Cozumel is one of our favorite places to go in the Caribbean. It’s a 2 hour direct flight from Houston and still a very safe place to go in Mexico. Cozumel is a 30 mile long island off the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula situated just 50 miles south of Cancun. Most of the island is still undeveloped with the exception of San Miguel (population 77,000) located on the Western side of the island.
From San Miguel there are a number of resorts that flank most of the Western side of the island. Since it’s the leeward side it’s waters are almost always calm. Most resorts along the coast are all inclusive, where all the food and alcohol are included within price of the room. It’s also a MAJOR cruise destination with over 1.5 Million Travelers arriving per quarter via the San Miguel/Fiscal Pier. The combination of flyers and cruisers make it one of the most popular places to travel to in the Caribbean. Here are our favorite things to do when we get there.
We’ll do a full review of Cozumel soon with much more information!
1 – Rent a Jeep and Explore!
This is EASILY our number 1 thing to do! We’ll also have an entire post dedicated to just this activity since there is so much to do with you’re own vehicle. By the way, that’s us in the photo above! You don’t have to have a jeep for this but it is nice to have over a scooter if you’re not traveling lightly. I’ll note that we mostly do this adventure while staying at an all inclusive resort but if you’re there for an 8 hour debarkation from a cruise, you’ll have plenty of time to do this.
Our trip involves making a loop mostly around the island and stopping at a few places along the way. We start by getting in the jeep early in the day, heading out from the resort, and going south towards Punta Sur on Quintana Roo C-1. FYI, this is the loop that wraps around the island. We stop and tour the lighthouse, look at crocs, and walk through the small museum at Punta Sur.
From there we’ll get back on the small paved road which boarders the desolate white sand beaches along the windward side of the island. After leaving Punta Sur we’ll randomly pull over from time to time to get out and walk along the water all alone. There are a number of small bars and at least 1 restaurant to discover along the way. The restaurant/bar we frequent is called Coconuts which sits atop a small bluff and offers an amazing Caribbean view.
I’ve been diving all over the world and Cozumel is still my favorite location. A combination of water clarity, perennially warm water temperatures, underwater structure, marine life, and an impressive infrastructure built around diving exists on the island.
2 – Diving Palancar Reef
Cozumel offers a number of different types of diving. There are impressive walls that are within 60ft of the surface and drop vertically several hundred feet. Gliding along these walls in the gentle current you will find matrix of caves and coral trenches to explore. There are also amazing opportunities for night diving. The photo above is actually Palancar gardens, a shallower area above the wall that offers impressive columns of coral and amazing sea life.
I won’t go to much into the diving since it’s one of the most publicized activities on Cozumel. You can’t go anywhere without bumping into a dive shop. Almost all major resorts have a dive shop where you can book a dive, rent gear, and most offer a nominal selection of gear to purchase. There are also a number of options downtown and along the sea wall to book a-la-cart dives and adventures.
3 – Punta Sur
Punta Sur is an ecological Park on the “Southern Point” of the island. It’s about a 20 min drive from the city which is about as far as you can go on the island. It spans over 1,000 hectares or about 2,500 acres and offers an amazing value considering the entry fees ($14/adult, $8/ kids 4-12).
Our favorite thing about the park is the towering white light house which you can enter and climb to the time. The circle stairs wind ever upward narrowing as you go, until you finally climb through the small door and enter the balcony 60 ft above the ground. The views are amazing in every direction, once up there you’d no doubt spend several minutes gazing along beaches in two directions.
The park also offers a couple of nature trails and a viewing tower where you can see crocodiles and an incredible variety of tropical birds. In addition there are gift shops, a maritime museum, a restaurant, and places to relax on the beach on lounge chairs and hammocks. Don’t forget your snorkeling gear!
4 – Chankanaab Beach Adventure Park
If you’re traveling with kids this is one of the top things to do while you’re in Cozumel. Chankanaab is a beach park that is most well known for its dolphin adventures. We’ll also have an entire post dedicated to this activity.
Chankanaab is available as a cruise excursion as well as an excursion from most all inclusive hotels. Typically booking is done at the hotel or on the cruise but you can pay to enter on your own when you get there.
This is my favorite adventure for a family traveling with kids and it’s fun for adults too. The park offers opportunities to interact and ride with dolphins and manatees, has a pool with a swim up bar, a free sea lion show, and a shallow saltwater lagoon that offers a narrow passage into deeper water for snorkeling. There is also a buffet for lunch and dinner.
There are a couple of options to interact with the dolphins. You can purchase the dolphin encounter where you interact via a dolphin kiss, handshake, and hug; otherwise you can purchase the royal swim (we did this with our 5 year old daughter) where in addition to above you go for a belly ride, and have them push you through the water while you’re on a boogie board. We had a great time but it’s expensive and by the way you can’t take your own camera, if you want pictures you must purchase them before you leave.
5 – Snorkeling
The clear water, marine life, and underwater structure of Cozumel just beg for underwater activity. Few other places in the world (not just the Caribbean) offer the sights that snorkeling here does. Often snorkeling outfits will pick you up directly at the resorts or the cruise pier. Most snorkeling adventures involve two snorkels, one at a shallow location (like Columbia Shallows) where you can see starfish, lobster, and stingray as well as another slightly deeper location (such as Palancar Gardens) where you can see the coral towers, caves, and sea turtles. There are some outfits that offer a booze cruise where you sail to the snorkeling location, jump in the water, and on the way back you’re offered complimentary alcohol while listening to a combination of Reggae and dance music.
If you have your own gear, bring it. Otherwise you can use their gear although it’s usually less comfortable than something you’d buy. Bring cash as there is typically an additional charge of just a couple of dollars to enter the marine park and it is customary to type your guides.
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