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 Cozumel Trip Report
Posted by J. Teng and M. Kang on 01/11/02

trip report for Cozumel, 12/20/2001 to 12/27/2001

Coral Princess

Just got back from Cozumel over the holidays, had an fantastic time and wanted to share with all on this board (!)

Overall, I would say that Cozumel is a great vacation destination, esp. if you're into fishes and/or scuba and snorkeling.  My fiancee and I went with the intention of trying out scuba and do some snorkeling, and we (especially me) came away mightily impressed at the wonderful marine life we saw.

We stayed at the Coral Princess (CP) hotel, in the northern hotel zone.  I would have to say that it was the perfect place for us.  It wasn't super fancy like the 5-star hotels nor was it an all-inclusive resort, which worked to our advantage because we had many opportunities to sample the local cuisine downtown.  Moreover, CP wasn't so large to the point where we felt we had to stay at the hotel to take advantage of things we didn't need, which is sometimes the case at a resort that has too much to offer.  We knew most of our time would be spent off the hotel's premises.

As many on this board have mentioned, the 2 bellhops/concierges -- Pedro and Humberto, who are brothers -- made our stay especially pleasant.  These guys are so helpful and friendly (without being necessarily obsequious) that I would recommend Coral Princess based on their services alone.  The hotel itself is part timeshare villas and hotel rooms, and our room faced the ocean (DEFINITELY try and get this view, it makes a huge difference). The sunrise/sunset views were killer and it's great sleeping to the sound of the waves.  We could also see the mainland from our 8th floor balcony.

I also highly recommend the snorkeling off CP's man-made beach.  In fact, I found it superior to any other place on the island, including Chankanaab (more on that later).  We did not have a chance to try Dzul-ha, which from what I understand is also highly rated, but I could not really imagine it being better than where we were, because the reef was very accessible, hugging along the coastline and completely teeming with life.

DAY 1:
We  flew into Cancun on a charter flight from Newark and then took Aerocaribe (a local Mexican airline) over the Cozumel's airport.  We bought our vacation from Apple Vacations thru the Orbitz agency.  Very smooth trip overall, although there was a slight hiccup at the end of our trip which I'll elaborate on later.

In light of the 9/11 attacks, I guess a new thing some flight attendants ask on board (at least to people near the emergency exits) was "in the event of an emergency, can I count on you to physically help out?"  That kinda unnerved me, considering it was my first flight since 9/11 but I suppose it's a new procedure nowadays.  Once we got to Cancun a Apple rep was there to greet us (if you do fly thru Apple, be sure to attach the Apple logo tags on all your luggage.  During our trip many times it was the only way for an Apple rep to identify us, which proved extremely helpful).  The Apple rep then shuttled us over to another part of the airport, and then from there we flew to Cozumel (about a 20 minute flight, piece of cake).  Another Apple rep -- Vincente -- greeted us in Cozumel (at the end of our vacation he would prove very helpful as well).  Note: Apple reps are easily identifiable because they all wear this red flower print shirt.  We then took a 5 minute shuttle van ride to the Coral Princess.

The weather was pretty iffy the first couple of days; from what I heard we arrived during the tail end of a week of storms.  We ate at the hotel's restaurant downstairs, and it was pretty good but nothing stunning.  I don't think it was nearly as authentic as some of the places downtown but at least they had some "american" cuisine if you should miss the food from back
home (which I started to as the week wore on).

Later on our first nite, we took a taxi to La Mission, a highly regarded seafood place.  My (soon-to-be) fiancee had the king crab legs (a special) and I had the garlic shrimp.  Overall, very good and the service was impeccable.  After dinner we got caught in a huge rainstorm and had to go back to the restaurant.  The manager gave us free drinks and a towel to dry off, which I deeply appreciated.  There is live music there as well, which was a nice touch.  You might see tiny geckos running around the walls, which didn't bother me but might bother some other customers.  There is also a REALLY nice garden out front, one of the nicest I've ever seen, actually (with fountains, statues, etc.).

