How to get toddlers to beach in Coz?

[xop]

Now I'm starting to freak out about getting our boys (will be 2 & 3 when we go to Cozumel) to the beach (Nachi Cocom) w/o carseats. I've read alot of taxis don't even have seatbelts. Is there an alternative way...as in requesting a certain taxi, renting a car, anything??? Thanks

[Angeleyes1382]

Our taxi in Cozumel had seat belts. We also went to Nachi. It was so much fun. We took our 5 year old. We also took sand castle building supplies and some small dump trucks we got from Target. We just packed his socks and underwear in the sand castle building buckets.

[Julienatul]

We went to paradise beach the last time we were there. We took a taxi, it didnt have seatbelts so we just held the kids on our laps. Luckily there are very few cars on the road and the beaches are a short 5 minute ride. We may have passed 3 cars along our drive. Not the safest choice but what can you do.

[DALSAL]

Our taxi in Cozumel had seat belts. We also went to Nachi. It was so much fun. We took our 5 year old. We also took sand castle building supplies and some small dump trucks we got from Target. We just packed his socks and underwear in the sand castle building buckets.

 

 

From what Ive heard, this is rare to find seat belts...I wish we knew how to get one with seat belts. We would not put our almost 11 month old in a taxi without seat belts. Even though its only 5 mins...just cant take that chance. Would love to go to Chankanaab for the day! Any other ideas?

[A&Jfamily]

From what Ive heard, this is rare to find seat belts...I wish we knew how to get one with seat belts. We would not put our almost 11 month old in a taxi without seat belts. Even though its only 5 mins...just cant take that chance. Would love to go to Chankanaab for the day! Any other ideas?

 

You can find cabs with seat belts - Chank is about a 15 minute ride. My youngest was 4 at the time, and we just buckled him with the lap belt in the backseat. Our cabs both to and from had them...just hold out for one if you feel you need the car seat (no judgment here).

 

FYI - Chank is beautiful - just be aware that most of the beach is on a bulkhead and not child friendly due to the risk of falling off the edge and onto the coral/in the ocean below- if your child is up and walking, bring a leash, or stay away from that area. There is a small cove where the water is calm and children can splash in the shallows.

 

Take the opportunity to swim with the dolphins - they have a great facility.

[Mack2]

I think it's wonderful how safe and conscientious we are today with our kids' safety here in the US. Unfortunately, sometimes being in a foreign country, we have to deal with being in a foreign country.

 

That being said, some foreign countries remind me of how we lived in the 70s.

 

I remember sitting on my mother's lap on the naugahyde bench seat with no seatbelt in the front. Sliding back and forth whenever my dad made a turn around a corner.

 

I'm amazed we've all survived through those years, when our country didn't have safety on their minds... and I think 'That's where THEY are here in this foreign country'

 

 

So... we take the risk. Crazy Jamaican transfers from the airport to Negril, insane cab drivers in St Thomas, cabbies in Mexico. Every one of them, beeping and waving to their friends along the way while driving dangerously close to everything on the road and off.

 

In my experience, though... the guys in Cozumel are good... the roads there are wide, and the cab drivers don't seem to make any unnecessary risks. They all have to be licensed to drive a cab by the government, so I'm sure they would lose their jobs if they scared the hell out of the tourists.

 

And it could be worse....

Could be like this guy:

[xop]

I think it's wonderful how safe and conscientious we are today with our kids' safety here in the US. Unfortunately, sometimes being in a foreign country, we have to deal with being in a foreign country.

 

That being said, some foreign countries remind me of how we lived in the 70s.

 

I remember sitting on my mother's lap on the naugahyde bench seat with no seatbelt in the front. Sliding back and forth whenever my dad made a turn around a corner.

 

I'm amazed we've all survived through those years, when our country didn't have safety on their minds... and I think 'That's where THEY are here in this foreign country'

 

 

So... we take the risk. Crazy Jamaican transfers from the airport to Negril, insane cab drivers in St Thomas, cabbies in Mexico. Every one of them, beeping and waving to their friends along the way while driving dangerously close to everything on the road and off.

