Travel Destination: Cozumel - Mexico
Just off the coast of Mexico’s Riviera Maya lies the small island of Cozumel, a Caribbean gem of an island.Due to its close proximity to the US, Cozumel welcomes thousands of visitors each day.
Scuba diving is the defining attraction here: with many world-class reefs only minutes away from shore. If you don’t dive or snorkel, nor enjoy spending time in or next to the ocean, Cozumel is probably not for you. The tourism industry is developing rapidly here, creating two distinct groups of visitors: those divers staying in the island’s hotels and the people straight from the gigantic cruise ships.
Sometimes as many as 11 ships (with plans for more) unload their human cargo onto the island in just a few hours. This means that you could be sharing Cozumel’s somewhat limited space, with as many as 6,000 other daytrippers.
I’ve seen many divers and hotel guests become extremely frustrated and annoyed by this cruise ship phenomenon, having to share resources and endure price gouges. So, I’m here to offer you a friendly guide with some handy suggestions and advice for best avoiding the herds.
Follow my lead and you’ll be seeing, smelling and tasting the real Mexico hidden behind the Burger Kings and Hard Rock Cafes.
While most of the daily tourist invasion comes from cruise ships in the early morning hours, by late evening, these same passengers are well on their way on to some other Caribbean island.
In only 12-14 hours, passengers have little time to experience much of anything at all, so if you play your cards right, and stay away from a few crucial locations, you’ll enjoy your time on Cozumel.
Once you get ‘inside the head’ of a typical cruiser, you’ll know more and make better travel decisions. Or, you can avoid them altogether on Sundays, the only day when cruise ships don’t take over.