When we got back to the hotel, we took a walk along the beach and that's where I proposed to my girlfriend.  Needless to say, it made for a great moment and for you men out there, I'd say that you can't go wrong with proposing on a beach in Cozumel (!)  :-)

DAY 2:
Had breakfast at the CP, tried to Monteluno eggs for the first time. Definitely try this.  I'm sure it's better at more authentic places but I nonetheless I enjoyed it very much. Since the weather was still overcast and rainy, we decided not to snorkel that day but head into town for some shopping.  (Our initial plans were to goto Chankanaab and try SNUBA, a cross between snorkeling and scuba).  The vendors downtown are very aggresive and will try to entice you into their shops.  Try to stay away from the people hawking snorkeling trips, motor scooters, etc. because I hear they're shady outfits.  If you're Asian (as we are), don't be startled if vendors approach you by calling you "China", "Hey, Japan, over here!", or "Filipino, I got it for you!".  I wasn't offended simply because I knew they meant no harm, but coming from NYC, it did take a little adjusting to hear myself being "singled" out again based on my race.  Not a big deal, but if you're Asian, be prepared.

I ended up getting swindled on a black coral cross pendant and a pair of sunglasses, I think.  I had a momentary glitch in converting Pesos from US dollars and ended up on the wrong end of the bargaining stick.  Once you get to used to the exchange rate it's easier to buy and bargain, but it does take some time.  Remember, most vendors are very experienced with bargaining with tourists so take your time when comparing and buying things.  Most of the items for sale are the very similar across different stores, so if you don't like the prices you get in one shop you can always go to another.

We stopped by La Cucina Italiana for lunch.  Doesn't really compare to NYC italian food but the service was really, really friendly.  Watch out for the owner's kid, though, he'll likely climb all over you during your meal.

Later that day, we did hop into the water off the Coral Princess to do some snorkeling.  The marine life there rivaled any place we've seen before, including the Cayman Islands.  Tons of smooth trunkish, sharp-nosed puffers, queen and french angelfish, redlip blennies, honeycomb cowfish, just to name a few of the more interesting ones.  I also poked my head into a crevice
and saw a spiny lobster.  As I got close a huge spotted moray shot its head out from the same crevice (!)  I was very startled, to say the least.  I also saw a monster porcupine fish at least 2 feet long hiding in a cavern as well.

DAY 3:
Prior to our trip, I scheduled a resort course with Deep Blue (www.deepbluecozumel.com), a dive shop, based on a recommendation from a friend of mine who dove with them last year.  For those of you who are not certified, a resort course is a great way to try out scuba diving without going thru the entire certification process.  Basically it's a condensed 3 hour course, where an instructor goes over the basics of scuba diving in very shallow water (it's also sometimes done in a pool, which is how Coral Princess's on-site dive shop -- Pepe's -- did it).   We first went the Deep Blue's headquarters downtown, met Matthew the proprietor (very nice and knowledgable), who scheduled our course with Luiz, one of the instructors. Luiz was a great teacher and put both my fiancee and I at ease during the entire course.  He was very patient and had a decent sense of humor about him.  We then went to the Lorena beach resort, which belongs Deep Blue and just south of San Miguel along the coast.  After some instruction Luis took us further offshore and we went scuba diving in about 20-25 feet of water. Let me tell you, if you like snorkeling you will LOVE scuba.  It's an entirely different experience and makes snorkeling pale in comparison. It's a much more 3D experience in that you can see up and around you, rather than just downwards while floating near the surface (as in snorkeling).  Rather than rushing up every now and then for air, you can actually take the time to look for life on the coral reef, and I was very pleased to finally see a spotted drum, sharptailed eel, and an octopus trying to eat a conch.  The highlight was definitely holding an arrow crab in my palm and watching it dance like a marionette.   After trying scuba, I wasn't even interested in SNUBA anymore.  My main objective (besides getting engaged) in going to Cozumel was to finally try scuba and I was NOT disappointed.  It's a bit unnerving at first to don all that heavy equipment and head into the ocean, and I found it difficult to maintain "neutral buoyancy" (I kept either
going too low to the floor or floating towards the surface).  Once you're actually underwater, however, it's quite relaxing and peaceful (once you realize you can breathe underwater and not die).  I highly recommend it to anybody who has ever considered trying it out.

Afterwards, I decided I would try a 2-tank dive with Deep Blue again, which I scheduled for later on in the trip.

In the afternoon we went to Chankanaab, which is one of the island's main attractions. Chankanaab is a beach park that -- in my opinion -- mostly caters to families and tourists.  I personally didn't like it too much; it was very crowded and the snorkeling area was packed with little kids. Chankanaab's snorkeling was average at best, although it was somewhat interesting to see some sunken Mayan treasures in the water.   Chankanaab is a few miles south of downtown and about a $12 ride in a taxi from the Coral Princess.  There were several dive shops along the beach and the ceviche at the restaurant was pretty good, but overall I wasn't impressed.  They had a botanical garden which we walked thru on the way out, and all I can say is, bring some mosquito repellant.  It's been over a week since we left Cozumel and I'm still itching right now.  If you have children then Chankanaab might be for you.

