Our Jeep & Beach Adventure in Cozumel
- humpsandpumps
- Feb 15, 2018
- 5 min read
Imagine driving in a Jeep with your vacation crew down the dirt roads of Cozumel. You have plenty of greenery and scenery on your right, and the beautiful glistening Caribbean Sea on your left. You’re driving towards a lagoon, a peak at a Mayan creation, a snorkel-friendly beach, and a 133-stair climb up the Punta Sur Lighthouse.
Sounds pretty nice, right?
It definitely was.
Last week, I wrote a blog post about my experience on the 5-day Carnival Valor Cruise from Texas to Cozumel (and back!). In the post, I wrote about everything from what we ate to how many pools were on the ship. Briefly, I mentioned that once we docked in Cozumel, we went on an excursion.
This post is going to be all about that excursion. And that intro you read earlier…well, that was a mini preview to what the excursion was.
THE SHORE EXCURSION
On the ship, they had plenty of excursion options you could choose to do. Even if you don’t pick an excursion, there’s still plenty to do at the port. However, since we were on a family vacation, we decided to do an excursion. The excursion we chose was the Adventure Jeep & Snorkel at Punta Sur.
When you read about the excursion online, you might be under the impression that your group is about to go off-roading in a Jeep. Don’t be fooled. While an off-roading experience was something we expected, we didn’t get that. The only roads we drove on were paved—with maybe a little dirt thrown on top of them—or heavily defined. Locals were using the same roads we were. So if you’re expected the ultimate off-roading experience, this isn’t the excursion for you.
However, with that being said, the ride was still very fun! Although it wasn’t what we imagined, and our horn and radio didn’t work, we still had tons of fun and enjoyed it. We had the top off of the Jeep for a little bit as well, so it felt extra adventurous.
The excursion was planned out like this: get a Jeep, drive to the “jungle lagoon”, visit the small Mayan ruin, drive to the beach for snorkeling/sun time/lunch, drive to the lighthouse and museum, and then drive back to the port.
JUNGLE LAGOON & MAYAN RUIN
Let’s start off with the first part of the excursion: the “jungle lagoon.” Although this might by definition be a jungle lagoon, I personally thought we were at a swamp-like area. There wasn’t much to see besides the water and a few birds. The crocodile that was supposed to be at the lagoon wasn’t out—obviously I’m not holding that against the tour; they can’t help it—and it was a little boring in my opinion. They did tell us a little history about the lagoon, but it just wasn’t my thing.
After hearing about the lagoon, we walked over to a little Mayan ruin. We saw some iguanas and got to hear about the Mayans and why they built the structure that they did. The story that they told us was really interesting. I knew that the Mayans were very intelligent people—I’ve actually gone to the Mayan ruins a few times and learned about the history—but after hearing the explanation for why they built the structure that we saw, I have even more respect for them.
SNORKELING & THE BEACH
By driving in the Jeep, we made our way over to the beach for some snorkeling, sun time, and a relaxed lunch. Personally, I don’t snorkel, but my dad and sister do. While they went snorkeling, my stepmom and I spent some time on the beach in the sun and even got in the water a little bit.
What I really loved about this beach was that the water was so clear and so blue. It almost didn’t look real. Also, the lounge chairs, lunch area, and beach for those who didn’t want to snorkel was super close to where the snorkeling actually was. So if you go with a group, you don’t have to worry about splitting up or leaving someone far behind.
After they finished snorkeling, we decided to have lunch. The lunch was buffet-style and featured items like tacos, guacamole, fresh fruit, etc. It was delicious!
Special mention: Also in the lunch area is a really cool bar with swings. Imagine sipping on your frozen drinks and swinging the day away—or just taking a cool picture like I did!
When we all finished snorkeling, swimming, and eating, we headed onto our next destination—the Punta Sur Lighthouse!
THE LIGHTHOUSE
The Punta Sur Lighthouse and Navigational Museum are the two main attractions at the last stop we made before heading back to the port. If museums and lighthouses aren’t your thing—but tequila is—you’ll be happy to know that there’s a tequila tasting you can do too! It is extra, so just bring some money with you.
I’m not much of a drinker, but my sister and stepmom did the tasting and told me that it was really good! The tequila is supposed to be authentic and not give hangovers! That’s pretty impressive to me.
While they did the tasting, my dad and I decided to climb the 133 stairs up to the top of the lighthouse. The view was absolutely amazing. You could see almost the entire island and far out into the ocean. Towards the end of our excursion there was light rain starting—and seeing the rain fall on the ocean before it got to us was really cool.
Two of my favorite parts from this stop were the lighthouse and the wooden swings they had on the beach. I don’t know why, but beaches and swings seem to be popular, and it totally works!
After finishing up our time at the lighthouse, we headed back to the port and did some shopping. My sister and I both got purses and even picked up a few souvenirs for our mom and grandma. With the tour you also can use your wristband to get a free margarita afterwards—so we stopped at the restaurant and had our margaritas and some chips and guacamole.
Sadly, our time at the port flew by and it was time to get back on the ship.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, if you decide to take the same cruise I did, definitely look into this excursion (and read my post about the cruise by clicking here!). It was absolutely perfect for my family because it had a little bit of everything for each of us. I highly recommend it and I would do it again if I had the option! It was a really nice way to spend the day.
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me! I’ll be happy to answer as much as I can and give my advice on any travel-related topics (as well as fashion, beauty, and lifestyle too!).
I love seeing the world and sharing my experiences with others! If you’re a brand/company reading this and would like to collaborate, partner, or sponsor, please send me an email and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
humpsandpumps@outlook.com
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