I've spent both of my Cozumel port days at Playa Mia Resort. The first time was in 2018, where I did a cooking class before spending a couple hours at the beach with my adult only fellow travelers. Most recently, I went on a beach excursion on the Disney Magic in December 2022 with my 'Ohana sister and her two girls, ages 6 and 7.
In 2022, our excursion started officially at 10:45 and we were miraculously 15 minutes early and one of the first in line to wait. Which we did, for about 45 minutes. We were clearly waiting for exactly one late family for our excursion to start, which was a bit of a bummer, but it does happen sometimes. Once it was our time to go, it was a bit of a cluster to keep track of who was in our group and where we should go. After bag checks, it was not super clear who was in our group. If you're doing this excursion, I highly recommend noticing a few people in front and behind your group, in case you get confused where to go next. The reason for this is that you walk quite a ways through many shops where owners are sometimes trying to get your attention, before arriving to your bus. If we hadn't been in the front, I think we might have been confused and overwhelmed. That being said, we would still do this excursion again.
The bus ride was a scratch less than 20 minutes, and enjoyable.
In 2018, we were immediately escorted to where we would be cooking our meals, and given margaritas which were plentiful throughout or experience. We cooked several dishes, and I became sufficiently tipsy before indulging in a delicious meal. I had a blast with my friends and then spent about an hour at the beach before heading back to the ship.
In 2022, we passed a total of 6 cruise ships, including ours, at the various ports, which did make me nervous about the crowds once we arrived. I was pleasantly surprised that there were plenty of spots available and we quickly settled and hopped into the water. There are a variety of beach time lengths and excursions to choose from, and we intentionally chose a shorter one due to how well the kids did at the other two ports. We quickly make friends (by tipping well and saying thank you) with one of the servers and enjoyed endless margaritas and waters while we swam.
Truthfully, the girls could have stayed in the beach until it was time for the bus to arrive, but we felt it wise to feed them and get some shopping in while we had the chance. The food was a standard buffet. The kids ate two plate fulls of fruit, and the adults enjoyed the chicken, rice and beans, chips and salad, and more margaritas of course.
There are a good variety of shops in Playa Mia. The girls picked out souvenirs that they absolutely could have purchased anywhere, but will associate with this fun trip. Other shops included a variety of handmade items like leather, bead work, and pottery. There is also a special chocolate shop that I personally found the most treasures in. Merry Christmas from Mexico to my loved ones, and RIP my bank account. Warm regards to tequila. I left a happy camper, and have no regrets.
One thing that I really appreciated was the portion of the beach that was covered. In addition to the umbrella spots which filled up quickly, there is a group of chairs under the shade. This was very much appreciated as someone who gets sun sick easily, and often pays for shade when the option presents itself.
We got snacks of paletas (or pop sickles for the gringos) for the girls and Doritos (which have a gentle kick) to sober up the grown ups and headed to the bus about 3 and a half hours after we arrived. The entire excursion time is about 4 and a half hours and the transportation times clearly state about 25 minutes each way, so we were happy with this amount of time.
I'm happy to report that I would gladly book another excursion here any time I happen to be on a ship headed to this port.
Of note, the water here is not crystal clear like in other locations (here's looking at you 7 Mile beach on Grand Cayman), but it was by no means brown both of Decembers I have visited it. We could see little fish swimming and some of the coral floating about. One of the kids quickly found a shark tooth in the sand once we arrived, so we appreciated the visibility in the water.
Additionally, both excursions left plenty of time before it was time to head back to the ship. In 2018, we shopped at the port, and enjoyed more margaritas and local cuisine. In 2022, we grabbed a quick tourist photo and were ready to go back and rest.
This might be for you if:
You love margaritas
You want shopping somewhere other than the port
Your kids want more pool time in a larger area
You want to jet ski
You value shade and are willing to be without a premium (front row) ocean view for it
Skip this if:
You aren't a big drinker
Beaches aren't you're thing
20-30 minute transportation is too long for your family
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