With your select group of family and friends, get to know Cozumel on a private shore excursion. In addition to learning about the island’s history, see how people and local industries there operate today. Visit the San Gervasio Mayan ruins as well as a chocolate factory, and enjoy a tequila tasting. Snorkel and relax at Palancar beach. Experience some of the best of what Cozumel has to offer, without having to follow a rigid schedule. Port/ferry pier pickup and drop-off included.

Private shore excursion of Cozumel
See Cozumel’s landmarks and learn their history on a city tour
Visit a chocolate factory, a tequila bar, and a local beach for swimming and snorkeling
Check out the San Gervasio Mayan ruins
Tour accommodates up to nine people
Round-trip transport by air-conditioned van from the cruise-ship or ferry pier included

What's Included

Driver/guide
Private tour
Transport by air-conditioned minivan

Lunch
Drinks
San Gervasio Mayan Ruins fee ($10.50 USD per person),
Guide inside San Gervasio ($20USD)
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

Type to search

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

IMPORTANT: IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS WE'LL SEND YOU THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MEETING POINT WITH YOUR DRIVER. IF YOU ARE STAYING IN PLAYA DEL CARMEN OR CANCUN, THE PICK-UP WILL BE AT THE COZUMEL FERRY PIER.

What To Expect

Enjoy a broad and pleasant overview of Cozumel island on this private shore excursion. After pickup from the cruise-ship or ferry pier at a time of your choosing, your personalized guide takes your group (up to nine people) by air-conditioned van to a variety of sights on Cozumel, which translates in Mayan as the ‘Island of Swallows.’

Hear the history behind the landmarks downtown on a city tour. Then, stop at a chocolate factory to learn about how the Maya people made and used chocolate. Follow your chocolate lesson with a tasty tequila tasting and a visit to Pueblo del Maiz to learn how to make corn tortillas.

Next, opt to explore the San Gervasio Maya (entry at your own expense) ruins. Continue along the coastal highway, stopping for photo ops as you like. This stretch of the tour is a good time to purchase lunch at one of the beachfront restaurants, and your guide has recommendations on hand.

Finish your outing at the beach of Palancar, where you can swim, snorkel, or just relax in a hammock under the coconut palm trees. Your shore excursion ends with return transport to the pier.

Fuerza Aérea

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Chocolates Kaokao

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Mi Mexico Lindo Tequila Tour

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

San Gervasio Mayan Archaeological Site

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

El Mirador

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Playa Palancar Cozumel Beach Club

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Important: At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
Wheelchair accessible
Collapsible wheelchairs with removable wheels can be accommodated providing the passenger is accompanied by someone who can assist them board and disembark
Important: Departures are available every 30 minutes from 8am to 5pm. Please contact the local tour operator to advise of your chosen time.
Stroller accessible

Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Infant seats available
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

315 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 315 reviews

Sergio is the Best tour guide!!

Gwenda_P, Apr 2024

Sergio was wonderful! Very welcoming and knowledgeable. We highly recommend him and will request him on our next trip! We enjoyed the cigar company, the tequila company, the chocolate company and the great restaurant that he shared with us!

Chocolate out of the Bottle!!

George_N, Apr 2024

The chocolate factory trip was a learning experience & tequila museum was nice but the tequila was too expensive to buy per bottle !Cho

Tour of Cozumel

Fred_L, Mar 2024

Great tour of Cozumel, friendly knowledgeable driver. Excellent tour of chocolate factory! And stopped for a very good lunch.

Viator Dishonest

Mark_W, Mar 2024

When I booked with Viator, I specified that the three of us wanted a five hour tour which concentrated on Mayan archeology and culture. Basically what Viator gave us for a significant price was a taxi driver with limited knowledge. We were never told that our “guide” would not be permitted to enter the Mayan archeological park. He could only drop us off on the outside and wait for us to exit. For just over 1/10 of what out Viator “tour” cost us, we hired a superbly knowledgeable and personable guide on the inside of the archeological park. His name was Erick Martinez (cellphone +52 987 141 1202). He was everything we wanted. We negotiated the tour price with him personally and we ended up giving him a 50% tip. That’s how good he was. We ended up spending two hours with Erick within the archeological site. He gave us an incredible wealth of information about the Mayan origins within the Olmec civilization - out of which both the Aztec and Mayan civilizations emerged. Religion, culture, and language for both the Aztecs and the Mayans came out of the Olmec and reflected similarities. He also explained that his parents and he are Mestizos (mixed race) - but his mother is much more Mayan and speaks the Mayan language fluently, whereas his father is more Spanish and does not speak Mayan. Viator should hire Erick directly. People could hire a taxi to take them to the archeological park, wait for them while they tour with Erick and then take them back to the ship. We ended up getting what we originally wanted, but not because of Viator or through them. All we got from Viator was an expensive taxi back and forth from the ship to the archeological site. Our Viator supplied driver was personable and pleasant. He had cold drinks for us and snacks. Not his fault that he couldn’t give us what we wanted - because of his lack of knowledge and because Mexican law would not permit him to enter the archeological park. What we were most unhappy about was the failure by Viator to explain the reality of what they were offering. Their booking was deceptive and dishonest.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Hi Mark We’re glad you enjoyed your visit to San Gervasio archeological site, it’s great that you got a great authorized guide inside the archeological site and got to know more about they Mayan culture. In regards to the drivers knowledge on Mayan culture, please consider that the offered private tour is focused in general site seeing of the island with a billingual guide which is why he was not an expert in Mayan culture specifically. We appreciate your feedback

