Travelers Info
Air Travelers
Cruise Passengers

Cozumel Island
About Cozumel
Holidays & Events
Getting There
Cancun to Cozumel
Weather
Exchange Rates

Accommodations
Hotels
Vacation Properties
Bed & Breakfast
Rentals Online
Dive/Hotel Packages

Water Activities
Scuba Diving
Scuba Dive Shops
Snorkeling
Deep Sea Fishing
Reefs
Beaches
Marine Park Rules

Adventure Tours
All Adventure Tours
Jungle Jeep Tours
Horseback Tours
Snorkel Tours
Scuba Diving Tours
Deep Sea Fishing
Jungle Bike Tours
Jungle Trek Tours
Tarzan Tours

Tours/Sight Seeing
Special Attractions
Tours/Excursions
Island Tours
Day Excursions  

Island Guides
Beaches
Nightlife
Restaurants
Shopping
Food

Mayan Ruins
Chichen Itza
Tulum
Coba

Ecological Parks
Chankanaab
Crococun Crocodile Park
Tres Rios
Xcaret
Xel-Ha
Cenotes
Xpu-Ha
Sian Ka'an Biosphere
Punta Laguna
Garrafon

More Services
Specialty Services
Car/Vehicle Rentals
Getting Married
Real Estate
Travel Agencies
Tour Operators
Emergency Info
Great Links

Travel Essentials
Travel Tips
Packing List
Taxi Fares
Ferry Schedule
Spanish Lessons
Photo Gallery
Consulates

About Travelnotes
Contact Us

Rentals

Online Hotels

Car Rentals

Adventure Tours

Scuba Tours

Cozumel Trip Report
Submit a Trip Report

It was so early...... that it was late! 3AM up and shower, off to pick up my fiancé Angela, her daughter Jennifer and my son Scott. We caught a flight from LaGuardia to Charlotte on US Air. Very un eventful thank goodness. In Charlotte we met up with my other son Robert and his buddy John. They flew in from Durham. Another un eventful quick flight and we were in the land of Coz.
Met at the airport by Lomas travel and whisked off to the Park Royal. I know, I know with so many restaurants why an AI? This deal was so good that even if we ate out every night, it was still a great deal. Having said that......more on the hotel later. Check in was a snap, got exactly what we asked for as far as room's. 4th floor overlooking the pool and sea. Big, clean,  room with a super air conditioner. So far.... happy as a clam.  Grabbed a quick bite at the buffet, more about food later, then off to Dive with Martin which is conveniently right across the street, for a quick shore dive to check out the equipment. Martin was there to meet us and couldn't do enough for us. T shirts, hats and the promise of a video and also an extra video of our night dive. Being a man of his word, he came through on everything. In my humble opinion, this has got to be one of the best (read SAFE) dive operations, not to mention a great value especially if you don't have your own gear. The dive master was a young man in his 20's named David. What a mature, responsible young man. I won't bore you with details of our dives. Those that dive know and those that don't wont. Anywho...
Palancar Horseshoe
Delilah
Santa Rosa Wall
El Cedral
Palancar Caves
Columbia Shallows
Columbia Gardens
San Francisco Wall...and on the second day....no, really that was 4 days of diving.
I am not sure of the night dive site name, suffice to say GREAT diving. Oh, I also got to try out my Fathers Day gift, a new Genesis dive computer...Super!!!!!!
So, now for the hotel and food part. I especially like the Park Royal. Great big lobby which is actually on the second floor. The people at the check in desk, knew we were there before and always greet you with "Welcome home". The main dining and pool are down one floor, which gives it a secluded cozy feeling. The pool is surrounded with lush vegetation so sun or shade is available. The rooms are good size, always clean, air-conditioning worked great and they had waffle padding so the beds were just right. Jennifer is an incredibly picky eater, yet she found more than enough food she would eat at every meal. The rotisserie chicken for lunch daily was a treat. On Saturday they have a BBQ with tables set up next to the pool. They also have a gourmet restaurant and let me tell you we ate there 4 times it is outstanding. Extensive menu, great service, top shelf liquor and AI.There was a chef and waiter in our group and all agree this was a great dining experience. We have eaten at several down town restaurants on other trips, I would rate this one up there with the best. We did make it across the street to Ernesto's, still the best fajitas in Mexico.
We ventured downtown on Sunday and the square was hopping. They had a band playing and people dancing and everyone just having a good time. We did the obligatory walk around the town, got those much needed souvenirs and found some really good coconut ice-cream. I had read on one of the boards that there was supposed to be some sort of music festival on 8/13,14 and 15 in the square. It never happened. Then on Wednesday we were out walking near our hotel and we hear music. It was coming from an area behind the shops next door. We ventured in and what do you know, a party. There were about 100 people and a band I think the Crazy Parrot and they were jammin! Apparently, this was the remains of the music festival that never happened, but it was happening that night. Had a great time, nice people and cold beer.
Since Angela and Jennifer do not dive, we booked a snorkeling tour with Arricefes. We have done this in the past and had a great time. Eduardo is still there and as entertaining as ever. The only down side for us was that the owners relatives were in town and picked the same day we did to go snorkeling. We speak little Spanish and they little English so there was really no conversation. To us, meeting new people and sharing experiences is a major part of traveling. Guess I'll just have to learn more Spanish. The snorkeling trip was very nice. We saw, believe it or not, a shark just hiding between two coral heads in no more than 10 feet of water. Eduardo tried to coax him out, but he wasn't budging. Saw some spotted eels and 1 turtle. Really good snorkeling. The other thing we did was SNUBA. This was for Jennifer who had completed all classroom and pool for her open water certification. She had a referral and at the last minute had a change of heart so, we went snubaring (is that a word?). For those unfamiliar with this, they take a scuba tank 3700psi and put it on a float. Attached to it are two 20ft hoses with regular scuba regulators. They put you in a harness so the hose is attached to your back and off you go. We were down 55 min. and saw crabs, lobster, eel's, tons of fish. It was fun especially as a primer for someone who may be on the edge as far as scuba goes.
As always happens, Saturday finally arrived and it was time to go. Another almost uneventful trip home. When we got to the airport, check in took at least 40 min. What I mean is that once we got to the counter it took the US Air representative 40 min to check us in. I guess it was partially our fault. The group going to Charlotte then Durham should have checked in seperately from the LaGuardia bunch. What made it worse, my son and I are both Robert. She couldn't get it straight which Robert was going where. By this time they had taken ALL our bags behind the counter with no destination tags on them. I had seroius doubts as to where my luggage was going to end up. Fortunately, it all got to the right place. Then we get to the x-ray of checked baggage and they pull my sons dive gear bag aside. I am thinking, "What could possibly be the problem with this?" Until they pull sea snips out of the bag. About that time my son gets this deer in the headlights look on his face and gives me the old "Sorry, I forgot". I had to go back and have them put in an envelope and check it. Fat chance I will ever see my sea snips again right. Well low and behold, don't they come sliding down the baggage carousel into my waiting hands.
All in all, probably the best vacation ever.
Us Airways........9
Park Royal (overall).........9
Food (buffet)..........8
Gourmet restaurant....10
Room...................9
Staff.................10+++++++++
Dive with Martin......10
Ernestos fajitas......10+
Pretty darn near perfect trip.

Trip Reports

back to top