Destinations / Cozumel, Mexico

Known by the Maya as the home of the Goddess of Fertility, Ixchel, Cozumel has long been viewed as a place of romance and love.

On the island, honeymooners can enjoy moonlight walks on secluded, white-sand beaches, swims through crystal-clear blue waters and romantic candlelight dinners by the sea.

Adventure-seeking couples can learn to dive or golf together, explore ancient Maya ruins, take ATV or horseback riding tours through the island's dense jungle, and discover Cozumel underwater, with its world-famous kaleidoscope reefs and vibrant marine life.

Cozumel makes it easy for brides to plan their perfect island wedding. Cozumel's rich, warm and colorful culture, with its blend of Mexican and Maya tradition and Caribbean style, will add a unique touch to your wedding day celebration.

LOCATION :

Northeast end of the Yucatan Peninsula

LANGUAGE :

Spanish (English is widely spoken)

CURRENCY :

Mexican Peso (U.S. dollars are widely accepted)

TIPPING :

15% gratuity is usually added to any meal. 10-15% is standard rate for services like taxis, maids and bellhops.

ELECTRICITY :

120 V/60 cycles, the same as in the United States

HIGHLIGHTS

• Drift diving anywhere, anytime, any place
• Swaying to impromptu Sunday-night serenades in Cozumel's central plaza
• Haggling over handmade silver in the marketplace

OVERVIEW
Since Jacques Cousteau launched Cozumel onto the scuba scene in the early 1960s, it's been a perennial favorite for North American bubble blowers. A continuous flowing current keeps the reefs healthy and the visibility consistently more than 100 feet. It also means that drift diving is the usual mode of operation for dive companies. Practiced captains drop divers over well-known spots and then pick them up at the end of the dive, sometimes as far as a mile away.

Aside from divers, Cozumel has long drawn on the cruise ships for its tourist dollars and a new cruise pier will only help in this regard. But the island is developing into a full fledged tourist destination with the addition of the 18-hole golf course at the Cozumel Country Club and the planned commercial and residential expansion that is to surround it.

Outside of the hotels, San Miguel - Cozumel's only town - is almost the only place to find a restaurant, bar, banks or shopping. It's also where you'll find the Museo de la Isla de Cozumel, which occupies the building that was Cozumel's original hotel.

The shops along waterfront Avenida Rafael Melgar bustles with cruisers when the ships port in - sometimes 2-3 at a time. Plaza Del Sol, the town's main square, boarders Melgar and is a popular spot for strolling, hanging out and people-watching, especially on Sunday evenings when all of the locals seem to be out, soaking up the atmosphere.

The island's other big attraction is Chankanaab Park, a combination beach club, eco-park and wildlife reserve. Here you can snorkel offshore, walk through gardens or swim with dolphins.

GEOGRAPHY

Topography: The island, 28 miles long and 11 miles wide, is 12 miles from the east coast of the Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Most of the terrain is flat, undisturbed jungle scrub. The windward side beaches are rocky and the water can be rough. The western leeward side is where most all of the development is and were all of the diving takes place.

Climate: Cozumel averages 80º F year-round. January can sometimes see temperatures dip to 65º F, and it can soar to 100º F in May and June. Rainfall is rare.

HISTORY
The Maya used to make annual pilgrimages to Cozumel to worship Ixchel, the goddess of fertility. Despite their best efforts, however, their numbers dwindled. In the 1500s, Spain conquered Mexico and the ensuing settlers mixed with the Maya people. Their descendants are known as mestizos. In 1821, Mexico achieved independence.

Cozumel was uninhabited for many years before it gain prominence as a transshipment point for chicle, the rubbery basis for chewing gum, which was harvested from Mexico's sapodilla trees at the turn of the 20th century.

Jacques Cousteau's 1961 documentary about the prolific reefs just offshore vaulted Cozumel in the public conscience and soon after, divers began making their pilgrimages, making it a mecca for the scuba set.

WEBSITE :

www.islacozumel.com.mx

TOURIST INFORMATION :

52987-872-7585

POLITICAL STATUS :

Federal Republic

TAXES :

US $17 departure tax. Hotel rates are subject to 15% VAT (Value Added Tax). This, and an additional room tax of around 2%, is usually added to the bill at the end.

AREA CODE :

011+52(Mexico)+98(Cancun area)

TIME :

Central Standard Time

DOCUMENTS :

All visitors to Mexico are issued a tourist card upon entering the country. You must have a passport or birth certificate along with a photo I.D. to prove your nationality; a driver's license alone will not suffice. Guard your tourist card carefully, as it can be very hard to replace and needs to be presented upon departure.

POPULATION :

55,000

AVERAGE WATER TEMPERATURE :

82 degrees F

AVERAGE VISIBILITY :

30-50 meters

TYPES OF DIVING :

Shore, Boat, Live aboard

BEST TIME TO DIVE :

The best time to go is in November and early December which falls between the humid and crowded summer months and the winter tourist rush.

WHAT TO WEAR :

Water temperature varies very little between the winter and summer months in Cozumel. It is warm and you may, on shallower dives, use a skin. For deeper dives a 1.6mm three-quarter suit should suffice.

DIVES NOT TO MISS :

The Palancar reef is one of the best reef dives in Cozumel with an incredible display of coral forms, caves and canyons with visibility up to 230 feet. It is at the outer edge of the continental shelf forming the deep-water channel between Cozumel and the Yucatan mainland and sits in about 80 feet of water. The northern end, Palancer Gardens, offers a shallower dive . The reef sits almost a mile offshore so you will need to book a day cruise or charter a boat to reach it.