This article contains affiliate links. When you book a hotel, a car rental or an activity through these links, we receive a commission from the advertiser at no extra cost to you 💕. By using them, you support us while paying exactly the same price 🙏. We earn a commission from the advertiser at no extra cost to you 💕. Thank you!
Our partners
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 🇲🇽
In Mexico, there’s an incredible island, Cozumel, known for its wildlife and plant life 🐟! It’s the perfect place to discover the most beautiful seabeds in the Caribbean: a paradise for scuba diving and snorkeling, with turquoise water and white sand beaches 🏖️. About 35 to 45 minutes by ferry from Playa del Carmen, the island is a dream for many travelers, even more so if you love diving or snorkeling.
In Mayan, Cozumel means “Land of the Swallows”: it’s the largest and most populated of the Mexican Caribbean islands. It has two moods: to the west, a calm sea and white sand; to the east, much bigger waves and strong wind 💨. It’s home to a national marine park, the Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Cozumel, and two nature parks, Punta Sur and Chankanaab.
The island’s charm lies in its many diving and snorkeling sites, all on the west side. And if you’re passing through Isla Mujeres, the little beach of Garrafón de Castilla, in the south of the island, is also a lovely snorkeling spot. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or experienced, you’ll be spellbound by what you see 😍.
👉 Planning your trip? Also read our 10 things to know before visiting Mexico.
THE MAP OF OUR MEXICO ROAD TRIP 🗺️
To help you plan your itinerary, we’ve gathered every place from our 30-day road trip in Mexico 🇲🇽 on an interactive map: cenotes, Mayan sites, beaches and stopover towns, from Yucatán to Quintana Roo. Click on each pin to discover the place in detail 📍. And to keep it handy during your trip, open it in Google Maps: you’ll find it easily on your phone 📱.
Our itinerary
Our trip to Mexico
1 month8 stops2 states: Yucatán & Quintana RooCar + ferry to the islands
The stops, in order
- 1
Cancún
1 night
Arrival by plane, then last night before the flight home
- 2
Holbox
3 nights
Beaches, sunsets and a timeless vibe
- 3
Valladolid
5 nights
Suytun, Oxman, Ik Kil, Chichén Itzá, Ek Balam
- 4
Mérida
3 nights
Uxmal and the 3 cenotes of Cuzamá
- 5
Bacalar
5 nights
The lagoon of seven colors and its cenotes
- 6
Tulum
4 nights
Ruins, Coba, Sian Ka'an, Cenote Azul and Calavera
- 7
Cozumel
4 nights
Scuba diving and snorkeling
- 8
Isla Mujeres
3 nights
Jet skiing, beaches and the end of the road trip
OUR SNORKELING DAY IN COZUMEL 🤿
PALANCAR REEF
We completely fell in love with Cozumel 💕. Our snorkeling day was incredible in every way, and we enjoyed every moment. We’d booked our tour online, on GetYourGuide, and we left the Cozumel port at 10 a.m. for the first stop: Palancar Reef. There’s extraordinary biodiversity, with an impressive coral reef, lots of fish, starfish, rays… Seeing all this wildlife and plant life right beneath your feet is magnificent. You’re spellbound from the very first seconds in the water 🥽. Marine life is abundant, and it’s also an excellent place for diving, with lots of underwater caves. I couldn’t compare it to anything I’ve ever experienced.
COLOMBIA REEF
Back on the boat for our second stop: Colombia Reef. We saw lots more fish there, just a few centimeters from us, not afraid of humans at all. Bright colors and incredible coral formations 😍! This is the stop where we swam the most, exploring seabeds that make you want to stay all day. With the water being extremely warm ♨️, it’s pure pleasure. It’s an experience you have to have if you go to Mexico, and for us one of our best, along with the scuba dive we did the next day.
EL CIELO, THE STARFISH SANDBAR
We ended with the grand finale, maybe the most beautiful place of our lives! El Cielo is a sandbar out at sea, reachable only by boat ⛵: there’s no way to get there by land. And there, you discover dozens of starfish, which you can get close to without touching, obviously. The water is only about 2 meters deep in some spots. El Cielo is one of the most beautiful places in the Mexican Caribbean. We even saw rays swimming just a few meters from us, a first for us! No turtles that day, but it was already amazing. Being in places like this makes us want to keep discovering new cultures and new countries 💪. Translucent, irresistible water that’s still just as warm!
THE BEST SNORKELING SPOTS IN COZUMEL 🗺️
BY BOAT
The most beautiful spots are on the west coast, reachable by boat: Palancar and Colombia reefs, the El Cielo sandbar and its starfish, and Paradise Reef. That’s the tour we did, and we saw rays and dozens of starfish (no turtles that day, but it was already incredible).
