Updated October 2026
BootsnAll Scorecard
5.7 / 10
Cozumel scores well where it counts for divers and for anyone who reads a cruise schedule, and poorly on getting around, because there's no public transport beyond San Miguel and the cheap way to see the island is the riskiest one.
- Value
- 5.5
- Near the 5 anchor, since dorms start around US$11 and a Winjet crossing is M$310, but a two-tank dive runs US$118 to $130 before the M$225 park fee and Wikivoyage calls even cheap downtown tacos expensive for Mexico.
- Getting around
- 3.5
- Between the 2 and 5 anchors and closer to 2, because San Miguel is walkable and taxis charge regulated zone fares, but there's no public transit out of town, so the east coast, Punta Sur and San Gervasio mean a taxi, a rental car or a scooter.
- Crowds and timing
- 6
- A little above the 5 anchor, since December 2026 has 161 scheduled ship calls and up to eight on one day, but Wikivoyage finds Rasta Bar near Punta Sur uncrowded even with six ships in port, and Sundays get the fewest calls.
- Safety and hassle
- 6.5
- Between the 5 and 8 anchors, since Wikivoyage calls the streets safe, but dock touts push timeshare pitches and car rentals, scooters cause most visitor road accidents, and the UK names Cozumel among the resort areas where British travelers have been assaulted.
- Food and drink
- 6
- A step above the 5 anchor, because Yucatecan cooking at places like La Cocay and cheap breakfasts near the municipal market are there, but the waterfront is margaritas and tourist pricing, and you have to walk inland to eat well.
- Indie fit
- 6.5
- Between the 5 and 8 anchors, since small six-to-12-diver boats, a real town of 85,000 and an empty windward coast reward going alone, while the cruise piers funnel most visitors into packaged excursions.
Editorial scores, 1 to 10, against the same written anchors for every city. Half points allowed. The overall is the plain average of the six.
Overview and Things to Consider
Cozumel is Mexico's largest inhabited island, about 48 kilometers long and 16 wide, sitting 19 kilometers off the coast opposite Playa del Carmen. Nearly everyone lives in one town, San Miguel, home to 84,915 of the island's 88,626 people at the 2020 census. Two economies share that town. One is diving, built on reefs that run along the west and south coasts. The other is cruise ships, which brought 4.73 million passengers on 1,300 calls in 2025, a record.
You'll love Cozumel if you dive or want to learn, because the current along the west wall does most of the work and visibility often tops 100 feet. It also suits people who want a Mexican town that still works as a town once the ships sail in the late afternoon. You'll hate it if you came for long white beaches. The calm west side is mostly rocky, its sandy stretches have been turned into beach clubs that charge entry or expect you to buy food, and the east side's big surf and undertow make swimming dangerous. For sand, go to Playa del Carmen, Tulum or Isla Mujeres.
The 2026 moment is a split. Cruise numbers keep climbing, with 11 ships new to the island in 2025, among them Star of the Seas and MSC World America, and Royal Caribbean is building a Royal Beach Club on the west coast. Air traffic went the other way, dropping from 712,958 passengers at Cozumel's airport in 2024 to 646,606 in 2025. The island the stayover visitor gets is quieter than the one the ship passenger sees.
Overrated: Chankanaab, the island's most marketed park, at US$31 for a beach, a lagoon and a dolphin pen. Also overrated is the idea that the downtown waterfront along Avenida Rafael Melgar is the town. Walk inland and prices fall. Wikivoyage found tequila selling at the waterfront shops for about twice what a local grocery charges.
How Cozumel Got Here
Long before cruise lines, Cozumel was a pilgrimage port. More than 30 archaeological sites on the island show occupation from about 300 BCE, and from around 1250 CE it was a stop on the Maya canoe trade route that ran along the coast from Honduras to Campeche. Pilgrims came to honor Ixchel, goddess of the moon, childbirth and weaving, at shrines centered on San Gervasio, a cluster of six building groups joined by white raised roads called sacbes. Its name comes from the Maya Cuzamil, island of swallows, which is why there's a swallow on the municipal flag.
