Best Excursions for Grand Cayman, Cozumel & Coasta Maya??

[Ajojo]

Anyone know of a beach in Cozumel or Grand Caymen that has great shells? My family would like a few shells as souveniers.

 

[Valencia Joe]

Would appreciate your input since you just recently did this one- we are a group of 10 traveling with 6 kids- ages 12-2 yo. Do you think it is worth it to take little ones? Our concern is that we would love for the older kids to experience a little bit of the history in Mexico because not sure when we will ever go back and don't want to just do beach trips in each location. The ruins trip in Cozumel sounds like an even longer adventure so the one in Costa Maya seems to be the only option.

I think we are just going to do the beach in Grand Cayman because I am not sure that the younger kids would like the stingray adventure and trying to keep them safe on a smaller boat sounds like a nightmare! I have also heard mixed reviews about the turtle farm- plus we just visited the zoo where we had our fill of turtles.

In Cozumel, we are debating between Nachi Cocum and Chankannaab. Is the beach/swimming area at Chankanaab nice and clean with clear water-free of rocks?

Anyone who has done these excursions with younger kids... I would love your views! Thanks!

In all honesty, my 12 year old liked the ruins in Costa Maya, but my 8 year old got bored. All she wanted to do is eat some ice cream there. I think also the heat affected the two of them, especially the youngest. The heat along with the humidity got to her.

I agree that it shouldn't missed because of the history and also whether you'll ever be back in that area.

 

[Dizney73]

On our cruise in June we did nachi cocum in Cozumel and it was very nice! The beach is steep and after about an hour on the beach the kids were ready for the pool. The drinks kept coming and the lunch which is included was delicious! Taxi cab was ready to get back to the ship as well. There may have been 20 guests there the day we were there. My kids are 6 and 3. The only down fall was the steep beach.

In Costa Maya...we went to a little restaurant on the beach called Tropicante! The beach was beautiful and flat. My kids could go quite far out before it hit there waist. It is"free"...just make a reservation and buy your drinks and food and you will have loungers, umbrellas and a table for the day. It was wonderful! The whole day cost us around $55. E drank frozen drinks, water and beer all day. The kids even had frozen virgin drinks. We had a Heart attack platter and nachos for lunch.

 

[Sherita927]

Doing a 7-day on the Fantasy with my DD10, and we're thinking of doing Extreme Dolphin Swim, Off Road Adventure to Jade Cavern, and Chaccohoben Mayan Ruins. I've read a few reviews on the Dolphin Swim and Chaccohoben, but haven't seen anything of on Jade Cavern. Any ideas on this one? If not, any recommendations for Grand Cayman??

 

[vleeth]

I think we're taking a cab to Sea Grape Beach in Grand Cayman and taking a cab to Paradise Beach in Cozumel. The only think I'm not sure of is if we are going to stay at the Port in Costa Maya or go to Tropicante. We're only there 1/2 day and with a beach day before and a beach day after we may be satisfied with staying at the port.

 

[zstyles]

Would appreciate your input since you just recently did this one- we are a group of 10 traveling with 6 kids- ages 12-2 yo. Do you think it is worth it to take little ones? Our concern is that we would love for the older kids to experience a little bit of the history in Mexico because not sure when we will ever go back and don't want to just do beach trips in each location. The ruins trip in Cozumel sounds like an even longer adventure so the one in Costa Maya seems to be the only option.

I think we are just going to do the beach in Grand Cayman because I am not sure that the younger kids would like the stingray adventure and trying to keep them safe on a smaller boat sounds like a nightmare! I have also heard mixed reviews about the turtle farm- plus we just visited the zoo where we had our fill of turtles.

In Cozumel, we are debating between Nachi Cocum and Chankannaab. Is the beach/swimming area at Chankanaab nice and clean with clear water-free of rocks?

Anyone who has done these excursions with younger kids... I would love your views! Thanks!

The best decision we made was to make a reservation with http://www.sandalsandskis.com/Tropicante.html

It was clean, fun and the food/drinks were very reasonable. It was a 5 minute taxi ride and we were in the water within 10 minutes of leaving the port...there are other places near this same place if they are sold out of beach umbrellas..the water was very clean and shallow, the kids all had fun and it was very relaxing and didn't cost a thing other than the food/drinks.

