You're welcome and you have a wonderful trip too!

$79/pp

If I wanted to go somewhere with all of those requirements, just knowing what they are like when we were there several times, I would probably pick Secret Harbor. It's really pretty, has crystal clear calm water and great snorkeling along the right side in front of the dive shop. There are shade trees on the beach as well. It has a restaurant. The only thing I have read is that in order to get chairs, you need to either reserve them from the dive shop or get there early enough to get them because there's not many. This is a resort, so most of the chairs are reserved for the guests there. However, we have never rented chairs when we went because we would just sit in the shade under the tree either on a beach towel or (when staying on the island) we had small beach chairs we took. HERE and HERE. Magens is not really known for it's snorkeling...although I will snorkel ANYWHERE I go no matter what. The most to see there are some turtles and small fish in the water along the side in about 1-2' deep water. Sapphire beach is a nice beach (and we have stayed at the resort before) but the water can get rough at times. Good snorkeling. You would have to rent chairs from there around the restuarant. Coki beach has good snorkeling along the side, smaller beach, water is a little calmer than Sapphire to me. There's a shack there that you can buy food or order from the waiters. (People complain about the smell of weed there...so if that bothers you, this is not the place for you). We do like Brewers because the water has been calm every time we went there and there's plenty of shade. We have ALWAYS seen turtles there and there's plenty of reports of everyone going there has seen turtles. However, there's no chair rental there so you'd have to put your towels down under the trees. They do have restrooms and showers though. There's also no restaurant or anything there. Once we did find a vendor on the street in front of it to purchase food. But, I'm not sure they are always there. Also, it's not your "normal" tourist area (located right by the college) and you'd probably have to arrange for a cab to come back to get you. But based on your requirements, my pick would be Secret Harbor. Others probably have different opinions idk.

Oh, you will be before DST happens then. Hopefully the ship will change with the port.

When are you going? I was worried about this too and then someone told me that by the time we go (end of March, beginning of april) that we will have reset our clocks for daylight savings time and the ship will be the same time as it is there by then.

Anyone know how the Uber works? With the peso? Do we convert something in the app?

No additional charge for the beaches. The smaller sandy beach is closest to the entry area and will come to that before the snorkeling area. if you want to try scuba ask the dive shop there at Chanknaab about it. I believe they take you along the wall (where the steps are to get in) and there’s some cool statues down there as well. He would probably enjoy it as a first timer and give him an idea of if he even likes scuba.

There is a smaller cove beach at Chankanaab that you can go from the sand into the water. Here's a picture of the area: It's much smaller than the area in front of the snorkeling, which you have to walk down the steps in. I HIGHLY suggest NOT doing a boat scuba for his first time. Cozumel is more of a drift scuba and the water can really pull you sideways. I would never do that as a first scuba. You want to go somewhere that the water is more calm. What other ports are you going to? Is another port a possibility to scuba in by boat?

What about trying Snuba for the first time? The place that comes to mind for me is Chankanaab, which has a large beach for the younger one and then the 13 year old can "try" out scuba by doing snuba. (You don't carry the tank on your back for snuba and you are limited to the length of the air hose, which is attached to the air at the surface that floats around on a boat, which is usually around 20' down). OR Chankanaab also has scuba diving too now that I think about it. Try contacting them for details.

AWESOME REVIEW!!! I loved every minute of it. I can't wait to read/see your next...whenever that may be and see how much your mini has grown up. My turn to watch you. 😉 👏

Anyone know about how much it would cost to get a taxi to the marina? How does Uber work in Mexico? Do you have to change any settings in your app to make it work? Like from dollars to peso's? I've heard people say it's cheaper to use Uber down there than using a taxi service.

Thank you so much! I didn’t think about DST and us going after that. So that will work out great!

Question...did they have you set the clocks back before getting to La Paz? If I have a tour scheduled at 9am will the ship be on that time as well? If not, what time would the ship time be do you know?

I didn't realize we get loyalty pins! ...or do I? I'll have to make sure to remember. We made brunch reservations on the app and got the alert that our table was ready as we were walking down the hall to the elevator. Do you always have to make a reservation?

Thanks for the visual. I still honestly don't think this is doable for us with a 30 minute drive on the bus from the port to the terminal and then another 20+ minutes from there puts us at almost an hour and the tour is supposed to start at 9am. I think the only way is to grab a taxi or Uber to make it in time. We still have time factored into actually getting off the ship as soon as they allow and walking the port to get out. Ugh...decisions. Anyone know how much an Uber or taxi would be to the marina?

I feel like maybe when I type in the Estrella del Mar, it might be the wrong place because it looks like it's far away (past) from the marina we need to go to ??

Yea, this is the reason that I want to go there by boat. I read somewhere that if you arrive by boat, you can get in no matter what and are not part of the 450 people they allow in. I wish I could find that somewhere again. I'm going to ask the tour guide we are working with about it to verify.

Hi there! I hope you are doing well. No worries, if you've missed any of the reviews (both land and sea), you can always find them on my travel website/blog travelwithmitsugirly . com ....of course if you have a lot of free time on your hands 😄 You know how lengthy I and long winded I am. LOL Lucky you! I have a feeling I'm going to love the Mexican Riviera and want to go back again myself. There's just so many new things to see and do. I wanna do it all. Maybe I'll need a land tour there. Noted! I'm in the works to book something there now. I will use a beach as a back up if needed. A lot of people seem to like this tour...but man is it expensive and we will have 4 people with us. I just don't know if I can justify it at this time for the short amount of hours that's involved (according to Carnival, only 4.75 hours for $180 yikes). We now have a whale watching tour booked for this port. The whales are supposed to be in the area until mid-April. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed. It's the real reason why I originally wanted to book a Mexican Riviera cruise years ago. (Although we did do a land vacation to Isla Mujeres Mexico 2 summers ago and swam with the whale sharks...the MOST AMAZING time EVER. It's still not the same as seeing the humpbacks and other whales in the water. I hope we get to see them breech). I have seen pictures of them. When we went to Isla Mujeres for a land vacation we rented a golf cart that looked like a jeep. (That's what you rent to get around when on this island the entire time). We had a blast...so much that this is one island I wouldn't mind going back to and staying at again. So much funner than renting a car. lol They did not have any family harbor rooms when we booked and ended up booking just a regular balcony room this time around.

Oh ok. So you mean an actual submitted review and not a review like this one.

Well that helps. It sounds like it is definitely not something I would want to take a bus to and then have to walk to on a time crunch. We usually go for the beach (and snorkeling if there is any) and not for other things to do around there...unless we get tired being at the beach and want to walk around I guess. But that's good enough for me as a back up plan. My struggle with this is that I REALLY want to go to Balandra Bay so much and the Carnival tours are already booked. I have been searching everywhere to find someone that would take us there. The company (Tuna Tuna) has awesome reviews on TA and looks like they've been in business (with these tours) since 2017. The time frame we're on...ugh! Oh ok, I do see that Carnival excursion. It could always be a back up as well (but doesn't go to Balandra Bay). Age limit doesn't matter. My youngest is 15. Where?