Of all the places I've traveled, Cozumel is my #1 favorite.
Map credit: Cozumel Today Magazine
Cozumel is a small island in the Caribbean Sea, a whopping 208 square miles in size. Much of the island is 'wild' and uninhabited with reef after reef offshore. The island's one somewhat sizeable town is San Miguel.
It's a very popular cruise ship port, having 3 cruise ship piers.
Cozumel (Spanish pronunciation: [kosuˈmel]; Yucatec Maya: Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán Channel. The municipality is part of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.
The best times to visit Cozumel are February to April and March to June as it's hurricane season there virtually 365
days a year. It's suggested you avoid September and October as these months typically experience heavy rains and storms. However, this is precisely when we (I took my niece along) went - September 28th to October 5th. We spent 10 days in Cozumel and had beautiful, if not extremely hot weather until the morning we were to fly home, when a tropical storm hit the island.
I didn't make our itinerary heavy with activities. My niece and I just wanted to chill and relax for the most part.
When planning your itinerary make it a point to schedule your activities around when the cruise ships are not in port. When the cruisers are in, Cozumel tends to get crazy if only for a relatively short time.
Flying Into Cozumel
Cozumel does have its own airport so it's best to fly directly in to Cozumel. It is a small airport and easy to navigate.
NAVIGATING COZUMEL AIRPORT: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
However, I will share the benefit of our experience with the airport. Five different airplanes landed when we did. There are two stops you must make - Immigration, then Customs. When we landed there was ONE airport employee working to handle 5 plane loads of people. It took another hour for a second employee to show up to help get everyone through the process of entering Mexico.
At that time Mexico was still using the FMM form, which is essentially a paper that acted like your visa so you had to carry it with you at all times. Now they've done away with the FMM and the airport agent will stamp your passport instead.
The article above advises you to pre-book your shuttle from the airport to your accommodations. I advise against doing this! I did it and the tour company never bothered to show up, saying they were too busy to pick us up, leaving us stranded. There's a stand inside the airport where you can buy a shuttle ticket.
When you've purchased your shuttle ticket, walk out the front airport doors and you'll see a row of white shuttle vans lined up. If you can't find your particular shuttle, just ask one of the drivers and they'll get you to your proper shuttle.
As stated in the article, taxis are not allowed to pick up passengers at the airport. I imagine this is because they broke up the monopoly one taxi service had at the airport...but that's conjecture on my part.
Either way, I purchased shared shuttle tickets inside the airport to get us un-stranded. Purchasing shared transportation is cheaper than private shuttle transportation to your accommodations.
Or walk across the street to Diego's Tacos and grab a taxi from there. We found we could get anywhere on the island via taxi that cost us between $3 and $10 USD.
Vans at airport
Accommodations
There's only one 4 star all exclusive resort I'll recommend on Cozumel - the Cozumel Palace.
You won't be treated like a guest, you'll be treated like family and the staff will do somersaults to make sure your every need is met. Never before in all my years of traveling have I walked through hotel doors to immediately have a cold towel wrapped around my neck to cool me off, while having a drink placed in my hand. This is the kind of service Cozumel Palace provides.
Yes, it's an older resort but it has been beautifully maintained, it is spotlessly clean, the beds are comfortable and you can't beat the amenities. But we'll get to that.
I stumbled on a Black Friday deal in booking the Palace. If I booked on Good Friday, I got 50% off our stay plus a $1500 resort credit same as cash, that could be used both inside the resort and outside of it.
Photo credit: Cozumel Palace
We used a portion of that resort credit to upgrade to a seaside suite with in room Jaquizzi, fully stocked bar on a daily basis, a seaside balcony with patio furniture and hammock and 24/7 concierge service.
Photo credit: Cozumel Palace Our seaside suite
My niece giving the thumbs up on our accommodations
Our meals were included and we had a choice of 4 different restaurants and cuisines to choose from as well as a poolside restaurant with a swim up bar. There were actually 3 different pools but the one with the restaurant and bar was a huge infinity pool.
