Things to do in Cozumel
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Cozumel
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry high season, best weather and clearest water, peak prices and cruise traffic, nortes can close the port.
Hotter, humid, first rains, crowds thin after Easter and prices soften, turtle nesting begins.
Rainy hurricane season, wettest September to October, lowest prices and emptiest reefs, insure and stay flexible.
Late November is a best month plainly, post hurricane and pre peak, with Ironman energy if timed right.
What's on
- Carnaval February to early March, pre-Lent
One of Mexico oldest Carnivals, with parades, costumes, concerts and plaza parties. Book well ahead.
- El Cedral Festival late April to early May
Traditional village fiesta in the south with music, horse racing, rodeo and food.
- Sacred Maya Journey May
Re enacted canoe crossing to Cozumel to honour Ixchel, arriving at Chankanaab.
- International Billfish Tournament May
Fishing tournament feeding off the spring billfish run in the Cozumel Channel.
- Ironman 70.3 Cozumel late September
World class race that fills the island and closes the perimeter road on race day.
- Independence Day 15-16 September
The Grito, fireworks and street food at the municipal palace.
- Día de Muertos 1-2 November
Altars, Catrina parades and cemetery traditions in the run up to dry season.
- Ironman Cozumel late November
Full Ironman race that sells out central hotels and closes the perimeter road.
- Virgin of Guadalupe 12 December
Processions island wide.
- Sunday Plaza Fiesta Sunday nights, weekly
Live music, dancing and food stalls in Plaza Benito Juarez every week of the year.
Best things to do in Cozumel
Palancar Reef
Coral pinnacles, swim throughs, turtles and rays, with sites for snorkellers and certified divers alike.
Playa El Cielo
Waist deep clear water over white sand with starfish and rays, best on the earliest boat on a quiet day.
Playa El Cielito
Shallow beach stop by El Cielo where boats serve ceviche in the shallows and rays glide through.
Malecón de Cozumel
The free waterfront walk at golden hour, past coral and Maya monuments from the ferry pier south.
Plaza Benito Juárez
The town plaza for ice cream, marquesitas carts and the resident Sunday night fiesta with live music.
Museo de la Isla de Cozumel
Island museum in a former waterfront hotel covering reef ecology, Maya Cozumel and diving history.
San Gervasio Mayan Archaeological Site
Shady jungle ruins of the Ixchel pilgrimage centre, atmospheric and uncrowded rather than monumental.
Chankanaab Beach Adventure Park
Managed beach park with a protected snorkel lagoon, reef wall, gardens and a Maya replica village.
Where to stay in Cozumel
San Miguel Centro and Corpus Christi
first trip, all-round base
Only real town, with ferry, plaza, restaurants and dive piers walkable and prices dropping inland.
North Hotel Zone
quiet, couples, beach at the door
Calmer shore, boutique and upscale hotels and wind sports, a short taxi from town with little walkable dining.
South Hotel Zone and Costera Sur
dive resorts and all-inclusives
Reefs and house piers closest, but total taxi dependence for town and resort food unless you travel.
Think twice about
- East coast
No real hotels or services after dark, intermittent power and water, and a sea with rip currents that kills swimmers.
- Cruise-pier strips, Puerta Maya and International Pier
Purpose built shopping village with duty free, chain bars and inflated prices, and no town life or local restaurants.
Best restaurants in Cozumel
Buccanos at Night
By night the beach club terrace becomes the island most praised special occasion seafood restaurant.
Shii Fu
Sister Asian spot next to Buccanos with the same service praise, the backup when Buccanos is full.
Kondesa
Garden fine dining with lionfish cakes, lobster ravioli and serious cocktails under trees.
Kinta Mexican Bistro
Quiet art filled dining room for elevated Mexican cooking, the food nerd sibling of Kondesa.
Guido's Restaurant
Waterfront institution since the 1970s for wood fired pizza, lasagna, garlic bread and sangria.
La Cocay
Mediterranean Caribbean plates in a garden near Corpus Christi church, a resident second night pick.
Azul Maguey
Newer local favourite for traditional Mexican done carefully, at neighbourhood restaurant prices.