Spain arrived with Juan de Grijalva in 1518 and Hernan Cortes in 1519, who rescued Geronimo de Aguilar, a Spaniard held captive by the Maya, during his stop here. Smallpox came in 1520. As many as 10,000 Maya lived on the island early in the century, and by 1570 only 358 were left. Pirates and forced evacuations in 1650 and 1688 emptied it almost completely. Modern Cozumel began in 1848, when families fleeing the Caste War on the mainland settled here, and the government recognized San Miguel in 1849.
The tourism island is a 20th-century build. A wartime airstrip became a commercial airport, the current one was built in the late 1970s, and dive shops followed, with Dive Paradise operating since 1984. Mexico declared the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park in July 1996, the same decade a deepwater cruise pier was built across reefs that the island's coral restoration nonprofit is still repairing. Hurricanes Emily and Wilma both hit in 2005, Wilma crawling over the north end at about 5 mph, and the two storms cut live coral cover by 56 percent.
Getting There and Around
Cozumel International Airport (CZM) sits on the north edge of San Miguel, a few minutes from downtown. In 2026 it has year-round United service from Houston, American from Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami, Volaris and Aeromexico from Mexico City and Viva from Monterrey, WestJet from Montreal, plus seasonal flights from Atlanta, Minneapolis, Chicago, Charlotte, Denver, Toronto and Calgary, and Neos from Milan starting December 24, 2026. Inside the terminal, the only ground transport sold is the colectivo, shared vans on fixed routes from a kiosk outside baggage claim. Dive Paradise's arrival notes point out that a regular taxi is cheaper and faster, but you have to walk out to the street, to Airport Boulevard or Avenida 65, to catch one.
Most independent travelers come through Cancun International (CUN), which has far more flights. ADO buses leave the terminals for Playa del Carmen's Terminal Turistica on Fifth Avenue, about 250 pesos and roughly 50 minutes according to Dive Paradise's current travel notes, and Wikivoyage warns that the only ADO staff to deal with are the ones behind the ticket counter. Ultramar puts the ferry dock about 100 meters from that bus station. Winjet runs 14 crossings a day each way, roughly hourly from 8am to 10pm from Playa and 7am to 9pm from Cozumel. An adult one-way costs M$335 from Playa and M$310 back, and a round trip M$645. Ultramar runs the same route. Ultramar asks you to be at the terminal 30 minutes before departure, and Dive Paradise notes that schedules change when wind and waves are high.
Entry is visa-free for tourists from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, every EU country and Australia, for up to 180 days, though the officer decides how many days you actually get and writes or records it at the border. Canada's travel advice says air arrivals complete the digital migratory form, the FMMD, online, and you should keep a copy. The UK warns that you may be asked for an onward ticket, proof of accommodation and proof of funds. Quintana Roo charges its own visitor tax, Visitax, payable online before or during your stay, and the UK says you must show proof of payment at the airport when you leave.
On the island, there's no public transit out of town. San Miguel is small and flat enough to walk. Taxis are plentiful, take cash, charge regulated fares by zone with the tip built in, and accept dollars at a bad rate, so pay in pesos. Beyond town it's a rental car, a scooter or a taxi for the day. Wikivoyage's warning on scooters is blunt. Most traffic accidents involving visitors are on scooters, the potholes are unmarked, and many riders have been drinking. If you haven't ridden one before, rent a car.
What's Changed Since 2016
September 2019: the marine park started closing reefs on rotation. Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park responded to the spread of stony coral tissue loss disease by temporarily shutting selected dive sites to let them recover, and the program never stopped. Each month a few sites close. For October 2026, Blue Note Scuba lists San Francisco Reef and Santa Rosa Wall as off limits, so ask your shop which sites are open before you fixate on one.
January 2020: Cozumel began charging every visitor its own environmental fee, the Derecho de Saneamiento Ambiental, with cruise passengers added from November 1, 2020. It's 20 percent of Mexico's daily UMA reference unit per person on arrival by sea, which Winjet adds to its Playa departures as M$23.46 in 2026, and 70 percent of the UMA per room per night on lodging, which works out to about M$82. It comes on top of the state's Visitax.
