Travel to and around Akumal

[thegrandpoohbah]

We have just booked a 10 day trip to the Gran Bahia Principe Tulum for the end of May. This will be mostly snorkeling and visiting Mayan ruins, no diving unless I can manage to squeeze in a dive course (which I would rather not rush). We are going to rent a car for the whole time so we can get around. Just wondering what people here would recommend for a trip over to Cozumel as we would like to do some snorkeling at Palancar Reef. Should we drive and take the car ferry over or would it be easier to park it in Playa del Carmen, take the passenger ferry and then arrange transportation on the Cozumel side? If we go with the latter should we take a taxi or is it easier to rent a car?

Would appreciate any input you guys can provide. Also open to suggestions on good places to snorkel in that area. Thanks!

 

[TSandM]

Taxis on Coz are plentiful and not very expensive. But most of the reefs off the island are well offshore and subject to significant current, so I don't know how successful you will be in snorkeling them. The Coz regulars can give more information, but even shore diving can be challenging there, and I certainly wouldn't make the trip all the way to the island to snorkel where we shore dove -- which is not to say that we didn't see anything interesting, but I've seen equally exciting stuff in the bay at Puerto Aventuras, when we have snorkeled there.

Do be sure to visit a couple of the cenotes and do some snorkeling. They're beautiful places, and some can really give you a lovely taste of the cavern experience, even with a snorkel. (Grand is not far from Tulum, and is a very nice site.)

 

[annlaur]

Forget about taking a rental car from the mainland to the island : it is not allowed. EDIT: turns out it is allowed to take the car ferry with a rental car as long as you carry all documents with you (et let your rental company know of your intentions to make sure they agre to this too). Source : Transbordadores del Caribe on Facebook.

The passenger ferry pier in Cozumel is located downtown, where you can either take cabs or rent a car for the day. Taxi prices are displayed at the station by the pier, compared to other locales in Mexico they are pretty expensive – up to USD25 one way for a ride to the South point. If you want to tour the island and see the beautiful East coast (not the best for snorkeling, but still worth a trip), it's cheaper to rent a car for the day (about USD50 with all insurances).

Regarding snorkeling, TSandM is right, you won't see the amazing Cozumel reef system snorkeling from the shore. You'd have to book a boat tour (post on the Cozumel sub-forum for recommandations if you decide to go that route).
There are nonetheless some nice spots accessible from shore, one of my favorites being Playa Corona, located about 8 km South of town. It's a small, laid-back beach club (nothing fancy at all). The snorkeling there is very shallow, with easy entrance to the water, and quite a lot to see : fans, corals, and fish, including the resident barracuda and puffer-fish. No entrance fee, just buy a drink.
Chankanaab (a national Marine park) is also great, but the entrance is expensive and it's often packed with cruise ship people (usually less so on Sundays).
That being said, and as much as I love Cozumel, if your sole goal for going there is to snorkel from shore, I'm sure there are spots on the mainland that are just as good. I've read several reports mentionning snorkeling with turtles in Akumal, maybe someone can give you more info.

 

[Diogenesdemar]

On the Akumal side, the Yal-ku lagoon in Akumal is some of the best family friendly, fish filled snorkeling a person can do. We spent five hours there one afternoon, and enjoyed it so much we went back for another day on the same trip.

On the Cozumel side, I would pretty much "ditto" everything TsandM said. But, I also wouldn't hesitate to recommend that for a good family adventure you rent a vehicle for the day and drive around the Island and stop at some of the beach clubs on the west side, and pull over anywhere there's a beach on the east side that looks promising -- the east side won't be much for snorkeling, but a dip or a swim in the surf is a blast too.

My family has had some terrifically wonderful times in Cozumel before we were divers just stopping at some unknown-to-us places, and seeing what they were about. Sometimes that serendipitous day without any planning can provide fantastic memories . . . take a day, toss the plans out the window and see where Cozumel takes you, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[annlaur]

By the way, if you want to learn how to dive but not waste precious vacation time studying, you can take the class at home, either completely or just the theory and pool practice. In the latter case, you can ask for a referral and do only the open water part of the course during your vacation.

 

[thegrandpoohbah]

annlaur, the nearest city to us where I could do pool dives is hours away so that won't work. A good thought though.

We were planning to check out a couple of the cenotes (Gran and Dos Ojos). Do they charge admission or are they open to the public?

 

[annlaur]

You can find a list of several cenotes with some info regarding snorkeling, entrance fees, etc., here : Dive Cooperative - Diving in Cozumel Dive Cooperative

 

[kixy1]

I love Cozumel and would definitely suggest heading over, if your precious vacation time allows a side trip. However, it should be to experience the island, not for the purposes of snorkeling. I love Coz, and try to get there at least twice a year, but because half my family doesn't dive, I usually end up with a dive trip to Coz and a family trip to Akumal. Yeah, life is tough That being said, IMO the snorkeling on Coz can't begin to compare to the snorkeling you can find around Akumal, and you really need to snorkel a cenote, of which can only be done on the mainland.

Palancar Reef, and the dive sites off Cozumel are accessed by boat, and they're too deep for snorkeling. My family has, on occasion, gone on the boat with me and done a little snorkeling, but the current can be disconcerting, as can being in the water so far out from land. On days with superb visibility they were able to make out the reef and the divers below. They say the reef and it's colors were pretty, and they could make out a few larger animals, but really nothing else. Other times they really couldn't see anything.

We're headed to Akumal again next month, and because it's my birthday they've agreed to a quick overnight trip to Coz to allow me to get my diving fix I'm really hoping the eagle rays are still around!

As others have pointed out, there is some really nice snorkeling around Akumal, you won't be disappointed.

Oh, as for opinions on how to get there...we usually just take a taxi to the ferry in Playa. If you're only going for the day, take the bus to the ferry (we can't because we have dive equipment with us). It's clean, safe, CHEAP and reliable. Once on the island, taxis are everywhere. I've never rented a car unless I'm staying for a week or more and then sometimes I don't either. Another option would be to rent a taxi and a driver for the day, about the same as a car. These "guides" can be pretty fun and informative and it lets you enjoy your day...go over to the other side of the island, have a cervesa....enjoy!

If you need more specific info on Coz, ask the questions over in that forum. Those folks will get you set up for sure!

 

[thegrandpoohbah]

Thanks for all the great info. People on this forum sure are helpful!

 

[TSandM]

Anyplace that you would enjoy snorkeling a cenote, will have an entrance fee. They generally aren't very much; I know Grand charges 120 pesos for divers, and I think it's less for snorkelers and swimmers.