Maybe Tours Cozumel Quintana Roo México — Local services in Isla Cozumel

One of the worst excursions we’ve ever experienced – avoid at all costs. The entire experience was chaotic, uncomfortable, and far below any acceptable standard of safety or professionalism.

Guide : Guia Lazarito ; captain : Roger

We were crammed onto a tiny, noisy boat with 12 passengers and 2 crew members — 14 people in total. The boat was clearly overloaded: we saw the safety label on board, which listed a maximum weight capacity of 1,300 lbs (under 600 kg). That is far less than the total weight of 14 adults with equipment. This alone raises serious safety concerns.

Life jackets were available, but everything else felt careless. There was no proper briefing, no clear safety instructions, and no real supervision during the snorkeling stops. Each snorkeling session lasted just a few rushed minutes. With strong currents, lots of boats around, and no guidance, we never felt safe in the water.

Even worse, two of the snorkeling stops was done in open water during a tropical storm, with thunder, pouring rain, and reduced visibility. We were in the water with zero visibility and lightning around us — it was completely irresponsible and terrifying. The crew didn’t seem to take the situation seriously at all.

The snorkeling gear consisted only of masks and snorkels, both in terrible condition — leaky masks, foggy lenses, unhygienic snorkels. No fins were provided. The snorkeling spots themselves were overcrowded and disappointing, with murky water, very few fish, and no turtles (which can happen, of course, but it’s heavily advertised in their marketing).

As for logistics: we were told to meet “at the Cozumel ferry terminal” 15 minutes before the tour, but no one was there to greet us, and no transportation was included to get to their agency. We had to figure it out on our own. Once at the agency, we found there were no changing rooms or facilities, neither before nor after the tour — a complete lack of basic comfort.

The only enjoyable part was the stop at El Cielito, a stunning shallow sandbank with turquoise waters where we got to see beautiful rays swimming around us. It was truly picturesque — but not nearly enough to save the overall experience.

It was also at El Cielito that ceviche and drinks were served. Sadly, the ceviche was bland, the beer was cheap, and the juice was overly sweet — again, a clear sign of cutting corners.

And finally, the worst part: the guide, Guia Lazarito, aggressively pressured everyone for tips, for both himself and the captain. He insisted openly and repeatedly, even telling some guests to go to the port to withdraw cash. When we gave what we believed was a fair tip, his behavior changed completely — he turned cold and dismissive, clearly unhappy. It was extremely uncomfortable and unprofessional. A tourist trap, not a proper guided tour. For your safety and sanity,...

Although the snorkeling was fun, and the El Cielo Playa was beautiful, I would NOT recommend doing it with this agency, especially NOT FOR SOLO travelers. Their name is May-Be Tours. Here were my issues. Tour guide pretty much ignored me the whole time and only spoke to the family group I got stuck with. Tour guide was offering Go-Pro photos and charging for them under the table. (Asking for cash only) Tour guide did not offer me the option of Go-Pro photos or to take any photos of me at all despite me being alone. Tour guide offered everyone else beer EXCEPT me. Tour guide served the ceviche and fruit to the family group and didn’t bother to let me know he had served it, so I was unaware until it had already been ravaged through. It felt like the tour guide was pandering to the family group in hopes of a tip from them, therefore he ignored me completely. The mask and snorkel were not in good condition and the mask was not clean. They did NOT offer flippers, even though the tour guide had his own. (No flippers in open water snorkeling is way more challenging) They failed to notify us that we would not be returning to the same part of the marina that we originally left from which is where their storefront was at. Office staff allowed me to store an item in their office with the understanding that I’d return after the excusing to pick up, however once the excursion was over, we were not even close to the original location. When I mentioned that I needed to return to the office, it became problematic since it was inaccessible by foot. I found it very weird that we were not taken back to the original spot. As a result, begrudgingly, they had to last minute arrange one of their employees to drive me back to the office in their PERSONAL car since there was no other way for me to get back to the office. At the end, the tour guide sarcastically said to me “thanks for the tip” and it was clear he was upset I didn’t give him one. This made me very uncomfortable. Why would I choose to tip him when he literally ignored me the entire time? The tour guide made the experience terrible for me. This was by far the worst experience I’ve had using Viator and the worst tour guide I’ve had, largely due to the tour guide. I believe his name was Gustavo. Very...

A Big Disappointment Despite a Stunning Natural Setting

We booked what was supposed to be a 4-hour excursion, but it only lasted 3 hours. The guide accompanying us was not friendly or engaging at all, it felt like he was just there to get the job done as quickly as possible, with no effort to share information or make the experience enjoyable.

Everything felt rushed, and there was no time to truly appreciate anything. Luckily, we didn’t stick too close to the group, which allowed us to spot a number of marine species, including sea turtles, something the rest of the group completely missed because they were moving too fast.

At one point, a woman in our group accidentally kicked a turtle that was surfacing, and the guide didn’t even notice. He seemed completely inattentive when it actually mattered, yet was overly strict when it came to pushing the pace.

After about 30 minutes of actual exploration, we were taken to a shallow sandbar with about 50 cm of water, surrounded by loud party boats blasting music. We were left there for an entire hour, doing nothing. This is not what we paid for, we expected a wildlife-focused experience with coral and marine life, not to stand around on a crowded sandbar.

The guide provided no explanations or information about the environment or the species we saw. The only real highlight was the stingrays that came close, drawn in by food thrown from the nearby boats. That was the only truly memorable part of the trip.

As for the snack: it was a tiny portion of ceviche meant to be shared between two people, and the drinks were honestly awful.

We returned to the port an hour early, which just added to the sense that this excursion was not worth what we paid.

To top it all off, the guide put serious pressure on everyone for tips. He told us outright that he didn’t have a salary and stood over each person with a tip box, insisting not only that we tip, but also specifying the minimum amount. We normally always tip, even without being asked, but this was completely inappropriate and uncomfortable.

In short, the natural environment was beautiful, but that had nothing to do with the service or the organization of the tour. It could have been an amazing experience, but it was completely ruined by poor management and an...