2023 to 2024: Mexico named Cozumel a Pueblo Magico in 2023, a federal label recognizing its cultural and historical importance. On February 29, 2024, the Tren Maya opened its line from Cancun Airport to Playa del Carmen, and service later extended south toward Tulum and Bacalar. It gives Cozumel a rail link to Merida and Palenque, with one catch covered below, which is where Playa's station is.
2025: the cruise port broke its own record with 4.73 million passengers on 1,300 ships, up 2.3 percent from 2024, with 161 calls in January and 162 in December. A fourth cruise pier, planned over the Villa Blanca reef, met years of local protest, and Mexico's environment ministry denied it for good on February 26, 2026, though the developer filed a legal challenge in April 2026. Royal Caribbean, which announced a Royal Beach Club Cozumel in March 2024, filed an environmental statement for a 17.1-hectare site beside Playa Sol and Playa Mia, and a January 2026 report had it scheduled to open in 2026.
2024 to 2026: flights shrank while ships grew. Cozumel's airport handled 712,958 passengers in 2024 and 646,606 in 2025, and it fell three places in Mexico's airport ranking. The new arrival on the schedule is Neos, the Italian leisure carrier, flying seasonally from Milan from December 24, 2026.
What the Usual Advice Gets Wrong
"Take the new Tren Maya from Cancun Airport to the Cozumel ferry." Playa del Carmen's Tren Maya station is out on highway MEX 305D toward El Tintal, not downtown, so you'd need a taxi to the dock anyway. The ADO airport bus, about 250 pesos, drops you at the Terminal Turistica on Fifth Avenue, a short walk from the ferry. Use the train for Merida, Palenque or Bacalar.
"Buy a round-trip ferry ticket to save money." There's nothing to save. At Winjet in 2026, a one-way is M$335 from Playa and M$310 from Cozumel, exactly the M$645 round-trip price. Ultramar runs the same route, and the two companies don't honor each other's tickets, so two one-ways let you take whichever boat leaves first.
"Cozumel is a Caribbean beach island." It's a reef island. The sheltered west coast is mostly rough limestone, the sandy patches are beach clubs charging entry or expecting you to buy lunch, and the east coast's surf and undertow make swimming dangerous. Paradise Beach and Playa Palancar are pleasant. If sand is the point, base yourself in Playa del Carmen or Tulum and come over to dive.
"Rent a scooter. It's the cheap, easy way to see the island." It's cheap, but Wikivoyage reports that most traffic accidents involving visitors are on scooters, from unmarked potholes, unfamiliar traffic, no protection and riders who've been drinking. Unless you already ride, split a rental car with someone.
"The dive price is the dive price." Shops quote the boat. Blue Note's 2026 two-tank price of US$130 excludes the marine park fee of US$15 or M$220 per day, cash only, and adds US$20 to $25 for northern sites and Punta Sur. Dive Paradise collects M$225 at check-in. Blue Note suggests tipping the crew US$12 to $15 per tank on top.
"Cruise days ruin the island, so just avoid the whole cruise season." Read the schedule instead. CruiseMapper lists no cruise calls at all on Sundays in October 2026, and in December, the busiest month with 161 calls, its four Sundays get four calls in total while its Tuesdays and Wednesdays get 30 each.
Ideas to Consider for Your Visit
Have you thought about learning to drift dive here? Almost every Cozumel dive drops you in and lets the current carry you along the wall while the boat follows your bubbles. Blue Note Scuba suggests Paradise Reef at 30 to 40 feet and Yucab at 40 to 60 for an easy first day, then Palancar Gardens, Columbia and Paseo de Cedral as you warm up. Punta Sur's Devil's Throat, a tunnel entered at 80 feet and exited at 130, is for divers with at least 50 logged dives. Look out for the splendid toadfish, which lives nowhere else, and listen for its croak.
Spend a morning with the Cozumel Coral Reef Restoration Program. Dr. German Mendez founded it in 2017, and it has since built 29 nursery platforms and planted more than 10,000 coral fragments on the Villablanca reef, part of the damage left by the cruise pier. It runs snorkel and intro-dive visits to the nursery, and a two-day Coral Reef Conservation course with three dives costs MX$5,000.
