Cozumel has become one of the world’s most well-known SCUBA diving destinations for the seemingly endless array of sights and adventures. Along with the abundant schools of fish and the fantastic views, Cozumel provides the avid SCUBA diver with an exceptional array of dive sites. The island presents a location that is among the best diving reefs in the world. It is home to numerous underwater vistas for all levels of SCUBA divers to enjoy.
Cozumel is the Mexican Caribbean’s most significant island, just 12 miles from the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. The island is 28 miles by 10 miles wide but bursting with dive opportunities. Even though it is a SCUBA diving mecca with decades of tourism, it remains a quiet, serene, and largely undiscovered paradise. Check out 5 of our favorite dive sites in Cozumel.
Palancar Reef
Palancar Reef is an excellent dive site for individuals not yet confident in their diving skills and those with a few years of experience. Stretching three and a half miles, the massive coral clusters are vibrant, with thousands of coral species interspersed with purple and orange sponges. The calm ocean currents typically provide numerous photo opportunities. Palancar Reef also has many deep crevices that often showcase colorful reef fish.
Colombia Wall
Colombia Wall is over 90 feet high, with stunning caves, tunnels, and caverns. Extensive marine life, such as sea turtles, eagle rays, and large barracuda, can often be seen in the ocean water. You can expect to see massive, more than 60-foot-tall coral pillars! Watch out for blue tang here, also known as surgeonfish, for their scalpel-sharp tail appendages.
Santa Rosa Wall
Santa Rosa Wall is one of the most popular deep dives. The wall begins at 50 feet and drops even deeper into the blue ocean water. Santa Rosa Wall also offers enormous sponges, huge overhangs of stony coral with lots of caves, and swim-through tunnels. Sea turtles and eagle rays can also be seen, as well as large grouper fish.
Paradise Beach
Paradise Beach is an excellent beach dive for both day and night, located north of Caleta. Due to its proximity to Caleta, many dive shops use this area for certification dives, so it is not unusual to see diving equipment and numerous people on the beach. If you’re a first-timer to SCUBA diving, this would be a great place to start. The shallow reefs provide plenty of opportunities to see crustaceans, angelfish, and many other brightly colored tropical species.
Punta Tunich
Punta Tunich offers swift currents daily. From the sand bottom of 70 feet to the long extended ridges of coral that rise between 40 to 60 feet from the dunes, Punta Tunich offers spectacular views that must be seen. Sea fans, whips, and gorgonians will be abundant here, and beneath the coral overhangs dotted with sponges, you will find resident fishes like snapper and grunt.
