Palancar Reef
Explore CozumelCozumel, a gem off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, is renowned for its extraordinary d
Explore Cozumel
Cozumel, a gem off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, is renowned for its extraordinary diving experiences. The island boasts an impressive 22 kilometers/13.7 miles of vibrant reefs, part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, safeguarded by the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Marine Park. This underwater paradise offers a rich biodiversity, making every dive an exploration of colorful coral gardens, playful dolphins, and elusive sea turtles. Whether you're new to diving or an experienced enthusiast, Cozumel's range of dive sites ensures memorable adventures for everyone.
One of Cozumel's signature diving experiences is drift diving, where the gentle currents carry you along, allowing you to effortlessly glide past stunning underwater landscapes. For beginners or those seeking a relaxed dive, shallow sites near the shore with mild currents are ideal. In contrast, experienced divers can explore further offshore, navigating deeper waters with more challenging currents near breathtaking drop-offs. Dive resorts in Cozumel offer all-inclusive packages, making it convenient to dive into this underwater wonderland with minimal planning, ensuring you focus on the captivating marine life and the thrill of diving.
Places to explore
Courses and Events
Dive Activity
Diving in Cozumel
While divers of all experience levels will enjoy the diving at Cozumel, drift and wall dives are by far the main attraction, making it a top destination for advanced divers. Knowing how to handle a stiff current and minding your depth are essential skills for diving some of Cozumel’s sites. These walls are a playground of diverse features such as caves, swim-through tunnels, caverns, and columns.
Despite this focus on wall dives, Cozumel has plenty of shallow reefs whose abundant marine life can be explored by the novice or rusty diver.
Since Cozumel is such a popular dive destination, there are countless dive shops and dive resorts on the island. Dive shops offer courses, gear rentals, daily and sometimes twice-daily boat dive trips, and in some cases, night dive trips. Dive resorts usually run twice-daily, two-tank boat dives, unlimited shore dives, and night dives, in addition to accommodations, food, and beverages. Liveaboards are not commonly found in this area, since all the dive sites are so close to the island and are easily accessible either from shore or via short boat ride.
Top Wildlife Sightings in Cozumel
The biodiversity of Cozumel is exquisite. Due to its distinction as a national marine park, Cozumel’s coral reefs are home to abundant flora and fauna, including over 500 fish species. The Cozumel splendid toadfish, a species categorized as vulnerable and endemic to these reefs, can normally be found resting under coral outcrops. Other protected species include Green, Hawksbill, and Loggerhead sea turtles, the queen conch, and black coral. You can also expect to see lobsters, octopus, angelfish, parrotfish, snapper, eagle rays, moray eels, and seahorses at most reef sites, such as “Palancar Reef” and “Paradise Beach”.
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 27
iStock-Global_Pics
Barracuda
11k Sightings
J
1.1k
F
850
M
1.2k
A
847
M
899
J
1k
J
1.1k
A
762
S
536
O
759
N
868
D
1k
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 200
Alamy-WaterFrame
Moray Eel
8.8k Sightings
J
1k
F
773
M
830
A
633
M
709
J
738
J
784
A
580
S
391
O
649
N
793
D
907
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 25
iStock/Juliosanjuan
Eagle Ray
8k Sightings
J
1.7k
F
1.2k
M
1.2k
A
557
M
226
J
176
J
255
A
186
S
161
O
190
N
688
D
1.4k
Shutterstock-Ed Jenkins
Hawksbill Turtle
5.4k Sightings
J
546
F
432
M
582
A
423
M
419
J
459
J
536
A
424
S
249
O
425
N
453
D
432
iStock-ShaneGross
Loggerhead Turtle
4.6k Sightings
J
425
F
267
M
507
A
439
M
510
J
491
J
473
A
320
S
203
O
273
N
357
D
359
Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography
Green Turtle
4.1k Sightings
J
486
F
304
M
459
A
297
M
343
J
352
J
365
A
256
S
178
O
308
N
338
D
400
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 600
iStock/ultramarinfoto
Wrasse
2.1k Sightings
J
192
F
149
M
253
A
123
M
142
J
207
J
145
A
213
S
65
O
144
N
187
D
231
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 300
Alamy/Reinhard Dirscherl
Octopus
1.7k Sightings
J
225
F
140
M
217
A
114
M
133
J
107
J
167
A
117
S
71
O
144
N
149
D
149
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 80
iStock/Extreme-Photographer
Stingrays
14k Sightings
J
1.6k
F
1.1k
M
1.4k
A
945
M
977
J
1.2k
J
1.4k
A
1.1k
S
709
O
892
N
1.1k
D
1.4k
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 90
Shutterstock-Rich Carey
Angelfish
12k Sightings
J
1.1k
F
967
M
1.3k
A
932
M
880
J
1.2k
J
1k
A
1k
S
663
O
858
N
988
D
1.2k
The best Months to dive in Cozumel
Cozumel has great scuba diving year-round. Air temperatures stay at an average of 27°C/80°F, and average water temperatures can range from 24°C/75°F in the winter to 29°C/85°F in the summer months. Visibility is also great during all seasons, with an average of 33 meters/108.3 feet. Because Cozumel is warm year-round and the majority of its tourists are from the eastern United States (it is only a short flight away), Cozumel is busiest during the wintertime (December to April). These months are also the best for bull shark sightings. To avoid the crowds, and if you prefer warmer water, you should target the May through November window. Keep in mind, however, that this overlaps with hurricane season; hurricanes have cut short or cancelled many a trip to this region!
