Cozumel Restaurant List

[ggunn]

It has been a long time since Sandi and I stayed there (13 years?) and I don't remember the particulars but it was a positive experience.

Likewise, it was a few years ago - 2018 or 2019, maybe? We stayed there for a few nights waiting for rooms at Blue Angel to be available. We liked it fine; we just wanted to be on the water.

 

[cozcharlie]

I checked in with our local source today and she says things are still very slow and some businesses are closing (didn’t ask which kinds of businesses). Honestly, I’m curious about the cause. Meanwhile, they’re still building more condos on the island.

Kimela,
I know you are generally aware of this given the frequency of your visits , but right now is the heart of low season—it is always slow unless there is a specific event going on. This is low season because it is peak hurricane season , weather in Cozumel is usually hot and humid, kids in US and Canada are in school , and weather is generally quite nice in US and Canada (too early for people to head south fleeing the cold). Things are still better then they once were—Both United and American used to sharply pare their Sept/Oct schedules back to one or two flights a week so it was tough to get to Cozumel even if you wanted to (bag drag).

This is typically the time when marginal businesses that didn’t make enough in high season fold and people complain about it every year. It might be worse this year (I hear real estate is pretty slow also) , but the seasonal pattern has been there forever. As long as there actually isn’t a hurricane in the vicinity, it is one of my favorite times to dive since water is usually calm and warm without much Norte risk.

In terms of more worrisome permanent trends (as opposed to just seasonality), Southwest cutting service to Cozumel in August 2024 clearly hurt , although it hadn’t been serving Cozumel for very long (tried to start service right before pandemic , cut service during pandemic, then had service for a couple of years with post-pandemic travel ). It is also possible that far flung destinations like Indonesia could be taking some business from Cozumel (Indonesia seems to be crowded with divers year-round with volumes up exponentially relative to 15-20 years ago according to operators, though the hot spots within Indo move around based on season ). That said, I don’t really think more people heading to far-flung destinations is a big issue for Cozumel since it is usually a long weekend or a week trip for most North American travelers, where Indo is basically two weeks minimum including travel time.

As other people have noted , Cozumel isn’t as much of a bargain destination anymore . Peso has strengthened considerably over past few years relative to pandemic lows. Wages on island have been increasing in dollar and peso terms . Governments have also been adding various fees for tourist arrivals as well as dive specific fees and marina costs. Individually all these changes are fairly small , but when you stack them all together they add up and may be weighing on tourism . Rising costs are an issue regardless of whether you are in the US or anywhere in world , so while Cozumel is clearly getting pricier , its relative position may not have changed too much .