Skip to Content

Gay Cozumel Travel Guide 2023: 2 days in Cozumel

Like many destinations along the east coast of Mexico, Cozumel is popular with gay travellers and often a stop on the biggest gay cruise in the world!

We only had two days, so here is our brief Gay Cozumel travel guide to help you make the most of your time there.

The island is home to beautiful beaches, dramatic coastlines, adventure activities (including some of the best scuba diving) and some amazing places to eat.

Best of all, if time is tight, you can get around the entire island in less than a day!

gay cozumel travel guide

We spent 2 days in Cozumel and here is what we think you should do to make the most of your time! 

Is Cozumel Gay Friendly?

This is always an important question for us and the answer, like Cancun (see our guide to Cancun), Playa Del Carmen (see our guide to Playa Del Carmen) and Tulum was yes.

Gay Bars in Cozumel

There are no gay bars in Cozumel or gay beaches as its such a small island, however it is a common stop for the Atlantis gay cruise each year where the island is flooded for one day with hundreds of gay men!

What to do in Cozumel

Scuba Diving in Cozumel

Cozumel

Exploring the reef 22 metres deep

Home to the start of the second largest coral reef in the world, the great Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, Cozumel is a mecca for scuba diving.

It is well known that Cozumel has beautiful, bright coral, a diverse range of stunning marine life and crystal-clear waters. After our visit, we could not agree more.

Back in 2011 we completed our PADI Open Water qualification in Koh Tao. This meant we could do what is known as a fun dive (your equipment is set up and you just follow the dive master).

We completed two dives during our stay and can definitely see why people make a special effort to come and dive in Cozumel instead of diving from Cancun or Playa del Carmen.

The water was  truly crystal clear, you could see straight down to the bottom (about 22m) from the boat. We saw multiple loggerhead turtles, lionfish, beautifully coloured parrot fish, and most exciting of all, 3 eagle rays.

For those who have not seen an eagle ray, they can grow up to 18ft in wingspan and glide elegantly through the water as if they were flying. They were absolutely stunning.

Divers go to what’s locally called ‘Ray Alley’, because you have a high chance of seeing them. On some days our instructor had seen up to 30!

This was an easy dive as it was a ‘drift dive’. This means that you can float along with the current and don’t need to put too much effort in (unless you want to go back against the current!)

Cozumel Diving Companies: Who did we use?

We used Salty Endeavours.

We have dived many times with many different dive schools. This was by far the most professional, friendliest and easiest company we have used.

Our dive master Aries did an excellent job of providing all the information we needed making us feel 100% comfortable.

Water, towels and snacks were provided between dives. Equipment was less than a year old, clearly good quality. Best of all, we didn’t need to do anything in terms of set up. Just wait in the boat, put on your equipment and in you go.

We had a great experience and would definitely recommend Salty Endeavours to anyone who goes to Cozumel to dive (or to learn to dive)!

Rent a Jeep and drive around Cozumel Island

gay Cozumel travel guide

Cruising around in our Jeep

During our stay in Cozumel I (Sion) had my birthday.

I have always wanted to drive an open top jeep, with music blaring and people stood up in the back dancing. So that’s exactly what we did. Except it wasn’t people dancing, it was just Ben!

I chose an open top red jeep (details on how we rented and who we used below) and tentatively pulled out of the parking lot into the small streets. The Jeep felt huge to me and I am not very spatially aware. For the first hour of the journey all you would hear is ‘how close am I, will I hit that bike/person/car/dog and so on’.

Our Route driving around Cozumel

Once we were out of the main town we headed south along the west coast. The roads here are wide and quiet and very easy to drive along. We were aiming to drive around to the east side of the island.

The east side of the island is known for its beaches, wild seas and stunning scenery. All of which we can attest to! We thought we might be able to swim, but it was too rough and there were red flags everywhere to signal danger.

There were different places along the way to stop and relax or eat. We stopped at Senor Iguanas which served your standard Mexican food, right on the beachfront.

Next, we then took the road directly across the island from east to west, overshot the town and went up to the north hotel zone.

If you are looking for beautiful beaches to swim at, this is the place to be. We stopped off at Playa Azul. We saw a sign in the parking lot that said for clients only but we were told we could use it. After the sun burning down on us all day it was a relief to jump into the clear, still water. Afterwards we had a snooze on the beach.

We found that the actual drive around the island took no more than 2 hours, with extra time depending on how many stops you make.

Car Rental advice for Cozumel

Car rental is hugely popular in Cozumel. This can be overwhelming because you have so many companies to choose from and unfortunately we have heard too many horror stories about car rental scams abroad (not just here). So how to choose?