FROM THE BEACH
You can also snorkel without a boat, from the west coast: Dzul Ha (Money Bar), Playa Corona, or the Chankanaab and Punta Sur parks (paid entry). Handy if you have a car or a scooter on the island.
HOW TO GET TO COZUMEL FROM PLAYA DEL CARMEN ⏳
THE PASSENGER FERRY
There’s no direct passenger ferry from Cancún: everything leaves from Playa del Carmen (about a 1-hour drive from Cancún). The crossing takes 35 to 45 minutes, with departures almost every hour. Three companies run the route (Xcaret Xailing, Ultramar, Winjet), for about €15 to €19 one way depending on the class. Prices change regularly.
THE CAR FERRY
We came over with our rental car, on the car ferry that leaves from Calica (Punta Venado), south of Playa del Carmen, which you book on UltramarCarga. Allow about 1 to 1¼ hours for the crossing, and about €45 to €70 for the car and driver depending on the booking. We then parked the car at our Airbnb on the island.
GETTING AROUND THE ISLAND
- By car 🚗: useful for driving around the island, which is big. Feel free to check out my article on renting a car in Mexico.
- By scooter 🛵: a good alternative for getting around.
- By taxi 🚕: plentiful, but they get expensive fast, even for short distances.
- By bus 🚌: there are no buses on Cozumel.
👉 For us, the car was essential during our trip: it let us be 100% independent, on the island as well as on the mainland.
RENTING A CAR IN MEXICO 🚗
To explore Yucatán and Quintana Roo, we think a rental car is the best option: you’re free to string together cenotes, Mayan sites and beaches at your own pace, without depending on bus schedules or organized tours 🌴.
We did our whole one-month road trip by car, and everything went really well. Here’s the agency we used and recommend, plus an alternative if you’d rather compare 👇
Our rental tip
Renting a car in Mexico
The agency we used, and an alternative to compare.
TouraCancun
Car rental in Mexico
We rented with them for our whole road trip: we recommend them without hesitation!
Our budget€95028 days, insurance included · ~€34/day
- Tested for 1 month
- Pick-up in Cancún
- Our go-to in Mexico
DiscoverCars
Rental comparison site
To compare several rental companies in a single search.
Excellent rating290,000+ Trustpilot reviews
- 1,000+ rental companies compared
- Free cancellation
- 24/7 support
To compare before you choose
Good to know before you rent
- Third-party liability insurance is mandatoryIn Mexico, it's often not included in the price shown online: check before you pay.
- A deposit on a credit cardAn amount is held on your card for the whole rental. Bring a card with a high enough limit.
- Your French driving license is enoughIt's accepted for tourists. The international driving permit is optional: only if you want one.
- Photos and video at pick-upFilm the car from every angle when you collect it, to avoid any dispute when you return it.
- Filling up at the gas stationCheck that the pump meter is at zero before the attendant starts.
- Watch out for “topes”These speed bumps are everywhere, sometimes without a sign: slow down as you enter villages.
PRICE OF A SNORKELING TOUR IN COZUMEL 💰
SHARED BOAT, CATAMARAN OR PRIVATE
In 2021, tours started at around €50 to €60 per person. It’s surely more expensive now: expect about €60 to €70 for a shared boat trip of about 4 hours (Palancar, Colombia, El Cielo), €70 to €80 by catamaran, and around €450 to €500 per group for a private boat. These prices change.
If you don’t book ahead, you’ll find lots of agencies at the port. As for us, organized as always, we booked online: you’ll find lots of tours on GetYourGuide.
THE MARINE PARK WRISTBAND
Every tour in the national marine park requires a wristband (access fee), handed out by the tour operator. In 2021, we paid about €6. Today, expect about 218 pesos per person per day (about €10), sometimes included, sometimes payable in cash on site: check with your operator. For cash, read our article Where to withdraw money in Mexico.
WHEN TO GO SNORKELING IN COZUMEL? ☀️
The best time is roughly November to May, when the water is clearest. September is the most uncertain month, at the heart of hurricane season. We were there in October: the water was extremely warm and visibility very good.
As for sargassum, the west coast, where snorkeling trips go, is generally spared, unlike the more exposed east coast. Still, check the situation before your trip. And for the calmest sea, go for morning trips.
RULES AND TIPS FOR PROTECTING THE REEFS 🥰
As always in our articles, here are a few tips for snorkeling in Cozumel:
- Lots of agencies: pick the experience that suits you.
- A very touristy outing.
- Budget for the marine park wristband (about 218 pesos a day), on top of the ticket.
- 🧴 Sunscreen: biodegradable (“reef-safe”) only, or better yet, a UV rash guard. The coral reef is very fragile.
- 🐚 Don’t touch the coral, never take the starfish out of the water, and keep your distance from rays and turtles.
