Isla Contoy and Isla Mujeres Tour with Snorkeling from Cancun or Playa del Carmen

You spend a LOT of time on the boat getting to and from Isla Contoy - which would be great if you were on the lovely catamaran in the photo advertising this trip. But you aren’t. You are on a big, ugly, uncomfortable tourist boat (which is technically a catamaran) with hard plastic seats. Isla Contoy is beautiful, but for us not worth the long, uncomfortable ride. Lunch here was nice but nothing to write home about. Isla Mujeres is a TOTAL tourist trap now - if that’s your thing, you’ll love it, but it’s not our thing. We did have an amazing snack and drink on the beach though (on us, not included) once we worked out that “meandering the town” was really just fending off vendors selling the usual tourist crap. The Contoy Adventures team were awesome - THEY get five stars. Personable, entertaining, kept our margaritas full! Glad we did it. Wouldn’t do it again.

We were not told this was a high speed boat that would bounce and slam off the ocean waves. It has been a week and Im still in excruciating pain. Spoke with my back doctor and from all symptoms he is fearful I may need surgery (ruptured disc). Once arriving on the island we were told no snorkling (which was part of why we booked this overpriced trip). Also, while on this beautiful island, no sunblock. So we were there in the sun for many hours to burn. And no drinks on the beach. You must wait till lunch time and drink come or beer under the awning. We were given picnic benches but people moved our items and yelled/kicked us out of seats 2x and told us to sit elsewhere. So we then returned to the VERY over populated beach where 1/2 naked women flaunted around thinking it was their next playboy photoshoot opportunity. In a nutshell, we felt VERY disappointed and ripped off. We fell for the ad telling us it was an uninhabited peaceful tranquil island and we would be snorkeling off the 2nd largest reef in the world. None of that was true 😔 Wishing we would had taken pur usual catamaran trip and saved wasted $

We had a big group. The shuttle was 45 minutes late picking us up from our hotel. They showed up with a van with 12 seats for our group of 13 people. Halfway to the port, they pulled over in a sketchy neighborhood and had us transfer to another van. At least the second one had 14 seats. Once we got to the dock, they wanted to rush us through the “breakfast” since we were late even though the only reason we were late was the delayed pick up. The breakfast was really just a light snack. We should’ve eaten at our resort. The snorkeling was ok. The Isla Contoy was beautiful and our tour guide, Alex, was fabulous. Lunch was good. Isla Mujeres was pretty much just tourist shopping. The trip back from the dock to our hotel took over an hour. Pretty sure they could’ve set it up with a pick up closer to our hotel since we were right near a pier with a water shuttle to Isla Mujeres. Overall I think they need some work on the communication and coordination.

First of all I must say one thing, Alex and his team were very helpful and excellent. With whatever resources they had at their disposal, they performed very well. They handled the tour very well. The boat "Highlander" was super-fast. Ok this is where the good part ends. The pickup and drop-off service was good. However, due to the fact that we have to pick few more families on the way, there was no time to have so called “breakfast”. They are supposed to have a continental breakfast at the marina. The breakfast far from being continental. They are faking it. There were a few cookies, a bun cake and tea/coffee. All this was given to you. There are no fruits, bagels or donuts etc. Now comes the kicker, after this we have to do snorkeling, however this activity is like in the middle of the ocean. My kid who is a good swimmer could manage the currents and do something, but I’m not a swimmer I got completely overwhelmed with the concept of dropping the ocean and having to swim. Also from my daughter’s account she barely saw any fish. The concept of swimming in the ocean appealed to her more than seeing fish in the water. All this was done in a big hurry. After this we went to Isla Contoy. We landed on a jetty, and the beach where were placed is barely 500 meters long or so. That is only piece of land allowed by government for recreational use. There is not fresh water on the island. We cannot clean yourself. There are no beach chairs or anything. There is no shade, barely a few trees. Luckily for us weather was cloudy and windy so it helped. The food served is some salad, fish, chicken, some half prepared rice, couple of cookies (same ones served at the marina) as dessert and watermelon as fruit. The food gets prepared in an unhygienic place. Also there are crabs and iguanas to be worried about. But they do no harm humans. We spent quite a few hours on this beach. I got completely bored. After this we went to Isla Mujeres, this place has everything we need but guess what u have barely hour and half to go around. The irony of this whole tour is we spent max number of hours in a place without any facilities and very less time at a place where there are things to do. Bottom line is for close to $400/- it was not worth it. I will not recommend it. There is no point in spending time on Isla Contoy. There is nothing to do there except appreciate the fragile ecosystem.

This is a very long day. We left our hotel at 7:50 and did not return until the 7:45 at night. One hour transport there and at least an hour transport back. The crew onboard were very friendly. The instructions and tour was mainly in Spanish. So if your Spanish is not proficient I would not book. The first island stop was very pretty. The lunch served was ok. They fed you sams club dessert and I didn’t feel that it was very authentic food. The second island was very crowded and very busy. As for the snorkeling it is in deep water. The reef was pretty but we saw very little fish. The current is VERY strong and you must be a good swimmer to snorkel. Definitely not for children or adults who are not good swimmers. You must follow the guide through the reef and weren’t allowed to swim about on your own. The crew on the boat were excellent and very helpful. The experience did not meet what my expectation was for the day.

Amazing island tour with such a great staff👍The food was also very good and tasty. My mom and I had a lot of fun. I recommend it for a 100%

The guys that do the tour are great! They're really hospitable and make sure you always have a drink. The boat ride is pretty long at about 1-2 hours each way. The bird sanctuary was great, since we got to see some great wildlife up close. We saw hermit crabs by the lunch spot, an iguana about 2 feet away, the little jellyfish and the birds, of course. The lunch they cook is great! They have a buffet set up with fish and chicken. The beach on Isla Contoy is fantastic and pretty quiet since only 300 visitors are allowed each day. The guides split up for walking tours by your preferred language. That was great to get to walk around and learn more, especially after the long boat ride. The Isla Mujeres part was great too, since we were able to do some great shopping. We eventually found the Artisan District for better local crafts. You don't get too much time there, so maximize it accordingly. The boat itself is decent. It's not the nicest, but it's not terrible either. We liked the upstairs deck the most, which allowed the best 360 views. The crew does a great show at the end, which really deserves the tips they get. It's a better alternative than sleeping on the way back. They get people involved and dancing. I only wish it was a little nicer of a boat.

Isla contoy was amazing! Quiet, beautiful water to swim in.

Just perfect. Hightly reccomend it. Amazing waters.

Alexes, Joseph, Diego and Christian did a wonderful, professional, yet fun snorkeling, island tour! Surf was high so we went to a more protective location. Visibility sos, a little shallow in one spot. Best fish lunch we had during our week stay in area!! Wish I remembered the spice Diego?!Thank u!