Drive the windward side. The east coast is almost undeveloped, with surf, rocky points and small blowholes when the waves are up, and a beach restaurant every few kilometers. Coconuts Bar and Grill sits on a cliff at kilometer 43.5 of the coast road, and Rasta Bar near Punta Sur stays quiet even with six ships in port. Swim only where flags say it's safe. At the southern tip, Punta Sur Eco Beach Park charges US$25, Monday to Saturday from 9am, for the Celarain lighthouse, a tower above a crocodile lagoon and the small Maya building called El Caracol.
Go to San Gervasio at 8am, when it opens. Cozumel's main Maya site, the sanctuary to Ixchel, charges MX$231 at the gate and is open daily until 4pm. The ruins are modest next to Tulum or Coba, but the sacbes running off through low forest show how the pilgrimage town fit together, and at opening time you get the cooler hours. Bring repellent.
Eat inland. La Cocay, at Calle 8 Norte 208, cooks regional Yucatecan food from 4pm to 11pm. Dona Quela on Avenida 50 Sur, near the municipal market, serves breakfast and lunch for around M$150, run by a couple who worked in the US and can do a Grand Slam alongside the Mexican plates. El Morrito on Calle 6 Norte sells tacos for about US$1.25 apiece in a converted house. Finish at Cerveceria Punta Sur, the island's only microbrewery since 2017, at 10a Avenida Sur 229, where Wikivoyage says locals rave about the lionfish pizza.
Time a trip for a festival. Carnaval de Cozumel, which marked 150 years in 2024, fills San Miguel with parades and comparsa dance troupes in the days before Ash Wednesday, February 10 in 2027. At the end of April, the southern village of El Cedral holds the Festival of Santa Cruz, started by a Caste War survivor who brought a wooden cross here in 1848, with five days of fairs, rodeo and music. The Museo de la Isla, in one of the island's first hotels from the 1930s, has a room on Carnaval and costs US$11.
Use the ferry for a mainland day. Take an early Winjet to Playa and walk to the Terminal Turistica for ADO buses to the Tulum ruins, about an hour and M$122 as of December 2024. Ask for Tulum zona arqueologica rather than Tulum, or you may end up in town, and remember that the site closes at 3pm. Dive Paradise also runs cenote diving and whale shark trips on the mainland if the reef has stopped being enough.
The Part Most Guides Miss
The best day on Cozumel is Sunday. The cruise schedule follows a weekly rhythm, and the lines rarely send ships on Sundays. CruiseMapper shows zero calls on the four Sundays of October 2026, and only four across December's Sundays against 30 on the Tuesdays. With the piers empty, the east-coast beaches, which Wikivoyage notes are popular with locals on weekends, fill with island families, and the main square belongs to the people who live here. Most guides tell you to avoid cruise days. Few point out that the empty day comes around every week and is the one to plan your town time around.
Where to Base Yourself
San Miguel centro. The pick for most independent travelers. You can walk from the ferry dock with your bag, the restaurants that matter are within ten blocks, and Hostelworld lists dorms in town from about US$11 to $17 at places like Amigos Hostel and Hostel Auikyani. Many dive shops collect divers from piers around the island, and Blue Magic runs a free taxi from its downtown office. The catch is the cruise-day rush on Avenida Rafael Melgar, where the touts work. Sleep a few blocks inland and you'll barely notice it.
South hotel zone (Costera Sur, km 3-5). Best for divers who want to roll out of bed and into the water. Hotels like Villablanca, Casa del Mar and El Cid La Ceiba sit on the coast road south of town, beside dive shops, private piers and reef you can shore dive. Villablanca runs about M$1,000 to M$3,000 a night per Wikivoyage. The catch is that this strip shares the coast with the International and Puerta Maya cruise piers, and Villablanca alone is 3 kilometers south of town, so you're in a taxi for every dinner in town.
The colonias south of the center. For a month or more. The grid of quiet residential streets around Avenida 10 and Calle 21 Sur, a 15-minute walk south of the plaza, has small places that rent by the week or month, such as the Summer Place Inn and Villas El Encanto, which advertises rooms from about M$1,000. You'll shop where locals shop. The catch is fewer restaurants on your block, and you'll want a bike or cheap taxis at night.