 

[vleeth]

The best decision we made was to make a reservation with http://www.sandalsandskis.com/Tropicante.html

It was clean, fun and the food/drinks were very reasonable. It was a 5 minute taxi ride and we were in the water within 10 minutes of leaving the port...there are other places near this same place if they are sold out of beach umbrellas..the water was very clean and shallow, the kids all had fun and it was very relaxing and didn't cost a thing other than the food/drinks.

We will be in port from 12:45 - 5:30. Because of this we will each lunch on the boat and probably only be at the beach for 2-3 hours. We won't need to buy food.

If the only thing we pay for is a massage, will that cover the use of the loungers?

 

[zstyles]

We will be in port from 12:45 - 5:30. Because of this we will each lunch on the boat and probably only be at the beach for 2-3 hours. We won't need to buy food.

If the only thing we pay for is a massage, will that cover the use of the loungers?

While you can eat lunch on the ship, you might consider getting some of the great food, fresh caught fish, etc..some great options for lighter snacking...try a few cold drinks..there is no expectation you will buy anything, but keep in mind that it would be "unspoken understanding" that you will keep the drinks flowing...which are cheap and they have some good Mexican version of some beach drinks!

 

[Donald & Daisy Duck]

this is exactly what i needed to hear -- thank you so very much

We will be on the Fantasy in August 2013 so I would love to hear more about the excursions

 

[perfectmatch300]

When I visited all these ports I scuba dived at each one. Of course you need to be certified but it was some of the best diving I've done.

I'm a certified diver & am looking forward to doing some diving on our cruise. Who did you book your dives through? Did you book privately, or book through Disney?

 

[Mastiff]

Just wondering if any of the GC beaches have the water toys like they do in Cozumel. Kids would love to do a beach day while we are in GC and I didn't know which beach would be best.

We saw the water trampoline, ice berg, and slide at the Cozumel beaches and they loved that.

Do any of the beaches in GC have those things?

Thanks

 

[wickedpixie13]

We are thinking of doing a beach day in Costa Maya in October. Has anyone done the Jungle Beach Break? Or should we go on our own? We would like to rent a wave runner and maybe get a massage. Our 4 boys range in age from 2-13.

We had booked the Jungle Beach Break for our November cruise, but ended up cancelling it. It's a 40 min ride there and back, so that's about 1.5 hrs that are just in bus traveling. We decided that our little ones (4 and 1) wouldn't care enough about what was available at the place to make up for the cost of the excursion. We have looked at going to Tropicante instead but are still undecided what we're going to do. tropicante has massages available and possibly wave runners. You might want to look into it at least.

 

[vleeth]

If we leave the port area that's where we will go. With 3 beach days in a row we may just spend a couple hours near the port and the rest if the time on the boat. But we may decide we want another day at the beach. This is one we will play by ear.

 

[2disneycruzrs]

Just wondering if any of the GC beaches have the water toys like they do in Cozumel. Kids would love to do a beach day while we are in GC and I didn't know which beach would be best.

We saw the water trampoline, ice berg, and slide at the Cozumel beaches and they loved that.

Do any of the beaches in GC have those things?

Thanks

I have not seen any of those during my time here on GC.. Seen the standard water toys ie wave runners, Hobie, water bike but none of what you mention. Margaritaville does have a water slide but nothing compared to Mickey's or Aqua Duck. Beach-wise, 7 Mile is gorgeous.

 

[dleighb]

DH and I are booked on The Secret River out of Cozumel in a couple weeks. Do we need to bring our own towels or anything like that? Change of clothes so we have dry clothes coming back home? I know you can't take your camera down there and have to purchase their picture CD. How much was that for you and is there time to get that with the excursion group? Is the water terribly cold? What about shoes? Do they provide you with shoes or should you wear your own water shoes? Any logistics on this would be great. We're booked, but still contemplating cancelling in exchange for another option. Any advice would be welcome.

 

[DznyCrzy11]

Great thread!!! DH and I are going to these places the end of Aug, can't wait!!!

Sent from my GalaxyS II

 

[Schrute Farms]

I'll be traveling with two boys(age 3 and 6). Is there stuff at Salsa and Salsa for younger kids?

 

[jayteadunn]

We took a taxi to turtle farm and had a nice tour on the way

 

[Princess Sleepy]

My BFF and I are going to try the Amazing Cozumel Race when we are there in April. It is like the tv show Amazing Race where you get clues that lead you all over Cozumel. It looks super fun and has gotten rave reviews on Trip Advisor. Here is the link: http://theamazingcozumelrace.com/Welcome.html

 

[Aigantighe]

We are on the Western next January so loving all this advice. Thanks everyone!