Mexico
Without a doubt my favorite place in the world to travel to is Cozumel, Mexico. I'd been to Mexico several times before but Cozumel and its people captured my heart.
There was an ET aspect to this trip that you can read here.
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Cozumel (Spanish pronunciation: [kosuˈmel]; Yucatec Maya: Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán Channel. The municipality is part of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.
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The name Cozumel was derived from the Mayan "Cuzamil" (also spelled "Cutzmil") or "Ah Cuzamil Peten" in full, which means "the island of swallows".
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The island is located in the Caribbean Sea along the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula about 51 mi south of Cancún and 12 mi from the mainland. The island is about 30 mi long and 9.9 mi wide, with a total area of 184.542 sq mi. It is Mexico's largest Caribbean island, largest permanently inhabited island, and Mexico's third-largest island, following Tiburón Island and Isla Ángel de la Guarda. The population of Cozumel is 88,626. The majority of the island's population lives in the town of San Miguel, which has a population of 84,915 (2020 census).
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It's a big cruise ship destination, having 5 cruise ship piers.
Accommodations
Although there are plenty of more well known upscale hotels and resorts, I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the Cozumel Palace, especially if you're a scuba diver.
It's older but a 4 star all inclusive luxury resort with 3 swimming pools including a seaside infinity pool with swim up bar, 4 different restaurants you can eat at, a spa...well, see for yourself what it's like...
Cozumel Palace is only 8 minutes from the Cozumel Airport.
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What makes the Palace fantastic is the deal you can get if you book at the right time and it's staff. We were treated like royalty from the minute we walked into the lobby until the day we left. It was beastly hot the day we arrived, the minute we walked in the lobby doors, staff wrapped a cool wet towel around our necks and put a drink in our hands.
I booked our reservations (I took my niece, Ruth along) on Black Friday. I got 50% off. My advice is to book a non seaside junior suite and then when you check in, upgrade to a seaside junior suite using your resort credit. (More on that in a minute) Our seaside suite had 2 queen beds, an in room hot tub, fully stocked bar that was replenished each morning, 24/7 valet service, and a seaside balcony with patio furniture and hammock.
My niece giving the thumbs up on our suite and the balcony hammock
At the time I booked we also got a $1500 resort credit that's just like cash and can be used both inside and outside of the resort. We used ours to upgrade to a seaside suite, a spa day, a couple of activities and an outdoor gourmet beach dinner made by one of the resort chefs that was beyond incredible!
Take time when you check in to get to know the person manning the customer service desk in the lobby. Ours was named Pedro and he became our best friend. When I discovered I'd forgotten admission slip printouts for one of the activities we had planned, Pedro got them for us in about 5 minute's time. He treated us like we were his own daughters.
The one thing you need to know when booking your trip is that Cozumel has hurricane season virtually 365 days per year. We had beautiful weather for 9 of our 10 days but on the day we were flying home, Cozumel got hit by quite the tropical storm and our plane just made it off the ground.
Cozumel has a beautiful airport but I recommend NOT pre booking your airport to accommodations transportation. Instead, visit one of the stations inside the airport where you can purchase transportation to your accommodations. Then you simply walk out of the airport and all of the transportation vans are right there for you to board. If you pre book your transportation, you risk your pre booked driver not showing up - as happened to us. So save yourself some grief and simply purchase transportation to your resort or hotel within the airport itself.
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On our trip from the airport to Cozumel Palace we went through the neighborhoods where the locals live and you'll see how financially impacted the locals are. Many of the homes had no roof, only blue tarps as roofs. Our driver explained they did this to avoid paying higher taxes by having a solid roof on their house. It will give you a new appreciation for the people of Cozumel.
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Things in Cozumel were uber cheap. They do accept American dollars but make sure you bring fresh, new crisp bills with you. The people of Cozumel are under the impression that the older and more used a dollar bill, the less value it holds. Of course, this isn't true...but that's what they believe.
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Spanish is the primary language spoken in Cozumel. Both my niece and I knew enough Spanish to get by...but because it is a cruise ship port most people speak English. We didn't have any problems at all with a language barrier. And the locals really appreciated the fact we at least tried to speak their native language and were more than willing to teach us.
Roughly over half of the island is uninhabited and full of wilderness type areas that are definitely worth checking out.
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San Miguel itself is a quaint little town full of shops that carry a variety of items.
Shopkeepers expect you to bargain with them on their asking price so don't be afraid to do this. My niece loves sundresses and I got a really cute one for her for $8.
There is a K-Mart type store just across the street from Cozumel Palace if you need something in a pinch...but to get to San Miguel proper you'll need to take a cab. Our cab rides anywhere on the island never exceeded $5 a ride and most of the time cost us $3 per ride.
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Is it safe to walk around Cozumel even at night? ABSOLUTELY! My niece and I walked around Cozumel at night without any problems at all. Cozumel has 3 different police forces: the Federales, the tourist police and the town police. We actually saw a Federale jeep with a mounted machine gun and 3 Federale officers riding through town. I was tempted to ask the Federales if I could take a photo of them but thought better of it since they didn't look like the friendliest bunch. But you can safely walk around Cozumel, day or night.
Attractions
Ten days didn't give us sufficient time to do everything we wanted to do on Cozumel. Being a tourist area, they have plenty of attractions worth checking out.