Realities to Be Aware Of
Money, built from 2026 prices. A non-diving budget day, with a dorm at US$11 to $17, two meals near M$150 each and a taxi or two, comes to about US$35 to $50. Mid-range starts with a simple room like Hotel Flamingo's at about M$1,000 (US$55) with breakfast, or Villablanca on the coast at M$1,000 to M$3,000. Comfortable means an all-inclusive, from about M$3,000 at the Occidental Allegro to M$7,000 at the Cozumel Palace. Diving is the budget breaker. Two tanks cost US$118 to $130, plus about US$12 in park fees and a US$25 to $30 crew tip. Withdraw pesos from bank ATMs such as the Banorte near the ferry.
Wikivoyage calls the streets safe, and the hassles are well known. Touts at the docks steer people into car rentals and timeshare presentations, so keep walking. The UK government warns of fake police trying to fine drivers of rental cars, and says criminals have assaulted British travelers in resort areas including Cozumel, sometimes with hotel staff, taxi drivers or security guards involved, so watch your drink and use taxis from ranks. Bars rarely check age or sobriety. Buying silver? Look for the .925 stamp and carry a small magnet, since real sterling won't stick.
Some rules and norms catch visitors out. Don't touch or take anything inside the marine park, and divers should stay off alcohol for 12 hours before and after diving. Tip dive crews US$12 to $15 per tank. Taxi fares already include the tip, though extra help with bags earns a little more. The UK says same-sex couples are generally tolerated rather than accepted, and civil unions are legal, and some people frown on public affection between same-sex couples.
Weather is the other risk. Hurricane season runs from June through November, and Cozumel has taken direct hits from Beulah in 1967, Gilbert in 1988 and two Category 4 storms in 2005. Travel advice from Canada says to be ready to change plans at short notice in those months, and ferry schedules change in high wind or waves, so leave a buffer day before an international flight out of Cancun. Crocodiles live in lagoons, Punta Sur's included, and you'll see the warning signs.
What things cost in Cozumel
Prices checked October 2026. Each links to where we read it.
| Item | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Winjet ferry, Playa del Carmen to Cozumel | M$335 (about US$18) one-way, with Winjet listing the M$23.46 island fee on Playa departures; M$310 back; M$645 round trip | Winjet fares, Oct 2026 |
| ADO bus, Cancun Airport to Playa del Carmen | About M$250 (US$14), roughly 50 minutes | Dive Paradise trip planning, 2026 |
| Hostel dorm bed, San Miguel | US$11-17 (about M$200-310) a night | Hostelworld, Oct 2026 |
| Two-tank boat dive, certified divers | US$130 (M$2,300) at Blue Note, US$118 at Dive Paradise, gear rental extra | Blue Note Scuba 2026 price list |
| Marine park fee, per diving day | M$220-225 (about US$12), cash only | Dive Paradise, Oct 2026 |
| Chankanaab park entry, adult | US$31 (about M$570) | Cozumel Parks, Oct 2026 |
| Punta Sur Eco Beach Park entry, adult | US$25 (about M$460) | Cozumel Parks, Oct 2026 |
| San Gervasio archaeological site | M$231 (about US$13) | Cozumel Parks, Oct 2026 |
| Simple downtown hotel room | About M$1,000 (US$55) a night at Hotel Flamingo, breakfast included | Wikivoyage, June 2026 |
Dollar figures use about M$18.3 to US$1, from the European Central Bank's euro rates for the peso and dollar on October 2, 2026. Many island businesses quote in dollars; Winjet's own posted rate was M$18.80.
If Cozumel Is Part of a Longer Trip
Cozumel is an awkward start for a big trip and an easy add-on. Its airport flies to 14 cities, while Cancun, about 50 minutes by bus plus the ferry, connects to much of the world, so most people fly into Cancun and treat the island as a stop. Ultramar sells an Island Hopper ticket covering round-trip ferries to both Isla Mujeres and Cozumel for US$41 per adult. From Cancun Airport or Playa del Carmen, the Tren Maya runs west to Merida and Palenque, with foreigners paying M$2,850 from Cancun to Palenque, which makes a loop through the Yucatan and Chiapas possible without a car.
