Question: What can we do that's fun, but inexpensive in Belize and Cozumel?

( Back )

Answer #1:

Sorry, can't help you here. My wife cannot/will not fly...so being in the RV business for years, made comfortable travel possible for us.

Find out where their closest Consulate office is, and if in our area, maybe visit there for some info or just call if out of state and see what they can send you. If no luck there, try the travel agent that booked your cruise...but if you booked direct, see if the cruise line has some suggestions.

Answer #2:

Coz is very easy to do on your own. Just grab a cab at the pier and head south to one of the beach clubs. Chankanaab Park is very nice [and they have the "discover scuba" there]. A lot of people like Paradise Beach [both of these locations have websites] and there are many others that are popular. Make sure you leave enough time to return to the ship, as they won't wait if you're late unless you're on one of their excursions. Also make sure you know which pier your ship is docked at, so you can tell your driver when you return.

Belize is not so easy. You really don't want to do anything in the port, such as roaming around - it's not always safe. Some people DO arrange their own cave tubing excursions here. That involves a long bus ride each way, though, so I'm not sure I'd want to chance [but I know people who've done it and did just fine]. It's a long tender into shore and back out again, so you can "waste" a lot of time that way. When we were in Belize, we did a ship's excursion to Goff's Caye, because the boat picked us up right at the ship - no tendering in and out - and we had a great time.

I suggest you go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards", then "Ports of Call" for lots of great info from experienced cruisers. You can browse through the threads or, if you join CC [it's free], you can do a search or post a question. You might also want to check out the "Roll Call" for your sailing to "meet" your fellow passengers ahead of time. Sometimes people on the roll call boards arrange to do independent excursions together.

Answer #3:

I did not care for Belize. It was dirty and there are no beaches. The best thing you could do is take a guided tour. It is a VERY small island and the tour is relatively short.

Cozumel on the otherhand, you can throw a stick and find something interesting to do. I wouldn't bother with shore excursions.

Answer #4:

Meredith....my favorite thing to do in Cozumel is to rent a car and drive around the island. It's not a huge island....you can drive around it in about 90 minutes plus the stops you make. There's really only one main road for most of the way, so it's fairly easy to navigate. If you look at Cozumel on Google Earth you'll see what I mean.

The east side of the island is absolutely gorgeous and mostly undeveloped. It's a great place to spend a beach day. On your way, be sure to check out the Punta Sur lighthouse. For $5 per person (for the lighthouse only) you can climb to the top and see for miles in every direction. Cheap and fun. I could've stayed up there all day. I have pictures and even GPS waypoints on these sites if you need more info.

There are also nice beaches that are closer to the cruise piers. Paradise Beach comes to mind. It's free and should be safe. The water here is better for swimming than on the east side, where the waves are high and undertow could be an issue. Paradise also has basic amenities such as restrooms and food, which is nice.

Cars are fairly cheap in Cozumel if you rent in advance. A small car usually runs about $30 plus insurance. I have seen them as low as $15 or so. Full coverage is not a bad idea in Mexico because if you have an accident the police tend to demand the cost of damages up front. If you don't have $5k in your pocket they can lock you up. At least, that's the story that is told. So I buy full coverage and eliminate the small chance that my vacation could be ruined.

If you do reserve a car, be careful to rent at the port where you ship is docking. Cozumel has a couple cruise ship ports. The Puerta Maya port has Avis, Alamo, and non-US brand, Executive (link below). I don't know the other ports as well, but car rental is available all over the island.

If you have other questions before you leave, feel free to message me here. I can probably answer them. Enjoy your cruise!

Answer #5:

Do the SCUBA diving in Belize! There isn't much else to do there without going on an excursion. And as others have said, you have to take a tender to and from the ship, so you DONT want to be late getting back!!! I did a snorkel and beach break there that was really nice.

In Cozumel, you can pretty much do whatever you want, as there is plenty to do, and is pretty safe. I like to get off the beaten path a little and find a small restaurant and have some of the local food (and drink).





** Powered by Yahoo Answers