That nite the Coral Princess had a special seafood grill, which we ate on the outside patio.  Highly recommended.  It was so huge we couldn't even finish it.  Note:  there is a striped cat that has a voracious appetite (!) I believe she belongs to the hotel.  She will go around to each of the tables meowing for food.  I must've given her half my dish and she still could eat more.  She even eats BROCOLLI.

DAY 4:
We decided to take the ferry over to Playa del Carmen, which is on the mainland across from Cozumel, and check out Xcaret.  Xcaret is a huge ecological park about a 10 minute cab ride from the ferry, and I HIGHLY recommend it.  It's actually 10x better than Chankanaab, both in scope and beauty, which is reflected in the price (about $45 US each).   We only had half a day to spend here, so I would suggest you try and get there earlier. We took a swim in the cenotes, which are the underground rivers famous in this area of Mexico, considered holy waters by the Mayans.  It was quite interesting to swim through underground caverns in sometimes total
darkness, but it was crowded enough that it wasn't scary or anything.  You're required to wear life jackets so I'd say it was pretty safe (!)  The swim lasts quite some time, and at the end you exit at a different part of the park, and your belongings will be waiting for you in a padlocked bag (before you swim, you put all your belongings in a padlocked bag, whereupon they'll take down to the exit area for your pickup).

Afterwards, I did some light snorkeling in the park's lagoon area, and then we checked out some of the other sights, including: 1)  jaguar and panther island.  It was pretty funny seeing the male panther mount the female.  They were definitely in heat. 2) some archealogical sites. 3) "Xcaret at Night", which consists of a recreation of a Mayan ball game and night show.  The night show was especially spectacular.  You sit in an amphitheater and watch traditional Mexican dances and songs.  It's great to hear the locals sing along and feel the amphitheater swell with national pride.

We had to leave early to catch the 9pm ferry back to Cozumel (the show ends around 8:45pm).  Otherwise, the next ferry is at 11pm.  Xcaret is a great but be prepared for an EXHAUSTING day.  I also recommend bringing your own towels (!)

The ferry is easy to take and about a 45 minute ride.  You can feel slightly seasick if the water is rough but overall it's a pretty smooth ride.

One reason we decided to head back early was to catch the San Miguel Sunday nite festival, which apparently occurs weekly.  We only caught the very end of it.  A band played in the main square and you see the local youths going around trying to pick each other up.  At around 10pm we were just too tired and headed back to CP.

DAY 5:
Veg-out day.  Spent the entire day snorkeling and lounging on the beach at CP.  We were just too tired from Xcaret.  My fiancee and I both got massages in a tent by the ocean.  I can't say I liked it, simply because I'm too used to really good massages here in NYC, I suppose.  The massage therapists (whom I doubt are licensed, if there is such a thing in Cozumel) simply slathered on a ton of oil and rubbed up and down with no apparent kneading action.   Don't expect to get any knots or kinks worked out.  But for about $100 an hour for the both of us it wasn't nearly as expensive as a NYC massage.  Still, I'd can't say it was worth the money.

Other CP facts:
1)  The gym is a joke.  Don't expect to get much of a workout there; it's one of those Universal all-in-one machines that doesn't work very well.
2)  Using the payphones in the lobby is cheaper than the room phones, but avoid using them late at night if there are people singing karaoke in the adjacent bar.  You won't be able to hear a thing!

That nite we ate at Pepe's Grill, along the waterfront downtown.  Decent food but rather touristy.  The salad bar was very average; I personally cannot stand iceberg lettuce for salad.  I had the steak and my fiancee had the lobster.   Expect spiny lobster to have a chewier consistency than American lobster (esp. if you're from New England, like me).  The taste is also a bit different, almost "gamey".  If you do go, try and get a table along the window that faces the water.

DAY 6:
We flew to Chichen Itza early in the morning, which we scheduled for earlier in the week thru CP's travel agent.  This proved to be fortuitous at the time since it was Christmas day.  As a result almost all shops in San Miguel, as well as the dive operators, were not open for business.

