Review A Cozumel Vacation

On a recent cruise in January 2005, one of the ports of call was Cozumel.  We have been to Cozumel many times, but this time we were there to see what we could bring back to our web site to our many thousands of readers.  

Long before Cancun became a popular destination, Cozumel was well-known as a diving spot and home to the world famous Palancar Reef, which gives divers the opportunity to view thousands of brilliantly colored fish. Non-divers can kick back on a sun-drenched beach, or enjoy any number of seaside activities, such as shopping in colorful marketplaces or dining in an open-air café.

When we were there, the local government was building new roads in the downtown business district.  The many shops are located in two separate business districts.  There is one when you get off the cruise ships and another one a couple of miles away from the cruise ship docks.  You should visit both if time permits.

Some times, there are as many as 20 cruise ships in port at the same time.  The day we were there, we had to be tendered to shore by water taxi's and this took a couple of hours to get everyone off the ship.  Once ashore, we decided to go to the main downtown and then come back to the shops by the cruise ship on our way back to the ship.

You will enjoy many of the variety of shops that are located all over the downtown.  The cruise ships, give you a list of those shops that they have a working relationship with, but you will find much better deals at the independent shops in the several indoor and outdoor mall like areas.  You will also find many little outdoor places to eat.  I strongly suggest that you try one of these if you want authentic Mexican food.  You will also find that the prices of the places are much lower than the name places like Senior Frog and others.

You will find the prices about what they are in the states on food and other things are close, but there are some things that you can't get in the states.  For the women, the knockoffs in purses and other things are very good and the quality of these knockoffs is pretty good.

We have a friend that lives in Cozumel year round and they love it.  They have a small shop in the downtown village and they tell us that if you live there, that you will find places that the locals shop that is a few miles away from the downtown area and the prices there are suppose to be extremely cheap.  However, these places are not accessible to the tourist that is visiting for a few hours.

If your looking for a safe place to go on your vacation and where you will have some many things to do, then you should consider Cozumel.  I suggest that you go on your first visit on a cruise and save all the shore excursions and then go back by air and plan on staying a week or two.  Check out the hotels while your there on the cruise.

This is one of my favorite places to take friends and go with other couples as there is always something for us to do. 

UPDATE:  Since we were there in January, hurricane Wilma did some extensive damage to Cozumel, but I understand that everything is about back to normal.  I wrote the above in January and this in December of 2005.  I also understand that some of the cruise lines have decided to drop Cozumel for the time being and go to another site.  The most popular of these is CALICA/PLAYA DEL CARMEN.  I have noticed that Carnival which had opted for Playa Del Carmen, has now gone back to Cozumel.