I discovered after the fact how easy it would be to do a day of snorkeling for $2.00 a head, the National Park fee. If I had it to do again I would skip the expensive tours and do it my self and have a lot more fun!!! We just got back from Cancun and the snorkeling was a little disappointing. We took the Jungle Tour (no jungle involved) and the jet ski look-a-like boats were a big disappointment. It took forever to get them up to speed and once there, fast would not be a word I would use to describe them. They use a 15 horsepower motor on something that looks like a jet ski, just as you get up to speed (takes a couple minutes to get up to speed) the guide slows down so everyone can catch up. Actual jet skis would have been a lot more fun. The snorkeling was ok but nothing great. There were a lot of people there and the time spent on the reef seemed like fifteen minutes. The one thing I will say the fish were much larger then I have seen on other snorkeling trips. That was a nice surprise. You couldn't get close to the reef because it was roped off. It was a lot of money to spend for 15-30 minutes snorkeling. I wish I had known where it was before. It would make a great day trip to take the bus or even a taxi to the beach. the reef is only 50-100yds off the jetty, an easy safe swim if you have your own equipment. I would have needed a life vest, but I had everything else. For the cost of a bus ride and a picnic lunch it could have been a great afternoon. My wife doesn't care to snorkel so she could have relaxed on the beach while I swam with the fishes. If/when I go back that is exactly what I will do. For those interested the National Park (which is where the reef is located) is at the end of the Island before all the hotels and right off the main drag. You pass it on your right coming in from the airport. Look for a large round building by the beach. I assume they have restrooms because there was a large building there that looked like a visitor center. It could have been my best day in Cancun but as it turned out it was an expensive, disappointing trip with Jungle Tours. I wouldn't have been so disappointed if we spent a little more time there. It was towards late afternoon and I think the guide wanted to go home early. There was a lot more reef to explore so take a picnic lunch and make a day of it! It should have been the best day of the trip because you can snorkel when you want, eat when you want, swim when you want and go home when your tired. Take a picnic lunch, a water proof camera, your snorkel gear (including lifevest) and make it a day to remember. They may rent lifevests at the visitor center, I don't know.
I agree 100% I've been thinking about this also but my issue is not being in a group, if I can find a group of friends who want to go fine but im not doing it alone with the reef sharks, allot of the time nothing happens but they are very aggressive at times, and I definitely wouldnt want to have something happen while I was alone. Btw the scuba did suck at the Cancun reef, next time Im taking the trip to the area around Punta Allen, now that is beautiful, beats the hell out of what we did. And yeah I took the same exact tour as you, those lil shit boats, imo the best part of the whole tour was the trip through the lagoon. I did see a huge rope from an old ship tied around a giant brain coral though. I would estimate it to be over 150yrs old, it was pretty grown up, the rope had to be at least 6in in diameter, probably more, it was 20ft or so down. Idk how a ship even got up in there, I guess the reef wasnt as tall then.
