Chankanaab activities and booking

[mitsugirly]

It's been years since I've been to Chankanaab and I know things have really changed. I can't seem to find a way to book admittance to the park or activities. Does anyone know the website to use?

 

Has anyone done the SeaTrek and/or the Snuba there? Are they in different areas? When you pay the price to do these, does it include the price of admission to the park?

 

SeaTrek: Do they have monuments and things to see under the water? I assume they take pictures of you like the other SeaTrek places do. Anyone know the cost? Is it in a different area than the snorkeling? Are you allowed to bring your own camera's or GoPro?

 

Snuba: Is this done in the snorkeling area with the sculptures? Are you allowed to take your camera or GoPro?

 

TIA 

[jbrinkm]

https://cozumelparks.com/en/chankanaab/

 

I may sound like a broken record saying this over and over on the forums, but you could consider booking a Cabana and getting discounted tickets to Chankaaab ($10pp when we were there in April). It made financial sense for our family of 4: cabana $80 (now is $95) + $40 Chankanaab = $120 for Cabana, snorkeling gear, towels, water and fruit plate VS $96 for just admittance to Chankanaab (my son was still 12 so would have gotten the $18 fare). The higher number Cabanas are closer to the little rope that separates the two parts of the park. 

 

The snorkeling was fantastic here, but we didn't do SeaTrek or Snuba. I hated Snuba the one time we tried it at Xel-Ha - everything kept getting tangled and it was really awkward. Sorry I can't help with any of the other questions... we just did snorkeling. I know there are a bunch of statues in the water by the park itself, but I didn't see any on the Cabana end. Water was cold and there was a current; we really needed our flippers here. 

[mitsugirly]

2 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

https://cozumelparks.com/en/chankanaab/

 

I may sound like a broken record saying this over and over on the forums, but you could consider booking a Cabana and getting discounted tickets to Chankaaab ($10pp when we were there in April). It made financial sense for our family of 4: cabana $80 (now is $95) + $40 Chankanaab = $120 for Cabana, snorkeling gear, towels, water and fruit plate VS $96 for just admittance to Chankanaab (my son was still 12 so would have gotten the $18 fare). The higher number Cabanas are closer to the little rope that separates the two parts of the park. 

 

The snorkeling was fantastic here, but we didn't do SeaTrek or Snuba. I hated Snuba the one time we tried it at Xel-Ha - everything kept getting tangled and it was really awkward. Sorry I can't help with any of the other questions... we just did snorkeling. I know there are a bunch of statues in the water by the park itself, but I didn't see any on the Cabana end. Water was cold and there was a current; we really needed our flippers here. 

 

Is this a part of Chankanaab? Where are you seeing that it is $95 now? The link you provided says $80 still however, it won't let me book anything for next year so not sure if there's a price increase. 

 

We have 3 people so if it's $80 for cabana and $30 to get in, that would be $110  VS $78 for us plus it sounds like it might be far away from the snorkeling area?

[jbrinkm]

27 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

Is this a part of Chankanaab? Where are you seeing that it is $95 now? The link you provided says $80 still however, it won't let me book anything for next year so not sure if there's a price increase. 

 

We have 3 people so if it's $80 for cabana and $30 to get in, that would be $110  VS $78 for us plus it sounds like it might be far away from the snorkeling area?

 

https://thecabanabeach.com/

Just go to "book", put in your date, and hover over the cabana and it will give you details.

 

Prices have gone up for discounted entrance to the park as well  - $13pp. So $95 + 3x$13 = $134 (vs $78 for just the park entrance fee). Your price would almost double. The more people you have, the better the rate turns out to be due to the discounted park tickets. Also you save more with adults rather then 12 and under kids. For us, the Cabana and snorkeling were more appealing than the rest of the park with all the upcharges to do stuff. We ended up spending that $40 to just go walk around the Mayan replica for 45 minutes - but that was also later in the afternoon. But if you want to do the SeaTrek or Snuba anyway, then you lose some of the benefit of getting the snorkeling equipment for free. 