Complimentary breakfast was served every morning in an area off the lobby with a full service bar. There was a full service spa, a 'business' room with several computers, a dive pier from which scuba diving boats departed throughout the day. If there was any 'drawback' to the Palace at all is that it didn't have your typical sand beach. But what they had was far nicer in my opinion.
Every morning I watched a resort employee HAND RAKE that beach area, plus an equally big beach area on the other side of the resort. You won't find a natural beach that clean.
By taking advantage of Cozumel Palace's Black Friday deal plus using my Skymiles to pay our airfare, I spent less than $2500 per each of us for 10 days in Mexico - or under $5000 for the entire trip, including incidentals like attraction costs, taxi fare around the island, any meals outside the resort, souvenirs, etc.
Attractions
DISCOVER MEXICO
Discover Mexico is a unique theme park and museum in Cozumel that immerses visitors in Mexico’s rich culture, history, and architecture, showcasing the country’s top attractions in one place. Guided tours lead you through detailed scale models of famous sites, interactive films, and displays of native art, handicrafts, and ancient artifacts. In addition there are live performances like acrobats, Mayan dancers, etc.
Visiting Discover Mexico is like seeing all of the different, beautiful Mexican regional cultures packed into one nutshell. I forget now exactly what our admission price was but it was under $15 USD for each of us.
When you enter the building, there's a theater where you can watch a film about all of the different Mexican regions and their cultures. There's also a museum-type display featuring Mexican artwork from all over Mexico that's just exquisite in its detail.
From the museum you go outside with a guide to tour the scaled down models of historical buildings throughout Mexico. It was very hot and humid the day Ruthie and I went and we were getting eaten alive by mosquitos so we cut that part of the tour somewhat short. BRING BUG SPRAY!
After you've toured the scaled down building models you're free to go watch whatever live entertainment is taking place that day. Figure 2-3 hours for a visit.
Discover Mexico also sponsors events like Tequila tasting, chocolate making and Mexican art workshops.
There is a counter service restaurant on site.
SAN MIGUEL
San Miguel is the only city of any size on Cozumel. It's quite colorful, with shops displaying Mexican crafts, clothing, jewelry, etc.
Tip: Is it a tourist trap? You bet. But don't be afraid to barter on prices! The merchants expect you to. And everything is so inexpensive down there. I bought a beautiful sundress for Ruthie for $8 that she still wears today.
I should mention you don't have to worry about safety in Cozumel. They have 3 police forces: the Federales, the tourist police and the city police - not because Cozumel is high in crime but to keep the drug cartels out of Cozumel. My niece and I walked around alone together even at night and were never bothered once by anyone. In fact, while standing on a street corner one of the Federale jeeps pulled up in front of us - with a machine gun mounted on it and 3 pretty burly looking guys in military camo manning that machine gun. I was going to ask them if I could take a picture of them but then thought better of it. They didn't look real friendly.
You want to see San Miguel at night, you don't have to be afraid to do so even if you're traveling solo.
Night Fountain in Cozumel’s zócalo
(A zócalo is a public square.) San Miguel is just beautiful at night and there's quite a bit of activity going on in the zócalo, such as live Mexican music.
San Miguel at night
Ruthie resting her feet while souvenir shopping in San Miguel
We stopped for lunch at Guisado's, which serves Mexican fare. Great taco place, just a road back from the main tourist area and the food is $ inexpensive. I especially loved their decor and the KEEP CALM & EAT TACOS signage.
Blue corn tacos with rice and chicken stew or smoked pork chop were great and the owner and staff are very friendly. Memo, the owner is from Mexico City originally.
Nothing fancy but it's a charming little place with great eats.
Av Juarez #254 entre 10av y 15av colonia centro, San Miguel
After shopping and lunch we returned to the resort to just kick back and enjoy some pool time.
Tip: If you're not used to the heat and humidity of Cozumel you might want to schedule your first 2-3 days light to give yourself time to adjust to the heat and humidity,
I was glad I'd scheduled a light itinerary as it kicked Ruthie's and my butts and by mid day we were feeling pretty wiped out and ready for a siesta.
SNORKELING WITH STINGRAYS & SHARKS
We headed to Stingray Beach to swim with the stingrays and nurse sharks.