Great experience.

Judy_S, Feb 2024

Much better than the ship excursions. Could customize the experience and not have to wait on lines. Recommend it.

Educational Experiences that were fun!

Mike_C, Feb 2024

Chocolate tour, Tequila tasting and Mayan ruins. All were very interesting, interactive and educational.

Rodger was a lovely guide...

Geraldine_G, Feb 2024

Rodger was a lovely guide and gave us a great insight into Cozumel. The beach & alligator was our favourite

Sergio is the best!...

Ramon_R, Feb 2024

Sergio is the best! Showed us diff parts of the Island and had stories to tell! Very accommodating and entertaining! Highly recommended 😍

Fantastic experience!!

Rita_L, Feb 2024

Gerry (Geraldo) was the best guide! He was easy to locate, so the day started great. We told him that we wanted to see the Mayan ruins and the bee sanctuary. He arranged for a private guide for each location. He gave us a tour of the city with tons of history of the island. He suggested other places to visit as well as what we asked for. He learned that my son loves crocodiles, so he took us to see some. My son has autism, so I didn't want to do a tour group. This was a fantastic alternative!!!! Gerry was the best!!!

Amazing tour

Lauren_B, Feb 2024

This was an absolutely wonderful tour! We had a large group of family ranging in age from 22 to 86, and we reserved two buses. Both tour guides were excellent, knowledgeable, helpful, and so nice. The chocolate tour was awesome. The tequila tour was great. The tour of the ruins was cool. One thing to note was that the cost of the ruins tour was about $18 per person in total before tip, which is a little more than listed in the tour description. I would recommend this tour to anyone!

The perfect experience with a very knowledgeable driver/guide.

Douglas_C, Jan 2024

The perfect experience with a very personable and knowledgeable guide/driver. Thank you so much, Gerry

Excellent Cozumel tour with Sergio

Sue_C, Dec 2023

Enjoyed a wonderful, relaxed tour of Cozumel with Sergio. He was knowledgeable and flexible, eager to adjust the tour to our interests. The chocolate factory and tasting was well worth the time, very interesting. We are not big drinkers so that tequila factory tour and tasting was OK, but not top of the list. Neither involved high pressure sales afterwards, although we did buy some chocolate to take home. At San Gervasio we hired a guide at the park entrance (Trisha) and she did a fantastic job. We learned so much more with her than if we had walked through alone. The driving tour of the west side was well worth the trip, so glad we had a chance to do that. Very rustic and pristine beaches, absolutely beautiful. We skipped the lunch, just weren’t hungry, although Sergio would have taken us any where we wanted to go. I highly recommend this experience!

Driving with Serigo

Art_C, Dec 2023

Sergio was great. Good guy and good travel guide. Shared a lot of information. His Timing was great to see things

Fun Island Experience!

Megan_A, Dec 2023

This was one of my favorite excursions I have ever done. It including the chocholate factory and tequila factory. Jerry our driver and guide was knowledgeable and full of history of the island! Had great suggestions for us since we had small children! Would recommend this tour and this company! Would definitely rebook with them in the future!

Amazing

Lorraine_A, Dec 2023

Alberto was an amazing tour guy, he took us around the Island, he explained everything and gave us important information and cultural information. 100% recommend this tour

Response from Host, Jan 2024

We absolutely appreciate your opinion, the island has a lot of history to offer and a lot of interesting facts.

Viator An Inefficient Rip off!