 

Is it "part" of Chankanaab? Some say it is, some say not. IDK 🤷‍♀️It is adjacent to the park with a rope across the space where you can go from one to the other. We had our tickets and got to the rope, and stood there staring at it for a minute. No one working there, no directions for what to do. We just went over/under and no one cared. There are different people running the Cabanas - although Chankanaab seems to have a variety of vendors inside anyway. We had Cabana 2 which added a bunch of walking in hot air and hot sand to even get to that rope. And my oldest had gotten really sunburnt earlier in the day, so was miserable. The higher number cabanas would be much closer and it looks like some of the dive places are towards the southern end of Chankanaab, close to where the Cabanas are. But yeah, Chankanaab is all a hike. Much larger than I anticipated. 

[mitsugirly]

On 11/27/2022 at 7:15 PM, jbrinkm said:

 

https://thecabanabeach.com/

Just go to "book", put in your date, and hover over the cabana and it will give you details.

 

Prices have gone up for discounted entrance to the park as well  - $13pp. So $95 + 3x$13 = $134 (vs $78 for just the park entrance fee). Your price would almost double. The more people you have, the better the rate turns out to be due to the discounted park tickets. Also you save more with adults rather then 12 and under kids. For us, the Cabana and snorkeling were more appealing than the rest of the park with all the upcharges to do stuff. We ended up spending that $40 to just go walk around the Mayan replica for 45 minutes - but that was also later in the afternoon. But if you want to do the SeaTrek or Snuba anyway, then you lose some of the benefit of getting the snorkeling equipment for free. 

 

Is it "part" of Chankanaab? Some say it is, some say not. IDK 🤷‍♀️It is adjacent to the park with a rope across the space where you can go from one to the other. We had our tickets and got to the rope, and stood there staring at it for a minute. No one working there, no directions for what to do. We just went over/under and no one cared. There are different people running the Cabanas - although Chankanaab seems to have a variety of vendors inside anyway. We had Cabana 2 which added a bunch of walking in hot air and hot sand to even get to that rope. And my oldest had gotten really sunburnt earlier in the day, so was miserable. The higher number cabanas would be much closer and it looks like some of the dive places are towards the southern end of Chankanaab, close to where the Cabanas are. But yeah, Chankanaab is all a hike. Much larger than I anticipated. 

 

I looked at their website and the place looks amazing. After reading it, I'm in agreeance with those that say it's not part of Chankanaab since you do have to pay more just to get into Chankanaab (or cross the line/ropes).

 

We are planning on the snuba and/or SeaTrek, which is part of Chankanaab, so it really wouldn't make sense for us to book the cabana. I'm just trying to figure out if you book those activities, does it include the admission to Chank. I remember when we went in the past, we booked a dolphin swim and the admission to the park was included. 

 

Wait...you had to pay to walk around the area they have there for the replica ruins? Say what? You used to be able to just walk around there. I can't believe they charge now if so. Eekkk

 

Also, we have our own snorkeling equipment, so renting theirs is of no use to us. 

Edited December 1, 2022 by mitsugirly

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

32 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

 

I looked at their website and the place looks amazing. After reading it, I'm in agreeance with those that say it's not part of Chankanaab since you do have to pay more just to get into Chankanaab (or cross the line/ropes).

 

We are planning on the snuba and/or SeaTrek, which is part of Chankanaab, so it really wouldn't make sense for us to book the cabana. I'm just trying to figure out if you book those activities, does it include the admission to Chank. I remember when we went in the past, we booked a dolphin swim and the admission to the park was included. 

 

Wait...you had to pay to walk around the area they have there for the replica ruins? Say what? You used to be able to just walk around there. I can't believe they charge now if so. Eekkk

 

Also, we have our own snorkeling equipment, so renting theirs is of no use to us. 

It looks like Chankanaab park is included with Cabana Beach:

 

Access to Chankanaab Park is included with your bracelet in your individual guest fee. Steps from the cabanas and accesible from the beach, visit the park to enjoy the different attractions and activities they have to offer.

 

And, the park map shows that the replica ruins are free to walk around also.

[mitsugirly]

14 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

It looks like Chankanaab park is included with Cabana Beach:

 

Access to Chankanaab Park is included with your bracelet in your individual guest fee. Steps from the cabanas and accesible from the beach, visit the park to enjoy the different attractions and activities they have to offer.

 

And, the park map shows that the replica ruins are free to walk around also.

 

But right above that verbiage of it being included with your "individual guest fee" it says you have to pay $13 for that individual guest fee, which to me, means you still have to pay extra to go over to Chank? 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

1 minute ago, mitsugirly said:

 

But right above that verbiage of it being included with your "individual guest fee" it says you have to pay $13 for that individual guest fee, which to me, means you still have to pay extra to go over to Chank? 

