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Cozumel Island
Island Guides
Mayan Ruins
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Cozumel Trip Report trip report from a happy little family Jan.11-18 Although my trip report may not be as entertaining as some, I wanted to post it mainly to say THANK YOU to everyone who gave such good advice and honest opinions on this site before our trip! Your expertise helped to make our trip absolutely the best one we've ever taken. Muchas Gracias! First, you need to know that our family is a low-key bunch. This doesn't mean we're low energy! Quite the opposite! January usually finds us throwing snowshoes in the back of the car and heading to the mountains. So for us to go to COZUMEL was a VERY big thing! We're just not into the glitz & glamour entertainment of some places. From the moment we arrived at our quiet and simple but delightful hotel, Sol Cabanas Del Caribe, until we departed, everyone went out of their way to make us happy and comfortable. It was exactly 94 steps from our room to the ocean (according to my 8-year old!) and the snorkeling there was absolutely fantastic. We took lightweight wet suits, and were glad we had them. It's fine without them, but we wanted to spend quite a bit of time in the water, and after half an hour or so, you can get chilly. The restaurant at the hotel, Los Gaviotos, was our favorite place, not only because of the good food and reasonable prices, but because it's right on the water, and they give you bread to feed the fish. My kids were hooked after the first meal! We rented a car for three days so we could go to the other side of the island. We visited the Punta Celerain lighthouse and played in the waves, found all kinds of sea 'stuff' to bring home, and loved it. It was US$20 - the kids were free. They thought the ride on the top deck of the homemade double-decker bus thing was great. There's interesting history about the lighthouse in a little museum they have too. We didn't go on over to Punta Sur to snorkel so I don't know if it's good or not. We went to Chen rio another day, and our 5-year old found a good-sized conch shell and was absolutely ecstatic! The snorkeling there was ok, but really best over by the rocks. (We were so spoiled by our snorkeling at Sol Cabanas that it took a lot to impress us.!) If you do rent a vehicle to tour the east side, make sure to stop now and then just to enjoy the tide pools and blow holes. You have to get out & walk over to the rocks for the full effect - it's amazing! Another day we went to Chankanaab and thoroughly enjoyed it! The snorkeling was good, but the water was cloudier due to the sand than at our favorite hotel sweet hotel.... The sea lion show was not exactly the most wonderful show we'd ever seen, but the kids enjoyed it. The gardens & Mayan ruins walk are great as well. We went on Sunday, the day that there are supposedly no cruise ships, and it was SO nice, because it was not at all crowded. We didn't do the dolphin swim. Our kids are a bit young, plus it's $119 per person. We did visit the plaza that night. There were lots of adorable little kids, and just enjoying the flavor of another culture was great. We took a glass-bottom boat snorkel trip. I was a bit skeptical because I had read some reports that didn't look too favorably on them, but ours was WONDERFUL! We rode the 'Gabby' from the Playa Azul pier. Our guides were knowledgable & helpful. We went to three different places, and he took us all around. We saw a spotted Moray Eel, some MASSIVE parrot fish, and beautiful trunkfish, sea stars, as well as some other species we hadn't seen at our favorite place.....Our boys snorkeled at the first place & then loved just being in the boat, because you really could see very well. I would highly recommend this boat. We shopped part of one day, but with one mom and three guys....well, you get the picture. We purchased a very limited amount of souvenirs. We went more to relax and learn than anything else. We homeschool, and had been learning about coral reefs, tide pools, Mayans, etc., and then to actually GO there was just a dream! When we were in the water, surrounded by fish, I really kept saying, Thank you, Jesus! You are such an awesome God. We met many precious people, locals and other tourists, and of course we don't want to forget Scott and Sally and their beautiful mini-golf course! Don't miss that one either! Do make sure to take some 'stuff' for the children - check out the Chrysalis link on this website- it's a fun thing and warms your heart. We purchased fish identification cards and a book, and saw more than 75 different kinds of fish. (Not everything was in our book) We found a live conch, and watched him for awhile before putting him back. Both my husband and myself are elementary teachers, and we can't think of a better field study than the one we just experienced with our kids. Take yours & GO! Thanks again to everyone for your help - We love Cozumel, and we're going back!Lodging Reviews
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