Need beach help

[HarleyChick]

We're looking for the perfect beach in Cozumel.

 

We aren't interested in snorkeling or children's activites--don't need icebergs, trampolines, wave runners, parasailing.

 

We want clean white sand, and clear blue calm water--want to avoid rocky, grassy beach.

 

Beach chairs and umbrellas/palapas/trees would be great.

 

A beach bar/restaurant with cheap lobster would be perfect.

 

I guess what we're looking for is a laid-back, adult oriented beach for floating on a raft, sunning and relaxing.

 

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

SENSATIONAL CRUISE FROM THE BAYOU 10/23/04

[Coz Insider Sherri]

Gosh there are so many good ones to choose from but I'm afraid none of our beaches yet identify themselves as being adult oriented per say. That being said, I think I would head out to either Nachi Cocom or Playa Palancar ~ it will cost a bit more to get there via taxi since these are a bit farther away. The most laid back of the 2 would be Playa Palancar which doesn't have a bunch of water toys and such....but does have a great beach with lots of hammock filled palapas on the beach, loungers and umbrellas! They also specialize in seafood and do have a discount coupon you can print in advance and take with you.

Since there are so many great beaches here I'm sure you'll get lots of great feedback on others to select from as well! Good luck with your selection and have fun here in Cozumel!

 

Sherri at

CozumelInsider

[Coz Insider Sherri]

ooops...uh..that would be "per se" ~ fingers going too fast!!

 

Sherri at

CozumelInsider

[solita]

My vote is Passion Island. Except for the lobster, you described it to a T! Pure white sand beaches, no grass (most times of year) or rocks in the water, very isolated (think Swiss Family Robinson), hammocks, lots of palm trees and shade, good food and drinks, no toys or booming music and water that is 200 shades of aqua.

[lyndasilk]

My vote would be for Paradise Beach. It's a $12, 10 minute taxi ride from the International Pier and there are NO entrance fees. The beach is wonderful, white sand, beautiful and clean water. While there is a climbing iceberg and trampoline in the water, we just lounged in the comfortable lounge chairs under the umbrellas and enjoyed the beach. The bar is beautiful, the food is delicious with generous portions (we paid $32 for a huge hamburger, fries, spicy chicken wrap with fries again, nachos and salsa and 3 Cokes; they served us right on the beach in our loungechairs), the changerooms and washrooms are very, very clean, and the service was great. People are very friendly (especially the fellow who runs it; his name is Tom and you'll see him often on this board as Paradise Beach Tom). I've seen multitudes of great reviews from people who have been there and have said that this was the highlight of their cruise.

 

We went in April and it was fabulous. We ended staying much longer than we intended as it was so relaxing and beautiful. The fact that there were no entrance fees saved me $84 for 3 adults that I would have paid for shore excursions to Playa Del Sol (food and drink would have been on top of the $84).

 

 

Just thought I would let you know! Have a great cruise!

 

Lynda

 

Disney Magic, Oct 04

Enchantment of the Seas,Apr 04

Disney Wonder, Oct 02

Disney Wonder, Jan 02

 

 

[HarleyChick]

Thanks for all the great suggestions.

 

Sherri,

I didn't mean "adult oriented" so much as I meant that water toys and children's activities are just not a priority for us. I'm not looking for a Club Med or a Hedonism.

 

Again, thanks everyone.

 

SENSATIONAL CRUISE FROM THE BAYOU 10/23/04

[Coz Insider Sherri]

Hey HarleyChick ~ well...ya never know! all kinds of folks visit here...we went thru a big fad a couple of years ago with everyone asking about nude beaches! If I got one email asking this I got 500 !! don't know why really..then all of a sudden it stopped...guess folks decided to keep their clothes on!

 

Watertoys are popular and most prolific at the larger beaches ~ stick with the smaller places and you should find the peace, quiet and relaxing atmosphere you seek! Enjoy!

 

Sherri at

CozumelInsider

[HOSKI]

I would recommend Mr. Sanchos. It was a really nice relaxed beach. It seems anymore no matter what you want people on this board will recommend Paradise Beach. It seems to be the latest fad of the cruise boards.

 

Fascination 1997 Destiny 2000

Victory 2000 Sensation 2001

Norway 2002 Legend 2002

NCL Dawn 2003 Inspiration 2003

Victory 2004 Holiday 2004

[HarleyChick]

Hoski,

I agree about Paradise Beach being the latest hot spot. While it looks very nice, I don't think it's quite what we're looking for.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

SENSATIONAL CRUISE FROM THE BAYOU 10/23/04

[p2lockhart]

HarleyChic, we have been renting a car and going to Chen Rio on the other side of the Island. It is not a fancy place but the beach is so peaceful and quiet. The cafe had lobster and other food as well and will serve you at your table under a palapa in the sand. There is a roped off area for swimming. However, I understand that the current can be bad if you go beyond that. It has not been crowded when we have been there but I have read that on Sundays the locals like to come and it may be more crowded than usual. It is a beautiful beach. We have gone and just ordered drinks and stayed for hours. We never want to leave once we get there.

 

until I cruise on the Elation

 

until I cruise on the Ecstacy

 

Ecstacy 11/25/04

Elation 12/28/03,9/26/04

Celebration 9/5/03

Carnival Conquest 5/18/03

Rhapsody of the Seas 5/02

Norwegian Sea 12/31/99

 

[HarleyChick]

p2lockhart,

Thanks for the suggestion. I've had the east coast beaches in the back of my mind, but we sail at 6pm and I'm concerned that we'd have a problem making it back on time. But we haven't ruled the idea out.

