Chichén Itzá, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, is estimated to have been built between 400 and 600 AD. It is the second most popular tourist destination in all of Mexico with over 2.6 million visitors per year! It’s not only an iconic destination for international travelers—domestic Mexican citizens make up the majority of its tourists.
So it’s no wonder Chichén Itzá can be a very challenging place to visit especially if you don’t love crowds or paying top dollar (like me!).
On my visit to meet up with Ellen and Tori in Playa Del Carmen, we decided that organizing a trip to Chichén Itzá ourselves was more our style. This option meant we experienced more freedom, less crowds, and more comfort overall. We ended up spending about the same amount as an organized tour—maybe even a little less!
In this post, I share the step-by-step planning and insider tips that went into visiting Chichén Itzá by our own design. I feel lucky and grateful that I had Ellen and Tori with whom to share the costs and this wonderful experience!
I’ve been writing about my trip to Cozumel for a few months now. At this point, it’s time to wrap things up by sharing all of the highlights in one big post!
My hope is this post serves as a starting place from which travelers contemplating Cozumel or planning a trip to Cozumel can further solidify their plans. Each section provides links to launch further into my lengthier posts about each aspect.
There’s even a little exclusive bonus feature highlighting more of my free beach access experience!
Enjoy this overview of highlights from Cozumel!
Eating is a favorite pastime of mine. What better way is there to experience a new country than to eat my way through it?
I believe you cannot know a people or a culture until you’ve tried their local cuisine—and not just from the tourist stops. The history behind their food or the nostalgia and pride they have in certain snacks is exciting to me.
Different from some of my other posts on “what I ate”—this one includes more focus on alcohol! I don’t usually drink in the countries I visit, but this time I did more than usual. I suppose New Years Eve and all of the tequila tastings around Cozumel lured me to partake.
In this post, I give you the highlights of my foodie—and drinkie?—experience in Cozumel!
Cenotes exist all over the Yucatan Peninsula. A cenote (pronounced “sen-NO-tay”) is a sinkhole that formed when limestone bedrock collapsed and exposed groundwater below. They are typically quite beautiful and popular tourist destinations in Mexico. Locals also love to go to them to cool down from the hot Mexican sun.
Cozumel has one accessible cenote: Jade Cenote. Jade Cenote is located in a small, historic Mayan town called El Cedral. To access, you must take a tour or pay a fee to enter and explore on your own.
I found my way in by motorbike to check it out. The experience didn’t take long. I managed to avoid the crowds, and I got to see the cenote for what it is: Not exactly the one you want to swim in!
Diving in Cozumel Mexico was at the top of my list. The Great Mayan Reef (Mesoamerican Barrier Reef) occupies its surrounding waters and is the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere. It’s the second largest barrier reef in the world! The visibility is so good, divers come from all over the world to experience its spectacular biodiversity.
I was beyond bummed when my underwater camera stopped working the morning of my dive. I was not able to capture my experience diving the most popular dive site of all—Santa Rosa Wall. This drift dive is known for its beautiful colors, swim throughs, visibility, and marine life from big to small.
The dive ended up being my best dive experience ever—and a lesson in experiencing the moment. With over 60 dives logged at this point, to say this was my best dive ever is saying something! I even saw a spotted eagle ray which was the cherry on top! I am grateful that I at least have some low-quality video from my dive buddy to give a hint at how spectacular it was!
I heard that Isla Pasion, or Passion Island, is one of the major attractions in Cozumel. It’s known for its white sand beaches, clear turquoise water, and deserted island feel away from the main island.
I saw there were tours that went there when I initially researched the island. I wanted to find my own way there, however, so I immediately looked into self-guided access to Passion Island. The plan seemed simple enough especially since I would already be renting a scooter all week to get me to the taxi boat ride to the island.
What I didn’t realize was the tour groups that go there do not just show up to a deserted island. They show up to a bunch of integrated, resort-like amenities that I ended up stumbling upon—and benefiting from for no-cost. In the end, I had a really great time relaxing and enjoying the beautiful water and beach at Passion Island for a tiny fraction of the all-inclusive tour cost.
Punta Sur was by far my favorite place to visit in all of Cozumel. There was so much to do there including observing wildlife in the lagoon, climbing the lighthouse tower for epic coastal views, and snorkeling not one but two epic locations!
That’s right. In this post, I share two amazing snorkel experiences inside Punta Sur Eco Beach Park. One requires some swimming endurance and the other requires a short hike. Both are worth the extra effort to get there and you’ll save so much money not having to pay for a tour boat trip.
On top of it, you’ll get to indulge in the other amenities and experiences the park has to offer. If you have a scooter and your own snorkel gear and snacks, you’ll only spend about $20 and you can make a full day of it.
Growing up, my father used to talk about the Mayans and their culture all the time. He was a grade school teacher and annually taught a unit all about the Mayans. Despite so much education and awareness of the Mayans all my life, I never actually got to visit or see real Mayan ruins with my own eyes.
As a result, visiting Mayan ruins was a major bucket list item of mine for my first visit to Mexico. So of course I prioritized this for my first full day in Cozumel!
Cozumel has little hints of Mayan remnants all over the island. But there’s really only two places to go see it—El Cedral and San Gervasio. San Gervasio, however, is the most well-preserved and intentional archeological site of the two to see some of the Mayans remaining buildings.
The choice to see it self-guided not only saved me money, it also gave me the opportunity to see it at my own pace and without being herded around with a crowd!
San Miguel is a wonderful city to explore by foot. I managed to cover a lot of ground and see a lot of street art and sculptures in just a few hours one morning. Full exploration had me walking all over the city and seeing parts at night, too.
I never once felt unsafe walking around San Miguel—whether in the tourist areas in downtown or in the back streets away from the crowds.
I highly recommend taking a day to explore it. It cost me nothing and helped me better understand the culture of Cozumel and my part in it as a visitor.
I brought in 2024 in a very unexpected way while staying in Cozumel, Mexico. The street that my accommodation was on became a block party complete with a band and (drum roll)—a drag queen!
The evening started with a beautiful beach sunset and dinner. Then, I celebrated at midnight with locals in a low key bar-restaurant setting in the main tourist area of San Miguel.
While I thought the night was over, I was both shocked and elated to find that the real party was right on the street back home with the neighbors. Furthermore, their support for the LGBTQ+ community was palpable, going against my previous held notions.
This goes to show that travel outside of the tourist areas really does produce some of the most unexpected and wonderful experiences that may even challenge your assumptions about a culture.
I finally visited Mexico over New Years and managed to keep the cost down during this peak travel time. Mexico is not known to be an expensive country to visit. However, the price tag can skyrocket in an island cruise destination like Cozumel.
Not including travel insurance, I spent just over $1000 on 9 days in Cozumel, Mexico. That’s about $115 per day including airfare, accommodation, food, activities, transportation, and more.
I am quite proud of that price tag considering I did everything I wanted to do and even some things I didn’t know I’d do!
So how did I keep the cost down? Aside from travel points for my flights, many of the excursions and activities I did involved finding back ways to experience the same thing without the cost or bargaining my way to a better deal. Check out this full cost breakdown to understand how I spent my money in Cozumel.
