36 hours in Cozumel, Mexico

By PATRICK SCOTT

It may be surprising that Cozumel, the 30-mile-long island just off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula that is one of the world’s busiest cruise ship destinations, can still feel comfortably uncrowded, peaceful and even wild. Go beyond the sometimes-thronging piers in the main town of San Miguel to swim above car-size spotted eagle rays, stroll the deserted dunes of the east coast and explore milleniums-old Maya ruins, now ruled by iguanas. An effort to shift the tourist culture is emerging: Island leaders are trying to lure more multiple-night guests, and this year, the government halted a project to build a fourth cruise-ship pier on the west shore reef, following citizen protests. As you’re crunching fresh fish tacos at sunset, watching the cruise ships disappear over the Caribbean Sea, feel sorry for the daytrippers missing out on a longer stay.

ITINERARY

Friday

4:30 p.m. | Get in the water

The often ideal weather and clear sea make Cozumel a hub for sporting events, including the Ironman triathlon, the GFNY Cozumel cycling race and the Oceanman Cozumel swim race. Get in the water where the athletes train at Playa Mantarrayas, a narrow public beach of rock and sand on the island’s west coast and at the south end of San Miguel. There, you can swim or snorkel along a mile-long course between two big piers that’s safe from boat traffic and marked by buoys for several hundred yards. Hover 10 to 25 feet deep above a sea floor dotted with purple sea fans and green urn-like formations. If you’re lucky, you’ll share the reef with a green sea turtle or massive spotted eagle ray gracefully gliding by.

6 p.m. | Sip cocktails at sunset

The west coast has the calm sea, sunsets and, along San Miguel’s waterfront, restaurants and bars with stunning views such as Jeanie’s (which has a dock from which you can snorkel) and Aqui + Ahora. It’s also where you can witness, in awe or horror, the comings and goings of the world’s biggest cruise ships while sipping a superb mezcal cocktail (about 200 pesos, or $10) on the deck at Jungle by Tikila, just north of the international cruise terminal. Behold the towering boats longer than a New York City block, including the world’s largest, Royal Caribbean’s 20-deck Icon of the Seas. Ship horns bellow around sunset before cruising in seeming silence out to the blue horizon.

7:30 p.m. | Try a lionfish pizza

On a Mexican island, tacos and seafood are perfect sustenance. In town, you can find delicious fish tacos with corn tortillas at the brewpub Cerveceria KUSAM, battered and deep-fried cauliflower tacos at the vegan Sol de Maple, and grilled fish at Azul Madera. For an exceptional wood-fired pizza with lionfish (an invasive species), capers and dried chiles (295 pesos), head to Cerveceria Punta Sur. Opened in 2017 by a Mexican entrepreneur and his American wife, the neighborhood dive-bar-meets-pizza-parlor is a pioneer in craft brewing on the island, with a rotating selection of beers made by the couple using filtered water from an on-site well (pint, about 100 pesos).

9 p.m. | Browse a night market

Cozumel is pretty sedate on the nightlife (unless it is Carnival, in February or March). Skip the American pop-and-rock cover bands at the bars off a public square in front of the ferry terminal; instead, walk to the adjacent Benito Juarez Park and support local artisans at the night craft market (from around 5 to 10 p.m., Friday through Sunday). Try the cheesecake with melted caramel (80 pesos) at Valentine’s table, staffed by baker Valentina Arceo and her mother, Azalia Canul. And check out Fusión-Arte, where Arianne Garduño sells her clear crystal resin magnets encasing seashells (100 pesos) and her sculptor husband, Josué Estrada, displays fiberglass and polyester resin pieces in the forms of skulls and sharks (500 to 2,500 pesos). His public artwork includes the giant swallows in front of the ferry entrance.

Saturday

9 a.m. | Walk through history

Cozumel was the site of the first documented Catholic Mass in Mexico in 1518, when conquistador Juan de Grijalva explored the island for the Spanish. It’s where Abraham Lincoln wanted to relocate freed slaves in a failed attempt to buy the island in 1861. And it was a major export point for Yucatán tree resin, the main ingredient in William Wrigley’s early-20th-century chewing gum, a thriving industry that led to the construction of Cozumel’s first hotels. All of this and more is on display in Spanish and English at the engaging Cozumel Museum in San Miguel, where you can easily spend an hour learning about the Mayan culture that flourished on the island before the arrival of the Spanish, and how it narrowly survives today. Admission, 220 pesos.

11 a.m. | Trek to a temple

In the interior of the island’s north side, a half-hour drive from the museum, is San Gervasio, Cozumel’s most important Maya archaeological site. The sprawling former city was thought to be an important pilgrimage place for the Maya, who paddled canoes from the Yucatán to pay homage to the moon goddess of fertility, Ixchel. The site is strewn with ruins of temples, homes, roads and a central plaza, much of it built around a millennium ago. Avoid the tour groups congregating at the plaza by walking 20 minutes west along a partly shaded jungle path to the tallest structure remaining (“R” on the site map), a pyramid of about three stories. A 15-minute stroll north from there leads to another secluded area, where iguanas sun on the ledges of a spiral-shaped ruin (“I” on the map). Admission, 280 pesos.

1 p.m. | Taste traditional dishes

For a quintessential island lunch, find La Estrella on a back street in San Miguel. Pass through a mural-painted corridor into a hodgepodge of seating areas with plastic chairs and fluorescent lights and order a house specialty, pan de cazón. It’s a multilayered fried tortilla cake filled with triggerfish and beans and covered in tomato sauce. Also try the tostadas topped with a ceviche of conch, which most likely will be freshly sliced on an outside counter by owner Daniel Cárdenas, who opened the restaurant with his mother in 1993. Complement the meal with spicy Micheladas, beer cocktails with a salted rim. Lunch for two, about 430 pesos.

