Diving in Cozumel: drift diving on the Mesoamerican reef

Why Cozumel is on every list

Cozumel appears in practically every ranking of the world's best dive destinations, and not because of marketing. The island sits on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second largest reef system on the planet, and the Caribbean current constantly sweeps it with clean open-ocean water.

The result is a combination that is hard to find anywhere: visibility that routinely exceeds thirty metres, vertical walls disappearing into the blue, coral swim-throughs you pass right through, and barrel sponges the size of a person.

What drift diving is and why it is the norm here

In Cozumel you do not dive by swimming — you dive by floating. You let the current carry you along the reef while the scenery parades past, and the boat follows on the surface to collect you wherever you finish.

It has two huge advantages. First, you use far less air, so dives run longer. Second, you cover much more reef than you ever could swimming. All you need is decent buoyancy control to hold your depth; the sea does the rest.

The reefs you will dive

Palancar is the most famous: a system of canyons, caves and enormous formations you travel through from the inside. It has several sections (Gardens, Caves, Bricks) and each is a different dive.

Santa Rosa Wall is Cozumel's classic wall: it drops vertically, with giant sponges, swim-throughs and black grouper patrolling the edge.

Colombia and Punta Sur are the most dramatic, with cathedral-like formations and stronger current. Reserved for experienced divers.

The exact site each day depends on the current and the wind.

Cozumel’s reefs, one by one

The national park protects some thirty kilometres of reef along the island’s leeward coast. These are the sites that make up the usual circuit, north to south, with the profile you can expect at each.

The southern sites —Palancar, Colombia, Punta Sur— are the ones in the photographs, and also the ones most affected by wind: when it blows from the south, the boat stays in the central zone.

Getting to Cozumel from Cancun or the Riviera Maya

Cozumel is an island and that shapes the whole day. The only way across is the ferry from Playa del Carmen: about a 45-minute crossing, with departures every hour through the day.

That is why the Cozumel trip runs five hours rather than four, and why it costs more than the Cancun one: you are paying for logistics, not prestige. If you are staying in Cancun, budget the whole day.

Month by month: visibility, water and wind

Cozumel dives all twelve months. What changes is not the visibility —which rarely drops below twenty metres— but the chance that wind closes the south of the island.

A 3 mm shorty works year-round for most people. From December to March, anyone who feels the cold will be glad of 5 mm.

Two divers minimum, or a private guide

Cozumel trips run with a minimum of two divers. That is not a commercial policy: crossing on the ferry and moving a boat for one person does not add up.

If you are travelling alone, both doors are open. You can book and wait for the trip to fill, or add the private-guide supplement when you book and go on the day you want, with a guide dedicated to you alone. The exact amount is shown in the booking box on each trip page.