Stingray Beach Cozumel — Local services in San Miguel de Cozumel

This has been my favorite excursion I have ever done. This will be lengthy, but worth it. We met our guides at the meeting spot in port. They took us and put us in 2 groups into the taxis and we took a 4 min ride to stingray beach. When we got there, they took our family photos with the ocean behind us and then sent us into the round meeting area. We were met by Jorge, our guide for the day. He did a quick safety demonstration for the snorkel gear and then we could either rent a locker ($15 US with $10 returned when we turned in the lock) or they could store it in the equipment room for free. We rented a locker. It was quick and easy. Then we all got our gear. We went into the stingray area first. You have to wear water shoes. If you don't bring them, they provide them for you. We got into the water and they were swimming all around. We went and lined up and Jorge and William brought us all a piece of fish, showed us how to hold it and then we were able to feed the stingrays. As we were getting our feeding instructions, they were swarming us, as well as tons of fish. It felt so cool. They are soft and slimy. After that, we were able to pet and then kiss and hold them for pictures. Then we went around again and took pix as a family. We then got a quick educational session and learned some interesting facts about stingrays. This place rescues and rehabilitates injured stingrays and then releases them back into the wild. After that, we were able to go into a separate area and snorkel with stingrays and nurse sharks. Due to the strong current today, we were in the smaller area but it was still big enough and maybe 20ft deep at the deepest. There were 2 in our area. It was so cool. After that, we were able to hang out at the beach area. There were swings and hammocks in the water. There was food and drinks for purchase. You are able to buy a picture package, which includes all of your families pix as well as some stock photos they include. It is priced by number of people in your party. We had 3 and so it was $80. They are digital images that were downloaded to my phone right away. We also got a printed one in a frame. All together it was 50 images. They also have 2 gorgeous macaws that you can hold and take pictures with. That was a separate charge. 1 pose for $15 with their camera or 2 poses for $20 using your cell phone. We did that and he took probably 10-15 of each pose with my phone. Finally, we took a catamaran back to the port. The captain and the crew were so much fun. They played loud music. They were dancing and singing and getting everyone involved. They went around and poured Tequila shots into people's mouths if they wanted them. No charge but they were working for tips. We got 2 shots each lol. The boat ride back took about 10-15min and was the perfect ending to this day. Things to note- free wifi available at this location. No sunscreen is allowed, as it can hurt or kill the stingrays and the coral. Total excursion time was 3hr. Stingray encounter lasted about 45min and the snorkeling was about 30min. Tip your guides. They were amazing. It was the best day and...

Can’t recommend this excursion enough. We had such a great time with the crew that took us snorkeling and with our stingray guide, Mauricio. They brought an awesome vibe that made the excursion well worth it.

Snorkeling The crew was very fun and chill. The boat took us to a non-crowded area for us to snorkel and our snorkeling guide took great care of the group, spotting things we might have missed and making sure everyone was safe. Photographer took great pictures for us to share on social media. The gear is well taken care of and cleaned. I felt very comfortable using the gear provided even though I can sometimes be picky about cleanliness.

Stingray Experience Mauricio, our stingray guide, was very personable and funny. He shared some cool facts about stingrays and answered any questions we had after his brief lesson. We enjoyed learning about their conservation efforts to protecting local stingrays and felt good that our money was going towards a group doing great work. We were able to feed the stingrays, hold/pet them, and even kiss one for a photo. I’ve never gotten so close to a live sea animal before this experience. They have a free supervised storage or a paid locker (small fee) for items we didn’t want to take with us. I would recommend free as it felt safe and secure.

Winding Down at the Beach Club The included food of tacos was delicious and I could taste the effort put into the cooking. My only wish is that they provided a spicier salsa option. Once again, the equipment such as chairs, tables, swings, etc was well maintained and clean. Drinks are included and they are not stingy with the alcohol. One small detail that I felt really wrapped everything together was the hermit crab race at the end of the experience before it was time to head back. It was so much fun to pick a hermit crab to race and cheer it on and I’ll remember this part for years.

All in all, this excursion was FANTASTIC and I would unreservedly recommend it to everyone. The excursion was well-paced and...

Edit: Spoke with some people who were here on a Carnival cruise. Their excursion cost the same as us but theirs included food and ours didn't??

I came here during a Margaritaville at Sea cruise. The excursion was called "Everybody Loves Stingrays and Sharks". A lot of the reviews on here are confusing to me. This is a fenced area right off the shore that you snorkel in. There is no "reef". It is the shore. There's some fish, the sting rays, and like two nurse sharks. It was very underwhelming. I kind of expected us to get on a boat to the real snorkeling location - that's usually what happened at other stingray excursions I've been on in the past.

The experience with the stingrays is nothing more than a photo op, and you can't take your own photos. The instructors were generally knowledgeable, except at one point our main guide said the stingrays don't have teeth and can't bite. They have dental plates and can crush your fingers if you get them caught the wrong way. It's really important to know that and show people how to hold the stingray food the right way.

We were sent to the snorkeling area afterwards, which again, was just about nothing. I think we were supposed to have 30 minutes of snorkeling time, but I believe it got cut short due to another group arriving. Not that I really minded since I had seen everything already. The snorkeling was also really crowded already even before the second group arrived.

Now we're here for another hour with nothing to do but sit at some tables and buy alcohol. You could get a massage which is cool. There's some basic food if you want that, the prices are reasonable but I didn't see the portions so not sure about that.

We have an option to leave early if we want to pay for the taxi back, but they didn't say the price. Otherwise we just hang out and do nothing I guess? Our guides were very nice and hospitable, but this experience overall wasn't...