 

In my experience, though... the guys in Cozumel are good... the roads there are wide, and the cab drivers don't seem to make any unnecessary risks. They all have to be licensed to drive a cab by the government, so I'm sure they would lose their jobs if they scared the hell out of the tourists.

 

And it could be worse....

Could be like this guy:

I was born in '71 so I also grew up w/o using a carseat, I can't believe we didn't even use the seatbelts :eek: But, yeah I remember riding down the road and laying in the back window as a kid.

[Mack2]

Scariest ride I ever had anywhere was in Puerto Rico.

 

It was on a horse and buggy tour. It was me, my wife, my son, and my mom. We hired the tour just to see Old San Juan without having to do all the walking (since my wife was pregnant with our 2nd child) just to see the city before heading back to the ship.

 

Long story short, near the end of the tour, the horse started getting anxious. Heard this bang... then another... then I noticed wood from the buggy flying over our heads.... The driver had lost control of the horse, and the horse was kicking the buggy.

 

So, we almost lost our driver as the horse tried to go into a parking garage, and my wife and mother started screaming when the horse bee-lined towards an outdoor cafe filled with screaming people running away from the horse's destination.

 

I have to dig out the picture for you guys....

 

Horse ended up straddling a large potted plant, the driver evacuated us from the buggy... no charge... we walked the two blocks back to the ship.

 

We haven't been back on one of those tours in the Caribbean since then... hell with that, y'know?

We did do it in Montreal, though... driver didn't lose control of the horse there.

[DALSAL]

Scariest ride I ever had anywhere was in Puerto Rico.

 

It was on a horse and buggy tour. It was me, my wife, my son, and my mom. We hired the tour just to see Old San Juan without having to do all the walking (since my wife was pregnant with our 2nd child) just to see the city before heading back to the ship.

 

Long story short, near the end of the tour, the horse started getting anxious. Heard this bang... then another... then I noticed wood from the buggy flying over our heads.... The driver had lost control of the horse, and the horse was kicking the buggy.

 

So, we almost lost our driver as the horse tried to go into a parking garage, and my wife and mother started screaming when the horse bee-lined towards an outdoor cafe filled with screaming people running away from the horse's destination.

 

I have to dig out the picture for you guys....

 

Horse ended up straddling a large potted plant, the driver evacuated us from the buggy... no charge... we walked the two blocks back to the ship.

 

We haven't been back on one of those tours in the Caribbean since then... hell with that, y'know?

We did do it in Montreal, though... driver didn't lose control of the horse there.

 

 

I can just picture that! Im afraid of horses as it is, that would have sealed the deal!

[Angeleyes1382]

From what Ive heard, this is rare to find seat belts...I wish we knew how to get one with seat belts. We would not put our almost 11 month old in a taxi without seat belts. Even though its only 5 mins...just cant take that chance. Would love to go to Chankanaab for the day! Any other ideas?

We were in a van if that makes any difference. There are so many cabs there at the pier, it may take a little longer to find one with a seat belt, but I've seen them. We had one coming and going. We road with another family going to Paradise Beach on the way there. On the way back we were in a car by ourselves.

[Mack2]

These are a few pictures from my little San Juan Horse and Buggy story.

 

Started out nice:

 

And ended with this:

 

 

Looks like it was 2003... Explorer of the Seas

 

It's fun to talk about it now, but at the time, it kinda sucked.

[heymonkey89]

I was born in 81 and never used a car seat and rarely wore seat belts until I was a teenager and made that choice on my own. I remember standing in the front seat of the car when I was a kid.

 

 

 

We are renting a Jeep in Cozumel. The rental places said they have car seats so you can do that if you wish. The ride to your beach isn't very long then again your kids are quite small so I understand your concern. Tough call.