ScubaGirl

For Divers: Cozumel has some of the best scuba diving north of the equator – shop around the different dive operations for the best deal however also bear in mind that the more well known shops have more reliable gear and dive masters. I went with a shop called Deep Blue and did a total of 8 dives (my dive instructor’s name was Alesandro called Sandro) and I highly reccommend them. In Mexico, the position of Dive master is reserved for its citizens so while the dive shop may be Foreign owned, your dive master will be native – USETHISADVANTAGE. I found the BEST restaurants and pubs where the patrons are largely locals, the prices are swell, and the food is out of this world.

For non-divers: if you are only in Cozumel for a short spell, I’d suggest catching a taxi and going inland a mile or two.

(the walk is great if you have the time and a map or friend who

can walk you past some of the market places along the way.)

There are fantastic restaurants and shopping in land a bit

off the tourist beaten track and you get a much better feel for

some of the culture in these areas as well.

For everyone: the beaches to go to are going to be either South (along many of the larger hotels) or just a few miles north of the main port in Cozumel. I wouldn’t reccomend going to the other side of the island unless you have more time or aren’t looking to swim – the water is less calm over there though there are a few FANTASTIC pubs and taquires. I highly reccommend some type of a local guide if going to this part (I hired a pair of American guides who drove me around- In a jeep- and stopped at all of the local attractions – allowing me to call the time allocated to each – for 100$ and they history lesson alone was worth twice that. Also it’s a man and woman team english speaking operation so I could feel at ease and really soak in the information at the same time.)

The local square/piazza/plazza area has some festivals and music every weekend during the spring which isn’t necessarily publiblicized so be sure to ask if there is any special event in the town square at your hotel or local restaurant when grabbing a bite (why is it waiters always know the scoop on EVERYTHING?)