Is a Cancun party boat or a catamaran better value?

Per hour the catamaran is far better value. An Isla Mujeres catamaran runs 8 to 10 hours from £38 with an open bar, snorkelling and beach time, while the party boat is £79 for three hours. The party boat is not poor value, it is simply buying intensity rather than length.

Do Cancun party boats and catamarans have an age limit?

The Hip Hop Sessions Party Boat does not permit children under 18 years, and neither do the two Coco Bongo tickets. The Isla Mujeres open-bar catamarans carry no age restriction, so they are the option for families and mixed-age groups.

What extra fees should I expect on a Cancun boat trip?

The party boat charges a $10 docking fee in cash at check-in, and the Isla Mujeres catamarans charge a $20 dock tax that is not in the ticket price. On the private yacht the docking fee is $13 per person, and food and alcohol are not included at all. Carry dollars in cash for these.

Is the open bar really unlimited?

On the party boat it is all-you-can-drink well rum, tequila, vodka, beer, sodas, water and juice for the full three hours. On the catamarans it is an unlimited domestic or national open bar, meaning local spirits, beer and soft drinks rather than premium brands. Neither includes imported top-shelf liquor.

Cancun Party Boat vs Open Bar Catamaran: Which? (2026)

Search for a boozy boat day in Cancun and you get two very different products sold with almost identical photos. One is a three-hour party boat that is essentially a nightclub on water. The other is an eight-to-ten-hour catamaran to Isla Mujeres with an open bar, snorkelling and a beach. Both have unlimited drinks, both leave from the hotel zone, and picking the wrong one is the single most common booking mistake we see in this category.

The quick answer

Book the Hip Hop Sessions Party Boat at £79 if you want three loud hours with DJs, party hosts and an open bar, and your group is all 18 or over. Book an Isla Mujeres catamaran from £38 if you want a full day with the same unlimited drinks plus snorkelling, lunch and beach time, or if anyone in your group is under 18. The catamaran is longer, cheaper and more forgiving; the party boat is more intense and much shorter.

Price and what the ticket actually covers

The prices look close until you divide by hours. The party boat is £79 for three hours with an all-you-can-drink open bar of well rum, tequila, vodka, beer, sodas, water and juice, plus guest DJs, party hosts, sandwiches, a champagne shower and a swimming stop. There is also a $10 docking fee paid in cash at check-in, so budget for that separately.

The catamarans run 8 to 10 hours. The all-inclusive Isla Mujeres catamaran from £38 includes the crossing and a domestic open bar with tequila, rum, vodka, beer, soft drinks, juice and water. The Isla Mujeres catamaran tour from £42 adds snorkel gear, beach club access and free time on the island, with buffet lunch and hotel pickup on the options that include them. The Isla Mujeres catamaran from £26 is the same shape with a national open bar and the strongest review base of the three, at 4.1 stars from 3,206 travellers. Both catamaran operators charge a $20 dock tax that is not in the ticket price.

Age limits: the deciding factor for a lot of groups

This is the detail people miss. The party boat states plainly that children under 18 years are not permitted, and so do both Coco Bongo tickets. The Isla Mujeres catamarans carry no age restriction, which makes them the only open-bar option on this list that works for a mixed-age group or a family with teenagers. If you are booking for a stag or hen party the age rule is irrelevant; if you are booking for a family holiday it decides the question outright.

Atmosphere: nightclub versus sail

On the party boat the hip hop plays from the first minute to the last, the hosts run games and dance-offs, and the champagne shower happens when the deck is at its rowdiest. Three hours is exactly long enough. The catamarans are sociable rather than relentless: music, drinks and a lot of sunbathing, broken up by a snorkel stop on the reef and a few hours on one of the better beaches in the region. You come back from a party boat exhausted and from a catamaran sunburnt.

What if you want the party on land instead

Cancun's other big night out is Coco Bongo, which is a club built around a rolling stage show of flying acrobats and musical tributes. Entry from £75 covers the shows, snacks and hotel pickup or drop-off, with premium drinks on the higher options. The Coco Bongo Beach Party from £38 is the cheaper daytime version on the sand with drinks, snacks and transport included. Both are 18 and over.

And if you want the boat to yourselves

For a group that wants privacy over a crowd, the exclusive private yacht sail from £414 runs two to six hours with bottled water, soft drinks, ice and snorkelling gear included. Note what is not included: food, alcohol and a $13 per person docking fee, so a private charter is not a like-for-like swap for an open-bar ticket. You are buying the boat, not the bar.

The verdict

For value per hour, the catamarans win comfortably: from £38 you get a full day, drinks, snorkelling and a beach. For sheer energy, the party boat wins: £79 buys the loudest three hours on the water in Cancun and it is the highest-rated party boat we list at 4.7 stars. Choose by the day you want rather than by the drinks, because both give you those.