MUSA
11-14-21
MUSA is an underwater art museum located in Cancun. I am a gigantic nerd for museums, and this immediately appealed to me. According to the internet, they are one of the largest underwater art museums. Reading about it online gave me the impression of it being very touristy, yet sounded like a lot of fun and worth trying. When you go to their website, there are a few different tours that they offer. I opted for the glass bottom boat tour and snorkeling combo. With my earlier experience with snorkeling and poor weather, I paid close attention to my weather app. The forecast for the day called for clear skies. It looked like I was in business. It's about a two-hour drive from Tulum to Cancun. MUSA is easy to find located in the hotel zone. I went inside to check-in. But once I got to the counter, I was informed that the tours for the day were all canceled. Even with clear skies and the warm sun shining down, the wind was bad enough to create an issue. If you can, I recommend calling ahead. I was able to rebook for later in the week without a problem. I always try to have an idea of what I want to do when traveling to new places. And being flexible always helps me do everything I want to do when unavoidable obstacles, like bad weather, pop up.
A couple of days after, I returned, and once I'd checked in at the main office, I went outside to the area where the ferry picks up. The boat takes you out into the ocean past some islands until you arrive at a large pontoon boat. I remember reading that there were drinks included on this tour. And while riding out, they indeed served beer and cocktails. They have beer on tap, and they serve up different cocktails while being very careful at keeping their balance. There was a bright blue drink that was very popular. Although not my typical libation of choice, this was a special occasion. From the pontoon boat, I then boarded the glass bottom boat. This boat looks like a small yellow submarine. When you get inside, you are sitting below the water with windows all around. You're seated in a very tight space, so anyone with issues with claustrophobia will not enjoy this at all. It does give you a pretty incredible view. You're able to see all the fish and coral well. The coral reef here is part of the Mesoamerican Reef Barrier System. And it is the second-largest reef system in the world. There is an incredible amount of biodiversity living in the reef, and the glass bottom boat is an excellent way to see a lot of it.
After the boat tour, we returned to the pontoon boat. We met our guide that would be taking us out to snorkel and see the sculptures underwater. The sculptures are pretty fun. There's a variety of different sculptures to look at, and you're allowed time to look around and take pictures. I was a little more experienced at snorkeling now, and I was using a snorkel mask that I had brought with me from home. I felt embarrassed to use it before because it resembles something from the Snorks cartoon. It's a full face mask with a snorkel that comes out of the top. It was far more comfortable and didn't leak as much as the ones provided on the tours. And I was able to see underwater a lot clearer. According to the MUSA website, there are quite a lot of sculptures here. When you're out with your guide, you only have a limited amount of time in the water. My guide took us to see a handful of sculptures, all of which were interesting, but there must be different routes they take people on.
After snorkeling, we went back to the pontoon boat for an hour of swimming before the ferry returned to bring us back to the mainland. There is no doubt that this was an extremely fun time. It will take a good part of your day to do, so if you have time when visiting, I recommend it.
Know Before You Go
Ticket prices for tours range from around 47 USD to 155 USD, depending on what you're interested in doing.I did the Snorkel/ Glass Bottom Boat tour for 70 USDThe entire visit took about 3 hours in totalMUSA is in the hotel zone, so there are plenty of hotels nearby and restaurants as well, making it easy to get a bite after your visit. There is a café at the museum and snacks available in the shop.Another important reminder is to wear eco-friendly sunscreen when you plan your visithttps://musamexico.org/