Cozumel (Island of the Swallows) is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is one of the eight municipalities of the state of Quintana Roo. Cozumel is a popular tourist destination renowned for its scuba diving. The main town on the island is San Miguel de Cozumel.
In 1959, Jacques Cousteau discovered the extent and beauty of Palancar, the coral reefs at the south of Cozumel and publicized it as one of the best places to go scuba diving in the world.
Scuba diving is still Cozumel's primary draw, mainly due to the healthy coral reef marine communities. These coral reefs are protected from the open ocean by the island's natural geography. In 1996, the government of Mexico also established the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park, forbidding anyone from touching or removing any marine life within the park boundaries.
Almost all of the diving here is done through chartered boats from companies on Cozumel island. There are many good companies around. I used Deep Blue. I would recommend finding small, fast boat types of operations.
There are so many wonderful reefs along the southwestern side of Cozumel. I just returned from a weeklong trip there, and I saw everything from sea turtles to sting rays, nurse sharks and black tip reef sharks, and octopi and crabs on a night dive. It was fantastic! The drift diving is such a relaxing and carefree way to dive.
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comment by Anonymous, 2008-06-06 06:01:38