About Diving in Cozumel

Cozumel is among the 10 best places to dive in the world. It is part of the great Mesoamerican barrier reef that runs from Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. It´s the second largest barrier reef after Australia.

Dive Sites

Cozumel

Cozumel with its crystal clear turquoise waters, white sand beaches, beautiful marine life, corals and multicolored sponges and its ocean currents make this beautiful island unique as a perfect destination for divers and non-divers.

With its more than 40 dive sites abundant marine life, lush reefs, unique coral formations and an average visibility of 24-40 meters (80-120 ft) make it an ideal underwater paradise for divers of any level (experienced with hundreds of dives, beginners, students and snorkels). Cozumel has a hyperbaric chamber, hotels, a beach club, bars and restaurants, a museum, a planetarium, and archaeological sites. Cozumel is located a short distance from Playa Del Carmen only 40 minutes by ferry.

History of Cozumel

In the Mayan language (Cuzamil) it means island of the swallows. The first settlers of the island of Cozumel arrived around the second century BC. It is believed that these individuals were part of Caribbean semi-dominated groups, dedicated to fishing and hunting. In the third century, a second more organized wave arrived, it was integrated with Mayan groups identified as coming from the Guatemalan Peten region, south of the Yucatan Peninsula. The third wave of migration of the classic Maya, began in the 8th century and came from Tabasco and southern Campeche who were navigators and merchants. This group introduced to the island new forms of social organization, architectural styles and new religious cults, in which the devotion to the goddess Ix Chel, deity of the moon, fertility and birth stood out, and who had its main sanctuary on the island, giving origin to a pilgrimage rite from all over the Mayan world to Cozumel. In 1518 the first Spanish Juan de Grijalva arrived, a year later he began the conquest of Mexico with Hernan Cortez in 1519. During the colony the island was practically uninhabited, before the abandonment the island was frequently a refuge for pirates and corsairs who had the Caribbean as a center of operations. In the mid-nineteenth century as a result of the indigenous rebellion in the peninsula, known as the Caste War (1847), a repopulation process began with the arrival of families from the state of Yucatan. In the twentieth century, after the Second World War, the development of communication routes and service infrastructure opened the door to tourism development that to date is the basis of the local economy. Cozumel is the largest and most populated island in the Mexican Caribbean.

Dive Sites

  • Maracaibo: 21 m – 40 m (70 ft.-130 ft.) This is the southernmost reef, experienced divers only, can be unpredictable currents, large ocean swells. the edge of the wall is about 27 mts (90 ft.) extremely impressive wall dive, beautiful healthy reef with an amazing soft corals, be prepared for larger fish, sharks, eagle rays, turtles, there is a perfectly shaped arch around 34 m (115 ft.).
  • Punta sur: (Cathedral, Devil’s throat) 24 m – 40 m (80 ft.-130 ft.) Experienced divers only, unpredictable currents, amazing swim throughs (tunnel system), spectacular escenery, beautiful sand dunes, amazing walls, beautiful healthy reef, turtles, eagle rays, sharks, schools of horse eye jacks, barracudas, unique and fantastic dive sites.
  • Colombia Reefs: (Colombia Shallow, Colombia Deep, Regular Colombia 8 m – 40 m (24 ft. -130 ft.) There are different sections at Colombia, it is perfect for snorkeling and diving, healthy reef, beautiful walls and pinnacles, beautiful swim throughs (tunnel system), amazing coral system, eagle rays, turtles, sharks, barracudas.
  • Palancar Reefs: (Bricks, Cuevones, Caves, Horseshoe, Gardens) 8 m – 30 m (24 ft-100 ft.)There are 5 sections in Palancar, it is perfect for snorkeling and diving, beautiful reef system walls, pinnacles, swim throughs (tunnel system), turtles, barracudas, rays.
  • Dalila and Francesa: 10 m – 18 m (30 ft.- 60 ft) There are 2 sections, amazing shallow dives (beautiful ledge) with abundant marine life, rays, turtles, sharks, barracudas, there is a beautiful long swim through.
  • Cedral Wall y Paso del Cedral : 10 m -27 m (30 ft.- 90 ft.) This is a fun dive with abundant marine life, sharks, rainbow parrotfish, rays, barracudas, turtles, eels, you can do the wall or you can stay shallow, there is one beautiful swim through, nice healthy reef.
  • Santa Rosa Wall : 16 m – 40 m (50 ft.- 120 ft.) This is an impressive wall with some swim throughs (tunnel system) that take you from the wall back to the sandy area and from the sandy area to the wall, beautiful dive site, turtles, horse eye jacks, sharks, barracudas, lined with beautiful corals and sponges.
  • Santa Rosa Shallow : 7 m – 12 m (21 ft.- 40 ft.) Perfect for snorkeling and diving, you can stay shallow and finish on the wall, it is a combination of sand and corals, very colorful reef, sharks, rays, barracudas.
  • San Francisco Wall : 10 m – 24 m (30 ft.- 80 ft.) This is a beautiful colorful wall with some nice white sand dunes that makes it very nice, healthy reef, rays, turtles, barracudas, triggerfish, flounders.
  • San Clemente : 6 m – 10 m (20 ft.- 30 ft.) Perfect for snorkeling and diving, lots of small creatures , rays, sand dollars, eels, barracudas, triggerfish, turtles.
  • Yucab and Tormentos: 10 m – 21 m (30 ft.- 70ft.) Broken patch reef with wide channels of sand, perfect for small creatures, snappers, grunts, rays, turtles, ocean triggerfish, barracudas, eels, sharks.
  • C-53 Wreck : 21 mts (70ft.) This retired miniesweeper was built for the US Navy in florida  in 1942. It was sold to Mexico in 1962 and sunk as an artificial reef  within the Cozumel Marine Park in June 2000. It is 184ft. long and 33ft. wide.  It is safe an easy wreck dive with many exit points, silversides, glassy sweepers, barracudas, eels, beautiful light effects.
  • Paradise Reef: 12 m (40 ft.) Perfect for snorkeling and diving, scaterred coral heads, sand, sea grass, hard coral , soft corals and spoges makes this place with abundant marine life, splendid toadfish, rainbow parrotfish, barracudas, filefish, crabs, lobsters.
  • Villa Blanca Wall : 16 m – 30 m (50 ft.- 100 ft.) Sloping wall with thousands of sponges different colors and gorgonians, triggerfish, turtles, rays, crabs, scorpion fish.
  • Cantarel : 24 m (80 ft) Wall dive and this is the eagle ray point on season January to March .
  • San Juan Reef: 14 m – 21 m (45 ft.- 70 ft.) Experienced divers only, flat reef with an unpredictable current. Beautiful finger corals like garden , turtles, triggerfish, lobsters, sharks, rays.
  • Barracuda Wall: 18 m – 33 m (60 ft.- 110 ft.) Experienced divers only, spectacular vertical wall, eagle rays, sharks, ocean triggerfish, turtles, larger game fish.