Share what you know about Cozumel, Roatan and Belize

In My Humble Opinion
1

So last year I took my first vacation ever, a cruise. It turned out to be the most relaxing, and fun time I have ever had. So this year I am taking another cruise. This one is a 7 night cruise with stops at Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize.

Last year’s cruise stopped at Grand Cayman, but Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize are new to me. I have been reading up on all three, and according to Carnival we will still stop in Roatan even with trouble in Honduras.

So if you have any hints, experiences, sites to see, tours to take, places to eat, anything at all on these three sites, and what the heck Grand Cayman too, I will really appreciate it.

2

I went on a cruise that hit Cozumel and Grand Cayman, but it was 7-8 years ago. Sorry I won’t be able to offer specifics (I was in high school when I went, forget most now) but I do remember both places were beautiful.

In Cozumel we went to some sort of state-park type place that had wonderful snorkeling. They even had some prescription goggles so my blind ass could see underwater. People did freak after a barracuda sighting. They also had a swim with the dolphins thing that looked nice. But wherever we were, it was beautiful. Cab rides scary, in-town area just like all of Mexico, lots of shops with cheap crap. I suggest partaking in the beach time and snorkeling if that’s your thing. If anyone knows where I might be talking about a name would be wonderful.

Grand Cayman was wonderful, as you hopefully found out. We did the whole swim with the stingrays thing plus snorkeling, that was fun. The boat ride was awesome, we passed some baller houses right off the clear blue water that made me insanely jealous. The stingrays were neat to see. Everyone we met there was awesome. I definitely want to go back.

I think once I get my big kid job and can actually take a vacation, I might have to go on a cruise again. I like to do a lot on my vacations and cruises are perfect for that, always something to do if you wish.

3

Years ago, we went on a similar cruise- and liked Cozumel so much that we went there on our next vacation. If I could, I’d live there. Incredibly cheap (well, 11 years ago, anyway), good food, very friendly, and the water is amazing. Easily the best scuba I’ve ever experienced.

One thing that really struck me was that there were no mosquitos- at all- near the shore. As a result, we didn’t take bug spray when we went to see the local ruins… huge mistake. We couldn’t stop moving due to the constant biting, and could only stay there for fifteen minutes.

When you go, make sure to rent a scooter. You can get a cheap car, but really, you’ll have more fun on a scooter. The road around the island (actually, around half the island) is only about 17 miles, and it’s gorgeous all the way around. The ocean side of the island has some pretty rough currents and big waves, but the mainland side (where the town and the hotels are) is perfectly calm.

Damn, now I want to go there again.

4

It sounds like you’re talking about Chankanaab Park, which is only about three miles or so from the Playa. Absolutely amazing snorkeling and diving. Also, the iguanas that will come up to you on the beach and demand to be fed are pretty cool.

5

Each time I have gone to Cozumel I’ve rented a scooter and driven to the far side of the island, which is almost entirely undeveloped. That way, you have access to scads of beaches without scads of people to wade through.

Are you a scuba diver? The diving there is amazing. The snorkeling, though, wasn’t so great.

6

Another vote for Cozumel and going to the ocean-side of the island. We first went back in the late part of the last century (it sounds so odd to say that!), and loved it so much we bought a timeshare there.

Some caveats, however:
Be careful on the scooters, especially when driving throught the (only real) town, San Miguel. Last time we were there, a tourist was injured quite badly. She dumped her scooter & recovered, but as she was picking it up, she was struck by a truck. To make matters worse, the scooter went flying & injured another tourist. You can rent convertible VW Bugs, but be prepared to drive stick. There’s Jeeps available, too, but they’re pretty beat up. Be prepared for front-end judder. Better to get a rate quote online rather than when you walk into a rental agency.

On the west coast, the road was badly deteriorated from hurricane damage. Parts of it had collapsed onto the beach, so keep your eyes peeled! It may have been fixed by now, but still. Also, look out for scooter drivers and motorcyclists. I’ve seen whole families on a scooter, including los bebes. :eek:

If you go on a horseback ride, bring bug spray. If you go outside, bring sunblock. And buy your sunbblock, after-sun, and bug spray BEFORE you go to Cozumel. Food and drink are cheap; touristy-type stuff ain’t.

