Private Boat to El Cielo, Colombia & Palancar Reefs

Overview

Depart from Money Bar Beach Club on a fully private boat charter to El Cielo's shallow sandbar and the coral gardens of Colombia and Palancar reefs, with a captain and crew dedicated entirely to your own group.

A fully private charter — only your own group boards the boat, with a captain and crew dedicated to your group for the full outing. The route covers Cozumel's most photographed reef sites: the shallow, sandy-bottomed El Cielo, where sea stars are a real possibility to see resting on the seafloor (never guaranteed, since these are wild animals), plus the coral formations of Colombia and Palancar reefs, both part of the Mesoamerican Reef.

Highlights

• El Cielo A shallow sandbar area known for calm, exceptionally clear water and a real chance to spot starfish on the seafloor.
• Palancar Reef Part of the Mesoamerican Reef, the world's second-largest barrier reef system, with dramatic coral formations and canyons.
• Colombia Reef A deeper reef wall known for its coral canyons and abundant tropical marine life.

What Stops Does This Tour Make?

A popular starting point — every Voyzo itinerary is fully customizable, so we'll shape the order and stops around your group.

Important Information

Frequently Asked Questions

About This Tour

Depart from Money Bar Beach Club on a fully private boat charter to El Cielo's shallow sandbar and the coral gardens of Colombia and Palancar reefs, with a captain and crew dedicated entirely to your own group. A fully private charter — only your own group boards the boat, with a captain and crew dedicated to your group for the full outing. The route covers Cozumel's most photographed reef sites: the shallow, sandy-bottomed El Cielo, where sea stars are a real possibility to see resting on the seafloor (never guaranteed, since these are wild animals), plus the coral formations of Colombia and Palancar reefs, both part of the Mesoamerican Reef.

The sea stars that make El Cielo famous are most often the red cushion sea star (Oreaster reticulatus), among the largest starfish found anywhere in the Caribbean, with broad, thick arms that can span up to about 20 inches across a mature individual. Their size and bright coloring have made them a magnet for souvenir hunters for decades, and in parts of their range — Florida among them — it's now illegal to collect them at all. Cozumel's own guides ask the same of visitors here: look without touching, and never lift a sea star out of the water, since even brief handling can stress or injure an animal that breathes and moves through a water-filled vascular system it can't use out of the sea.

From El Cielo's shallow sand flats, the route continues to two of Cozumel's best-known reef sites, both part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. Palancar Reef runs roughly 3.5 miles along the island's southwest coast, its coral built up over centuries into natural caverns and swim-throughs — sections divers call "Palancar Caves" — where openings in the coral let shafts of filtered light reach down into the water. Depths here generally range from about 50 to well over 100 feet, with visibility that can stretch close to 200 feet on a clear day, though as a snorkeling stop this trip stays along the reef's shallower, sunlit edges.

Colombia Reef, the third stop, drops off more steeply — a wall that falls away to roughly 60 to 80 feet, dotted with coral pinnacles that in places rise over 90 feet from the seafloor. All three sites sit inside Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park, a protected marine area established in 1996 that covers about 120 square kilometers of reef and is home to more than 1,000 recorded marine species — one of the reasons this stretch of coastline has such a long-standing reputation among snorkelers and divers alike.