 

SENSATIONAL CRUISE FROM THE BAYOU 10/23/04

[MTV43]

HarleyChick,

 

Beaches at Cozumel are not beautiful nor fancy but enjoyable and the water is clear. If you are looking for mile of while sand, clear water beach like Magen Bay in St. Thomas, then you will be very disappointed. All beach clubs such as San Francisco, Paradise, Playa sol, Mr. Sancho's, Nachi Com have sandy beaches but they could be crowded with tourists. On the East side such as Playa Bonita, Chen Rio also have sandy beaches, less crowded but the current can be strong and if you do not have a car, a cab drive could be expensive. My personal opinion, Chen Rio is overrated, maybe we are leaving at Houston, we can get of sort of fresh seafood. Therefore, the term "fresh seafood, fresh catch of the day" does not fall in our dictionary, the frozen lobster tail which I bought at HEB in the state was 5 times better. The place does not have electricity, it opens from noon to 6:00 PM. BTW, if you have to use the restroom... not clean. Lobster is not inexpensive in Cozumel but fresh catch Grouper is the best.

 

MTV

[HarleyChick]

MTV,

Thanks for your advice. I really wish we had a longer time in port and could go to a couple of different places.

 

SENSATIONAL CRUISE FROM THE BAYOU 10/23/04

[weezi]

can i take a taxi to nachi cocom or passion island? will it be too expensive?

 

thanks

angela

[HarleyChick]

weezi,

The taxi to Nachi is $14. From what I've read here, you can only go to Passion Island though the ship's excursion.

[ccletzgo]

I was looking at the ships tour to Passion Island.

 

I read you can also choose to go over by kayak. But then another board said it was a four person canoe. :confused: :confused: :confused:

 

Has anyone done either one? :confused:

 

Open bar and lunch is included. And it does not sound as crowded.

[HarleyChick]

ccletzgo,

At first, I though Passion Island sounded wonderful. But after reading on these boards, it seems that (at least on Carnival's 5 hr excursion) too much time was spent getting there and not enough time was spent at the beach. Other than that, it sounded exactly like perfect beach for us.

 

I don't know if we can still access the old boards and read them, if so you could do a search there. Other than that you may want to start a new thread with Passion Island in the title.

[wendya2J]

Someone mentioned Palmar Estate beach club to me,,,, has a freshwater pool, fountain, jacuzzi, free lockers, swimming, snorkeling, snorkeling gear, bar, food etc. the look smaller, but thats fine with me....there is a coupon at cozumelinsider.com for free entrance and chips and salsa (usually $5 for entrance of $15 day pass including 3 drinks and a food item),,,,what do you think??

[HarleyChick]

Wendy,

 

I'm not familiar with that particular beach. I'll have to do a search on it. And free coupons are always a plus. Thanks y'all.

[sddiver]

Harley Chick,

 

Given what it appears you are looking for go to the east side. I have spent many weeks on Coz over the last 10 years. The Western Shore (leeward side) beaches cater to cruisers and often have large crowds, music, and many, many Nino's(kids), wave runners, parasailing ect. There is very flat water(lake like) so it is very good for floating around. However I don't think that is what you are looking for. The East side is much less developed(no electricty even) Has a few beach side bars/eateries and is much more scenic and much less crowded. Not sure how many are in your group but you can either

1. Rent a car- $50-75 for the day split ? ways.

2. Take a taxi one way each way- ~$20 each way- varies by which beach.

3. Negotiate with a taxi driver to be your "tour guide" for the day. I've heard of people getting someone for $40-60 for the day and have him bring you to several places along the beach.

Our favorite place is Mezcalitos, right on the beach at the northern end of the east side road. Picture- Palapas on the sand, Turquiose water lapping on the bright white sand, a couple of ice cold Coronas on the table beside you. Yep just like the commercial.

Down side is there is surf, though small,so floating around is an issue unless at Playa Bonita where there is a small protected cove.

But the ambiance or lack there of is what you might be looking for.

 

Ill try and email you a complete report link for the entire east side. More information than you could need.

 

Rich

[injunjoe]

Rich,

I would also be very interested in your complete report link for the entire east side. Please post.

 

Thanks,

Injun Joe

[HarleyChick]

Rich,

Thanks so much. The east side was actually my very first choice. Playa Bonita for the beach and possibly Punta Morena to eat lunch. The only issue I have with it is that we are in port from 7am to 5pm and I was afraid we wouldn't have enough time.

 

I look forward to your email.

 

Thanks again.

[sddiver]

Harley Chick, & Injun Joe

 

With the new board format the email access to yourself needs to be activated. Go to the top of any page and click on the "User Cp" icon on the left side. Under the next sub menu click on "edit options". On that page there is an option to allow people to email you. You need to check that to allow me to email you that link. I'll check back later and send it to you.

 

Harley Chick- If you are there 7-5 you will have more than enough time to explore the entire east side and then some. You can circle the entire island in around an hour . Side to side is 15-20 minutes.

 

Rich

[HarleyChick]

sddiver,

 

I've done everything to try to make my email public. It doesn't seem to work. I'll post it here perryandmichelle@yahoo.com

 

Thanks for your advice and I look forward to seeing your trip report.

[tidelover]

Rich,

Can you e-mail me the info on the east side beaches.

Sounds like it is what were looking for also.