What a fantastic experience!
Ruthie chillin' poolside
I'm a scuba diver so I've encountered stingrays and sharks in the wild before but always gave them their space. I didn't realize how big stingrays actually are until I held one and fed it. They're huge! (Stingray Beach is a stingray preserve so they'd been de-barbed.) I was also surprised to discover they feel silky, much like a dolphin, and when you feed them it feels like a vacuum cleaner hose sucking on your hand. They had no fear of us at all, would swim right up and brush against your legs - their signal to feed them. They're actually very gentle creatures.
After a brief introduction, you will meet the rays in waist-deep water for a 30-minute encounter then move to the deeper part of the enclosure where, in full snorkel gear provided, you will be able to swim and dive for 30 minutes with stingrays, baby rays (in season), a few nurse sharks and many colorful fish in an area 4 to 18 feet deep featuring a new coral reef rescue installation.
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Duration: 2 hrs
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Adults: $50.00 USD (12 yo and older)
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Children: $25.00 USD (5 to 11 yo)
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Infants: Free (4 yo and under)
However, children 4 years old and younger are not allowed to swim with the stingrays for the protection of the rays. Be sure to read the website for what's allowed and what isn't!
By purchasing this tour you will also have access to the Beach Club, which features Ray’s Sand Bar (a snack bar), a photo and souvenir shop, macaws, parrots, a green gecko, and giant iguanas posing for pictures. You can also watch hermit crab races, relax with a massage, or have fun on the water trampoline.
Km. 2.8, Carretera Costera Sur, Centro 77600. Cozumel
JEAN LAFITTE PIRATE SHIP DINNER CRUISE
You cannot visit Cozumel without doing the Jean Lafitte Pirate Ship Dinner Cruise. What a BLAST!
You have to book this trip through a tour company. I used Cozumel Tours, they give 10% off everything when you book with them. The adult price of the tour was $79, for a child $54. I would've gladly paid twice that amount, now having done the tour.
For dinner you have a choice of New York Steak, Chicken or Surf N Turf (Lobster and Steak). Your dinner also includes Caesar Salad, Pasta, Vegetables, Baked Potatoes and even Dessert! You give them your choice when you make your reservation. Full open bar all evening and let me tell ya, the booze keeps flowing very freely as you can see...
This tour books up fast so you want to get your reservations in well ahead of your visit.
The cruise runs Monday thru Saturday from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM and you depart from 5th Avenue South. Exact meeting instructions will accompany your confirmation but it's right down by the cruise ship piers.
When you board, your photo will be taken with the pirate crew and 'cocktail hour' begins immediately.
These pirates know how to put on a show and get everyone involved! They had everyone dancing around the deck of that ship, all the while a pirate battle was brewing. Dinner was absolutely delicioius and filling. After dinner and a gorgeous sunset, on with the pirate battle show. The pirates were fantastic and we had a blast.
THE COZUMEL AMAZING RACE
I had us booked to do the Amazing Cozumel Race but it was cancelled last minute. (Maybe not enough participants being it was the off season and no cruise ships were in port???) It was just as well as Ruthie had a tad too much pirate rum the night before so wasn't exactly on top of her game. We decided to make it a lie by the pool day instead - much to her relief I'm sure.
The Cozumel Amazing Race is a REALLY popular activity on Cozumel. If you remember the TV show Amazing Race, the Cozumel Amazing Race is a cross between that and the DaVinci Code. It's like a scavenger hunt where you gather and solve clues and win the race by being the first team to solve all of the clues and race back to the finish.
It is a physically challenging race. For example, to get to one of the clues you ride a boat out on the sea and dive to get the clue from a sunken wreck.
What attracted me to the race was not only that I love solving mysteries but the race takes you off the beaten tourist path and you have to interact with locals like shopkeepers to solve the clues.
Photo credit: Cozumel Amazing Race
If I ever get the chance to return to Cozumel I'll definitely try to do the Amazing Race again.
CHANKANAAB
What a gorgeous place and unique park! Chankanaab is another must do on your Cozumel bucket list.