In San Miguel, anyone who offers to give you something for free (car rental, scuba tickets, etc) is hawking something, probably a timeshare. Refuse politely and walk away, otherwise you could be commiting yourself to a multi-hour presentation.

Enjoy! It’s a wonderful island!

7

I had the same itinerary with Carnival several years ago. Favorite stop was Roatan, so much so that I’ve always wanted to go back and finally spent a week there. I would look at the message board section of the Cruise Critic website (link). There is a forum for all the different ports of call where people discuss things to do.

8

I went to Cozumel and Grand Cayman last year on a cruise and am heading back to Cozumel on a cruise next month. There’s a lot of good info on the boards at cruisecritic.com but you need to wade through the junk and the abundance of non-Doper-like posters. We went to Chankanaab last time and that’s what we’re going to do again. The first time we went to Paradise Beach which was also pretty good. In Grand Cayman we did a snorkling excursion that we purchased on our own (Captain Marvin’s) that was half the price of the excursion through the ship.

Ed: I responded over an hour later but somehow missed that SmellMyWort already mentioned Cruise Critic.

9

The one time I was in Belize, I spent the whole week on the Belize Barrier Reef. It was fantastic.

I must upload my photos some time soon.

10

A previous post of mine about Belize. With pictures!

11

I’ve been to Cozumel three times, and every time I eat at The Lobster House. All they serve is grilled langoustine tails. You go to the bar, pick a tail, they grill it, and serve it with drawn butter. You also get whatever else they are serving up for the day - roasted potatoes, steamed veg… whatever is fresh and local. You are charged by the weight of the tail you choose.

It’s the best food on the island. And they make suck-em-down good Pina Coladas.

If you have the opportunity to go to the mainland, go see the pre-Columbian ruins at Tulum. They are fascinating! Some tours will take you to Tulum in the morning, and Xel Ha for snorkeling in the afternoon. I’d skip Xel Ha (it’s often crowded and dirty and they charge you exhorbinant prices) and hit Chakanaab on the island instead.

12

We went to Belize about two years ago, loved it. Not as nice as Cozumel, but still good. I didn’t much care for the diving on the outside of the reef (7 foot swells SUCK), but I did enjoy the inside.

The food was damn good there, too- there’s a little hole-in-the-wall place right across from the airport that we ate at multiple times. I especially liked that you can get watermelon juice just about everywhere.

We picked up some of the One Barrel Rum at the airport to take home as gifts… and discovered, when we got home, that the stuff is like candy that knocks you on your ass. Unfortunately, it’s not normally imported here in the US, but we’ve been able to special order it- I think we’ve got like six bottles at home right now. We especially loved the coconut flavor- it puts Malibu to shame. Sadly, it’s apparently impossible to get here in the US. Our next vacation will be Cozumel- I’m hoping we’ll be able to get it there.

13

There wasn’t much going on at the pier in Roatan when I was there. I’d do an organized excursion.

There’s reasonable shopping at the pier in Belize. We went on a river cruise that was a real highlight, with crocs, bats, and lots and lots of birds.

14

Heh, when I saw this yesterday I had to check with our good friends because I was pretty sure this is the exact trip they just got back from. We talked this morning and yes, Carnival to Caymans, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan. Depart Miami, right?

Okay, I took some notes. She says for the Caymans they rented some scooters and that took them to StingRay City. My wife and I honeymooned there. The island is very easy to get around on and the people are educated and friendly. The restaurants were a little pricey but they may not be a factor for you.

Cozumel - They rented a Jeep for $45 and after a short drive had miles of beach to themselves, no one else in sight.

Belize was disappointing but only because the boat docks in an unspectacular locale and it’s 30 or 40 miles to the good places. She suggested checking with the ship’s tours beforehand and lining something up. Belize itself was spectacular, it’s just a bad launch point where the ship docks.

Roatan was their favorite. They took a $25 cab ride to the NE side, a resort called Infinity Bay. The cabbie was wonderful, waited for them the entire time and gave them a ride back. She’s going to get me his phone number later if you’d like it. They kept it because they plan to return and wanted to use him again.