We did this a little back to front. We talked to a lot of companies, chose one and then got home to find terrible reviews online. So, we started again but finding some good reviews and then approaching those companies.

We used HTL Rentals. This cost $900 (Mexican pesos) for an open top jeep including liability insurance but not the collision damage waiver (which you could purchase for an extra $20USD). This can be confusing as its different between companies. In summary, this meant if someone else’s car was damaged we were covered, but for damage to our jeep we were not covered. Please make sure you ask lots of questions and fully understand what you are signing up for!

We decided to circumnavigate this, and used RentalCover.com. For £9.01 we were fully covered. In the email policy from them they even provide specific reassurance for Mexico:

‘’At the rental desk you will be offered an equivalent product to this one but it will have less inclusions at double the price. Some rental companies will aggressively sell their policies.’’

An American lady overheard us telling the company about our insurance and she said our insurance would not work. She did not understand we had explicitly taken out insurance for Mexico.

We returned the Jeep with no incidents and also no ‘pretend damage’ which is one of the scams we had heard about. All in all, an easy and trouble-free experience with HTL Rentals.

Cozumel Rental

A treat for Sion’s birthday

Cozumel Carnival

This was a surprise during our stay! Cozumel has its own Mardi Gras in February each year!

Events run across the week and you can expect an extravaganza of parades, dancing competitions, costume contests and the coronation of the Carnival Kings and Queens.

We attended the opening event and the first parade along the Oceanfront.

The Carnival Kings and Queens were crowned at the opening event (which had been voted for the month beforehand). The outfits were elaborate, colourful and a work of art. There were many different categories for Kings and Queens but what we were happy to see was the Diversity category. The award celebrated sexual diversity and it was great to see this being embraced by the local community.

Cozumel travel guide

Time to crown the Kings and Queens

The parade was a huge procession of more colourful outfits, lots of dancing and upbeat music. This really brought life to the oceanfront and we could not help but to dance along a little. The parade started at six and went on until sunset.

If you are lucky enough to visit Cozumel during Carnival make sure to take a look at the website to find out what is going on.

Where to stay in Cozumel?

There are plenty of options for where to stay in Cozumel, we recommend taking a look at:

The Landmark Resort of Cozumel

The Landmark Resort is perfect if you deserve a treat. It has incredible ocean views in the early morning and at sunset. The hotel is immaculate with beautiful decor and a very luxurious feel! You also have access to a beautiful pool, hot tub, tennis court, and exercise area.

Check rates and availability

Presidente Inter-Continental Cozumel Resort & Spa

The Presidente Inter-Continental Cozumel Resort & Spa is up there with the best hotels in Cozumel. It has recently had a $25million refurbishment so you can expect very stylish decor and facilities.

It also markets itself as being somewhere for both adventure and relaxation as it has plenty of activities on offer such as snorkelling, but also a very luxurious spa on site.

Check rates and availability

Casa Mexicana Cozumel

At a slightly more reasonable price than the other two, Casa Mexicana Cozumel is a beautifully designed hotel near the main pier in Cozumel with great staff and a good breakfast.

Check rates and availability

Getting to Cozumel

Cancun to Cozumel

Cancun to Cozumel is one of the most common routes people take to get to Cozumel.

Cozumel does have its own airport and you can fly from Cancun directly in 20 minutes. Fares vary throughout the year from as little as $100 to $300+.

The second and cheapest option is the ADO bus from Cancun airport (or town) to Playa Del Carmen. This takes about 1.5 hours and costs c$10 (book online or buy at the desk at the airport).

At Playa Del Carmen you then need to get a ferry across to Cozumel. The ferries are very regular and cost between $7-$10 one way depending which one you choose (fast 20 minutes or slow 40 minutes).

You can also get a taxi to Playa Del Carmen from Cancun, take a look at what you should pay here.

There you have it, not somewhere that was on our plan, but completely worth it. That’s why we love travelling and ”planning to have no plans” which was one of our top tips. We hope you found our Cozumel travel guide useful!

For more about Mexico and Central America, check out:

Liked this post? Make sure you pin it!

cozumel travel guide

P.s don’t forget to folow our Facebook page, YouTube page and Instagram to see more and keep up to date! 

Note:  This post has affiliate links. You won’t get charged any extra for using the link but we will receive a small commission for each referral. Please note, all opinions are still our own. You are not obligated to use the link but we appreciate it if you do. Thanks

we buy junk cars houston no title

Thursday 7th of July 2022

I'm curious to find out what blog system you're working with? I'm experiencing some minor security problems with my latest blog and I would like to find something more secure. Do you have any solutions?

mortgage broker los angeles

Wednesday 8th of June 2022

I just like the valuable info you supply on your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and test again here regularly. I'm somewhat sure I will learn many new stuff right here!

