Isla Contoy and Isla Mujeres Tour with Snorkeling from Cancun or Playa del Carmen
Overview
- Full-day catamaran trip to Isla Contoy and Isla Mujeres
- Explore a bird sanctuary and coral reef
- Have lunch on an uninhabited island
- Visit Isla Mujeres
- Continental breakfast, buffet lunch and drinks included
- All equipment provided
From €97.81
Lowest Price GuaranteeYou’ll find extraordinary biodiversity and wildlife on Isla Contoy, which has been a protected natural reserve since 1961, and a National Park since 1998. Find out why the tiny island — it’s just over 5 miles (8.5 km) in length — is considered the most important bird sanctuary on Mexico’s Caribbean coast. Explore Contoy at your own pace, with free time to follow sandy trails across the tiny islet. Slip into the water to snorkel the bright coral reef, then relax over an outdoor buffet lunch with an open bar.
Pull up the anchor for a final stop at Isla Mujeres, a must-see stop on the Riviera Maya, then meet back at the catamaran for an early-evening return trip to Cancun/Playa del Carmen and your hotel.
Reviews
Viator Traveler's Reviews
The guys that do the tour are great! They're really hospitable and make sure you always have a drink. The boat ride is pretty long at about 1-2 hours each way. The bird sanctuary was great, since we got to see some great wildlife up close. We saw hermit crabs by the lunch spot, an iguana about 2 feet away, the little jellyfish and the birds, of course. The lunch they cook is great! They have a buffet set up with fish and chicken. The beach on Isla Contoy is fantastic and pretty quiet since only 300 visitors are allowed each day. The guides split up for walking tours by your preferred language. That was great to get to walk around and learn more, especially after the long boat ride. The Isla Mujeres part was great too, since we were able to do some great shopping. We eventually found the Artisan District for better local crafts. You don't get too much time there, so maximize it accordingly. The boat itself is decent. It's not the nicest, but it's not terrible either. We liked the upstairs deck the most, which allowed the best 360 views. The crew does a great show at the end, which really deserves the tips they get. It's a better alternative than sleeping on the way back. They get people involved and dancing. I only wish it was a little nicer of a boat.
Alexes, Joseph, Diego and Christian did a wonderful, professional, yet fun snorkeling, island tour! Surf was high so we went to a more protective location. Visibility sos, a little shallow in one spot. Best fish lunch we had during our week stay in area!! Wish I remembered the spice Diego?!Thank u!
The water was quite rough the day we went out, so some people were sick - if you tend to get sea sick, take gravol before you go on this. Also, the snorkelling was not bad but we were rushed through the pre-defined route, and the people were running into each other because the some people were faster than others. A bit more space between groups and smaller groups maybe 5-6 would be better - less time on the beach and more time snorkelling! Also, becuase of the roughness of the water, it was quite cloudy -not the tours fault.... Then lunch was very good - especially the charcoal bbq'd chicken and fish. After the quite natural beauty of Contoy, the noisy commercialism of Isla Mujeres was a bit jarring - maybe even more so because it was carnival time and there was tons of loud music and people everywhere. I would have been happier to stay on Contoy for the whole day!
Very friendly staff on boat they were a lot of fun and kept the trip lively. Isla Contoy was beautiful and the tour guide was terrific his knowledge of the island and it's history was solid. Lunch was excellent and at one point we were the only people on the island. I did not enjoy Isla Mujeres very much it was a bit squalid and everyone wanted to pull you into their stores which for the most part were filled with junk that could have been made in China.
Good points: The bird sanctuary was amazing.
Bad:
This was the worst day of my vacation. The day was to be a maximum of 7 hours. It was a 12 hour day. We were set to swim and snorkel in the ocean. We swam for a total of 30 minutes through the water that was covered in fuel. The boat was leaking all over and into the coral reef. I went back to the boat with my suit, hair, and skin in a motor oil film. Then the bathroom didn't have a light or toilet paper. The bathroom was soaked with urine and my feet were covered. Then we all went to the bird sanctuary to only jump in the water and rinse off the motor oil. The rest of the trip was fine fine being not terrible, but far from enjoyable as we were pestered all day to pose for pictures and forced to listen to blaring music and get drunk. i repeatedly said i didn't want alcohol and they wouldn't let me say no. until we were boating back from isla mujeres. we were forced to sit downstairs and watch a floor show that was obscene. they reenacted a sex scene from titanic, pole danced, stripped off their shirts and made a 70 year old woman spank their asses. then they stopped the boat to illicit tips from everyone. the entire tour was 9.5 hours. it was the worst day.
We enjoyed Isla Contoy, but shall never attend a tour with this provider ever again. We bought extras, including the souvenir photos that the tour provider charged an extortionate amount of money for 10 photos for 50 USD! and subsequently found out that another guest on the tour was charged significantly less, as they had haggled in Spanish. At the end of the tour, we were hassled twice by one of the members of the tour providers that we didn't tip enough, even though we had tipped 5 dollars each. I was told twice that I should have provided the 'green colour', i.e. at least 10 Euro, even though my partner and I had each already generously tipped AND bought their souvenir photos. Whether he was joking or not, it was extremely bad taste and offensive.