These are the "don't miss" activities I'd recommend:
Swim with dolphins
DOLPHIN SWIM
Dolphinaris is just a short walk down the street from Cozumel Palace. I booked a dolphin swim for my birthday. (They didn't know it was my birthday) Normally there are 12 people per dolphin swim and the swim lasts 1 hour. We were amazed when our guide, Magdalene took us to the NURSERY POOL where the public wasn't allowed to swim and we had a private 2 hour swim with mama dolphins and their babies!
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All of the dolphins are sick or injured rescued dolphins that wouldn't survive if re-released back into the wild. The care they receive is phenomenal and the dolphins seem to enjoy the interaction with their human guests.
You truly can't understand how strong and majestic the dolphins are until you interact with them and their trainer will give you lots of info on them you didn't know previously.
Spend the extra money to have your dolphin swim photographed and videotaped! Well worth the money.
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SWIM WITH STINGRAYS AT STINGRAY BEACH
Phenomenal guided experience swimming with stingrays and nurse sharks (harmless). You interact with them directly, can hold one and even kiss one if you want!
The session lasts about 1.5 hours and you can swim/snorkel around them after the session as they move freely around you. They're pretty friendly creatures! Price per session starts at $44.45.
Website
PIRATE SHIP DINNER CRUISE
Pirate ship
dinner cruise
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Ruth and I had an absolute BLAST on this Jean Lafitte pirate ship dinner cruise! All of the 'pirates' were in costume and in character and really knew how to play to an audience and get them involved.
Games, prizes, live band, entertainment and dancing will make for a night of romance and fun - although I recommend the cruise more for adults than kids. Put it this way...the booze flows so freely there was enough to float the ship itself and the humor (although not out of line) was geared more toward adults. If you get my drift...
(There were some children aboard and they did have a great time.)
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Indulge yourself in great grub with a delicious choice of: lobster and steak (surf'n'turf); lobster only; steak and chicken; steak only; chicken only; or vegetarian dinner, while sailing through the Caribbean waters of Cozumel. The food was scrumptious and perfectly prepared.
Soft drinks, beer, domestic cocktails, dinner, live music and show, all included.
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Check this website for current pricing. Reservations are required.
Chankanaab
Chankanaab is an absolutely beautiful park in Cozumel. It's a great way to spend half a day touring the park and the other half relaxing on one of its many beaches while doing some snorkeling, swimming or sunbathing.
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There are three places to eat, including live Mexican music. They're all seaside. There's a manatee and a seal show at which my niece kissed a seal, a dolphin experience, SNUBA and SeaTrek tours are available, there's a tequila tour, a TEMAZCAL official Mayan ceremony, a natural spa and plenty of great places to swim and snorkel or just relax and soak up the rays.
This is the #1 most popular attraction in Cozumel but the park is so large we didn't find it at all overcrowded. We enjoyed it so much we would've spent more than 1 day there if we could have.
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Parking, bathrooms, dressing rooms, showers, Hammocks, beach chairs, life vest, ghostwriter underwater statues, inlet swimming area, prehispanic replicas, tropical garden, tequila experience, agave landscape, mayan hut, playground for kids.
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Check the website for more details and pricing.
Discover Mexico
The different Mexican cultures are beautiful and interesting. One of the places to check out these different cultures is at Discover Mexico.
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It is a true paradise for the cultural savants. Whatever your fancy, be it traversing meticulously created replicas of renowned Mexican landmarks or savoring the exquisite tastes of authentic cuisine, a visit to Discover Mexico Park Cozumel is a journey into the very heart and soul of Mexico.
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HOWEVER...go on a cooler day and bring a ton of mosquito repellant with you! The tour was a little longer than either Ruth or I would've liked, as interesting as it was. (About 90 minutes)
Discover Mexico Park is about 7 minutes south of downtown and a short walk from the Puerta Maya cruise pier.
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FACILITIES AT DISCOVER MEXICO
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Video Experience Room
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Mercadito Corona Snack Bar
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Professional Bilingual Guides
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State of the Art Architecture
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Umbrellas
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Luxury Restrooms
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Museum of Popular Arts
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Mexican Music Surround
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All Weather Activity
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Medical Services
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Parking Lot
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Handicrafts for Sale
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Mexico in Miniature
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Souvenir Shop
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Handicap Services
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Ecologically Friendly
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Taxi Services
You'll have to book a tour of Discover Mexico through one of the Cozumel tour companies.
Take a food tour
If you love authentic Mexican food like I do, consider taking a food tour.
Living in a tourist area as I do, we locals have our favorite hang outs that we tend to keep hugh hush from the tourists. A food tour will take you to those local Cozumel hot spots where the residents hang out - and they're usually some of the best places to eat.
Cozumel Food Tour
Amazing Cozumel race
Ruth and I were booked to participate in this race but it was called off last minute.
5 star reviews on Trip Advisor and a really popular Cozumel activity.
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Equal parts scavenger hunt, live-action mystery novel, and self-guided tour, Amazing Cozumel Race is like a reality show come to life. Plus, there is no better way for visitors to experience Cozumel. Teams of 2 or more (max 10) meet at a common location and receive the first of a series of devious clues which leads them to the next location and so on. You’ll need your wits, your energy, and your willingness to have fun as you race the clock and your competition in an attempt to be the first team to unlock the codes and cross the finish line. Price includes a full day of racing, beverages, a post-race awards ceremony at a local waterfront restaurant, prizes for top finishers, and an afternoon full of surprises.
Visit their website
There's plenty to see and do in Cozumel, even during an extended stay. We could've easily spent 2 more weeks there and never been bored.
Explore on your own or book with a tour company - or do a little of both!
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Neither Ruth nor I wanted to leave Cozumel and we still talk about that trip all these years later.