The way I read it, you have to pay that individual guest fee whether you go into Chank or not. So, I'd say Chank is included.

 

We're a group of 8. We're deciding between Chank and Playa Mia. Playa Mia would be about $400.  The VIP Cabana plus wristbands would be $269.  Chank without the Cabana would be $200.  

 

Kids would enjoy Playa Mia more, though, and it has a nicer beach. Tough choices. Have you been to Playa Mia?  Trying to figure out if grandparents would have somewhere to go to get out of the heat and sun. 

[mitsugirly]

27 minutes ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

The way I read it, you have to pay that individual guest fee whether you go into Chank or not. So, I'd say Chank is included.

 

We're a group of 8. We're deciding between Chank and Playa Mia. Playa Mia would be about $400.  The VIP Cabana plus wristbands would be $269.  Chank without the Cabana would be $200.  

 

Kids would enjoy Playa Mia more, though, and it has a nicer beach. Tough choices. Have you been to Playa Mia?  Trying to figure out if grandparents would have somewhere to go to get out of the heat and sun. 

 

True, I guess you could look at it that way as well. 🙂 

 

Yes, we have been to Playa Mia and enjoyed ourselves the time we went. It's a very large beach club with a nice large pool, large beach and plenty of places to sit (including under the palm trees for shade). You can go HERE and see our day there and it has plenty of pictures of the place so you can get a better feel for it. 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

1 hour ago, mitsugirly said:

 

True, I guess you could look at it that way as well. 🙂 

 

Yes, we have been to Playa Mia and enjoyed ourselves the time we went. It's a very large beach club with a nice large pool, large beach and plenty of places to sit (including under the palm trees for shade). You can go HERE and see our day there and it has plenty of pictures of the place so you can get a better feel for it. 

Thanks. The palm trees aren't enough shade for them. Fair folk who burn easily.  It looks like the tent might be the only real shade?

[jbrinkm]

3 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

Wait...you had to pay to walk around the area they have there for the replica ruins? Say what? You used to be able to just walk around there. I can't believe they charge now if so. Eekkk

 

2 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

It looks like Chankanaab park is included with Cabana Beach:

 

Access to Chankanaab Park is included with your bracelet in your individual guest fee. Steps from the cabanas and accesible from the beach, visit the park to enjoy the different attractions and activities they have to offer.

 

And, the park map shows that the replica ruins are free to walk around also.

 

The replica ruins ARE part of Chankanaab and are included in the admission fare. Sorry if I was unclear - we paid $40 for admission to Chankanaab ($10pp x 4 of us) and the only thing we did in the park was go to the ruins. We didn't do anything else in the park all day, just stayed at the Cabana and snorkeled. So for US, we paid the $40 admittance fee to just go walk around the ruins. But the admittance fee lets you in to do whatever you want in the park and on another day, we might have done more inside the park itself. We didn't anticipate how much we would enjoy the snorkeling right off the Cabana Beach and spent a LONG time doing that.

 

The park is not included if you just book a Cabana. When you check out, they ask if you want admission tickets and how many. They were $10pp in April and have now gone up to $13pp. The key is "bracelet in your individual guest fee." If you're not going to Chankanaab, you don't pay an individual guest fee, just the price for the Cabana. We actually didn't get bracelets either, just paper tickets. And I don't know if someone would have been checking earlier in the day, but no one cared or noticed about us crossing over to the park, even though we had tickets in hand when we did.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

6 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

 

 

The replica ruins ARE part of Chankanaab and are included in the admission fare. Sorry if I was unclear - we paid $40 for admission to Chankanaab ($10pp x 4 of us) and the only thing we did in the park was go to the ruins. We didn't do anything else in the park all day, just stayed at the Cabana and snorkeled. So for US, we paid the $40 admittance fee to just go walk around the ruins. But the admittance fee lets you in to do whatever you want in the park and on another day, we might have done more inside the park itself. We didn't anticipate how much we would enjoy the snorkeling right off the Cabana Beach and spent a LONG time doing that.

 

The park is not included if you just book a Cabana. When you check out, they ask if you want admission tickets and how many. They were $10pp in April and have now gone up to $13pp. The key is "bracelet in your individual guest fee." If you're not going to Chankanaab, you don't pay an individual guest fee, just the price for the Cabana. We actually didn't get bracelets either, just paper tickets. And I don't know if someone would have been checking earlier in the day, but no one cared or noticed about us crossing over to the park, even though we had tickets in hand when we did.

