Cozumel is the biggest Mexican Caribbean island situated off the eastern coast of Mexico, 19 km from Playa del Carmen.
The island relies mainly on tourism and it is famous for its amazing snorkeling places. However, there are more things to see on this amazing island. In this article, we’ll tell you how we’ve made the best out of Cozumel in only two days.
The island is best for you if you want to escape the noise and crowds of the other towns in Riviera Maya. It is a very safe island where you can go and relax. Cozumel is not a party island, so if that’s what you’re looking for, maybe it’s better to stick to Cancun or Playa del Carmen.
How to get to Cozumel
You can get to Cozumel from Playa del Carmen. There are two ferry companies, Winjet and Ultramar, each working on a different day of the week. Prices for a one-way adult ticket are about 250 pesos (~12 USD). The trip is about 45 minutes long and it’s best to buy your ticket at the ferry dock in downtown Playa.
You can also fly into Cozumel’s International Airport if you are coming from abroad.
Getting around Cozumel
The island is 54 by 17 km in size, so the easiest for us was to rent a car. However, there are many scooter and ATV rental places that you can use. Prices for a car depend on type and season, we paid 35 USD per car per day. You can find the best car rentals in Cozumel here.
Day 1 in Cozumel
We spent a full day enjoying the main attraction of Cozumel, snorkeling. The island is one of the best in the world for snorkeling and diving, Jacques Cousteau said so himself.
It’s best to snorkel at beaches that are not sandy, as the sand makes the water less clear. Rocky beaches on the West coast of the island are the best for exploring the underwater world.
Best beaches for snorkeling
El Cielo.
This beach can only be accessed by boat, it is about 2 km away from the shore. However, here you’ll find starfish, stingrays and all kinds of rainbow-colored sea life!
Palancar Beach.
This beach is situated on the southern part of the island and is well-known for all the species of fish, sharks and turtles. You can access it by boat or by car.
The Money Bar beach club.
This is one of the closest spots from San Miguel, the main city of Cozumel. In order to swim here you have to buy something from the Money Bar beach club, but there is no entrance fee. We got some appetizers and beers and spent the entire afternoon here. The fish are so varied and beautifully colored.
Dzul-Ha
Another popular and (this time) sandy beach option for snorkeling is Dzul-Ha. Here you can explore colorful coral reefs, parrot fish, spiny lobsters and green moray eels.
Columbia Reef.
Columbia Reef is only accessible by boat operators. However, you can opt for a tour of El Cielo, Palancar and Columbia to do on the same day. They each have its own beauty. Columbia is well known for hawksbill turtles and barracudas.
Day 2 in Cozumel
We used our second day on the island to explore the main city, San Miguel de Allende, but also for other activities.
San Miguel De Allende
The capital of the island is a very cozy, colorful town. There are plenty of places to eat and lots of shops with different artisanal items for sale. The main square is lovely to walk around, it has a park in the middle, and it is full of colonial-style, colored buildings.
Tequila tasting tour
Although there are a lot of places in Mexico where you can do a tequila tasting, we tried it here for the first time. We found a free tequila tour on our way to the east coast of the island, at Hacienda Antigua. We’re not big fans of tequila, but we had such a great experience! We learned a lot about how tequila is made, and how an authentic tequila should taste like. We totally recommend going on a tequila tour, it will brighten your day for sure!
The east coast beaches
We drove to explore the eastern coast of the island, and we were really impressed. You will find dreamy, white-sand beaches with turquoise waters all over the coast. However, you have to be very careful as the currents here can be very strong. Make sure you pay attention to the signs for swimming on the beaches.
Our favorite place was Punta Morena, which is a favorite among locals for its fresh seafood. It is a lovely, colorful beach club and restaurant. It was so relaxing to spend a few hours here!
Enjoy the Mexican cuisine
We have found a great little place that serves authentic and really cheap food, named Fonda Don Jose. We tried their guacamole, tortas and tacos. One torta – a pretty large sandwich filled with anything you want is only 35 pesos (~1.7 USD)! Honestly, it was the most delicious authentic food we tried in Mexico.
Witness the sunset
Cozumel is also a great place to see the sunrise, on the east coast, or the sunset, on the west coast. We have seen a beautiful sunset from La Monina. We went to this beach club and restaurant, where we had some amazing margaritas and a delicious chicharron de queso (crispy cheese) with guacamole.
Conclusion
In this article we detailed the highlights of our two days in Cozumel. As this is an island for relaxation, we tried to really enjoy this amazing place instead of packing too many things into our trip. We really enjoyed our trip and we hope you will too!
Have you been to Cozumel yet? Let us know in the comments below how you spent your time on this spectacular island.
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