Cozumel Island, Mexico - Travel Guide

Serving as a stop for the Caribbean cruises by several cruise lines such as Carnival, Celebrity, Disney, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, Pullmantur and Royal Caribbean, Cozumel is an important tourist island in the Caribbean Sea to the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen and close to the Yucatan Channel. The island’s main town is called San Miguel del Cozumel. It is a popular tourist attraction renowned for its balnearios, snorkeling and scuba diving.

If you want to get to the island you have to choose between traveling either by air or by water. There is an international airport which receives direct flights from several cities in the United States of America and Mexico such as Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Halifax, Charlotte, Miami, Toronto, Minneapolis and Mexico City. You can also fly into Cancun then travel by road to Playa del Carmen and take the ferry across to Cozumel. 

Tourists traveling by water can take either a ferry from Mexico main land or come by cruise ship as many cruise ships make stop over at the island. 

There are many well furnished and high quality service hotels, hostels, beach resorts lodges and villas on the island. Some of the most notable accommodation facilities you might consider paying a visit includes Hotel Las Anclas, Beach house Hostel Cozumel and El Cid La Ceiba Beach Hotel.

You can not wind up your visit to the island without paying a visit to the Museum of the Island of Cozumel located in downtown San Miguel and which has two floors of exhibits. Come to the museum fresh and learn about the history, environment, animals and culture of the island there is also a restraint on the second floor which serves breakfast and offers views of the Caribbean Sea.

Another notable tourist attraction on the island is the San Gervasio Mayan Ruins which once served as a religious center that was a shrine to the goddess Ixchel. The San Gervasio Mayan Ruins are located 11 miles from San Miguel de Cozumel. Visitors to the shrine can see fragments of the temple and sculptures on the ancient Mayan archaeological site, as well as the ruins of nine buildings connected by three roads. There is also a bookshop selling guide books, maps and snacks to visitors. 

If you love to have fun on water visit Punta Sur Ecological Park which offers boat trips through the lagoons and snorkeling excursions. You could also visit the Punta Sur Light House, a historic lighthouse open to the public. You could climb up to the top of the lighthouse to enjoy panoramic views of the beach, sand dunes and lagoons. Then take a tour through the maritime museum on-site to see artifacts and original photographs of the area. 

Discover Mexico is a cultural theme park famed for retelling the history and culture of Mexico in the three ages; pre-Hispanic, Colonial and modern times. Tourists take a stroll through the park to and marvel at replicas of famous sites, ruins and colonial buildings. You can also learn more by watching video documentaries in a state-of-the-art theater within the park. 

Another way of enhancing you holiday enjoyment on the Cozumel island is to explore the nature reserve at the Faro Celarain Eco Park. Near by there is a museum worth visiting to learn more about the ecosystem of the island of Cozumel.