3 p.m. | Breathe the salty air

Take a half-hour taxi ride east, away from the ports and resorts, and take a walk on the wild side. Get out at the sole hotel, Ventanas al Mar, which, if not fully occupied, might have bikes to rent (400 pesos a day). Cycle or stroll north toward Playa Punta Morena on a wide path flanked by a sea of undulating blues and a lush emerald mangrove forest. Coconuts, a clifftop hut with tasty guacamole and ’80s rock, has a green parrot minding the bar. On rare days, the wind blows from the west and the water on the east is calm. On those days, the secluded swim between Playa Chen Rio and Coconuts provides a clear view over the coral ridges 20 to 30 feet below.

5:30 p.m. | Shop for silver

Around sunset, back on the west side, the crowds have thinned and the Rafael E. Melgar Avenue promenade and town are ideal for strolling. Stop into Los Cinco Soles, an indoor market in a Spanish farmhouse-style that carries Mexican handicrafts like ceramic plates with colorful floral patterns from Guanajuato state (around 400 pesos each), and clay figures of iguanas and sea turtles made in the state of Jalisco (around 380 pesos). Walk a few blocks to Sergio’s Silver From Taxco, where Sergio Hernandez and his relatives have for 30 years been making and selling jewelry like Maya calendar earrings (1,560 pesos). He learned the craft at the silver workshop his father and grandfather ran in Taxco, a town in the state of Guerrero that is famous for silver production.

8 p.m. | Savor Italian fish dishes

Swiss chef Guido Villiger opened a restaurant on the waterfront in Cozumel in 1978, and Guido’s is still drawing crowds with fresh seafood, engaging servers and memorable drinks. Diners are ensconced in a romantic garden courtyard embellished with bold paintings and soft music. The local catch fish carpaccio (265 pesos), with a side of puffed garlic bread (160 pesos), should not be missed. Savor the fish calabrese sautéed in a cast-iron skillet with black olives and capers (460 pesos) as well as the silky-smooth seasonal gelato (75 pesos). For drinks, you’ll want to return just for the refreshing fruit-filled sangria (half-pitcher, 275 pesos) and the Mexican gin and housemade tonic (225 pesos). Walk-ins only.

Sunday

9 a.m. | Indulge in chilaquiles

One of the delights of a Mexican breakfast is chilaquiles: tortilla chips doused in red or green chile sauce. Mucuy Jugos & Breakfast, a bright and airy spot in a century-old building opened by a young Mexican couple in 2023, dresses its chilaquiles with fresh cream, cotija cheese, onion, radish and cilantro. They come as a side in a breakfast package that includes eggs, refried beans, fresh juice and coffee (160 pesos). Better still, enjoy them inside the Torta Chill Akil (150 pesos), a sandwich with chips, grilled chicken, melted Gouda, crema, pickled onion, cilantro and avocado. If the tables are full and you’re starving, taxi to the traditional Mexican breakfast spots Restaurante El Cedral or El Rincón de Addy, both great and affordable options.

11 a.m. | Take in a 180-degree view

Much of Cozumel’s coastline is hemmed by karst limestone and coral reef, but there are sandy stretches at its dozen or so beach clubs. Several are in the southwest, spread out amid sprawling resorts. For a stunning panorama and a laid-back vibe, buy a $20 day pass (includes a lounge and umbrella) at Playa Palancar, where you can sip a goblet of iced lemonade on a beach lounge or the sandy terrace under a thatched umbrella. Walk a few hundred yards south toward the undeveloped mangrove cape, and snorkel out to chest-high water to see rust-colored starfish.

KEY STOPS

Rafael E. Melgar Avenue in the main town of San Miguel is ideal for strolling, sipping a cocktail and watching the sun melt into the watery horizon.

Wild beaches on the east coast like Playa Chumul front a vast mangrove forest, so the air is salty with the aroma of sunbaked wood.

Playa Mantarrayas is a public beach on the south end of San Miguel where athletes and snorkelers mingle and enjoy a marked swimming route.

WHERE TO EAT

Jungle by Tikila is a small waterfront restaurant above a dive center that has a sensational view of cruise ships, expert cocktails and first-rate fish tacos.

Sol de Maple is one of the island’s few vegan restaurants, with tasty cauliflower tacos, green chile enchiladas and chocolate cake. No alcohol.

At La Estrella, fisherman friends of the owner bring daily catches for the ceviche, fish pies and tostadas on the budget-friendly menu.

Guido’s is an upscale Swiss Italian eatery serving seafood, wood-fired pizza and housemade pastas.

Restaurante El Cedral is a daytime neighborhood restaurant with a charming garden aesthetic. It serves home-style fare like coconut muffins called queques.

El Rincón de Addy is tucked in a tranquil backyard with an open kitchen and hand-painted tables set with authentic Mexican dishes.

WHERE TO STAY

Ventanas al Mar is the only hotel on the east coast shore, with views of the sea and sand dunes. Its 18 rooms are each uniquely furnished, many with a balcony overlooking the sea, patterned tiles and handmade hammocks. Rooms start at 3,800 pesos (about $207).

Hotel B Unique is a sleek, modern adults-only boutique hotel on the northwest coast that offers yoga and spa treatments along with 27 rooms, most with a sea view. The Ocean Front Grand rooms have terraces with hammocks. Rooms start at about $180 (prices here, as at many other hotels, are advertised in U.S. dollars). The adjoining Hotel B Cozumel welcomes families.

Casa Mexicana is on the waterfront in San Miguel with a breezy multistory lobby and a view of cruise ships docked at Punta Langosta. Sixteen of the 88 rooms face the sea. Rooms start at $142.

For short-term rentals, the town of San Miguel has plenty of homes and apartments on quiet back streets.