If you have been cruising for a while, you have most likely have been to Cozumel before. There are endless beach and all-inclusive day resort options, that provide for an awesome day on vacation. However, on my tenth visit to the island, I found myself wanting to try something new and veer away from the standard beach day or just visiting some of the watering holes near the port areas. After some research, and suggestions from friends, I decided on the Cozumel Bar Hop!
“The Hop” takes you on a fun filled loop around Cozumel, stopping at four beach bars along the East side of the island. For those of you who don’t know, the East side of Cozumel is not commercialized at all. There is no electricity, other than what is provide by generators, and it has a very serene feel to it compared to the West side of the island.
The cost for the hop is $57 per person. Included in that cost is a t-shirt and one shot at each bar. Be sure to bring cash for other purchases, as most of the bars do not accept credit cards. The tour departs from Senor Frogs Downtown, near the Punta Langosta Pier. If your ship is docked at Punta Langosta, you can simply walk across the street to the meeting point at Senor Frogs. If your ship is docked at either the International Pier or Puerto Maya Pier, you’ll need to grab a taxi over to the meeting point. The cost is only around $8 one way. Note that you will be dropped off directly at your pier at the end of the hop.
We had a very small group for our hop. It was only myself, my wife, and another couple (that we did not know going into the hop). It was nice because we were able to interact a lot more with our guide as compared to if it was a large group. I will say though, with a larger group, the hop is probably a little more rowdy. In any case, we had a great day, filled with amazing food, strong drinks, and the company of new friends. Let me take you to each of our four stops!
Stop #1 – Punta Morena
I’ll start off by saying that this was my favorite stop and I could have spent all day here. The facilities were beautiful. Numerous loungers and hammocks to relax in. They offer a pool as well. If you are going to get anything to eat on the hop, the lobster quesadilla here is my recommendation. My wife and I still talk about it to this day, it was that good! We enjoyed a couple drinks as well and before we knew it, we were ready to head out to our next stop.
Stop #2 – Coconuts Bar and Grill
You’ll need to make your way up an uneven steep stairway to get to the bar itself. Take your time going up, thankfully this isn’t the last stop or it might be a difficult ascend. There is no direct beach access here, but the views from up on the hillside are amazing. We enjoyed some more drinks as well some chips and guacamole here, everything was good! I’ll add one piece of advice, if they offer to show you the “family photo album”, keep in mind, it may not be what you expect!
Stop #3 – El Pescador
While this was stop number three for us, it is not the current stop number three offered by the Cozumel Bar Hop, according to their website. They do offer direct beach access here and we took advantage of that and spent some time in the water. I will mention that there was quite a bit of seaweed, but we were able to find some clear areas. We did not have anything to eat here so I cannot comment on the food. The facilities were very nice here with tables and chairs not far from the beach. We enjoyed another drink, the ocean breeze, and chatting with our new friends.
Stop #4 – Rasta’s
Drink wise, this is hands down the highlight of the hop. Their homemade peanut butter tequila is to die for, and this is coming from someone who despises tequila! I could have sipped on that stuff all day. We had also heard the coconut shrimp were very good here so we put in for an order of them. They did not disappoint. After a couple more drinks we were ready to hit the road back to the port area. We were sad the hop was coming to an end, but thankful for a beautiful and memorable day!
Final Thoughts
To date this has been my favorite way to experience Cozumel. I definitely plan to take the hop next time I am visiting, as I would love to experience it with a larger group. If you have been on the hop before, did you have a positive experience like we did? If you haven’t been on the hop, will you be checking them out on your next visit?
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