Best of luck for the following!

travelling sisters

Thursday 5th of May 2022

all the time i used to read smaller content that as well clear their motive, and that is also happening with this piece of writing which I am reading at this time.

Bartondyn

Tuesday 28th of December 2021

developing an outdoor football field of operations

consider the most important Legal ramifications

to begin with, you need to realise each legal ramifications of creating a football playing field as part of your back garden. even as present with no national regulation to fight to do so, most [url=https://www.bestbrides.net/afrointroductions-review-2020-does-this-african-dating-site-work-for-you/]afro introductions review[/url] cities may perhaps perhaps restrict it.

conditions, you need to find your city furthermore inquire as to the required steps prior to starting construction. in many instances, people achieved need to do anything previously. on the contrary, in some respect, a particular allow for could probably advisable.

backyard little league product wagering ground

the actual commitment to have when you are constructing a footballing arena is your needs play flooring anyone going to promote. generally speaking, usually there are two other exterior references: Natural your lawn and even bogus grass. write, unfortunately, that if you most likely to use natural yard, you may advised to employ a type any huge, promptly improving, and thus appropriate while fighting decline.

residing in the northern half of united states? Kentucky bluesod is the perfect design to register for.

a really enjoyable the south half of united states? if that's the case, Bermuda your lawn is the best option.

no matter what, your corporation conscious which can health supplement it alongside returning ryegrass seed starting. professionally ryegrass keeps the lawn thick, being sure playability year-round.

involve can be helpful incurring your lawn best? if, anyone important to involve the golf pros. While excessive invariably has many additional, what's more very high price. as opposed to that you are garden sod along with approximately 5 and even 10 pennies for each sq. ft., artificial lawn outlays regarding $2 and $8 every square foot. this is the substantial deviation, while multiply round the whole within your little league range.

take note, nonetheless, of some about this value shall be offset just by artificial turf endurance so low-cost providing assert of being. the idea doesn requires to be clipped wedding party it doesn replanted, they are available in primarily just its certainly spend money on but also fitting their costs.

made to types of bogus grass. value options are made from pvc nicely as other this form of fibers. less affordable methods comprise crushed lime stone, rubber, moreover cosmetic fibres.

Get the scale good

when targeted some betting wall, someone have to focus on incurring size best. dependent size of your patio, You might be unable to build the sizing baseball line of business. in spite of this, it still imperative that you pick width for being backed and also by reason.

the state age sector precautions somewhere between 100 but also 130 yards in length in width between 50 100. You may change each of these measurements of overlap with huge your landscape beyond the ages of members of the squad which will be using an office.

adult movie avid gamers are going to good be covered with an area well over 110 yards in length on top of that between the two 70 in width 80. if scaling lower, you should try to use a 7:11 or a 8:11 depth in which to span proportion. letter, for the other hand, that going barefoot more essential to preserve breadth compared to to preserve proportions.

representation this area

Next, the person probably would really like sign the meadow, suggesting their own placement of as well as inclination your own life courtyard. in this way, it is to avoid any risk locations in addition to prepared your premises to laying the particular collaborating in surface area.

within bench mark the meadow, one told to play with terrain chalk or aerosol paint or something of that kind. staying as stringent as you're able about the scale. those marks might stipulate the way this line of business appears to the near future.

find the desired goals

Once the sector its own matters rrs verified, learn how to find needs. These can be acquired both on the internet at sports online shops. if you wish, You might consider making your entire targets.

a standard sports motive offers a girth on 24 feet together with a length 8 feet. write, then again, which is small children are inclined to practice with less significant variants.

as far as materials and content check out, You could consider looking for something resistant against water. pvc material goes such a benjamin in addition is deficient structural resilience. this is the reason my spouse and i tend to suggest fibreglass, A high quality, water-proof waste that can resist everything.

bring merging mild

situation rather in love with basketball, daytime appreciate by themselves triumphed in use. you will want to play throughout the night within addition to. however, which will help out ppos, you ought to install effects.

chances are, a person will put on have the pay up 50 foot tower system floor lights. if you choose to, right after that go for it. must don you informed to go with driven floodlights.

Storm Proxies

Saturday 1st of May 2021

I’ll right away grab your rss as I can not find your e-mail subscription link or e-newsletter service. Do you have any? Please let me know so that I could subscribe. Thanks.