- Fins and mask 🤿 are normally provided.
- The water is warm, it’s so comfortable.
- Go for small boats, to be in a small group.
- The cost of the tour is still fairly high compared to other activities.
- You can easily leave from Playa del Carmen to discover Cozumel as a day trip.
OUR TAKE ON THIS TOUR AND ISLA COZUMEL 💭
An experience that’s a feast for the eyes from start to finish! We were a nice group, only 12 people. It’s important for us not to be crammed in with dozens of tourists; I like to live the experience to the fullest in a small group 😁. Cozumel and its reefs made our stay even more enjoyable. The scuba dive we did the next day was even more impressive 🤿!
Lots of tourists go to Mexico and stay in “all-inclusive” hotels, but Mexico deserves so much better. Set off on an adventure like we did (small hotels, Airbnbs) and let the locals show you this country, which is so worth it 👊. It’s such a shame to stay at your hotel when there’s 1,000 times better outside.
If after all that you’re still hesitating about going to Cozumel, reread my article 📝.
If you love islands, keep going with Isla Mujeres (the south of the island is also superb for snorkeling), or head to the Tulum ruins when you’re back on the mainland.
👉 What about you? What do you think of Cozumel’s reefs?
FAQ: SNORKELING IN COZUMEL ❓
These are the questions people often ask before snorkeling in Cozumel. Feel free to ask yours in the comments, and I’ll add to this FAQ 💬.
The most beautiful spots are on the west coast: Palancar and Colombia reefs and the El Cielo sandbar, reachable by boat. From the beach, you can also swim at Dzul Ha (Money Bar), Playa Corona or in Chankanaab park.
No, El Cielo is a sandbar out at sea, reachable only by boat. We went there at the end of our tour, after Palancar and Colombia.
In 2021, tours started at around €50 to €60. Today, expect about €60 to €70 on a shared boat and €70 to €80 by catamaran. These prices may change, and the park wristband isn’t always included.
It’s the access fee for the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park, handed out each day by your operator. We paid about €6 in 2021; today, expect about 218 pesos (about €10) per person per day.
About 35 to 45 minutes, for about €15 to €19 one way depending on the class. The car ferry, from Calica, takes about 1 to 1¼ hours: that’s the one we took with our rental car.
Yes, ferries leave almost every hour from Playa del Carmen, and many tours start around 10 a.m. We preferred to sleep on the island so we could do snorkeling and diving back to back.
Only biodegradable, so-called “reef-safe” sunscreen. A UV rash guard is still the best protection, for you and for the coral.
Roughly November to May, when the water is clearest. September is the most uncertain month (hurricane season). In October, the water was very warm for us.
The west coast, where snorkeling trips go, is generally spared, as the east coast is more exposed. Check the situation right before your trip.
Very colorful fish, corals, starfish at El Cielo and rays: that’s what we saw. With a bit of luck, you’ll also come across turtles (not us that day!).
WHERE TO STAY IN MEXICO 🏨
During our one-month road trip in Mexico 🇲🇽, we stayed in 8 different towns, alternating between Airbnbs and hotels. And we were always very happy with where we stayed 😇.
We deliberately avoided “All Inclusive” packages. It’s not our idea of travel: we’d rather be in the heart of towns and villages, eat local and discover the country at our own pace 🌮.
OUR TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT PLACE TO STAY
- 📅 Book ahead in high season: the best places go fast and prices climb.
- 🚗 Private or secure parking if you’re traveling with a rental car. You’ll see, it’s not always available, but depending on the town it can be really worth having.
- ❄️ Air conditioning: essential in Yucatán and Quintana Roo, where it’s hot all year round.
- 🏊 A pool: up to you whether you want one at some of your stays, because it can quickly push the price up.
- 📍 A place close to the center: so you can do everything on foot in the evening. That said, if you like places outside town and you have the car, nothing forces you to stay near the center
- ✅ Free cancellation, to keep your itinerary flexible.
AIRBNB OR HOTEL IN MEXICO?
Both have their advantages. An Airbnb is ideal for more space, a kitchen and living like a local. A hotel is more convenient for one or two nights passing through, with a reception desk and often breakfast included. As for us, we liked both. It all depends on what you want, whether you’re with family, solo or as a couple, and how you like to travel.
HOW MUCH DOES ACCOMMODATION COST IN MEXICO?
There’s something for every taste and every budget. We paid between €40 and €100 a night for two. To be completely transparent with you: €1,800 for 29 nights, or about €62 a night on average (that was in 2021, prices may have changed since).
👇 Here are the 8 places where we slept during our road trip, with our review of each one.
Tested during our road trip
Our 8 places to stay in Mexico
AirbnbHotel
-
AirbnbHolbox
An incredible room, with the pool right next door to cool off. Just perfect!