I think they changed it. I just did a mock booking, and the pp $13 charge doesn't seem optional.

[jbrinkm]

2 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

I think they changed it. I just did a mock booking, and the pp $13 charge doesn't seem optional.

Ok, apologies. That stinks, actually, that you would no longer have a choice. I should have said that was how it was for us in April - we could opt-in or out. 

[trouble1964]

 

There are 4 of us, and I am probably the only one that will get in the water. I want to do the manatee swim, and also snorkel.  

 

So if we rent a cabana, the only extra cost would be for me to do the manatee swim, and our food, drink, transportation right? 

[RCmommy]

Was anyone ever able to officially confirm if Chank admission is included as part of the cabana rental?

[c-leg5]

6 minutes ago, RCmommy said:

Was anyone ever able to officially confirm if Chank admission is included as part of the cabana rental?

The website is specific.

[lelo14]

I expect to be there March 17, 2023. Wondering what to expect with regards to seaweed.  The last time we went, the cruise line advised against the beaches for this reason.

 

Anybody been here recently? Reading the reviews of the place, it looks like it has gotten very rundown, overcrowded, and has too many pushy salespeople. Can anyone comment?

 

We don't want to do anything extra.  We want to enjoy the weather, beach, and water. We will have our own snorkel stuff with us and hope to see the underwater statues. Hope the park is nice, we'd like to wonder around a bit at some point and enjoy the gardens, landscape, prehispanic replicas, and such. In the middle of the day we will get lunch at one of the restaurants.

 

What is the best way to get into the water for snorkeling? I hear there is rocks between the sand and the water. I'm not good on rocks.

[c-leg5]

Unless there is an el norte unlikely to be seaweed at Chankanaab.

[lelo14]

What is an "el norte"?

[c-leg5]

53 minutes ago, lelo14 said:

What is an "el norte"?

It is a strong, cooler wind that doesn’t come from the usual direction. It affects currents and diving. It can bring sargassum into west coast beaches that are usually clear.
 

Sargassum is predominantly on the east coast of Cozumel and the mainland beaches like, Playa, Cancun, Costa Maya.

Edited January 17, 2023 by c-leg5

[mitsugirly]

Still looking for anyone that might have done either the snuba or SeaTrek here and how the experience was.

[denas]

I haven’t done this BUT would be interested in your experience. 
 

Regarding your earlier question, the Dolphin/Manatee does include park entrance but I believe the sea treck is not. I think you just get your entrance then walk down to the various dive/snorkel and coordinate. I know some of the Viator excursions sell it that way. 
 

I would be curious what you think of the snorkeling and experience when you next go. We were there over Christmas but didn’t do much except the manatees. Planning on heading back in June and can’t find anywhere that isn’t AI that has a pool and good snorkeling. 

[mitsugirly]

Has anyone looked at the website for Chankanaab??? It is REALLY frustrating and I can't get it to work at all. (The website has always been terrible but now....geeze louise!). Even the "booking" area isn't working right. It looks like a spread sheet gone bad! Like I can't even figure out how to book anything with them. (Our daughter has decided she wanted to do the Snuba). Can anyone see if they have the same problem?  https://cozumelparks.com/en/chankanaab/

[jbrinkm]

2 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

Has anyone looked at the website for Chankanaab??? It is REALLY frustrating and I can't get it to work at all. (The website has always been terrible but now....geeze louise!). Even the "booking" area isn't working right. It looks like a spread sheet gone bad! Like I can't even figure out how to book anything with them. (Our daughter has decided she wanted to do the Snuba). Can anyone see if they have the same problem?  https://cozumelparks.com/en/chankanaab/

 

Oh yeah - it's bad. Much worse than the last time I was on there...

[c-leg5]

12 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

Has anyone looked at the website for Chankanaab??? It is REALLY frustrating and I can't get it to work at all. (The website has always been terrible but now....geeze louise!). Even the "booking" area isn't working right. It looks like a spread sheet gone bad! Like I can't even figure out how to book anything with them. (Our daughter has decided she wanted to do the Snuba). Can anyone see if they have the same problem?  https://cozumelparks.com/en/chankanaab/

Seems Ok again this morning.