Was a lurker, now a poster, question about Isla Mujeres

[lasermonkey2001]

Hey y'all greetings from Texas!
I have been lurking for a while and now I have a question.
I am going to Cancun in April, and want to Snorkel in Isla Mujeres.
My travel agency has plenty of Excursion Packages available, but I don't really want to do that because that is pretty much point-A to Point-B, and I may want to mess around in the city a little bit after.
What do you recomend?
I have my own equipment, and I don't really want to just explore right off the beach.
Do you know of anywhere in Isla Mujeres to get a guide and a boat to got out for a couple of hours or so, or maybe a shop or something over there that may be able to help me out.


Cheers,
P.S. links and numbers would be cool.

Thanks ya'll BTW, is there a spell check function on these posts?

 

[T-Dog]

I've never been there, but I have heard about 3 exceptional dives there:
1. Cave of the Sleeping Sharks.
THE SLEEPING SHARKS OF ISLA MUJERES
2. Diving with Sailfish.
The unexpected & phenomenal encounter with Sailfish Photography - Amos Nachoum. Story - Amos Nachoum and Ken Howard
3. Whale Shark Dives
Whale Sharks Tours on Isla Mujeres Mexico

Good Luck!

 

[phillyrob]

Take the ferry over to I.M. rent a scooter or take a taxi down to El Garrafon National Park and snorkel there on your own. It's been a while since I was there, but it was pretty nice. I here there's good snorkeling at the north end of the island, were the hotels are. The stuff mentioned in the post above are all diving sites.

 

[Gussy]

I'm going this summer...staying at Isla Mujeres Palace. Anybody knows if snorkeling is good in front of the hotel? If not where should I go?

Oh, which dive shops works well with someone with limited experience?

Thanks!

 

[freediver]

You may get a lot more specific information if you also post this in the regional travel forum. Hope you enjoy your trip and Scubaboard as well!

 

[divad]

I'm going this summer...staying at Isla Mujeres Palace. Anybody knows if snorkeling is good in front of the hotel? If not where should I go?

Oh, which dive shops works well with someone with limited experience?

Thanks!

There's a fabulous reef in front of Hotel Garaffon. Fabulous view as well, if it's still there.


OK, I just looked it up and it sounds like there's a horrible theme park next door now.

 

[Pelagicus]

I'm not sure if Hotel Garaffon is the same as Garrafon de Castilla, but here's the link Tours - Garrafon de Castilla Beach Club: Isla Mujeres .info

This hotel is right next to the National Marine Park and had excellent snorkeling back in 1999 & 2002 (sanddollars, octopus trying to eat a helmet shell, usual tropical fish). The Marine Park has the best snorkeling, but they used to require life vests making it tough to free dive. The coral reefs in the Cancun / Cozumel region suffered damage from hurricanes in 2005, but they're recovering.

Here's info on the ferry from Cancun to I.M.
Isla Mujeres Ferry Services : TravelYucatan.com
Ferries arriving on Isla Mujeres: IslaMujeres.info