Casa Denis
Cozumel oldest restaurant, since 1945, for cochinita pibil, sopa de lima and banana margaritas.
Outdoor things to do in Cozumel
Aldora Divers
Premium small boat valet diving with steel tanks, long bottom times and sites chosen for the group.
Scuba Life Cozumel
Top rated small operator for two tank morning dives on walls, passes and reef sites.
ScubaTony
Highly rated small boat dive operator anchoring the review charts for Cozumel diving.
Dive With Martin
The budget benchmark among resident divers, with multi day pricing well below premium valet boats.
Punta Sur Eco Beach Park
Protected reserve with a lighthouse, lagoon boat for crocodiles, a Maya ruin and a calm west beach.
Jade Cavern
Cave cenote with green lit freshwater under bats and stalactites, reached on buggy, ATV or Jeep loops.
Deep-Sea Fishing in the Cozumel Channel
Lines in within 20 minutes for mahi and wahoo year round and billfish in spring and early summer.
Kitesurfing and Windsurfing, North Shore
Trade wind shore for kitesurf, windsurf and paddleboard lessons and rental, strongest in winter nortes.
Best hotels in Cozumel
Casa Mexicana
Divers town hotel a block from the waterfront, with a breakfast buffet forums praise for years.
Hotel Plaza Cozumel
Honest cheap tier town hotel with high value ratings a few blocks from the plaza.
Suites Bahía
Cheap central suites in the same honest town tier as Plaza Cozumel and Barracuda.
Hotel Barracuda
No frills diver crash pad on the waterfront, with a dive shop downstairs and a ladder into the sea.
Villa Deja Blue
Quiet central villa hotel with full kitchens, popular with divers and Ironman athletes.
Hostel Tropico 20
Centro backpacker hostel with dorms and privates, walkable to ferry, plaza and cheap eateries.
Amigos Hostel Cozumel
Social Centro hostel marketed on walkability for solo travellers on a budget.
Presidente InterContinental Cozumel Resort & Spa
The island consensus luxury hotel for decades, in palms on a prime snorkelling beach near town.
Is Cozumel expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | MX$1,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | MX$3,000 a person |
| Splurge | MX$7,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Palancar Reef: a few days ahead
- Playa El Cielo: a few days ahead
- Playa El Cielito: a few days ahead
- Cozumel Pearl Farm: a few days ahead
- Isla Pasión: a few days ahead
- Aldora Divers: weeks ahead
- Scuba Life Cozumel: weeks ahead
- ScubaTony: weeks ahead
- Small dive boats sell out in high season and in Ironman and Carnival weeks. Book dives before hotels if diving is the trip.
- Pick the lightest cruise ship day for El Cielo, Chankanaab and beach clubs, and take the earliest El Cielo sailing.
- Kondesa, Buccanos at Night and Kinta need dinner reservations in season. Pearl Farm needs days ahead, always.
Is Cozumel safe?
- Do not swim the east coast outside Chen Rio protected lagoon. Rip currents and no lifeguards are the lethal risk.
- Do not rent a scooter. Scooters plus unfamiliar roads, sand and drinks produce the island grim injury statistics.
- No conventional sunscreen in the marine park, no touching reef, and no flying for 18 to 24 hours after your last dive.
Cozumel travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Airport and ferry timeshare sellers pose as tourist information or transport helpers. Your transfer is at the booth or outside.
- Pier and Puerta Maya jewellery and tequila pricing runs far above town. Buy in Centro if at all.
- Cruise excursions for snorkelling and diving cost 30 to 50 percent more than the same boat booked locally, with larger groups.
Getting around Cozumel: public transport and more
- No Uber or rideshare. Taxis use fixed zone fares with no meters, so confirm the total before you get in and carry small peso bills.
- Ferry to Playa del Carmen takes about 45 minutes and runs roughly hourly. Protect the last sailings and buffer Cancun flights.
- Walking and bicycles cover Centro happily. Rent a car for the east coast and Punta Sur day, with full insurance.
Who Cozumel suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Cozumel your trip
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