El Cid’s Attraction Guide For Cozumel

• Chankanaab Park
• Beaches
• Swim with stingrays and dolphins
• Discover Mexico
• San Gervasio
• Punta Sur
• Island Museum
• Atlantis Submarine
• Golf
Chankanaab Park
Cozumel’s most famous site, Chankanaab Park, is about six miles south. This lagoon -- teeming with tropical fish -- is a gigantic natural aquarium, with water so clear the fish can be seen and admired from the lagoon’s edge. Connected to the sea by underground channels (off-limits to the public), the lagoon links to a lovely reef just off shore, where scuba divers and snorkelers can view coral, sunken cannons, and anchors.

Chankanaab Park’s newest attraction is Dolphin Discovery, an outdoor facility where visitors can swim with curious creatures. Four 30-minute swims, preceded by a 30-minute educational program, are scheduled daily.

Another major attraction at Chankanaab Park is the botanical gardens -- home to over 200 species of tropical and sub-tropical plants and lots of native iguanas. The gardens include an outdoor, life-size display of a typical Mayan home.

Chankanaab Park also offers a fine beach for swimming and sunning. On-site dive shops rent equipment and provide guides and instruction. Thatched-roof restaurants serve Mexican cuisine in a casual setting, with excellent drinks and marimba music.


Beaches
Not far from Chankanaab Park are several popular public beaches, most with palm-thatched restaurants and bars offering fresh seafood dishes, cold drinks, and water sports rentals.

Much of the coast along this stretch is non-shore, and beaches are generally where the few sandy spots are located: Playa San Francisco, Playa Sol, Playa Mc, and Playa Palancar.

You can also visit the agricultural village of El Cedral, known for a lively festival each year from April 30 to May 3.

The southern tip of Cozumel, Punta Celarain, is home to a Mayan Temple as well as a lighthouse offering great views -- if you can tackle the more than 100 steps to the top. Or head up the eastern shore towards El Mirador, a rock structure that makes a fantastic lookout.

As you go north up the coast, the best shores are Playa Bonita, Chen Rio, Punta Morena, and Punta Este, some with beach clubs. Remember that swimming off the eastern shore can be dangerous as currents are strong and the sea can be rough.


Swim with stingrays and dolphins
Swim with stingrays 3 minutes up north from La Ceiba. Swim with dolphins at Delphinus, the second dolphinary in Cozumel, located 4 minutes up north from La Ceiba.


San Gervasio (located 15 minutes northeast from La Ceiba)
As of today, San Gervasio is the most important Mayan site on Cozumel Island. You can become part of Mayan culture and its mysteries. San Gervasio was a sacred Mayan site as well as a strategic site for commerce and politics in the area.

San Gervasio was a sanctuary to the Goddess Ixchel and an obligatory visit site for Mayans once in their lifetime. There are engravings reflecting Mayan culture.

During the post-classic period (1200-1530), San Gervasio became the biggest and most important site on Cozumel. At the central square, you will find the most important temples, nine buildings that form an enclosed patio, where three roads connect with other squares.

In this area, there are also the island’s most important aquifers and an abundance of cenotes, located on the transversal road Km 7.5, on the central-northern portion of Cozumel.

San Gervasio is named for the agricultural and cattle ranch founded by Mr. Gervasio Novelo on September 14, 1858. The original name is unknown, but possibly was “Tan Tun” (Over Rock), found in a specific note in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel. The area has an extension of more than 3 square kilometers and is divided into 4 groups:
• Manitas structure and annexed temple “Chichán Nah”
• Central Plaza structures
• Murciélagos structure
• El Ramonal (no public access)

Punta Sur (located 15 minutes south of La Ceiba)
Punta Sur Park is an Ecological Reserve enclosing a variety of natural wonders. It covers an area of one thousand hectares and conserves 5 ecosystems. Punta Sur is rich in coastal dunes, mangroves, reefs, lagoon systems, and beautiful beaches.

Celarain light house at Punta Sur showcases a museum dedicated to navigation, 5 exhibition rooms about Mayan navigators and buccaneers, marine navigational signs, and an exhibit about how lighthouse keepers lived in the 1930s.

Punta Sur also has Mayan archaeological vestiges from the VII through XII centuries, as well as areas to watch crocodiles. Enjoy a catamaran ride for 30 people at Colombia Sur lagoon and observe birds and mangroves.

Punta Sur has 2 Km of beautiful beaches that serve as sanctuaries for sea turtles arriving every year to deposit their eggs. It also has one of the most beautiful coral reefs and extensive flora and fauna biodiversity.

Punta Sur provides specialized guides and internal transportation to explore more than 1,110 hectares, a bastion of Cozumel’s history.

Other park attractions include extensive white-sand beaches, numerous coral formations, and colorful fish species. Services include:
• Transportation along the ecological reserve
• 40-minute catamaran rides on Colombia’s lagoon (extra charge)
• Bilingual guides
• Snack bar
• Craftworks store and bathrooms
• Restaurant

Island Museum
Island Museum offers a geographic view and history of Cozumel in four exhibition rooms. Conceived as an instrument of ecological education, it informs children and young people about the preservation of Cozumel’s equilibrium and fragile ecosystems.

Room I has an original scale model of the Island, on which (by the press of a button) you can find the most relevant sites. It represents a biographical sketch of the origin and geological evolution of Cozumel and has a plate about the most important aspects of flora and fauna on the Island.

Room II represents the underwater environment -- showing the development of the fragile ecosystem around the reefs. It emphasizes the formation of corals, the biggest attraction on Cozumel.

Room III highlights the Mayan legacy, the development of different time periods, and rescued cultural objects and relics. Cozumel’s history includes two well-defined episodes: (1) Mayan sanctuary and seat of Ixchel Goddess through the XVI century and (2) the period since 1518, when the Spaniard Juan de Grijalva discovered the Island. The XVI century ships and Spanish Caravels in which the conquistadors and pirates sailed are represented to the scale.

Room IV is dedicated to those who made Cozumel what it is today. Their efforts and dedication sparked the current economic progress and great tourism destiny.

“La Casita Maya” (The Small Mayan House) represents ancient customs and is cared for by people of Mayan origin.

Other features include temporary and permanent expositions by local and international artists. Our services include:
• Bilingual guides
• Bookstore
• Library
• Restaurant
• Internet

Atlantis Submarine
The 48-passenger submarine, Atlantis XII, offers you a chance to experience why Cozumel is one of the top dive destinations in the world. Diving to depths of up to 100 feet, Atlantis brings you up close and personal with Cozumel's top attraction, Chankanaab, an exciting part of the world’s second-largest reef. While on this comfortable, safe voyage to the ocean floor, look out the extra-large viewing ports of the Atlantis XII and enjoy the wonders of the deep.


Golf (15 minutes north of La Ceiba)
Country Club Cozumel boasts an 18-hole, Jack Nicklaus-designed course ideal for beginners or experts.

Click here for Water Sports & Fun Things To Do at this Sun-Splashed Cozumel Mexico Resort.

Fantastic Cozumel Mexico Attractions, Events, And Recreation

Authentic Mexican hospitality and brilliant Caribbean beauty merge at El Cid La Cieba Beach – a charming Cozumel hotel with “Something For Everyone”. Browse our attraction guide and start planning your adventure today! Book your reservations online for special rates.