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Guide to Cozumel Beaches |
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Cozumel island has three distinct types of beaches:
- Sandy walk-in beaches on the west or leeward side of the island generally have calm water. Snorkeling may be disappointing in the sandy areas since any disturbance on a sandy bottom [waves, walking, jumping, playing] suspends sand particles in the water which decrease visibility and make it very hard for coral polyps to thrive. Without coral for camoflage and protection, one will not see as much marine life.
- Beaches with a rocky limestone shoreline on the west coast are the best for snorkeling or shore dives since less sand is disturbed so visibility and coral growth are better. The more coral growth there is in an area, the more reef critters will take cover there to be seen while snorkeling or diving.
- Sandy surf and large waves alternating with rocky limestone coastlines on the east or windward side of the island are beautiful but can be dangerous. The roaring surf creates strong breakers and undertows. Never enter the water alone. Swimming is not recommended on most of the east side beaches. There are now many areas where flags are displayed showing the level of safety for a particular area. Despite the dangerous swimming conditions, these beaches are stunning and serene for those wanting sunbathing, long walks or playing in the water very close to shore.
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| Cozumel Insider Beach Chart | Here is a handy Cozumel Beach Chart with descriptions, photos, hours of operations and amenities! Just click on the names of each of the beaches for complete descriptions. May we suggest our: Do-it-youself Snorkel Tour
| Beach Conservation - Do Your Part |
 Cozumel has a protected Marine Park area that extends from the southern cruise ship piers southward and all the way around the tip of the island and up the other (east) side to Punta Chiqueros. Inside this area, the taking of ANY items from the SEA OR BEACH is prohibited by federal law and punishable with fines and/or imprisonment if caught. Even shells that wash up on the shore can become a home for some critter so please leave them in place in order to help preserve the natural beauty of the area.
 There are many stores and kiosks in town that sell shells however no one really knows the origin of these shells and if they were harvested from a protected area of the island or an open one. So in general, if your desire is to help our conservation efforts, it's best not to purchase shells at all. For this only encourages poaching and illegal harvesting when naturally available supplies are depleted.
I know they are all so beautiful and it is very tempting to say "well it's only one shell so..." But if you keep in mind that according to Carnival cruise lines recently, there will be a couple of MILLION cruise ship visitors this next year to Cozumel, then you can just imagine the impact if each person elects to take just one shell!
Perhaps consider adopting the SCUBA DIVER'S CREDO when travelling the world:
"Take only pictures and memories and leave only bubbles behind!"
~ Sherri ~ |
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| Beach Safety is Important! "SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK" |
 Bring life vests for any persons with limited water skills wishing to partake in water activities.
Observe all beach signage and warning flags posted on beaches which indicate current swimming conditions.
While only a few years old, Cozumel's Lifeguard Program now has over 30 Lifeguards on duty daily and continues to develop. Read more here about our Lifesaving Program.
With this program, there are lifeguard towers and lifeguards at some beaches but not all of them.
So please be cautious and consider all beaches to be "SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK"
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A few beachy things you might be interested in!
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Just wanted to thank COZUMELINSIDER for getting us booked for our activities while we were in Cozumel. The dolphin swim was fantastic! I'd do it again in a minute. We didn't get to do the SNUBA diving ..... we ended up doing the Helmet dive instead for the same price. We plan on visiting Cozumel again possibly next year and will be contacting you to book some excursions prior to our vacation. We saved a significant amount of money booking the excursions through COZUMELINSIDER instead of the cruise line. Thanks again! S.Forgette and G Wichtowski ~ Not Given
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I want to take a moment to thank you at COZUMELINSIDER for all of your help. This is the first time I have ever booked activities such as these online and was very nervous about how it all worked. You took the time to answer all of my questions and even followed upwith a phone call to make sure you had all the information you needed to book the perfect vacation fun for my family. Thanks so much for making this a great experience! I can hardly wait to get there and enjoy all of these wonderful things! S. Daggett ~ Woodland Park, CO
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Thank you so much!!! Thank you for arranging the dolphin encounter for my family!!! Even in the aftermath of Hurricane Emily, Cozumel Insider came through with flying colors --- yall are perfect... A. Sikes ~ Frankston, TX USA
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A big thanks to COZUMELINSIDER for all your help booking my two trips! The Eagle Ray 3 reef snorkel was fantastic! It was a small group tour of 8 people with very very great personal service. I highly recommend this tour to all. My other tour was a tour of a lifetime, the Whale shark tour with Gamma Experience It was really something being in the water with a 50-60 foot whale shark! A couple restaurants I highly recommend are La lobsteria and especially Tony Romes. I highly recommend Cozumelinsider to all in booking tours as they picked great small tour groups for me! Garry Yen ~ Mesquite,Texas. USA
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My family and I have returned to Cozumel many times - it's a favorite destination and we have watched it change over the past 20 years. The Cozumel Insider is a great publication - it's a wonderful way to keep up with the news about one of our favorite islands. We are preparing to visit again this August and the Insider has shown us some different activities to try, as well as helped to bring us up to date with local political and ecological happenings. We're delighted to see the interest in wildlife conservation throughout the area. Keep up the good work on this terrific site. D. McClean ~ unknown
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Copyright © 2000-2013 Sherri Davis, All Rights Reserved. All website content is the property of Cozumel Insider unless otherwise attributed and cannot be used, displayed or reproduced without express written permission from Cozumel Insider.
Contributors retain the copyright to their work where applicable; please do not take art or words without permission. Other graphics and reference materials are used and attributed as per the Fair Use Provision of The Copyright Act and individual terms of use.
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