NORMAN_F, Nov 2023

Never heard from Viator as to where we were supposed to meet our driver/guide so I paid $44 to buy wifi/internet on the cruise ship so I could email Viator. I tried, at least three times, to find out where we were supposed to meet our driver/guide - finally, received a message from Viator to meet him at the International Pier in Cozumel. So I wrote back - what's the driver/guide's name? What kind of vehicle (color, number) is he driving? Never got a reply from Viator or the company supplying the driver. Our ship docked in downtown so we had to hire a cab (cost of $10 + $2 tip) to take us to the International Pier. Driver didn't show up although there were 30-40 taxis there. Found a wonderful Mexican gentleman who called the driver's company on his own cell phone - turned out the driver was never told we'd be at the International Pier and was waiting for us downtown. He finally picked us up across the street from the International Pier (had I not spoken to him on the phone I never would have met him across the street from the Pier because Viator never informed me of THAT pick-up spot) and we finally got our tour. Viator - you owe me $56 for what I had to lay out that I shouldn't have had to pay out to meet my driver!

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Please accept our apologies for the mix up, we did send out detailed instructions on how to locate the driver upon arrival to the passenger loading area at the docks. Please note the e-mail went out within less that 48 hours after the tour was confirmed, unfortunately sometimes the instruction e-mail goes straight to the spam or trash folders, we always recommend checking those folders to avoid any mishaps.

4 hours in Cozumel

Melvin_G, Nov 2023

My wife and I took this tour because of the great reviews; however, I was a little disappointed. After spending time looking for the meeting place, we met Sergio at the taxi pickup area. Our first stop was at an outside shopping mall with several souvenir shops. It took 2 minutes after getting out of the car we were approach by a man to come to his family Jewelry shop. He offered tequila and water which we said no. Nevertheless, my wife bought a gold wrist bracelet from this high-pressured salesman. We didn't hang around this place too long. Too many people begging us to buy something. I didn't care to much about the Chocolate Factory, but my wife liked it and bought some chocolates. The Chocolate Factory guide was good. Next stop was the San Gervasio Mayan Site. This was probably the best stop for me. We had to pay an entrance fee of $13 per person and I think $20 for a Tour Guide which was optional. He was knowledgeable and answer our questions. Yes, after the tour the cashier ask us to tip the tour Guide which we did because he was very good. Next, the Tequila tour was another high-pressured situation. My wife doesn't drink and I don't much that much. After tasting 3 shots of different Tequila I was ready to leave. The guide insisted that tried 3 more shots of Tequila which I said no, I had enough. I refused to buy a bottle of Tequila. The Tequila was good but it's not cheap. Finally, we went to a place a didn't have a beach. To make a long story short, it wasn't happening. We used the bathroom at a restaurant and a high-pressured employee got mad at my wife because she didn't want to eat at the restaurant. I will never do a couple tour if I'm in Mexico again. Sergio was our driver and guide. He was nice and questioned a lot of our questions. I which he had taken us to the beach where we could swim and relax. I suggested time at the beach, but he said we didn't have time to. If you do this tour, bring cash. Lots of it! They don't like credit cards. You will be attack by vendors. Tour guides and the driver will be expecting a tip.

Just what I wanted

Lou_S, Nov 2023

My wife and I took my 86 year old mother with limited mobility on a tour with Gerry. She had never been to Cozumel and just wanted to see the island without much walking. Gerry was fantastic. He listened to our needs and arranged a drive that was perfect for her. We circumnavigated the island making a few stops n visited a Mayan village and saw a performance and learned about their culture and tasted chocolate and honey. Very happy

Best Excursion Ever

Tracie_P, Oct 2023

This was an incredible way to see Cozumel. Sergio was our driver and he was fantastic. Getting to pick what we wanted to see and how long we could stay at each was amazing. The chocolate factory was the highlight of our trip. He took us to a really quiet beach. And he set us up with a great tour guide at the ruins, he even negotiated prices and timing for us. It made the day effortless and so much fun. But here’s the best part of all - I was really worried about booking an excursion through a third party and not our cruise line. But the company communicated well in advance, made it super easy to find out guide, and he knew exactly how to get us back to the port in plenty of time. Best excursion I’ve ever taken! Would absolutely recommend.

Beautiful fun -filled day!

Mallorie_J, Sep 2023

We had a wonderful trip with our guide, Sergio! He let us make choices to customize our tour and showed us many spots off the normal tourist path. He also helped us find find bug spray before we headed out to the Mayan temples where mosquitos are plentiful. We had a delicious taco lunch at a local restaurant and took a beach break at the end. He was thoughtful and helpful every step of the way. 10 out of 10 would recommend this tour to anyone looking for a private guided tour of Cozumel.

...