- Room
- Pool right next door
- Incredible room
- Hotel
Valladolid
A stunning setting and a super spacious room, ideal for catching your breath between two cenotes.
- Very spacious room
- Pool
- On-site massages
- Airbnb
Mérida
A whole house just for us, with a small pool to relax.
- Whole house
- Small pool
- A bit out of the way
- Hotel
Bacalar
A gorgeous place right in the town center, with a superb pool.
- Hotel
- Superb pool
- Town center, far from the lagoon
- Airbnb
Tulum
A whole place with a pool, but very far out: you'll need the car.
- Whole place
- Pool
- Far out, car essential
- Airbnb
Cozumel
A clean, well-located studio, so you can do everything on foot from the town center.
- Studio
- Clean and well designed
- Close to the center
- Hotel
Isla Mujeres
A beautiful seafront hotel with a magnificent pool.
- Hotel
- Magnificent pool
- Seafront, a bit out of the way
- Hotel
Cancún
Right next to the airport: perfect for the first or last night of the trip.
- Hotel
- Close to the airport
- Ideal for the 1st or last night
MY MUST-HAVE TRAVEL GEAR 🧳
It’s a question that comes up a lot when preparing a trip “What should I bring?” That’s why you’ll find below some essential travel accessories to set off on vacation with peace of mind (your documents kept safe) 🛡️ . Planning ahead and getting these items in advance helps you save money and avoid paying for some of them on the spot, where they’ll cost you much more 💸 These are the accessories we took to Mexico and still use for every destination we travel to 👇.
Our road trip checklist
What to pack for Mexico?
Most of these items came with us throughout our 30-day road trip.
0 / 12 in my suitcase · check what you already have
- Essential
ElectronicsUniversal travel adapter
In Mexico, outlets are the American type: French chargers won't fit.
- Essential
ElectronicsPower bank
Long days between ruins and cenotes: your phone lasts until evening.
- Essential
Health & protectionBiodegradable sunscreen
Mineral and biodegradable, kinder to cenotes and reefs.
- Essential
Health & protectionMosquito repellent
Mosquitoes are everywhere, especially in the evening and near the jungle.
- Essential
Cenotes & beachWaterproof phone pouch
To film in cenotes and at the beach without any risk.
- Recommended
Health & protectionFilter water bottle
Tap water isn't drinkable in Mexico: filter it and avoid plastic.
- Recommended
Health & protectionTravel first-aid kit
Band-aids, painkillers, anti-diarrhea meds: enough to handle small issues.
- Recommended
Cenotes & beachWaterproof bag
Papers and keys kept dry on boats, at the beach or by the cenotes.
- Recommended
Cenotes & beachWater shoes
For slippery cenote steps and rocky seabeds.
- Recommended
Cenotes & beachMicrofiber towel
Light and quick-drying: perfect for swim after swim.
- Bonus
Travel & securityTSA lock
To lock your suitcase on the plane, with no risk of it being broken at security.
- Bonus
Travel & securityAirTag
To track your suitcase if your luggage is delayed or lost.
OUR YOUTUBE VIDEOS IN MEXICO 
During our 30-day road trip in Mexico 
, we filmed everything! From Holbox to Cancún, by way of Valladolid, Mérida, Bacalar, Tulum, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, we take you along with us step by step in our vlogs.
You’ll discover the cenotes we swam in, the Mayan sites we explored, the beaches that made us dream, our places to stay, our favorite spots to eat… and above all our honest take on each place: what amazed us, and what disappointed us a little 
.
If you’re planning your trip, or simply dreaming of getting away, these videos will give you a real glimpse of Mexico, far from the tourist brochures.
Our road trip on video
Our YouTube videos in Mexico
Now watching: Episode 1 · Discovering Mexico & Holbox
21 minEpisode 1Discovering Mexico & Holbox- 17 minEpisode 2Cenotes & Mayan cities
- 9 minEpisode 3Mérida, Uxmal, Cuzamá & the bats
- 13 minEpisode 4Bacalar, a hidden paradise
- 12 minEpisode 5Tulum, Coba, Sian Ka'an & Cenote Azul
- 12 minEpisode 6Cozumel, diving & snorkeling
- 17 minEpisode 7Isla Mujeres, jet skiing & the end of the road trip
21 min
17 min
9 min
13 min
12 min
12 min
17 minTHANKS FOR YOUR FEEDBACK
Thanks for reading this article all the way to the end 🙏! We hope it helps you plan your trip.
A question, a doubt about your itinerary, or simply want to tell us what you thought? Write to us in the comments. Your messages also help other travelers plan their trip, and they always make us very happy 💚.
And if our articles are useful to you, a quick review on Google or Trustpilot helps us enormously to spread the word about the blog ⭐. Thanks for following us!