Excursion Help

Our upcoming cruise is stopping at Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel. We are interested in a beach day, exploring ruins and an active excursion (probably zip lining but open to other ideas). Which port would you recommend for each of these types of days?

No ruins on Cozumel and a trip to the mainland involves more time travelling than visiting the ruins.

Cozumel is a great choice for a beach day - lots of beach clubs with different amenities and business models to choose from. Do you want all-inclusive? Pay as you go? Lively or quiet and relaxing? Travelling with kids? Snorkel from the shore?

Search the Coz board - lots of reviews for Paradise Beach, Playa Mia, Mr. Sanchos, Money Bar, Chankanaab, Nachi Cocom and others.

No ruins on Cozumel and a trip to the mainland involves more time travelling than visiting the ruins.

Actually, there are ruins in Cozumel. The Mayan Ruins of San Gervasio are a 20 minute cab ride away from the cruise ship terminals. Not quite as grand or impressive as the ones found in the Mexican mainland, but a great option for those wanting to get a taste of Mayan culture without spending the entire day on a tedious excursion.

We visited San Gervasio our last time in Cozumel and absolutely loved it. We were traveling with small children (3 and 5 at the time) and we wanted to visit Mayan ruins but didn’t want to take them on long excursions. San Gervasio fit the bill. It was very easy for them. Short drive, compact, easy to walk site, and it gave us plenty of time to do other things around Cozumel. We saw a lot of cruise passengers there, some arriving in rented jeeps, taxis and organized excursion buses.

As mentioned above, San Gervasio is not nearly as impressive as the bigger and better known archaeological sites in the mainland, but for someone wanting to dip their feet in Mayan culture without spending too much time or money, it’s an excellent option.

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IMHO they are not worth your time, but if you go bring some bug spray!

IMHO they are not worth your time, but if you go bring some bug spray!

Bringing bug spray is advisable anywhere in Cozumel or the rest of the Caribbean for that matter! [emoji6]

For someone who wants to be impressed by the larger archaeological sites, San Gervasio may not be a good option. But for those who go with realistic expectations, San Gervasio will be worth their while. It was for us! [emoji3]

We’ve been to larger archaeological sites in the Mexican mainland, including Chichen Itzá, Tulúm and Chachobben. San Gervasio does pale in comparison to those sites. But for our specific needs, time frame, and people in our group, it was the perfect option.

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We made those exact same spots over the holidays. Trip report here https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/. We had a tour in Roatan, cooking school in Cozumel and a beach day in Costa maya. Ife included links to the vendors we used and pics of each excursion. We had an amazing time. Enjoy your trip!!

In Roatan, I definitely recommend South Shore Zip Line! I've done the "Zip and Dip" with them twice! Small groups, friendly guides! The last time I went in Dec 2017, the guides kept my camera the whole time and took lots of pictures and videos for me. They got a good tip! :D

My DH had hurt his ankle and stayed on board and it wound up being just me and a gentleman & his young son with 2 guides. I did skip the "dip" part and go on back to the ship to my DH. They were great making this change in transportation for me.

The first time I went it was just me and DD and a family of 4 with 2 guides. These are the only 2 times I've been ziplining but I had a blast!

Lots of lines to zip! I haven't done the Zuperman line - which is only 2 long lines in Superman position. So depends on what you're looking for. I definitely recommend this company though.

Take some small bills for locker rental.