Heading south, the train goes on toward Tulum and Bacalar near the border with Belize, and from there you're into Central America, with Antigua in Guatemala a natural next stop. Going the other way, Cozumel's domestic flights to Mexico City and Monterrey make it easy to pair the island with the capital without backtracking through Cancun. If you're stringing several countries together, AirTreks can build the multi-stop ticket around Cancun as your gateway. Put your ferry back at least a day before an international flight.
Yearly Things to Consider
Two calendars drive Cozumel. The weather one is simple: highs run from 83°F in winter to 91°F in summer, the driest months are February to April, and September and October are the wettest at about 9.5 inches of rain each, inside a hurricane season that runs June through November. The cruise one matters more on the ground. CruiseMapper lists 161 calls in December 2026 and around 120 to 150 a month from January to April, then 74 to 85 a month from May to September. Winter is also when bull sharks and eagle rays show up, November to March per Blue Note.
The counterintuitive pick is May to early June, or September if you can live with rain. May has a scheduled 78 ship calls, water around 82°F, calm seas that Blue Note rates the best for warm, uncrowded diving, and less rain than late summer. October 2026 is also a good bet for a stayover, with no Sunday ships and some of the warmest water of the year, though you're gambling on storms.
Cozumel month by month
| Month | Temp | Rainfall | Season | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 83°F (29°C) | 3.2 in | High | Cool nights, 148 ship calls scheduled in 2027. Eagle rays and bull sharks on the reef. |
| February | 84°F (29°C) | 2.4 in | High | Carnaval before Ash Wednesday, February 10 in 2027. Book rooms early. |
| March | 88°F (31°C) | 1.3 in | High | Driest month of the year. Up to eight ships on peak days. |
| April | 90°F (32°C) | 1.8 in | Shoulder | Still dry. El Cedral's Santa Cruz festival at month's end. |
| May | 91°F (33°C) | 4.4 in | Shoulder | Calm seas and fewer ships, about 78 calls. A good dive month. |
| June | 90°F (32°C) | 7.5 in | Low | Hurricane season opens and rain jumps to 7.5 inches. |
| July | 91°F (33°C) | 4.5 in | Shoulder | A drier break in the wet season. About 85 ship calls. |
| August | 91°F (33°C) | 5.6 in | Low | Hottest month. Fewest scheduled ships, about 74 calls. |
| September | 89°F (32°C) | 9.5 in | Low | The wettest two months begin. About 77 ship calls scheduled. |
| October | 87°F (31°C) | 9.5 in | Low | Water at 82-86°F. No Sunday ship calls in 2026. |
| November | 85°F (30°C) | 4.8 in | Shoulder | Rain eases and ships return, 131 calls scheduled for 2026. |
| December | 83°F (29°C) | 4.2 in | High | Busiest cruise month, 161 calls, eight ships on December 23. |
Ideas for Itineraries
3 Days in Cozumel
Arrive by the ferry and walk to a room inland from the waterfront. Day one is town: the main square, the Museo de la Isla, a late lunch near the municipal market and an evening at Cerveceria Punta Sur. Day two is a two-tank boat dive, or a Discover Scuba at about US$185 if you're new, with the afternoon free on a west-coast beach like Paradise Beach. On day three, rent a car with friends, reach San Gervasio at 8am, then loop the east coast for lunch at Coconuts and finish at Punta Sur before the park closes at 5pm.
5 Days in Cozumel
Do the three-day plan and add two more dive days, since packages drop the per-dive price, with Blue Note quoting US$465 for eight dives over four days. Pick one of those afternoons for a snorkel or nursery visit with the Coral Reef Restoration Program, and plan your downtown dinner for a Sunday, when no ships are in. If you don't dive, swap in a ferry day to Playa del Carmen and the Tulum ruins by ADO, back on the 10pm boat from Playa.
1 Week in Cozumel
A week lets you get certified. PADI Open Water takes two or three days here, and the last two dives are on the reef in the marine park, so you finish with real Cozumel drifts rather than a quarry. Spend the rest diving a mix of the shallow reefs and one wall like Columbia Deep, with a rest day between to drive the windward side.
