Contoy Island Snorkeling Tour Food & Drinks

THEY DID NOT RESPECT WHAT WE BOUGHT

Imagine paying for a tour, arriving at the dock, and there is no one there; no one knew who the operator Isla Sea Tours was. We dialed the cell phone. 55 8850 0658 that appears on the TripAdvisor page and they never answered us, until another operator helped us; he dialed several numbers by cell phone until he found one for Isla Sea Tours. He didn't know he had it on speakerphone and, very nonchalantly, says: -No, today we are not leaving from Punta Sam- in a tone of I'm just waking up- Fortunately, a few minutes later, Mr. Lalo Torres contacted me; we had to move from Punta Sam to Mara Azul, the gentleman. He wouldn't let us leave the parking lot because he didn't have change for $200 pesos; very rudely, they asked us to go change the bill. It is supposed that he should do it; I am the customer and he is the one who doesn't have the change. Anyway, we had to pay for parking again at Mara Azul. We bought this tour because it promised to spend the whole day only in Contoy; we didn't want to go to Isla Mujeres because we have already been many times and have already stayed there, something that of course they were not going to respect for us because this Mara Azul group bought the tour with a 1-hour visit to Isla Mujeres, WHICH MEANS THAT THE TOUR WE BOUGHT FOR THIS DAY DOES NOT EXIST, WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO A SCAM FOR FORCING US TO GO TO ISLA MUJERES. Finally, the snorkeling is only for people expert at swimming; it is not enough to know how to swim, you have to have physical conditioning because on the snorkeling route you don't stop to contemplate and enjoy. From the moment the yacht dropped us off, they didn't stop swimming until the end where we were waiting for them, approximately 600 m or more. We didn't enjoy the island 100% because the time went by very quickly, and it is excellent for staying. The hour they took away from us for Isla Mujeres, we happened to see a young woman who took sunscreen out of her backpack, and I think a biologist came down very upset, yelling at the girl that she already knew she couldn't take anything off the yacht, much less use sunscreen on the beach. Very bad for this girl; it was a very embarrassing moment for everyone present. The good thing, besides experiencing THE ISLAND A LITTLE, is that the staff made a great effort so that we all had excellent service at all times; they offered us beer and water, the food was a 10, and everything was well explained. To them, even though they are part of the operator that scammed us by not fulfilling what was promised, a thousand thanks.

Response from the operator: Hola Arnulfo, Agradecemos mucho que reconozcas el esfuerzo de nuestra tripulación, la atención a bordo y que la comida haya estado de diez. Precisamente por eso nos parece de muy mal gusto y bastante injusto que catalogues la experiencia como una estafa y nos califiques con una estrella. Somos humanos y reconocemos con total transparencia que tuvimos un error de coordinación con el punto de salida en la mañana. Sin embargo, un error operativo no es una estafa: jamás nos desentendimos, dimos la cara de inmediato y el Sr. Lalo Torres les ofreció una solución rápida para que pudieran abordar y no perdieran su día. El tour se realizó por completo, con la comida, las bebidas, el esnórquel y los tiempos programados, cumpliendo con el servicio contratado. Entendemos la molestia con temas ajenos como el estacionamiento o la llamada de atención de la bióloga en la playa, pero Isla Contoy es una reserva natural protegida con regulaciones federales muy estrictas sobre el bloqueador que todos debemos acatar por ley. Lamentamos el mal rato del inicio, pero hicimos todo lo posible por resolver nuestro fallo al momento para que disfrutaran su paseo, y nos duele que eso quede opacado bajo una acusación tan grave cuando la mayor parte del día la pasaron bien. Atentamente, Equipo de Isla Sea Tours

via Tripadvisor (translated)

Friendly Crew, Beautiful Reefs, Unforgettable Day

Fantastic tour to Isla Contoy with an unforgettable snorkeling experience on the coral reefs! The crew was incredibly friendly, professional, and made us feel welcome throughout the day. Beautiful scenery, crystal-clear water, and excellent service. Highly recommended!

via Tripadvisor