Catalonia Riviera Maya

Was not married there, but stayed at this resort twice. The sand it all pretty soft where it is high and dry. Couldn't stand to wear flip flops on it because the sand flies up behind you and hits your rear end. I have tons of pictures from on the resort and different things we did outside of the resort as well, if anyone is interested in seeing the resort or excursions you can e-mail me for pics. tifuhhknee@aol.com Just thought I'd offer. There was a wedding that took place last time we were there and it was adorable. The bride came from lobby past the pool we were in that has the swim-up bar (best place to get drinks, btw) and EVERYONE was cheering and clapping. Very fun crowd, they were from Lafayette, Louisiana. Good luck to all of you and it is a great resort where you can snorkel for hours and not get bored (our favorite part).

Wow! I love snorkeling! We were wondering if it was a good spot to snorkel. Some of our guests have never done that. Do you know if they charge for that or is it free? We weren't sure if we should tell our guests to bring their own snorkel gear or not.

~ Erica

they have gear you can borrow for free. we brought our own. i wish i wouldn't have bothered packing the fins, but water shoes are good. mike stepped on a sea urchin.

you can take a cab ride 2 miles north to paamul which has even better snorkeling.

My aunt and uncle from Chicago and little brother snorkeled at the resort for what seemed like hours, their backs were baked through their white t-shirts! Snorkeling gear is free for one hour per day and you get flippers, goggles, and a snorkel itself. We brought our own cheap goggles and all had snorkels that you keep from Xel-Ha (you see way more fish closer up at the resort than you do at Xel-Ha). You can also "rent" a kayak for free for an hour to paddle around.

Near where the wedding is held, there is what used to be a bridge (has since broken between the two trips I took there). What is left is some colverts (sp?) under water and the fish hang out there. A lot of people fed bread or bananas to them from above. The main part of the beach is mostly reefs and you can swim all around them looking at cool fish, lots of pretty colors, in their natural ecosystem. The urchins didn't seem to come out until mid-afternoon and they were small and black. We were barefoot and had no problem. I have an underwater case for my digital camera and even have pics of all the fish I was chasing around! It was a blast.

That's excellent news! Most of my family doesn't have snorkeling gear. I will tell them to bring water shoes! I heard some of the rocks were rough. I think snorkeling is so relaxing and I think we will do it alot!

So it's FREE every day for an hour? That's a great deal!!!

Thanks for the information! We will definitely do some snorkeling by the broken bridge!

I'm so much more excited now! I didn't think it would be possible but this is great information and now I can't wait to go!!!!

Are you planning on getting married there in 2011

we bought snorkel stuff for around $25 at kmart. I'd suggest skipping the fins & just getting a mask & snorkel.

 

I'm not sure how often you could rent it out since I packed my own. I don't think they were strict on the 1 hour limit either.

 

The kayaks were my favorite.

Oh kayaks! Are they single or double kayaks? That is such a relaxing sport!

Thanks for the info!

~ Erica

both singles & doubles. We double kayaked two different days. it was so much fun. You can kayak through the lagoon and up to this area with condos. I think that was what i enjoyed the most of the entire trip. it was just so relaxing to kayak together after all the whirlwind of activities surrounding the wedding.

We also went out on a sail boat. Someone that works there drives & you ride. it was fun, but too choppy to really enjoy. it's just a quick out & back, but that was plenty because it was so rough.

The water was murkier at the hotel. Paamul lagoon was totally clear. Definitly make a trip there. it's just a short cab ride. Have the front desk people call a cab. Don't go through lomas. they will try to make you charter a van.

We had the beach to ourselves because everyone else was at this open air buffet. it was wonderful.

Oh I can't wait to kayak! I will definitely bookmark Paamul lagoon!

 

What is lomas? Is that just a bus/van rental place? Yeah, I want to make sure and do my homework so our guests have options for riding into playa or going to cozumel. Did you take a trip to either of those places?

 

I'm curious how smooth it is to get to either place.