Wheelchair accessible tours in Cozumel

[Moonstoners]

Any suggestions for accessible tours in Cozumel? We're heading there on Splendour of the Seas in December 2005, but wanted to get some preliminary information.

 

ahawton@rep.scdsb.on.ca

 

R. Aubrey Hawton

[Splinter]

Check out this previous post on this topic:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=45864

[kyriecat]

Consider going to Parque Chankanaab. We took my mom there last week. We took a cab from the pier (4 people). My mom uses a folding manual wheelchair so we were able to put it in the back of the station wagon taxi. The cost from pier (International Pier) to the park was $10 (the price is based on distance and not number of passengers). Park admission is $12 pp for adults (don't remember cost for kids).

 

There are several trails through the park. The trails are packed gravel mostly and very well-kept. It would be good to have a second person available to help push over a few rocky areas. They have replicas of Mayan ruins in one section and botanical gardens in another section. There is a lagoon with a path around it. The museum required climbing stairs so my mom could not go into it. There is also a beach but it is not accessible with a normal wheelchair - no walkways just sand. There are dolphins that you can look at (costs $$$ extra to interact with them) and a sea lion/bird show (also extra $5 pp). There are a couple of restaurants with reasonable prices. My mom really liked this park. My husband and I went snorkeling for about an hour while my parents sat under a tree and people watched/read.

 

We went into town after the park. The sidewalks in Cozumel are not designed well for wheelchairs. The taxi ride from Chankanaab to town was $10. There are very few ramps and most of them have crumbling concrete. Also, the sidewalks are not very wide so we were often forced to walk in the streets to avoid being pushed off the sidewalk. We didn't stay in town too long before deciding to return to the pier ($6 for taxi). There are several shops along the pier that are accessible, but very crowded.