Cozumel Snorkeling Tour: Palancar, Columbia and El Cielo Reefs

My family of four went on this tour. Although we are adequate swimmers we have two in our group who are very cautious of deep water. We took this tour and were very comfortable. Our guide was with us the entire time in the water and was there to help if needed. We went to several spots that were very nice. I didnt go into the deepest as I have vision issues but my kids liked it. The star fish were very cool. Sand beautifully white. Water crystal clear. A very good. trip. Rodrigo and Gustavo were great. Our photographer (sorry cant remember name) took a lot of great gopro pics and was great about getting ones for the people who did not want to go deep. Not even sure how she managed it ;). We got multiple digital pictures for $35 which I thought was very reasonable. Wear a swim shirt! Thank you!

Boat is small, but pretty fast, so we were able to see the three reefs and enjoy a good time swimming at a sandbar. Crew is very attentive and takes good care of our needs. A very good experience

The reefs are dead. Depressing dead reefs At Columbia and planacar reef. El cielto did have starfish though. Alex guide and boat captain very nice. Annoying photographer. This excursion was the waste of money and time.

I have been to snorkeling excursions before. This trip was not nearly as nice as there is no clear instructions of what you can or can’t do. Once we have arrived at the excursions site for meet up it was very hard to find them bc they did not have signs or attempt to look for us. We had to run around like chickens looking them. With 3 snorkeling sites, the 1st was ok, 2nd site was horrible bc there was no fish at all. and We have to ask them To take us to another site or take us to the 3rd site. Two crew members and the guy in the water flat out said NO. We then ask the other crew member the driver and he finally said yes. We had a group of 15 people and most of us are not good swimmers. We have ask if they can throw another float down the water so we can hold on it the crew guy said yes but never follow through with his words after we have asked him 3-4 times. 3rd site was nice bc we have asked the boat driver to throw food down so the fish can come. Initially he said No and basically lied to us that there was no food when we actually saw it under the seats. Basically both guys are very negative and are not willing to go beyond for their customers. This made the experience not worth going:

The experience was amazing and it’s something i’d again. our tour guide was great, his name was hasol (says it sounds like a-hole lol). i’m not happy with is the fact that I paid the tour photographer naomi, $30 for the pictures she had taken of me and my boyfriend, and I never got the pictures. which is why I have none to post for what a great time I had.

Was not happy with this tour with Maybe Tours. The boat was not what was pictured in the confirmation email they sent. It was very little and very hard to get in and out of. The places you visited where great but the guide made you stay with him and he swam right by the fish and didn’t let us have time to take pictures and enjoy ourselves. Usually we are given a perameter that we can swim in but that is not how this tour operated which made it not as good for us. Also you get wet in the boat the whole trip where it was so small so personal belongings had to be put up in a net and not accessible. Will never take a tour with maybe tours again.

The communication for the tour was very clear, with emails sent beforehand and easy ways to pay. However, the corral reef looks like it's dead. Also, there wasn't much education given about how to interact with the corral reef (some people were touching it!). I wish tourist activities like these can find a better ways to balance with nature as to not go into overuse!

Excellent tour and a marvelous way to spend a few hours! The beer and guacamole on the sandbar was a real treat. Would very much recommend.

Absolutely amazing experience. If you want a variety of sea life and some amount of time in the water go on this tour. We saw tons of fish, stingrays, a barracuda, tons of starfish and sea turtles. By far the best snorkeling trip yet.

Excellent crew, very friendly and attentive. They gave us pleny of time in the water seeing all kinds of fish, including a sea turtle. The last spot was amazing with guacamole, chips, and drinks. GO!