There is no shortage of things to do here.
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Swimming pool (yes, a pool at the beach)
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The Chankanaab zipline experience
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Shopping
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Discover scuba diving, as well as sea-trek & snuba are offered
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Snorkling
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Tequila tasting experience
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A free sea lion show
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Crocodile exhibition
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Mayan ruins walk (Note: All are replicas)
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A spa, complete with massage
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The Chankanaab dolphin swim
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Chankanaab manatee and dolphin exhibitions
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And the beach
For us, our goals were simple: the beach/sun, beverages, food, and snorkeling. (We brought our own snorkel gear although you can rent equipment there.)
We did watch the free sea lion show on arriving and Ruthie kissed the seal. We did do the Mayan ruins walk, saw the crocodiles and a big honkin' iguana that let me take its picture.
The park was crowded the day we were there...but if you walk down the beach to where the snorkel gear rental place is, you'll find there aren't big crowds. Ruthie and I had that beach all to ourselves and it was perfect because we'd come to snorkel and we were right across from the reef.
The reef is pretty beat up (How can it not be with that many people visiting it?) but there were still plenty of fish to see and the underwater statues in that area.
Come lunchtime we headed to El Bucanero, one of the restaurants in Chankanaab.
El Bucanero is open air with a beautiful view of the beach and hey...where else would you get lunch being serenaded by Mexican musicians?
The prices were what you'd expect to pay in a park but less than you would have paid in a restaurant and the serving portions were large.
My tips for visiting Chankanaab:
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Before booking check the Chankanaab website and Cozumel Insider for discount coupons on park admission. If you book direct on the Chankanaab website, they're currently advertising 30% off.
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If you're on a cruise ship, skip the package offered to you by the cruise line! Get off the ship, hail a taxi, go to Chankanaab and pay the admission at the gate. You'll save a BUNCH of money over taking the Chankanaab shore excursion offered by the cruise line!
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Taxi fare is $10 for up to 4 people in the cab. $20 round trip. A lot of taxis hang around Chankanaab knowing it's a great place to pick up fares so you won't have a problem getting a taxi.
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Bring your own towel and snorkeling gear and you'll save money not having to pay for rental at Chankanaab. (You might want to bring a sun hat as well!)
2025-2026 Admission prices have taken quite a hike. $79 Adults / $59 Children if you book through the Chankanaab official website. You want the All Inclusive Package.
(We paid $20 per person admission)
Monday-Saturday from 8:00am to 4:00pm. But, when cruises are in port, closing time is “flexible” (they’re not going to turn away your money). The Chankanaab Nature Park (the beach and snorkeling) seems to be open later and most of the attractions seem to close earlier.
SCUBA DIVING
One of the staff asked Ruthie out to show her around the island so I decided to let the "kids" do their thing while I got a little scuba diving in. Cozumel is beautiful for diving. I don't have an underwater camera but this video will give you an idea of what the scuba diving around Cozumel is like:
By the time we both returned to the resort we were primed to spend some of our $1500 resort credit on a spa, where we got the full treatment - mani, pedi, massage.
Photo credit: Cozumel Palace
PLAYA DEL CARMEN
Photo credit: Pinterest
Playa del Carmen is located on the Mexican mainland. To get from Cozumel to the mainland you must take the ferry,
There are two ferry companies that run back and forth between Cozumel and Playa del Carmen - Ultramar and
Winjet. They run every hour and the trip over to Playa del Carmen takes about 45 minutes. The fare was $15 each way.
Currently their schedule between the two is rather confusing and Ultramar and Winjet won't accept each other's tickets so what I'd recommend is purchasing a one way ticket on one of them and buy your return trip in Playa del Carmen so you're sure to catch one of the ferries. Some run a half hour later at night than others.
The Cozumel ferry terminal is located right in downtown Cozumel, at the extension of Av. Lic. Benito Juarez, across from Palmeras Restaurant. You can walk there from downtown San Miguel.
In Playa del Carmen the ferry terminal is located right in downtown Playa del Carmen, about a block and a half from the main square and Plaza Playacar, where most of the tour pickups take place.
