Anne_S, apr. 2024
This was not the best excursion to Isla Mujeres. We've visited Isla Mujeres before and were excited to do it again, but this excursion didn't meet my expectations.
Positives - the pick-up and drop-off from hotel was on time and seamless; the boat was nice (and nothing to do with this tour but the water color en route and on Isla Mujeres is so gorgeous!!!)
Negatives - The lunch served on the boat was not good...a strange mix of corn bread, (scary) chicken pasta, shrimp salad, chips and guac. The tour was supposed to include two swimming/snorkeling spots, both of which were canceled, apparently due to the seas being too choppy. While it didn't appear to be choppy, I can appreciate the conservative approach to safety. Once this was determined that we couldn't stop to swim/snorkel, the music on the boat was turned off and a long explanation/discussion of a form you could sign to waive your right to refund or file an incident report ensued. This confused a lot of people on the boat, a lot of people were upset, and it just made a decent portion of the trip not fun (this confusion/discussion with the guests continued for the entire trip!). Because we couldn't stop to swim/snorkel/hang out on the boat and drink, we ended up with 3.5 hours on the island, which is quite a bit of time and costs money to rent chairs, have food/drink etc. (which would be free on the boat). As we joined the meeting point at Isla Mujeres to return to the boat, the guide once again had a form he was asking everyone to fill out which was just a survey of the trip (and he approached us again once on the boat still pushing us to fill it out). Before we left the boat, the guide gave a very long spiel about why it's important to tip the crew. I certainly am okay with a quick "hey...if you had a fun day, we'd appreciate any tips you'd like to give us!" but a protracted story about each of their livelihoods and families to support, etc. was just really awkward. Also, before we got off the boat at the island, the guide gave us fair warning that it's a touristy area and that people will take advantage of tourists and to always negotiate a fair price. I appreciate that advice. But when the boat photographer came around to try to sell us the digital images she'd taken of us on the boat, the price was $40 for the 5 digital images...not exactly a fair price (and also non-negotiable), but some good irony there.
I am glad we went to the island...it's a must do if you haven't been. But this particular tour was nowhere near as fun as our prior tour which included swimming/snorkeling/hanging out on the boat...dancing on the boat...lunch on the shore provided by the tour.
This is not a cheap tour, so might just want to consider taking a ferry or some other means out to the island.