Chichen Itza (or Chicken Pizza, as Pedro called it) is probably the most famous of Mayan ruins, located in the central part of the Yucatan Peninsula.   It wasn't a cheap trip (about $130 each, plus almost $100 in airport taxes, which is REALLY annoying).  The good thing was that rather than taking the bus and ferry to get there, we took a small charter plane (with about 15 other people) from Cozumel's airport at 8am, flew to Chichen Itza's own (very small) airport, and arrived at the ruins by 9am.   This was certainly better than taking the ferry/bus, which would have entailed a 3-4 hour trip alone one way.  By the time we left Chichen Itza (at 1pm) to go back to Cozumel, the afternoon crowds were just arriving.  Again, it wasn't cheap but to me it was worth it, because we got to go back to Cozumel and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

Our tour guide Jimmy was very knowledgable and I enjoyed Chichen Itza alot.

We didn't have a chance to eat breakfast beforehand, so I strongly suggest eating something before the trip (or bringing some snacks) because they don't give out any food during the tour, which makes it doubly difficult to walk up and down the ruins.  The centerpiece of the Chichen Itza is the large pyramid, historically significant because it was the Mayans' method of calculating the soltice.  Overall a very impressive structure indeed.  But be careful, the steps are absolutely treacherous and I'm surprised there aren't more accidents (my fiancee stopped 1/3 of the way up).  I decided to soldier on, and from the top looking down it's actually pretty scary, and if you fall you're definitely gonna die (I'm serious!!)  If it makes any of you feel better, there is an ambulance stationed nearby.  If you have kids I'd strongly advise you to keep a good eye on them, esp. once you get to the top.

The charter flights, as of this writing, fly from Cozumel only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  If you feel it's important to get some "culture" in on your trip to Cozumel then go for Chichen Itza.  Supposedly Tulum is quite good as well (which is also on the mainland, and easily accessible because it's along the coast) but I hear it's not nearly as grand as Chichen.  Note: it was pretty damn hot and from what Jimmy said, it gets even more brutal during the summer, when it's humid.   What's kind of nice is that before you board the plane to go back to Cozumel, Jimmy takes you to a nearby watering hole (privately owned, near a hotel) for a quick swim.  The watering hole is absolutely MAGNIFICENT;  words are actually hard to describe it.
Basically it's this HUMONGOUS hole in the ground about 70 feet down, and maybe 150 feet in diameter.  We had to walk down these rocky spiral stairs to get there.  I unfortunately didn't bring my swimming trunks but my fiancee dove in and thoroughly enjoyed herself.  A great experience.

On our way back from the airport we tried to stop by Las Palmas, a traditional Mexican luncheria near the Mexican market, but it was closed on Christmas.  We decided to then check out the Museum of Cozumel, and had a light lunch in their upstairs restaurant.  Although nothing special, the museum did have some interesting exhibits on local marine and coral life, very much from a marine biologist's perspective.  The restaurant's margarita was unfortunately WAY too strong so I had to go back to the CP to recover.

That nite, we had dinner at the CP again; my fiancee had the pork tenderloin and I had the Montecristo sandwich (both good).

DAY 7:
We made it a point to go back to Las Palmas again, because we wanted to try out authentic Mexican cuisine, which seemed to be missing from most of the restaurants closer to the shore.  I tried the Jamika drink, which was not unlike a more flavorful Kool-aid, and the cost of the meal was very cheap. The place is a small diner and the food definitely tastes different from
the touristy restaurants.

The afternoon would be our second dive with Deep Blue.  The windy conditions that day were less than ideal, given that the ocean had 3-6 foot swells with whitecaps.  Debbie (Matt's wife) from Deep Blue assured us that we wouldn't have a problem, since once we were in the water we wouldn't notice the difference.  She was right on that count but I must say, it was still difficult to board the boat from the water and people were getting pretty seasick while on the boat.

We requested Luiz again, but because he was already booked ahead of time, we had to go with an English expat named Steve, another dive instructor. Steve was pretty good overall but definitely NOT as patient as Luiz.  The first of our 2-tank dive was along San Francisco wall, an absolutely FANTASTIC experience and for a novice like me, it was truly unforgettable.  (Note: San Francisco wall is probably the easiest of Cozumel's wall dives, probably doesn't even come close to advanced wall dives such as Punta Sur and Santa Rosa).  Nevertheless, I was BLOWN away.  It was a bit scary to "fall in backwards" off the boat, esp. given the rough conditions, but once in the water it was we managed to calm down.  Our maximum depth was about 50
feet.

