Where to begin…
We booked this excursion months ago through Viator. As the day approached, we reconfirmed details for pick up at our hotel. The day before the tour, we received a text confirming our pick up at 840am for the 10am tour. On the day of the tour, we were waiting until at scheduled area and continued to wait for 15 minutes past our scheduled pick up time before we started calling the tour company. Two unanswered calls finally yielded a text response. When I inquired as to where our transportation was, I was told that our driver had caused an accident and could no longer pick us up. We were told to find our own way to the marina. After inquiring further regarding details of the marina, we finally had enough information to get in a taxi - this exchange took 40 minutes over text!
Once we finally got to the marina in our $30 cab ride, we were herded with other tourists to a hut on the beach where we were forced to wait in line for 30 minutes to sign a waiver. We were then separated (only 1 family member in line allowed), while we waited another 30 minutes to check in. We were checked in (honestly shocked that the reservation was real at this point), then forced to wait to talk to another representative ’who would give us very important information about our tour’. She gave us a very brief overview of the island before trying to upsell us on a luxury VIP option of the tour we had already booked - for only an additional $60 per person! This was a ‘great value’ that would put us on a smaller boat with less people - since our tour consisted of about 90 people! After we declined this, we were told to stand outside and wait for our boat to be called.
We waited another 15 minutes on the beach, dodging vendors who were selling hats and mangoes and ‘waterproof’ phone holders. Once we finally boarded the boat with 88 of our new friends, we were told that no one could wear sunscreen if they wanted to snorkel - even reef safe varieties. Once we were underway, the captain began to explain all the rules of the boat and the dangers of snorkeling. He continued to explain for another 25-30 minutes as we made our way to the snorkel spot. Once we arrived at the snorkel spot, where another dozen or so catamarans were stopped to let their guests snorkel, those who chose to could snorkel for about 20 minutes before reboarding the boat. After everyone was back on board, we continued on to a ‘beach club’, where we were herded through the marina, along a street and through a marketplace to our ‘lunch buffet’, which consisted of a basic salad, rice, bean, chicken, and fish offering. We ate our measly meal while waiting for our drinks, which never came after our orders were taken. Frustrated, we took a walk around the surrounding area before heading back to the marina to sit on the boat for the remainder of the time. Once the rest of the group piled back in, we were told that we were going to Playa Norte and that we had an hour to explore before getting back on the boat at 330 and heading back to Cancun.
Upon arrival at Playa Norte, we were once again herded through another ‘beach club,’ into the town and into a jewelry store where we were told we needed wristbands that would give us additional discounts and free access to toilets. After this was complete, we had about 45 minutes before we had to be back on the boat.
All in all, this was a complete waste of time and money and precious vacation day. Not only did the company scam us out of transportation money, but the overall tour was certainly not as advertised. I would caution anyone to stay far away from this tour! If you want to go to Isla Mujeres, take the ferry from the marina for $15/ person. If you want to snorkel, go aaaanywhere else.