Sea Lion Encounter and Chankanaab Park

We booked this because we love animals and snorkeling. It was easy to get a taxi to and from the park and we took our own snorkel gear. The people at the park were helpful and spoke both English and Spanish. There are several places with lockers at the park and at least one with showers as well. Make sure you allow enough time to enjoy the self guided tour through the Mayan ""ruins"", the Mayan house and even a sweat lodge if you're so inclined. There's a small pond for kids to play in but an open beach for snorkeling with easy entry and exit to the ocean with stairs. Of course there are gift shops and small eateries with a variety of foods and prices to meet your needs. The highlight was the time we spent with the sea lions as you'd expect. The size of our group was limited to provide each person with enough time to interact with the sea lions up close and personal. Our guide and the trainers did a great job of helping each participant to get the most out of the experience while providing us important information about the animals. A photographer took a variety of pictures which you could review and choose to purchase or not. There is a ""package"" deal but if you only want/like a few pictures they will make a ""special offer"" for you so that you can get just the ones you want.

We had done the dolphin encounter the last time we were in Cozumel so we decided to do the sea lion this time. It was even better than the dolphin encounter, in my opinion. There were only 7 people in our group and we each got to spend a lot of time with Lulu the sea lion. We were able to pet her and we took photos kissing her, holding her, smiling with her, and sticking out our tongues. The park is great and there is so much to do when you are waiting for the excursion. The only reason I gave this excursion 4 starts is because of the price of the photos. They cost more than the excursion itself. One photo is forty dollars per person or you can buy all of your photos for eighty dollars. We shelled out the two hundred and eighty dollars for our groups (4 people) photos, but it killed me to do so. There were just too many great photos though to choose just one per person.

The Sea Lion Encounter was a lot of fun and informative. The trainers and guides were exceptional. But, if you are expecting to be able to take your own photos of the experience, think again. They do not allow cameras in the area, but they have their own photographers taking pictures of everything that occurs. Once the fun is over, they escort you a kiosk in the gift shop where they allow you to view all your photos that they took, and select the ones you want. They even took a group photo of the family together before we started, but all other pics are individual. They will sell you a single photo of a single person for $40. They offer a CD of all the photos for $210, and a print plus CD for $240 (you save $10 buying the package). They won't sell you the family photo unless you buy the package. After we spent nearly $200 just for the 3 of us to spend 30 minutes petting a sea lion, the cost of the photos was just too much. When I declined, the girl followed me outside and said she could get me the package for $180, then dropped to $150 and finally $120. After declining all these offers, she asked me what was fair, I told her I thought $50 was fair, and she said thanks but no thanks. We parted ways without me buying any photos. All in all it fun for us even though we didn't get a picture. I would still recommend it, but expect to be gouged for the photos.

We had done a dolphin swim in the states so we signed up for this for a little change of pace. It was every bit as good as what they do in the states, even better. We arrived a little late due to the ship arriving a little late. It was no problem, they just switched our appointment to a later time. While we waited we rented snorkeling equipment (bring your own) and snorkeled off a really pretty beach - this was really fun. We had a nice lunch with good food at a little cafe while we watched people swim with the dolphins and then it was time for our appointment. We were surprised to find out that it was only going to be our family and that we were swimming with the sea lions in the same place they do their show. It was just my wife, me, my son of 11 and daughter 9. We had a great day!

We loved it! Well worth the money!

We swam with both the sea lions and the manatees on this excursion. There were no crowds, we were served promptly, and the trainers were great. The sea lion was fun, but the manatees were really special. They play with you and you get to touch them and swim with them freely. The price was fine, but the photo packages are a fortune. They will bargain with you, so try to get them to come down on the price.

Great Excursion, very enjoyable, once in a lifetime, strongly recommend it

Getting in the water with a sea lion and touching it was the highlight of our cruise. The con was finding our own transportation to the site We did not encounter a problem, but nonetheless was a worry that we would not make it back to the ship in time.

