"Cozumel, Mexico" a Isla Cozumel Travel Page by Sambawalk

Cozumel (Mayan: Island of the Swallows) is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, opposite the Playa del Carmen, and close to the Yucatan Channel. It is one of the eight municipalities (municipios) of the state of Quintana Roo. Cozumel is a popular tourist destination renowned for its scuba diving and snorkeling. The main town on the island is San Miguel de Cozumel.

The island is about 48 km (30 miles) north-south and 16 km (10 miles) east-west, and is the largest Atlantic island of Mexico. (It is the third-largest island in Mexico, following Tiburón Island and Isla Ángel de la Guarda.) It is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the mainland, and some 60 km (36 miles) south of Cancún. The vast majority of the population of Cozumel lives in the town of San Miguel (pop. 71,401 in 2005), which is on the western shore. The two areas enclaved on the mainland are Calica, near Playa del Carmen and Xcaret, and the Xel-Há Water Park, near the Xelha archaeological ruins.

My visit here was part of the 7 days Holland Amercia West Carribean cruise visit, including Belize, Gatamela , and Cozumel, Mexico.

I also did 2 dives around the Cozumel.

I took this Holland America Line - Veendam departing from Tampa Florida on Oct 28, 2007 as follows:

Oct 28 Tampa, FL 5:00pm
Oct 29 Key West, FL 11:30am 6:00pm
Oct 30 At Sea
Oct 31 Belize City, Belize 7:00am 5:00pm
Nov 1 Santo Tomas de Castilla, Gatamela 7:00am 6:00pm
Nov 2 Cozumel, Mexico noon 9:00pm
Nov 2 At Sea
Nov 4 Tampa, FL 7:00am

The rate was US$700 per pax.

In the heart of downtown Cozumel is the Las Palemeras. There are great food and drinks around this square. You can also find some local entertianment and hard rock cafe nearby. The whole stripe of Ave. Rafael E. Melgar is great for shopping.