Welcome to Cozumel, Mexico

Topside tourist activity centers around San Miguel, the island's cultural and commercial center, which boasts an impressive seaside maze of shops, cantinas and restaurants. An ultra-modern cruise-ship terminal accommodates daily-arriving ocean liners and ferries from the mainland. Most dive resorts are scattered along the west coast where calm waters prevail.

A 1961 visit by Jacques Cousteau first brought attention to Cozumel's spectacular diving and its incredible water clarity. It's fringing reef system is fed by warm, fast- moving Yucatán currents (a part of the Gulf Stream) as they sweep through the deep channel on the west side of the island. These currents bring a constant wash of plankton and other nutrients that support thousands of exotic fish. Immense rays, and jewfish populate the spectacular drop-offs and wrecks on the outer reefs; sea turtles nest along the beaches from May to September. And, visibility remains a constant 100 to 150 ft year-round, except during and after major storms.
Despite an onslaught of divers, Cozumel's reefs and marine life are better than ever. Once a Mecca for spear fishermen, all of the reefs surrounding the island are now protected as a marine park. Those of you who may remember the dive operators' requests for qualifications being 'You dive before?' will now be asked for C cards. A functional, free-to-divers recompression chamber is now in operation.