2 Weeks or More in Cozumel
Two weeks or more suits a monthly rental in the colonias around Avenida 10 and Calle 21 Sur, where the Summer Place Inn and similar small places rent by the week or month. Settle into a routine of morning dives, an inland lunch and an afternoon on the terrace with the ship schedule open, and keep Sundays for town. Use the weekends to get off the island: the ferry and Tren Maya reach Merida, Bacalar or Palenque, and Ultramar's Island Hopper adds a night on Isla Mujeres. Look into volunteering with the coral program once you've done its conservation course.
Sources
What this guide is built on. Every page below was read for this guide; prices and rules were checked in October 2026.
- Winjet Fast Ferry: horarios y tarifas, Winjet (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Ultramar ferries and Island Hopper, Ultramar (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Fares and Schedules Ferry Cozumel, Ultramar (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Saneamiento Ambiental: preguntas frecuentes, Ayuntamiento de Cozumel (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cozumel Diving Prices 2026, Blue Note Scuba (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cozumel Diving Guide, October 2026, Blue Note Scuba (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- FAQ of Cozumel Scuba Diving, Blue Note Scuba (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- 2-Tank Dive Trip, Dive Paradise (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Trip Planning Information, Dive Paradise (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Chankanaab Adventure Park, Fundacion de Parques y Museos de Cozumel (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Punta Sur Eco Beach Park, Fundacion de Parques y Museos de Cozumel (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- San Gervasio, Centro Prehispanico, Fundacion de Parques y Museos de Cozumel (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cozumel Museum, Fundacion de Parques y Museos de Cozumel (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cozumel Coral Reef Restoration Program, CCRRP (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- A Win for the Reef: The Fourth Pier Is Suspended, CCRRP (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Punta Sur Brewery, Cerveceria Punta Sur (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cozumel cruise port schedule, CruiseMapper (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cozumel cruise port schedule, December 2026, CruiseMapper (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cozumel Welcomes 4.73 Million Cruise Passengers in 2025, Mexico Business News (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cozumel, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cozumel International Airport, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cozumel Carnival, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Tren Maya, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Royal Caribbean International, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Visa policy of Mexico, Wikipedia (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cozumel, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Playa del Carmen, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Cancun International Airport, Wikivoyage (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Mexico travel advice: entry requirements, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Mexico travel advice: safety and security, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
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- Hostels in Cozumel, Hostelworld (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
- Mexican peso (MXN) euro reference rate, European Central Bank (accessed Oct 3, 2026)
Cozumel Travel FAQ
Yes, and many people do. Winjet's first boat leaves Playa at 8am and its last one leaves Cozumel at 9pm, with sailings roughly every hour in between, so you can fit in a morning dive boat or a full loop of the island. Blue Note tells divers staying in Playa to catch a 7:30am ferry for its 9am dive boat, earlier than Winjet's first sailing, so check Ultramar's timetable or book Blue Note's 2pm afternoon boat. Budget M$645 round trip per adult on Winjet, plus the cost of whatever you do on the island.
Usually a thin one. Blue Note puts the water at about 78°F (26°C) from December to February, around 82°F (28°C) in spring and 84 to 86°F (29 to 30°C) in late summer. A 3mm suit is the norm in winter, and in summer many divers wear a rash guard or a shorty. Blue Note rents a full set for about US$40.
Yes, but check the timing. Blue Note says your ship must arrive by 8am Cozumel time to make a 9am boat, and island time may differ from ship time. Dive operators aren't allowed to collect divers at the cruise terminals, so you'll take a short taxi to the shop's marina or pier. Leave a margin for getting back before all-aboard.
Stick to the calm west coast. Paradise Beach at kilometer 14.5 has free entry and sells an all-day pass that includes snorkel gear, and Chankanaab rents snorkel sets for US$15 a day on top of its US$31 entry. The east coast's surf and undertow make it a bad place to try.
We'd skip it. The encounter costs US$109 per adult for 40 minutes, the dolphins are kept in pens on the beach, and Wikivoyage reports that cameras are banned so you buy the park's photos afterward. You'll see turtles, rays and nurse sharks in the wild on almost any reef dive or snorkel for less.