To see a wall on one side slope down 3000 feet into the ABYSS is a once in a lifetime thing.  The wall was teeming with coral life, we saw plenty of interesting critters, including:  splendid toadfish (finally!  indigenous only to Cozumel's waters), 6-foot long barracuda (this thing was HUGE and terrifying to look at), lots of spiny lobsters, ocean triggerfish, yellow stingray, etc.  The current was quite strong and as a result I found it difficult to navigate and orient myself while swimming.  Steve did something funny where he took off his fins and started doing flips along the ocean floor.  I followed along and it was the closest thing I could imagine to walking on the moon (!)  Great stuff.

Truth be told, it was almost downright dangerous while boarding the boat from the water.  A rope was thrown overboard to us, but the boat kept rocking up and down on the waves.  As we pulled ourselves closer to the boat, a couple of times the boat almost came straight down on our heads (which pretty much would've knocked us unconscious, if not something much worse).  Once we got on board again, my fiancee felt she had enough, and decided to pass on the 2nd dive.  I couldn't really blame her considering that the conditions had worsened; the waters were pretty rough at this point and most of the divers were getting sicker by the minute.  Steve unfortunately wasn't very sympathetic and was displeased to find out that
my fiancee wasn't diving again.  To be fair, he was concerned that she would get sicker and colder on the boat.  He was, however, nice enough to let her borrow his fleece and windbreaker.

For our next dive, we went to the Balones of Chanakanaab reef, far off shore from Chanakanaab beach park.  This was a much easier dive because the current wasn't as strong, and because there wasn't a sloping wall it wasn't as disorienting when swimming around.  The coral formations here were very exquisite and I saw plenty of life, including some HUGE crabs.  One particular highlight was a yellow jawfish hovering above his hole.  As we got closer, he darted back in the hole backwards.   When we backed off for a little bit, he came out and started hovering again.  Very cute.  As we came to the surface we did a safety stop at about 20 feet below, and this is where I started getting slightly stung by very tiny jellyfish.  Nothing
too painful but irritating nonetheless.

On our way back shore the boat ride became increasingly rough, and water kept spraying in the boat.  Everybody got soaked to the bone, including my fiancee while wearing Steve's fleece and jacket.  Unfortunately Steve was NOT happy about that when we got to shore and displayed his displeasure by cursing and kicking the boat, which we DID not appreciate.  Although I was certainly grateful for him lending my fiancee the clothes, I felt he wasn't being professional and would have rather he not lent us anything at all if he was going to be like that.  I tipped him heavily, but once we got on ground we hopped in the nearest taxi and took off.

Conclusion:  if you go diving, make sure you bring your own towels and jacket/windbreaker.

I do recommend Deep Blue overall, though, based on Matt's, Debbie's, and Luiz's service.  Scuba diving is truly a unique experience, and I believe I'll pursue it further.  (My fiancee, on the other hand, has probably decided that it wasn't for her).  The resort courses, then, truly served their purpose (!)

By now we were completely exhausted from a very physically demanding day and went back to CP.

DAY 8:
Our flight was not supposed to leave Cozumel until 1pm, so we decided to head into town for some last-minute shopping.  My fiancee got a great purse which probably could not be found anywhere else except Mexico.  We also stopped by Jeannie's Waffle House along the waterfront (not bad).  When we got back to CP for some our check-out, we found out that our flight
changed and that we had to leave IMMEDIATELY for a 11:35am flight.  That basically left us with almost no time to check out.  Vincente the Apple rep was nice enough to wait for us outside the terminal, so we barely made the flight and it was back to Cancun and then NYC.

Some final thoughts:
1)  I didn't find it necessary to rent a car at all.  Some people suggest taking a tour of the uninhabitated side of the island, but that didn't seem to interest us.  I believe there is something called Tarzan tours which allows you to explore the island on dune buggies, though.

2)  Taxi service was really friendly and great, and very easy to find all over San Miguel.

3)  if you stay at CP, Pedro/Humberto will often give you a bunch of restaurant business cards with special deals, such as free drinks, etc.

4)  US currency is readily accepted, but you will almost always get your change back in pesos.  The ATMs downtown are generally considered to give you the best rate.  I did find it helpful, however, to get about $100 converted into pesos as soon as I arrived at Cozumel's airport.

5)  definitely check out the Mexican market, a few blocks inland from the main square.   I wish we had more time to see how the locals lived.

Hope this trip report helps, and have a great time. . . . . J.TENG

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