So you want to go to Cozumel… Well, here is a breakdown of what we have learned in our two trips to this beautiful island off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
What time of year we went: Early November
Our first trip was in the last bits of October through mid-November. Our second trip was in early November. Both of these trips landed in the middle of their wet season, but since the island is right in the middle of the Caribbean Sea the weather stays fairly consistent year round. On both trips we had mostly sunny days with a few days of rain. Their wettest months are October and November; the prime tourist time starts in December and runs until about April.
An additional word on timing… make sure to do some research on any large events the island is hosting both during and around the time you are considering going. Cozumel is known to host Ironman athletic competitions and other cycling events. When these events go on, the whole island shuts down and r
ooms become hard to find due the lack of supply with a high demand.
Where we stayed: Cozumel Palace
Both of our trips to the island were true vacations from the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, so we opted for a turn-key vacation and stayed at the all-inclusive Cozumel Palace. The Cozumel Palace is part of the Palace Resort family and our booking was a complete package with some nice extras. We utilized our Costco membership to book these trips. We booked through Costco.com to get the best savings and boost our Costco CashBack! For our second trip, we upgraded to the concierge level. More about this in our full comprehensive review of the Cozumel Palace.
We have done most of our diving in Cozumel with the onsite dive shop, Aqua Safari, due to the resort credits included with our stay. Aqua Safari is a fairly standard, large dive operation for the island. We have more information about our experience with them in our review. Besides diving with Aqua Safari, we spent two days on the boat with Deep Blue and there will be more to come on them as well.
In addition to the diving, the Palace has a huge pool with a swim up bar, hourly activities, nightly entertainment, and a jacuzzi tub in every room. There is also free WiFi which is nice for the traveler who is on working vacation.
What we did: DIVE and other stuff
For both trips our primary activity was diving and we made sure to make the most of our trips. We logged twelve and thirteen dives on each of these trips, respectively. During our second trip we hit our maximum depth of 129 ft (39.3 m). The dive sites we visited were:
- Villa Blanca
- Paradise Reef
- Chankanaab Reef and Gardens
- Tormentos
- Yucab
- San Francisco Wall
- Santa Rosa Wall
- Paso del Cedral
- Palancar Gardens
- Palancar Caves
- Palancar Bricks
- Palancar Horseshoe
- Colombia Deep
- Punta Sur
All of Cozumel’s dive sites are magnificent and breathtaking, however there are some we enjoyed more than others. During the dives we did off the island, we saw a vast number of fish and invertebrates. Many of the other divers on the boats commented on the increasing number of lobster around the island.
Other things we did on the island were visiting the tourist hotspot of Chankanaab National Park to see the dolphins and snorkel, the chocolate tour at Stingray Beach, renting a car to see the other side of the island, walking around the city center, and visiting the Mayan ruins on the island. All of these activities were pretty fun and a great way to spend some time out of the water.
Cozumel Tips:
If you have been to other larger port cities in Mexico, Cozumel is not too much different other than the number of people is less since you are on an island. You still get the people trying to lure you into their stores in town and people selling random knick knacks at every place of interest. We have had people will try to sell us pictures with iguanas, individual spritzings of bug spray, tequila, Cuban cigars, leather goods, shells, Dia Del Los Muertos paraphernalia, silver jewelry, and the list goes on. The constant mumbling of “No Gracias” gets a little old after day two, but be aware.
Make sure to carry some Mexican pesos with you especially if you are going to be taking a taxi somewhere. The cab drivers will claim the exchange is much lower than it actually is and it is easier to just pay them in pesos because you get a better value for your money without the argument.
If you are going to rent a car, make your reservation early. It is an island and there are only so many cars on the island. We rented on through FishBone and had a fairly good experience. Also, watch the gas pump operators. They are known for not clearing the machine before pumping your gas and pocketing the difference.
Lastly, make sure to wear your sunscreen and bug spray!
Please let us know if you have any questions, we are happy to answer any we can. Thanks!!!
<3 B. and Meliae Quad
Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
