K&A’s Adventures in:
Cozumel, Mexico
Cozumel is fantastic! it’s a vacation spot that provides the perfect balance between activity and relaxation.
We flew into Cancun and took the local bus to Playa del Carmen. I highly recommend the local bus over a private transfer (unless it is included on your hotel fee). The bus saves money and is the locals preferred way to travel. It is a nice bus with AC and comfy seats. Be sure to get out Pesos before exiting the Airport as the price is slightly higher if you use USD.
PRO-TIP: If you are in a country that you think you want to visit again, take a small amount of local currency home. It is extremely comforting to arrive in a country with the local currency already in your pocket. My wife loves collecting currency from around the world so needless to say we have quite the selection at home.
PRO-TIP: Do not exchange money in the airport! It is a rip off. You are much better off getting money out of an ATM in the airport. Always take the time to research which of your accounts will work best for each trip.
The bus stop in Playa del Carmen is conveniently located and within easy walking distance to the ferry. Take note that there is only one bus stop when arriving in Playa del Carmen but two stops when departing Playa del Carmen.
Ferry tickets are available online or at the terminal. We wanted to spend a little time exploring Playa del Carmen before heading over to Cozumel so we chose to buy tickets at the terminal and picked the company that had the next departure time.
***As of August 2021, Covid protocols have reduced the number of ferry trips between Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. Be sure to check the ferry websites (Ultramar or Winjet) before your visit.***
PRO-TIP: When using the english translation tool on the ferry websites, Playa del Carmen might be directly translated into Carmen Beach.
We took a late evening ferry and enjoyed arriving in Cozumel after sunset. Our first stop was to pick up our bikes and then we headed to our hotel. Despite our enjoyment of arriving later in the evening and feeling completely comfortable navigating the island in the dark, I do generally recommend arriving in new locations before sunset, especially if you are new to traveling. My wife is amazing at languages and I have a great sense of direction/an ability to memorize maps, which affords us a lot of comfort in new situations/locations, even after dark.
We stayed at Colonial Suites and would absolutely stay there again. Our room was a good size and had a private bathroom but did not have a mini fridge. It did included breakfast at their sister location down the road. The breakfast buffet was definitely worth it and my wife still dreams of the fresh fruit and large curd cottage cheese.
We rented bikes for our entire three days on the island online at Best Bikes Cozumel and highly recommend them.
Best Bikes were generous enough to accommodate our late-night pickup time and were kind enough to look up the wind forecast for the island. We had no idea that was a thing but we learned that all the bikers on the island are always well aware of the wind forecast.
We totally lucked out and the wind was at our backs 90% of our ride. In fact, we were so lucky that we got to the other side of the island as the wind shifted to our back.
We were extremely excited to bike around the island. Cozumel has a 40-mile (65km) bike path along the edge of the island. It is used for the Ironman competition and it is spectatular. We purposefully got our bikes the night before, which allowed us to get an early morning start to our all-day adventure.
Our plan was to spend an entire day biking, snorkeling, and eating/drinking at local spots along the bike path. We decided to buy our own snorkel gear for this trip and it turned out to be a great investmnet for us. If you dont want to buy your own, you can rent snorkel gear, go pros, etc. from the bike shop. My wife and I are very experienced swimmers so we only carry a mask and snorkel, no fins.
Since we were there for only a short amount of time and only had one day allocated for the long bike ride, we would have done it no matter the wind forecast. That being said, if you have a couple days to choose from make sure to check the wind forecast and choose the day that has the wind at your back the majority of the ride.
The bike ride was absoloultey incredible and we can’t recommend it enough. Our day went as planned and we spent the entire time biking from snorkeling spot, to cantina, to roadside coconut stand, to beautiful white sand beaches, and then through a lush jungle. It felt like a dream! We would return in a heartbeat just to do this ride again.
The rest of our time was spent wandering around the island and checking out several local restaurants and bars. We couldn’t miss the chance to visit the only brewery on the Island, Cerveceria Punta Sur. We ordered a flight of all the beers they offered and a Lion Fish pizza. Everything was delicious and we had a great time sitting at the bar listening to locals tell their tales. Lion Fish is a super cool seafood because it is an invasive species that is also delicious. This means the more you eat the more you help the local enviroment!
We also rode back down to a beach on the western side of the island and enjoyed a picnic and more snorkeling. There are some private beaches in the area but if you walk past those you will find plenty of public space. We considered doing a day at an all-inclusive beach resort but opted to save that for our next visit. Click here to see how a map of all the spots I researched before we arrived. We didn’t make it to all of them but you can see how no matter where we were we could easily find a place to enjoy.
There was a small corner store by our hotel and since we always make a point to shop at a local grocery store, corner store and/or market, we had to swing by several times. We love trying local snacks and drinks. Often times we aren’t exactly sure what we are buying but we inevitably discover new favorites along the way. They did have an interesting time restriction on buying booze. I believe it stopped at 9pm. We only got caught by that once but now you don’t have to be caught off guard.
We highly recommned staying on Cozumel at the very least for one night. The island has a ton of cruise traffic during the day but at night the true heart of the island is on full display. It is easy to get to know locals and there are plenty of local restraunts, bars and music joints to keep you busy. The sunsets are also reason enough to stay on the island at least one night. Cozumel gives you a unquie sunset view that you cant get from Playa del Carmen or any of the resorts on the mainland.
In smaller locations like Cozumel with a robust tourist industry, it doesn’t take much work to discover the local side. It can be as easy as walking one or two blocks away from the main strip or main tourist attractions. We love to see how quickly it shifts from a loud, in your face consumerism environment to a local and relaxing environment. This is where you find local bars and restaurants that you can settle into and learn all about where you must go and what you must try on the island they love so much. We enjoy picking the brains of local bartenders and even other customers. These are some of our most treasured moments in all of our travels.