Sea lions are so smart and I loved the kisses they give you.

Knowledgeable young man introduced us to the sea lion and taught us how to interact with it both out of the water and in the water.

The Sea Lion Encounter we went on was by far better than any of the others available (Dolphins, Sting Rays). We had a much smaller group and it was very personalized to us. No better excursion out there.

we were so happy with this because there were 400 people that signed up for swimming with the dolphins we were the only 2 that signed up for the sea lions. we had a blast

this excursion was great interaction with the sea lion not only in the water but out of it also.

The interaction with the seals was wonderful, informative and we would do it again. But you are not permitted to take your own pictures, they had a photographer there who took beautiful pictures that were not in a typical family's budget. $50. For a picture is just crazy.

The sea lion adventure was great fun, and educational, as well. The trainer was very good, and explained alot about sea lions and their habits. I would definitely recommend this activity.

BOOK THIS THROUGH THE CRUISE LINE. The biggest con for us was having to make our own transportation to Chankanaab Park. The cruise lines always have transportation included. My husband and I were the only ones in our group. We were okay with that since we got more time with the Sea Lions. Everyone does the dolphins, so if you've already done that, go with the sea lions. You can watch the sea lion show before going in so you know a little of what to expect. My biggest con was having to pay such a high price for pictures. you can't take any pics on your own camera while interacting with the sea lions. 1 picture was about $35, so we bought the whole DVD of pics for $75. Don't expect this to be like a zoo either. This is a Natural Park. So you get to walk around and see replicas of statues and what not. they have some Crocodiles, and then the dolphins and sea lions. We went to the ""beach"" but the sand meet a wall of rocks down to the water. There were stairs, but the water was too rough to feel comfortable snorkeling on our own. You can pay for a guide, but we just waited for another port for a better beach.

This was amazing. Had so much fun interacting with the sea lions. Got to spend a lot of time with them doing tricks and interacting. Wonderful experience that I would recommend to everyone. Pictures were a little pricey and you were not allowed to take pictures yourself, but other than that it was a great experience.

Enjoyed the Sea Lion Encounter. The swimming and learning about the sea lions was nice and the price includes park admission to Chankanaab. The sea lion pool was cool and a little bit dirty but the kids didn't mind. The beach in the park is very nice but rocky in edge of water. You can rent gear and snorkel there. Beautiful water and lots of fish. The bad thing about the Sea Lion Encounter was the price of the picture, so take a lot of cash. Same for the dolphin photos. Over all it was a good excursion and we enjoyed it. We did buy the pictures and they are really good. Someday we would like to go back to Chankanaab Park. We took a Taxi to the park, it is not included in the Sea Lion encounter but it was easy to get a taxi there and back. The people who work at Chankanaab are very nice and helpful. There was not as much to see in the park as we had expected but we enjoyed the beach while waiting for our Sea Lion Encounter.

Most people go for the dolphins but after a few times that can actually get old. Instead we opted for the sealions. The guide was very well informed about sealions and actually learned a thing or two. With it not being so crowded we actually got a more ""personal"" experience than you could with a huge crowd. Very enjoyable. The only downside was that there were 6 (I think) cruise ships in at the same time making it a bit hectic at times but no fault of the facility.

It really was great way to spend a day in Cozumel,park was beautiful and sea lions are so cute.

The photographer took 79 photos and wouldonly sell them as a package. Some shots were very poor. As a rsult we did not have any picture to remind us of the sea lions.

My family had the best time. It was amazing to be that close to the sea lions. The water was a little cold, but you got used to it quickly.

So much more time in the water w/the sea lion than I expected! Also, completely in the water, not just standing waist-deep on the edge. Everyone went w/the dolphins....Only us and one other father-daughter group were on this tour which made it even better! Then, afterward, we had time to snorkel and swim in the ocean (snorkel gear extra). Unfortunately, the ride to the park wasn't included...but still a great excursion!