She mentioned Continental, which hubs here, has $135 flights to Roatan non-stop. I’ll be interested in what you think because we’re about to start going there soemwhat regular. For the price, how can you not?

15

Cozumel is a diver/snorkelers paradise. If you are interested in scuba at all, you should consider doing the beginning diver excursion. If snorkeling is more your thing, going to Chankanaab is not a bad choice. Ideally, you could go to some place that has a rocky beach like Hotel Cozumel. The snorkeling there is incredible.

Right where you get off the boat, you’ll be in the middle of downtown Cozumel. It’s a square with T-shirt and jewelry shops all around. Be sure to take your best bartering mentality.

16

Yes! That’s it. Loved that place. Wish I would have tried the helmet bottom walking thing.

17

I loved Cozumel - but I would actually recommend going there without the cruise ship if you can. I was on the island for three days, and on the third day the cruise ships arrived, and it changed the entire character of the island. Not to mention made everything crowded.

The diving is good there, but the reefs near San Miguel are a bit overcrowded and showing signs of too many tourist divers.

18

Cozumel is not very crowded right now, and they aren’t getting a lot of cruise ship traffic. So even if you go an a ship, chances are you’ll be the only ship in port.

The hurricane damage to the road around the island has been repaired.

19

Ok back from my cruise, and I figured I shared about my experiences. First off, I ate too much, and slept too little. My first day back at work all I wanted to do was sleep.

Now on to the islands.

1st stop, Grand Cayman. The ship anchors off shore, and we ride a tender in, it was a short trip. I had been there last year, but my date had not so we did the same tour I took last year. A trip to the Stingray City, followed by a trip to a nearby reef for snorkeling. The sand in Stingray City is unbelievable. It is white and pink, seriously. I brought back some.

2nd stop, Roatan. The ship docks at a pier with the clearest water I have ever seen. There is an actual living coral reef in the port. You can walk to this reef from the beach just off the pier. We ended up booking with a taxi driver (thanks lieu!) Who drove us around the island. The three highlights of the drive where the high point of the island, where we took some amazing photos of both sides of the islands, the beach where we did some swimming and snorkeling, and Victor Bodden’s house where I spent about an hour playing with some of the coolest monkeys. And in Victor Bodden’s I also found a guava tree (paging Aanamika). Apparently the locals will eat guavas, but do not worship the fruit as I do, so I climbed the tree and took down about 10 lbs of ripe, beautiful guavas that I ate in the next five minutes.

3rd stop, Belize. The ship anchored close to shore and we tendered in. There we found a driver with Coral Reef tours and booked him ti take us to some Mayan ruins. We had met a Peruvian couple who told us these ruins were relatively tiny compared to the ones in Peru, but they were amazing to me. Two complexes of pyramids, around two enormous courtyards. It was great but HOT! Thank God for women who over-prepare, since my date brough mosquito spray, because those suckers were swarming. This was the only place we did not go to a beach, just not enough time.

4th stop, Cozumel. We got together with the Peruvian couple I mentioned above, and a Cuban couple from Miami we also met in the cruise and rented three jeeps (thanks again lieu!). It was awesome. We drove down a road that bisects the island, and pretty much went beach hopping from the rough end of the island to the calm side where the ship docked.

As for the ship, Carnival Valor, very nice. The best food bets were in the dinning rooms, since you could order espresso there for free. For snack between noon and 3:00 pm the Fish and Chips bar is very good, with fried calamari, ahi tuna and ceviche being my favorite choices.

There was plenty of entertainment, but it was hard to beat the nightly karaoke. If you run across video a Cuban looking guy, very wasted and butchering “Don’t stop believin” it most certainly was not me.

20

Mostly as a result of this thread, I’m heading back to Cozumel in the middle of August. We went for an all-inclusive package with the Aura Wyndham Cozumel resort. Our room has its own freakin’ pool, fer cryin’ out loud (granted, it’s a small one- but it’s all ours!).

So… 8 days, high-end room, paid meals, paid alcohol, and airfare for two… right at $3000. We’re still going to pay for about four days of diving, but it’s still a fairly cheap place to go. The only thing I’m really worried about now is potential hurricanes.