First time diving cozumel

[NDL_Diver]

You know NDL_Diver, I just do not trust Tripadvisor anymore. It's too much of a fee based booking site, and the reviews are manipulated & faked so much. Greed ruined it.

I agree but these are forum threads, not rankings. Their forum discussion is like SB, some facts intermixed with opinions.

 

[Karloss]

Like others have said, there is not much to see in Cozumel. There is a small Mayan ruing to visit and you might want to see the east side of the island also. I do suggest staying in town because you will be walking distance to a large number of good restaurants. IF booking with Tres Pelicanos (3P's), which is my suggestion, Jenny can get you set up with several hotels close by that aren't too bad. Out of her selection I would suggest Casa Mexicana.

 

[DandyDon]

there is not much to see in Cozumel.

Huh? There is plenty to see, depending on interests. Ever been to the butterfly farm? A turtle nest release? The southern lighthouse? The northern lighthouse? It's not Vegas, thank the gods, but many bars & other business have a lot of character.

 

[ggunn]

There is nothing to see or do in Cozumel, and the diving is meh... I suggest finding a different island.

Trying to keep others away, eh? I tried that but it didn't work.

 

[Christi]

A lot of that depends on where you are staying and how you are getting around. The island is over 20 driveable miles from end to end, almost nine miles wide, and taxis can get expensive depending on your negotiating skills. Many of those drivers like to charge tourists extra when they can, and since it's their cab - they're in a stronger position.

I like to stay downtown, then walk to restaurants, and I am not one to walk far! You may have different plans and preferences.

just a small correction -
+\-16 miles wide and +\-30 miles long

 

[DandyDon]

just a small correction -
+\-16 miles wide and +\-30 miles long

Is it really? I did say driveable miles which doesn't include the northern lighthouse. I couldn't remember previous claims so I measured from Passion Island parking to the northern turn at the south end at 24+ miles and the Traversal from east side to west at 9+, but you know your island I'm sure. I see that it is wider north of the Traversal.

 

[BRT]

Is it really? I did say driveable miles which doesn't include the northern lighthouse. I couldn't remember previous claims so I measured from Passion Island parking to the northern turn at the south end at 24+ miles and the Traversal from east side to west at 9+, but you know your island I'm sure. I see that it is wider north of the Traversal.

16 km wide.

 

[El Graduado]

I think if you were going to define the width or length of the island, you would need to say something like "at its widest" or "at its longest", since it is an irregular shape and the transversal road does not cross the island at the widest transect.

In my book, True History of Cozumel, Volume 2, I note the island contains 43,896.21 hectares (97,397.11 acres, or 169.48 square miles). In my book Natural History of Cozumel I note that more than half of the island's land (26,000 hectares) are protected areas, ecological parks, and nature reserves.

 

[DandyDon]

I think if you were going to define the width or length of the island, you would need to say something like "at its widest" or "at its longest", since it is an irregular shape and the transversal road does not cross the island at the widest transect.

As I mentioned, I was giving driveable lengths and widths, but okay. So what are the maximum lengths & widths?

the island contains 43,896.21 hectares (97,397.11 acres, or 169.48 square miles).

Well, all us farm boys know that there are 640 acres to a section or square mile, so 97,397.11 acres = 152.18 square miles. I had to look up hectares since we don't farm those in the US, but 43,896.21 hectares = 108,469.9 acres and those = 169.48 square miles, so maybe that's it. Wikipedia thinks that it's 249.94 square miles, and google says 184.5 but we know how reliable those are. I guess it's the largest inhabited island in Mexico. I wonder how big Bermeja was before it sank?

 

[El Graduado]

Well, all us farm boys know...

Interesting problem. It seems if you use different hectare/acre/sq. mile online calculators, you get different results. I won't use them again!

In my books, I used the Mexican federal government documents that described the legal measurement of the island when the federal government determined how many hectares the island comprised in order to determine the amount of land to distribute to the city, the state, and to the ejidos. I made the mistake of trying to translate those measurements into the terms Norteamericanos use. Looks like land got "lost in translation".

It seems I am not the only one to miscalculate. As I mention in my book, the original land survey measured 39,415.21 hectares. In 1944, they realized that survey was short by 4,481 hectares, so they corrected it to 43,896.21 hectares. I will let Dandy Don translate that into a measurement of land you are familiar with.

Isla Tiburon has 130 km of roads, two airstrips, a wildlife research station, a few buildings to house visitors, and two permanent military bases with military personnel living and working there year-round. It is not a “deserted island”, but is often described as “uninhabited” online. The island is only 3 kilometers from the mainland.

In 1946, Mexico’s Secretaria de Educacion Publica (SEP) issued a book by Manuel Muñoz Lumbier entitled Islas Mexicanas, which showed Isla Bermeja in the same approximate location as it had always been shown since 1535. The book localized Bermeja precisely at 22 degrees, 33 minutes North Latitude, 91 degrees 22 minutes West Longitude and stated that its surface area encompassed 80 square kilometers!

I wrote about Bermeja Island on my website, EverythingCozumel.com