Cozumel Diving

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.

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.