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Cozumel Trip Report
June 2002
- Home
- Places to Stay
- Beaches & Snorkeling
- Chankanaab Park
- General Info
Cozumel, Mexico
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Cozumel is Mexico’s largest inhabited island. It is located about 12 miles off of the Yucatan coast. (Near Playa del Carmen) It is a quiet island with the charm of a fishing village. Cozumel is famous for great scuba diving and snorkeling.
Go see Cozumel now before it becomes over run with cruise ships!
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Fiesta Americana Dive Resort
Getting to Cozumel was in itself quite an adventure. We redeemed some frequent flyer miles with United so we were booked with Mexicana airlines. A few days before our vacation we were notified by Mexicana that our flight was changed from 7:30 AM to Midnight! This meant that we had a 5 hour lay over in Mexico City. All of the flights were on time and the planes were comfortable, but the schedule was pretty grueling. A nice side benefit to Mexicana airlines is that they serve free drinks. (mixed drinks, beer, wine, etc.) A very nice touch which makes the trip a little more enjoyable. |
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We stayed at the Fiesta Americana Dive Resort in Cozumel. We were very pleased with the property. We had booked the room through Expedia for under $100 a night. Our room was on the top floor and we had a beautiful view of the ocean. |
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The hotel is located about 5 miles south of town. We didn't find this much of an inconvenience. Our only complaint about the room was the very noisy air conditioner. It was a wall unit. Would we go back to Fiesta Americana? Yes, it was a nice place for a reasonable price. |
Cozumel Beaches & Snorkeling
Chankanaab Park
Probably the most famous place to snorkel on Cozumel is Chankanaab Park. This is where most major tours take people to see the underwater world. We were completely unimpressed with the underwater life. The amount of traffic this place sees has taken a toll on the wildlife. We liked the park, but don't go here to snorkel. |
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Dzul-Ha
Next door to the Fiesta Americana is a beach club called Dzul-Ha. This is supposed to be one of the better places to snorkel on the island. We saw numerous snorkel boats dropping off snorkelers from our room. So we decided to snorkel locally! |
There was quite a current so we decided to do our first ever "drift snorkel". We walked down the beach past Dzul Ha. We put our reef shoes into a pareo and then Carroll tied it around her neck. (like a backpack) This worked out wonderfully because we didn't have to swim back against the current. One way snorkeling! The coral was "OK" near the beach club. We were again disappointed because the coral heads were few and far between. But we did see some pretty coral and some nice fish. (One of those nice fish was a jelly fish which stung me!) |
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One of the "beach clubs" we went to was at San Francisco beach. Nice beach but we didn't find it anything special. We ordered a drink which was expensive and lousy. |
Chankanaab Park
We enjoyed walking around Chankanaab Park because of its beauty. Go early in the morning because it can get very hot. Most people spend the day snorkeling, hiking, and eating. There is a $10 USD fee to get into the park. |
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Remember to bring mosquito repellant! The mosquitoes will eat you alive when you walk on the trails if you don't first spray yourself. The picture to the right shows the lagoon that is in the center of the property. |
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There are lots of things to see on the walks through the park. Very interesting and educational. |
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The snorkeling at the park was pretty lousy. There was a swimming beach that was a nice place to cool off after walking through the jungle. |
Cozumel General Information
Transportation
We highly recommend renting a car on Cozumel. One of our favorite areas on the island is what as known as "the backside". On the backside there are numerous beach bars and restaurants and some beautiful scenery. |
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Eating
We enjoyed the beach bars on the backside. The best place on the island for shrimp is Mezcalito's. The shrimp are HUGE. (And very tasty) |
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Another cool place just down the road from Meacalito's is Coconuts. Nice establishment that sits on a cliff. Awesome view and they play Jimmy Buffett music! |
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Our favorite place "in town" is Pancho's Backyard. Great food and awesome margaritas. They even had some entertainment at lunch for everyone. |
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