Hi Everyone, I am going to Cozumel for my first trip to Mexico ever. I was wondering what cool things you have seen and done there. I plan to go snorkeling on one of the tours. I am going to pass on kite surfing and my wife and I are a little scared of real scuba diving. Maybe after snorkeling again we can build up the mental strength to go. Anyhow, are there any cool tours, beaches, restaurants, bars that are must sees. Our hotel is on the beach so that is a plus. I heard a lot of people take the ferry to Playa Del Carmen. What do you do there besides the beach? Are there any ruins near by? Thanks.
I haven't been in several years, so some of my info may be outdated. Cozumel is all about the diving/snorkeling. Take a guided trip. You can also go to a park called Chankanab and snorkel there. On the open ocean side of the island, you can find some nice bars/resturants that are not overly full. On Cozumel itself, there is a few ruins, but nothing impressive. You should visit Tulum or Chitzen Itza while you are there. Coba is also close, but there is some hard walking involved. Have fun!
Cozumel was a port on a cruise I went on last March. The island still has some damage from the Hurricane that hit there. I went over to a beach on the west side of the island. It was beautiful. I'd do the snorkling thing too, if i were you.
Just came back less than a week ago from a cruise that stopped in Cozumel. had a blast! I recommend using one of those tour groups like you suggested. We found one that charged you $15/person to go to a private beach (i think it was something like playa palanque) and your guide chills until you are ready to leave. free snorkeling is included with that (i was a little skeptical when i found out you had to blow up your own life jacket...but it was fun), as is a nice restaurant and shower places/restrooms. the beach is lovely and there aren't many people there. oh, and $15 was the price he was charging us, but you can easily negotiate with them to bring the price down...as i did. speaking of negotiating, keep in mind the majority of the places will go lower if you haggle a bit. they already have the price hiked up, and the more "touristy" you look the more they'll try to get out of you. one more not about purchasing: mostly all businesses take US dollars. in fact, i'd suggest NOT converting into pesos because believe it or not, some places prefer and only take US dollars. if you're at the marketplace, stay away from the businesses near the coast if you're looking for better deals. i made the mistake of buying a few things when i first saw them, and regretted my actions when i went deeper in and found the same items to be much cheaper. as for playa del carmen...i didn't go...but only because i was told it was very popular and that too many people were there. hope that helps!
We rented a house there in November. There is a lot to do depending on your interests. It probably depends on if you are just there for a cruise stop or if you are staying on the island. Snorkeling is great. Some of the snorkeling trips take over and hour to get to the reefs. It depends on the size of the boat. My wife and I spent one day shopping in San Miguel. There are tons of shops, but the prices can be a little high. Especially if there are a lot of cruise ships docked. We waited til late in the day to buy and the shops got a little more flexible on their prices. In San Miguel there are some good bars, clubs, and restaurants, but it is pretty touristy. On the other side of the island there are some good beach bars out in the middle of nowhere. We went to Bob Marley's bar. Its basically a hut right on the beach with tables and hammocks. They don't have any electricity so the sound system is wired up to a car battery! Its way laid back. If you decide to rent a moped be extremely careful. The cabs/locals will run you over. They also have jeeps and dune buggies for rent. Playa has nice beaches and its worth the ferry ride over to shop and spend time on the beach. Also, just about every place you go takes dollars. We didn't exchange any money while we were there. My wife was the only one in the group that knows spanish fluently, but most people in Cozumel speak some English so its really not a problem. Hope some of this helps.
