Playa Corona and Chankanaab are closest to which hotels?

[MikeSSS]

My wife does not scuba dive and I want her to have a great time in Cozumel. It looks like Playa Corona has the best snorkeling...opinions here?

Playa Corona is adjacent to Chankanaab Park.

We will want to stay at a place that has cheap taxi prices to and from the hotel to Playa Corona. A quiet, relaxing hotel would be good too.

Fiesta Americana is north of Playa Corona and has a reputation for being noisy but also has a rep for having good snorkeling itself. Allegro and Reef Club appear to be the closest.

We will be going via FunJet, any suggestions on which hotels to stay at?

I'll be doing some scuba but think that most Dive Shops pickup at any hotel.

What do you think?

 

[Christi]

My wife does not scuba dive and I want her to have a great time in Cozumel. It looks like Playa Corona has the best snorkeling...opinions here?

Playa Corona is adjacent to Chankanaab Park.

We will want to stay at a place that has cheap taxi prices to and from the hotel to Playa Corona. A quiet, relaxing hotel would be good too.

Fiesta Americana is north of Playa Corona and has a reputation for being noisy but also has a rep for having good snorkeling itself. Allegro and Reef Club appear to be the closest.

We will be going via FunJet, any suggestions on which hotels to stay at?

I'll be doing some scuba but think that most Dive Shops pickup at any hotel.

What do you think?

Reef Club and Allegro would NOT be close if you are looking for cheap cab rides. You'll be looking at about $12 each way. Fiesta Americana would definiely be the closest and a good option for you as a diver as well.

I wouldn't be overly concerned however with being close to Playa Corona or Chankanaab. Playa Corona is a far cry from the nicest beach club and snoreling there is nothing to write home about. It wasn't good before the hurricane and there is even less there now. FA has better snorkeling than PC. Chankanaab is currently closed, but will likely be open when you arrive as it will be opening any time now.

 

[parrotheaddiver]

Here is a link to most of the Beach Clubs http://www.cozumelmycozumel.com/Pages/BeachClubs.htm

San Francisco is a nice club.

As far as hotels I would pick one closer to town that way you are in between town and the beach clubs that way the taxi ride is less expensive

We always use funjet and stay at Hotel Cozumel they have a very large pool and a small beach club....not sure if I would want to hang out there all day...we are usually diving so hanging out at the pool in the afternoon is nice plus we are close to town.

 

[Dave C]

I am an avid snorkeler, and when I was in Cozumel last year (pre-Hurricane Wilma), I found that Dzul-Ha had by far the best snorkeling. I did extensive on-line research before my trip, and most other people also thought Dzul-Ha was the best. It's very close to the Fiesta Americana. There's no beach, just ironshore, but entry into the water was easy with built-in steps. The water was very clear, and there were a bunch of coralheads in about 8-10 ft of water that extended to near the surface. The coralheads were loaded with life and there were lots of fish. I'd be curious to see what it looks like now. I suppose most of the coralheads got wrecked, but hopefully there are still some remnants to attract fish. I went to Corona once, it wasn't nearly as good, but was an interesting alternative to Dzul-Ha. I'd rate Chankanab as #3 among these sites. There were very few coralheads, and the place was too much of an overused park for my taste.

 

[redacted]

From Fiesta Americana, the walk to Dzul Ha is about 5 minutes and, with normal currents, the drift back will take 30 minutes to an hour depending on how wide a swath you choose to cover. I did it shortly after Emily and the coral heads were still in pretty good shape, sponges were damaged but still there, but the grass was all gone. The snorkel off the hotel beach is fairly good also. And the shore dive is a heck of a lot better than anything in central TX. Where are you? I'm in Belton.

 

[Coz Sally]

Although I haven't snorkeled Dzul Ha personally since Wilma hit, the general consensus is that it is still the best snorkeling spot on the island. It's not as good as it once was, but there's still plenty to see. That said, please keep in mind that the currents do not always run in the direction you wish them to, and may even change direction while you are drifting towards your hotel. Before you know it, you could be back at your starting point! Just look around periodically to get your bearings.

Enjoy!

Sally
Barefoot in Cozumel