Cozumel

The sheltered west coast is where swimming happens. The water is calm, very clear and warm enough to swim in all year, around 27°C to 29°C in summer. Most of this shore is low limestone rock, though, not long strands of sand. The sandy stretches south of San Miguel, around Palancar and down to Punta Sur, are mostly run as beach clubs with loungers, ladders into the sea and reef a few strokes out. For many visitors, beach time here means snorkelling straight off the shore.

The windward east coast is a different place: wild coves, empty sand and breaking surf. It is beautiful to look at, but currents make most of it unsafe for swimming, and only a few protected pools are calm enough. Seaweed can wash up on this side in the warmer months, while the west coast stays largely clear.

Eating well here means leaving the waterfront. A few streets back in San Miguel there are family-run places serving cochinita pibil, panuchos and other Yucatecan dishes. The evening taco stands around the main square are busy with islanders, and the seafood spots serve ceviche and whole fried fish from the morning's catch. The town market is good for a cheap breakfast.

The seafront strip and the beach clubs cater mostly to cruise passengers, with margaritas, burgers and generic Tex-Mex. There are a handful of more ambitious restaurants, but the island is too small for real range. A visitor eats pleasantly and simply, and should not plan a trip around the food.

Cozumel was a pilgrimage island sacred to the Maya goddess Ixchel. Its ruins at San Gervasio, in the forested interior, are low and scattered rather than monumental. They are still worth a quiet morning, with shaded paths between small temples and the remains of old roadways. The island museum on the San Miguel waterfront covers Maya history, the reefs and the island's colonial past in a few rooms. At the southern tip, the lighthouse and small maritime display at Punta Sur round out the list. That is most of it: the island has little historic architecture, and the great Maya cities lie on the mainland.

Nights are mostly early. Divers are up at dawn, and the island's rhythm follows them. In San Miguel, the waterfront and the streets around the main square have a handful of bars with live cover bands, rooftop terraces and the odd loud tequila joint. These are liveliest in the late afternoon, when cruise passengers are ashore. On Sunday evenings, local families gather in the square. After the ships leave, things wind down to a few bar stools and a quiet drink, and there is no real club scene. Anyone wanting a late night takes the ferry to the mainland.

Cozumel's outdoor life happens underwater. Off the southwest coast, the reefs of the national marine park drop away in coral walls at Palancar, Santa Rosa and Columbia. A steady current carries divers along them for a whole dive, past turtles, eagle rays, nurse sharks and huge barrel sponges, in water that is often clear to 30m. Shallower reefs closer to shore are rich enough for snorkellers. The dive boats run all year, and for anyone who dives, this alone justifies the trip.

On land there is far less. The island is low and flat, covered in dry scrub forest and mangrove, with no hills and little hiking to speak of. Punta Sur's lagoons have crocodiles and wading birds, the wild east coast suits a bike ride, a scooter trip or a windswept walk, and kitesurfers use the windward shore. Visitors who do not dive or snorkel will find the outdoors pleasant but modest. The sea is usually calmest from spring to early summer, while autumn brings storms and the occasional hurricane.

The island alone offers no other towns to visit. Everything starts with the passenger ferry to Playa del Carmen, under an hour across the channel. Playa itself, with its long pedestrian street and beach, is an easy half day. From there, the cliff-top ruins of Tulum are about an hour further south by road. The cenote-studded coast, the large eco and water parks and the jungle city of Coba also fit into a long day.

The crossing and the onward drive add up, and organised tours make it easier. Chichen Itza and the colonial towns of the Yucatan interior are too far for a comfortable day and need an overnight on the mainland.

For families who want sea and snorkelling, the island works well. The west coast is calm and warm, with reef close enough to shore that older children can snorkel in safety. The beach clubs offer shade, loungers, pools and food. Chankanaab park, a reef lagoon and botanical garden south of town, has sea lions and dolphin encounters, and glass-bottom and semi-submarine boats show non-swimmers the reef. San Miguel is small, relaxed and easy to manage, with a playground-filled square in the evenings.

The limits are real. Much of the shore is sharp ironshore rather than sand, the east coast is dangerous for swimming, there is little else built for children, and the town fills with cruise crowds on busy days. Toddlers do best at a resort with a sandy beach and a pool.

The island is small and simple to navigate. Its one paved road runs down the west coast from the hotels and San Miguel and loops around the southern tip to the empty east coast. A full circuit is a relaxed day's drive. The town centre and waterfront are flat and easy on foot.

Beyond that, there is no public transport a visitor would rely on. Taxis are plentiful and run on fixed zone fares, and many people rent a car, a jeep or a scooter for a day to see the far side of the island. Most dive operators collect guests from their hotels. The mainland is a short, regular ferry ride from the San Miguel pier.

Shopping here is port shopping. The waterfront in San Miguel and the plazas by the cruise piers are filled with duty-free jewellers, tanzanite and silver counters, tequila shops and stalls selling hammocks, embroidered blouses, ceramics and Mexican vanilla. A few small galleries and craft shops on the side streets offer better-made pieces, but the range is narrow and the sales pitch on cruise days is insistent. Nobody comes to Cozumel to shop. Visitors pick up a souvenir and move on.

Cozumel has two price levels. In San Miguel, the small guesthouses and dive hotels, the taco stands, the market and the local seafood places keep a modest budget in check. The resorts along the coast, the beach clubs, the waterfront restaurants and the dive trips are priced for foreign visitors. For most people diving is the biggest cost, and several days of boat dives add up quickly. Stay in town and eat where islanders eat, and the island is moderately priced. A resort stay with daily excursions makes it noticeably expensive for Mexico.

There is very little to attend. The island's carnival before Lent is one of the oldest in Mexico, with parades, comparsa dance troupes and music in the streets of San Miguel. For the rest of the year, performance is limited to folkloric dance at resort dinners, mariachis around the square and cover bands in waterfront bars. There is no theatre, concert hall or regular live-music venue.

Wellness here comes mostly from the pace. Away from the cruise piers, the island is slow and quiet. The southern hotel strip and the adults-only resorts are built for long afternoons doing very little, and the empty east coast is a place to sit and watch the surf. Spas are almost all inside resorts, offering massage and the usual treatments. A few places run a temazcal, the traditional Maya sweat lodge, but there is no bathing tradition of the island's own. It suits a quiet, sea-centred rest more than a spa trip.