For dinner try the Palmeras Restaurant buffet in the Barceló Maya Grand Resort. $$
Carr. Cancún, Barcelo Maya Tropical, 77750 Playa del Carmen
SUNSET DINNER ON THE BEACH
We spent the next day by the pool but that evening used more of our resort credit to have a gourmet, chef prepared dinner on the beach at sunset.
Our 5 course dinner was beyond phenomenal. So was the sunset.
Believe it or not, dinner was topped off with an Irish coffee that our server hand made at our table. It was the best Irish coffee I've ever had and the perfect end to our meal.
DOLPHINARUS
Our last day in Cozumel was my birthday. I'd booked something special for my niece and I to attend - a swim with dolphins. No one at Dolphinarus knew it was my birthday until a good hour into our swim.
Before leaving for Cozumel, a psychic friend of mine had told me "The dolphins know you're coming and are excited to see you.
Mamas will bring their babies to you and while you're in the pool with them they will perform healing on you." I'd told Ruthie about this prediction, leaving out the part about them performing healing on us.
Normally these swims last one hour and there are 10 other guests in the pool with you. When we arrived at Dolphinarus, our guide took us to a pool they normally never allowed guests to swim in - the nursery pool.
Nor did we have the typical one hour swim with other people. We were the only two in the nursery pool and we were allowed to swim with the dolphins for two hours. No one at Dolphinarus ever explained to us why they did this. They did not know it was my birthday so it had nothing to do with that.
But my psychic friend's prediction was correct. Mamas did bring their babies to me:
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Electra bringing her baby Achille to me
While giving Electra tummy rubs, she smiled and chattered away the entire time. Her caregiver told me he'd never seen her do that with any other guest before, nor even with him.
I'd like to address all of the animal activists who are likely up in arms about these dolphins being in captivity. It's illegal in Mexico now for establishments to keep dolphins for entertainment purposes. Dolpinarus is a rehab facility. It takes in wounded and sick dolphins, rehabilitates them and releases them back into the wild whenever possible. There are some that can never be re-released into the wild due to severity of their injuries and these are the dolphins Dolphinarus keeps to prevent them from dying in the wild were they to be released into the wild again.
I was paired with dolphins in a military program called Project Seagate because I am telepathic with animals.
So I got to know dolphins pretty well and as a scuba diver outside of the Seagate program. Dolphins are very sociable creatures so they don't mind interaction with humans at the least. In fact, more and more marine creatures are increasingly coming to divers for help if they have fishing net wrapped around them or a fishing hook stuck in them. And not just dolphins...whales and sharks are doing this too.
A wild dolphin should logically not be able to understand a human waving his arm/hand in a "come here" motion - and yet the dolphin did, swam over to the diver and even rolled on its side to help the diver in removing the hook and fishing line.
And as I said, it's not just dolphins doing this...
We have to stop confusing opinion with fact if we are to best protect earth's dolphin population. The fact is dolphins are far more intelligent than humans are. Nor do they see 'performing tricks' as any kind of abuse. Just like us, they need social interaction (which is why they travel in pods) and recreation. Note the video below:
No one made the wild dolphin follower its rescuer back to his dock. No one made the dolphin bring his rescuer a sea cucumber as a thank you...nor the basketball the dolphin wanted to play with, with his rescuer. Dolphins are playful by nature so we can't assume them 'performing tricks' is abusive to them. We can't apply our human thinking to dolphins. A dolphin thinks like a dolphin!
Dolphins don't see performing tricks as any kind of abuse. They see it as playtime. Also, dolphins in the wild swim hundreds of miles per day...so those tricks serve as needed exercise for a dolphin in captivity.
We have to strike a compromise if we are to protect those dolphins that wouldn't survive in the wild and give them a safe place to live out their lives. Rehab facilities have very strict standards they must meet to keep those dolphins in captivity - and Dolphinarus exceeded those standards. Better they're in captivity than released back into the ocean to die.
No, dolphins in the wild should NOT be captured for our entertainment or financial profit. They are wild creatures that belong in the wild. Except when they were too injured to safely be released back into the wild.