Guide to Cozumel Travel

Battling the Mexico stereotype, Cozumel gets high marks for cleaning up its tourist areas and making this a much nicer place to visit.  If you are cruising to this location, be ready for a very pleasant surprise.  First, the dock is actually a long, narrow shopping mall with very nice stores selling liquor, jewelry, and other items.  As you exit this area, you step into a fairly new open air shopping center with 25 or 30 stores.  Once again, this is a very nice, very clean area.  In fact, this shopping area would rival anything you would find in the U.S.  Several of the shops are name brand stores (e.g., Ron Jon), but most of them carry tee shirts, jewelry, and other tourist items.  There are also open air bars that get very crowded when cruise ships are in port (but see Cruise Tip #1 below).   At the rear of this area is a parking lot where buses board for local tours.  Merchants freely take U.S. dollars, so don't be concerned about exchanging your money for pesos. 

Cruise Tips for Cozumel visitors

1. How many times can we say this?  Don't drink the water.  Period.  No matter what you may hear about a particular restaurant or bar being "safe."  Why chance it?  That means no ice, no frozen drinks, no coffee, no free drinks on tours, nothing.  If you must have a frozen margarita, buy it on the ship and sit on a deck chair and look out over Cozumel.

2. You will hear all about the great jewelry bargains in Cozumel, and how you can save so much money by buying precious stones.  Be very careful about this, unless you are personally able to evaluate or appraise these items. 

3. If you want to venture away from the dockyard shopping area, book a tour.  As an alternative, go with a group of people.  Do not wander into downtown Cozumel by yourself. 

4. If you mind the food and drink issues and your personal safety, this port can be a lot of fun.

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