Cozumel

A coastal loop from Chankanaab to Punta Sur and Chen Río

A Cozumel day loop starts with a jeep or car in San Miguel and heading south on the Carretera Costera Sur. Stop at Chankanaab, a park around a natural lagoon with easy shore snorkelling, then continue to Punta Sur Eco Park at the southern tip for the Celarain lighthouse, the Maya shrine El Caracol and the Colombia lagoon.

El Caracol's shell-like structure once whistled in the wind, and boats cross the lagoon to look for crocodiles and wading birds. The beach there is a quiet place to snorkel.

Afternoon. Round the southern end onto the east coast, where the road runs right along the shore past limestone outcrops and blowholes. Stop for a seafood lunch at one of the beach restaurants, then swim at Chen Río, a cove protected by rocks, one of the few safe places for swimming on this side. Further north, the road turns inland at Punta Morena onto the Carretera Transversal.

Late afternoon. Take the turning north to San Gervasio, the island's main Maya site, a cluster of small temples and causeways in the forest dedicated to Ixchel, goddess of fertility, which women from across the Maya world visited on pilgrimage. Go before it closes in mid-afternoon.

Evening. Back in San Miguel, walk the malecón at sunset, visit the small Museo de la Isla de Cozumel on the waterfront and have dinner a few blocks inland around the main square.

Cochinita, fish tacos and loncherías off the malecón

Cozumel's food mixes Yucatecan tradition with fresh seafood, and the best meals are away from the waterfront strip that caters to cruise passengers. Look for cochinita pibil, achiote and bitter-orange pork slow-cooked until tender, eaten at breakfast in tacos or tortas with pickled onion, and fish tacos at the loncherías a few blocks inland.

Look for cochinita pibil, pork marinated in achiote and bitter orange and slow-cooked until tender, often served at breakfast in tacos or tortas with pickled red onion. Poc chuc, grilled citrus-marinated pork, and sopa de lima, a lime-scented chicken broth, are other Yucatán staples. Casa Denis, near the main square, claims to be the oldest restaurant on the island and serves these regional dishes in a family house.

Seafood is everywhere. Ceviche of fish, shrimp or conch, fish tacos and whole fried fish are the staples of the beach restaurants on the east coast, where you eat with your feet in the sand. In town, family places like La Choza, on Calle Rosado Salas, serve homestyle Mexican cooking and grilled fish.

For the cheapest, most local food, head a few blocks back from the seafront to the municipal market area, where small loncherías serve set lunches, tacos and fresh juices to islanders. Street stalls around the main square sell marquesitas, crisp rolled crêpes filled with cheese and caramel, in the evening.

Drinking is relaxed. Prices drop as you move away from the waterfront, and supermarket liquor is far cheaper than in tourist shops. Margaritas are strong and fresh at most local restaurants.

Palancar walls, drift dives and hurricane months

Diving is the main reason to come to Cozumel. The reefs of the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park run along the southwest coast, mostly well south of town, and nearly every dive is a drift dive: the boat drops you at the start of a reef, the current carries you along, and the boat collects you at the end.

The best-known sites are the Palancar reef system, with its coral towers and swim-throughs; Santa Rosa Wall, a sheer drop with overhangs; and Colombia, further south, with big coral pinnacles. Turtles, eagle rays, nurse sharks and huge groupers are common. The island's many dive shops teach beginner courses, but the currents can be strong, so beginners should say so when booking. Snorkellers do well at Chankanaab and the shallow reefs off the beach clubs. A marine park fee applies.

The weather shapes the trip. Highs stay at 29-33C all year and the water is warm. February to April is driest, with as little as 32 mm of rain in March, and calm, clear water. Rainfall builds from May and peaks in September and October at about 240 mm, during the height of hurricane season, which runs from June to November. Storms can close the port and cancel ferries and dives for days, so build in some flexibility.

On land, February or March brings Carnaval, with costumed parades along the seafront, one of the oldest celebrations of its kind in Mexico.