| Overview of Cozumel In Mexico | | | | most ships depart at dinnertime,the evenings are |
| | | | actually very quiet. The only tourists left atnight tend to |
| The island of Cozumel is only 12 miles (19 km) off the | | | | be the scuba divers staying in Cozumel. |
| Mexican | | | | Most of the hotels and resorts are south of San Miguel |
| Yucatan Peninsula's east coast and 44 miles (71 km) | | | | and arenot within walking distance. However, there are |
| south of | | | | numerous whitetaxicabs that are readily available. The |
| Cancun. For years, Cozumel was a quiet sleepy island | | | | larger and moreluxurious resorts tend to be even |
| that didn'tget many visitors until Jacques Cousteau did | | | | further south of town along thesouthwestern shores. |
| a documentary on itafter discovering the world class | | | | This is actually not surprising since mostof the best |
| scuba diving at the Palancar | | | | scuba diving sites are southwest of the island. Aneasy |
| Reefs nearby. Since 1961, Cozumel has been known | | | | way to see the 33 mile (53 km) by 9 mile (14 km) |
| as one of thebest scuba diving destinations in the | | | | island isby renting a scooter or a 4x4. I once rented a |
| world. In fact for decadessince that time, the only | | | | scooter andzigzagged along most of San Miguel's |
| tourists visiting the island have beenprimarily scuba | | | | streets to see theneighborhoods. Then I went on the |
| divers. Mainstream tourists went to the resortintensive | | | | main road leaving town and wentsouth. After passing |
| Cancun in the mainland instead. However, Cozumel | | | | by the larger resorts and going around thesouthern tip |
| becamea regular cruise ship port of call in recent | | | | of the island, I found the beaches along |
| years and today itis one of the busiest with two | | | | thesoutheastern shores. The shores near San Miguel |
| separate terminals. It is commonto have five or even | | | | along the crowdedwest coast are not known for |
| six different cruise ships at port on anygiven day. I've | | | | beaches but the southeast part herehave some really |
| been to Cozumel twice, the first time stayingseveral | | | | spectacular ones. Even better is that there isvery little |
| days on a scuba diving vacation and the second time | | | | traffic here so the beaches are pretty quiet. |
| for aday via cruise ship (also scuba dived during my | | | | Sometimes people can park their scooters and enjoy |
| second visit). | | | | a beach allfor themselves. There are a few stops with |
| As a result of the cruise ship boom, there has been | | | | refreshments and moresouvenirs at prices even better |
| lots ofretail development along the main waterfront | | | | than in San Miguel. Aftertraveling north again, there is a |
| road of Avenida | | | | road about halfway up theisland that goes across and |
| Rafael Melgar in the island's only town of San Miguel | | | | takes you back to San Miguel enteringthe town's east |
| de Cozumel. | | | | side. My scooter tour of the island took justover 2 |
| There are countless jewelry and t-shirt shops most | | | | hours and cost $25 US for the rental. Cozumel has |
| with staffstanding in the entrances enticing visitors to | | | | severalancient Mayan ruins but they are not nearly as |
| enter theirstores. Both silver and liquor can be good | | | | large orspectacular as the ones on the mainland. After |
| bargains here. Thereare also some nice Mexican | | | | seeing some photosof them in advance of my trip, I |
| crafts shops too. The one problem thatwe found was | | | | didn't even bother to see theruins. |
| that after about 4 jewelry shops, they all startedto | | | | Cozumel is a nice port of call for cruise ships as there |
| look the same. It was almost a retail overload. For | | | | are manyshopping opportunities. Passengers who |
| those whocame for a wilder time, there are some | | | | scuba dive or snorkel caneasily book directly with the |
| bars such as Carlos 'n' | | | | many dive shops in San Miguelwithout going through |
| Charlie. The town's main outdoor square, Plaza del Sol, | | | | their cruise ships which will cost muchmore. For cruise |
| is justopposite the main ferry dock to the mainland. | | | | ship tourists who do not intend to do any watersports |
| There are usuallystreet vendors and artists in the | | | | and have some time after shopping, it is |
| Plaza as well local entertainmentduring some evenings. | | | | highlyrecommended to rent a scooter or 4x4 to tour |
| The artists do some amazing artwork with spraypaints | | | | the island. This isalso a nice way to spend the last day |
| and their prices are very reasonable. San Miguel's | | | | of a scuba dive vacation in |
| maintourist area can be very busy during the day | | | | Cozumel. |
| when the cruise shippassengers are in town but since | | | | |