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Snorkeling


levy1980

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First RC cruise and we are visiting Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan, we haven't booked any shore excursions and I really would rather not to be honest, not only to save money but we don't want to be running to a schedule.

We really want to go snorkeling so is there anywhere on each of these stops that is within walking distance from the ship where you can go snorkeling on your own?  Somewhere with a decent bit of beach for the ones who just want to relax.  We just want to go for couple of hours and will then get back on the ship.

Also is there somewhere at CocoCay you can snorkel for free? 

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Certainly you can snorkel off the beach at Coco Cay, which is what we do.  There were about two dozen fish species by the man-made reefs guarding the cove, and several types of coral were growing, too.  But if you want a real live coral reef, you generally need to book some type of excursion.  We haven't done that yet at Coco Cay but did so at some other ports.

As for Roatan, there are some beach excursions that state you can snorkel at the resort.  We are trying Maya Beach in our next cruise.  Costa Maya also claims you can snorkel off the beach, although we haven't tried.  I don't know how nice the public beach is.  At Cozumel, we tried the Spectacular Shore Snorkel and Tequila Tasting  excursion.  The off-the beach snorkeling was led by a guide, and was mostly sea grass with a few fish.  Won't do that again, but I enjoyed the tequila workshop.  Lunch was extra.

So if you want to see something really special, maybe invest in one nice boat snorkel trip.  Folks here can tell you which ones they liked.  I am told by others that Roatan would be the best for one good snorkeling trip

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Just got off Harmony with its very stop in Roatan.  We did the Tabyana Beach Excursion and thoroughly loved it.  We brought our own snorkel equipment with us.  I would say this was the very best snorkeling off of a beach I've EVER been on in the Caribbean so far (haven't been to the ABC islands yet; that's next summer's cruises!).  Literally just a few yards wading off shore, there were fish swimming around you that could be seen even without a snorkel.  Swimming off shore just a little ways (50+ yards) there were many reefs with many dozens of different fish all around.  The farther you go out, the bigger the reefs, and the better the views of fish.  If you wanted one special snorkeling experience, I would wholehearted suggest you give this excursion a try.  It got in on a cruise planner sale for $49.99/person which included a BBQ lunch (available noon-1:30pm), and lemonade & sweet tea to drink (all day availability).   You will take about a 30 minute ride on a bus to get there.  I didn't see any nearby beaches close to the port that had any sandy areas to really call a beach.  The best beach areas on Roatan definitely require transportation of some sort away from the port.

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I agree with @MarvinS about Roatan.  It was the best snorkeling we've experienced in the Caribbean.  We did a 3rd party boat snorkeling tour with a few different stops but you can snorkel right off of West Bay beach.  You will need some kind of taxi or transportation to get there.  Nothing near the pier.

IMO, Cozumel doesn't have great beach snorkeling.  If you want a cheap beach day, look at Paradise Beach.  It's not walking distance but an easy taxi ride.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Costa Maya we took a taxi to their general beach area. Not much but wqas fun. Cozumel has a place called Money Bar and that was fantastic. Had an awesome lunch couple sodas and great snorkeling right there. Havn't done Roatan but hear its great. Coco Cay has good snorkeling as well..

 

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On 6/8/2019 at 4:05 PM, levy1980 said:

First RC cruise and we are visiting Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan, we haven't booked any shore excursions and I really would rather not to be honest, not only to save money but we don't want to be running to a schedule.

We really want to go snorkeling so is there anywhere on each of these stops that is within walking distance from the ship where you can go snorkeling on your own?  Somewhere with a decent bit of beach for the ones who just want to relax.  We just want to go for couple of hours and will then get back on the ship.

Also is there somewhere at CocoCay you can snorkel for free? 

We were at Cozumel last November on Disney Fantasy and did the Fury Catamaran snorkel and beach break as a DCL excursion. We got off the ship and boarded the boat right on the same dock. The crew and cat were a lot of fun and the Island had all the blow-up water park platforms and slides that was a lot of fun! Food was served and beer was included on the island. The snorkel--it is close to shore but open ocean and I personally didn't like it--I didn't have time to get my bearings when I got in the water, and I don't like swim fins. I stayed on the boat and my husband enjoyed the float snorkel. If it was a calmer area it would have been a perfect day.

https://www.google.com/search?q=fury+catamaran+snorkel+%26+beach+break&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS770US770&oq=fury+cat&aqs=chrome.4.69i57j0l5.7655j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 

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