As you all know Cozumel, Mexico is one of my favorite cruise ports because of their abundance of activities. They have something for just about everyone. From shopping, to exploring Mayan Ruins, to beach clubs and snorkeling you can come back time and time again and try something new.
On my latest cruise to Cozumel, we took a private catamaran tour onboard the Zeus Catamaran. I highly recommend if you are traveling with a group to book your own private tour. With a group of 8 we ended up only paying an extra $50 each above the group tour rates. And I can tell you it was worth every penny. The perks of a private tour are endless but most notably you get to customize your own excursion and spend the day how you wish.
On this tour we set sail from a marina that was about a 5 minute drive from the cruise port. Once at the marina our guides escorted us onto the boat and helped us get situated with all our belongings. Our guides were great, we had 5 crew members that took care of our every need throughout the day. From preparing food, to being our bartenders and DJs we had the absolute best time.
Once we set sail from the marina, we made our way to our first of 3 snorkeling stops. The great thing about a catamaran is if you don’t want to snorkel the hammock netting is the perfect place to enjoy the open ocean either during your sail or while the group is snorkeling. A few of us opted out of the first snorkel stop and hung out on the catamaran enjoying a nice cold beer and the beautiful blue water.
I did however jump in on our next snorkel location which was at Columbia Reef, one of the area’s national parks. Here we saw a plethora of fish and even got to swim with a sea turtle. While we were snorkeling one of our guides hopped in the water to show us around the reef which was something I have never experienced on any other snorkeling trip. Typically, the boat will drop anchor and you can come and go from the boat as you please. This excursion was like a guided tour of the reef which allowed us to see so many more things. Additionally, another member of the crew snorkeled with us and took photos for us to purchase at the end of our excursion.
Our next stop was Playa El Cielo which is a famous sanctuary of starfish and one of the most popular attractions in Cozumel. After getting to see some starfish we ventured a short distance away to El Cielito which is a sandbar. To me this was one of the highlights of the trip. Our guides prepared fresh pico, guacamole, and fish ceviche for us to enjoy while in the water. Oh and did I mention the endless margaritas?!
After spending some time at the sandbar we started to make our way back to the marina and this was my favorite part of the tour. I enjoyed the best part of a catamaran which is the front hammock and took in the beautiful water and costal scenery. My happy place is indeed on a catamaran in the Caribbean.
