Cozumel, located just across from Playa del Carmen in the Riviera Maya, is a true paradise for certified divers.
With its crystal-clear waters and stunning biodiversity, this Island of the Swallows offers truly unique diving experiences !
A world-renowned dive site, Cozumel was brought to the public’s attention through Jacques Cousteau’s documentaries, in which he described its seabeds as some of the most beautiful dive sites in the world.
Here, you’ll find drift dives, wreck dives, and much more. Cozumel’s waters are teeming with marine life: colorful reef fish, sponges, and beyond.
My Top 13 Dive Sites in Cozumel
On the west coast of the island, facing Playa del Carmen, lies the Cozumel Marine National Park, protected since 1996. Thanks to its proximity to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second largest in the world, Cozumel offers exceptional underwater richness.
From shallow reefs to dramatic drop-offs, the island features a wide variety of unique dive sites. Here’s our selection of the best dive spots in Cozumel :
1. San Fransisco Wall
San Francisco Wall is an iconic dive site located on the western coast of Cozumel. It is defined by a dramatic coral wall that drops steeply into the depths, offering an impressive display of vibrant coral formations and a varied topography with overhangs and crevices.
The wall is covered with hard and soft corals, and the dive offers the chance to observe a wide variety of marine life. San Francisco Wall is renowned for its clear waters, excellent visibility, and protected natural environment. Its depth and moderate currents make it a fascinating site for intermediate to advanced divers.
Dive difficulty: Intermediate to Advanced
Depth: 18 to 40 m (60–130 ft)
Dive time: 45 to 60 minutes
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: Turtles, rays, moray eels, schools of tropical fish, and occasionally nurse sharks
2. San Fransisco
The San Francisco Reef dive site is located near the San Francisco Wall reef. It is often mistaken for the latter but is generally shallower and features a slightly gentler topography.
It is a popular spot for drift dives along a coral reef rich in marine life and underwater vegetation.
The reef offers a beautiful variety of hard and soft corals, as well as rock formations that shelter abundant marine life. This site is appreciated for its peaceful setting, rich biodiversity, and often excellent visibility, making it accessible and enjoyable for divers of various levels.
Dive difficulty: Easy to Intermediate
Depth: 12 to 25 m (40–82 ft)
Dive time: 40 to 50 minutes
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: Colorful tropical fish, schools of large fish such as parrotfish and groupers, sea turtles, and occasionally stingrays, moray eels, lobsters, and other invertebrates hidden in the crevices
3. C-53 Felipe Xicotencatl
The C-53 Felipe Xicotencatl is an iconic wreck located near Cozumel. It is a former World War II minesweeper, originally built for the U.S. Navy under the name USS Scuffle.
The ship later served in the Mexican Navy before being deliberately sunk in 1999 to create an artificial reef within the Cozumel Marine Park, near Chankanaab Park.
The wreck rests upright on a sandy bottom at a depth of about 24 m. Its impressive size (56 m long by 10 m wide) makes it a perfect site for exploration. It provides a rich habitat for marine life and excellent visibility, making it an accessible and popular dive spot for divers of all levels.
Dive difficulty: Intermediate
Depth: 22 to 24 m (72–79 ft)
Dive time: 45 to 60 minutes
Type of dive: Wreck
Highlights: The wreck itself with its various structures, cabins, and accessible decks; barracudas, moray eels, lobsters, and numerous tropical fish species, as well as coral, sponge, and other marine growth covering the wreck
4. Yucab
Renowned for its biodiversity and colorful coral formations, Yucab Reef is located in a sandy dune area. It is accessible after crossing a stretch of seagrass meadow.
This site is especially appreciated for its moderate currents, which promote healthy coral growth and an abundance of marine life. Yucab is often chosen as a second dive of the day, particularly after a deeper dive.
Dive difficulty: Easy to Intermediate
Depth: 13 to 18 m (43–59 ft)
Dive time: 45 to 65 minutes
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: Possible sightings include stingrays, lobsters, seahorses, turtles, squirrelfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, and a wide variety of sponges and corals.
5. La Francesa
La Francesa is one of Cozumel’s renowned dive sites, offering an exceptional underwater experience with crystal-clear waters and diverse coral reefs.
This site is known for its interesting topography, featuring rich coral formations as well as areas ideal for drift diving. It is a popular spot thanks to its abundant marine life and the untouched beauty of its underwater landscapes.
Dive difficulty: Intermediate to Advanced
Depth: 15 to 30 m (49–98 ft)
Dive time: 45 to 60 minutes
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: A wide variety of corals, tropical fish, groupers, turtles, rays, and other typical Caribbean marine species can be observed.
6. Paso del Cedral
Paso del Cedral is a highly popular dive site located within the protected marine park of Cozumel. It is known for its diverse underwater landscapes, featuring coral-covered ridges, as well as the frequent presence of large turtles.
This reef is also nicknamed “the turtle garden” due to the abundance of these animals. The dive features moderate to strong currents, offering an exciting drift experience along the coral formations.
Dive difficulty: Intermediate
Depth: 11 to 30 m (36–100 ft)
Dive time: 45 to 65 minutes
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: Turtles, nurse sharks, eagle rays, green moray eels, scorpionfish, and a wide variety of tropical marine life can be observed.
7. Punta Sur
Located at the southern tip of Cozumel Island, the Punta Sur dive site is famous for its impressive deep wall and the spectacular formation known as Devil’s Throat.
This site is defined by a series of narrow underwater tunnels and passages that cut through a massive coral formation.
The Devil’s Throat passage is a narrow tunnel that begins at around 27 m (90 ft) and slopes steeply down to about 40 m (130 ft). This site is iconic for its spectacular beauty, striking red coral formations, and the unique thrill of passing through this impressive chute at the heart of the reef.
Dive difficulty: Very Advanced
Depth: 27 to 40 m (90–130 ft)
Dive time: Typically about 20 to 30 minutes for the Devil’s Throat passage. The full dive around the Punta Sur site can last 45 to 60 minutes depending on the plan, including secondary tunnels and the ascent.
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: The narrow Devil’s Throat tunnel lined with vibrant red coral, eagle rays, turtles, nurse sharks, and stingrays.
8. Paraiso
The Paraíso dive site is a lesser-visited spot located on the west coast of Cozumel, known for its peaceful environment and pristine coral reefs. It is an ideal place for divers seeking a quiet experience away from the crowds, in a preserved natural setting.
The reef is characterized by gentle topography with colorful coral formations and abundant marine life around rocky structures. This site is often chosen as a second dive.
Dive difficulty: Easy to Intermediate
Depth: 8 to 20 m (26–66 ft)
Dive time: 40 to 50 minutes
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: Schools of tropical fish such as parrotfish, angelfish, and surgeonfish. You may also spot turtles, moray eels, and stingrays.
9. Punta Tunich
Punta Tunich is renowned for its impressive vertical wall dive, featuring an almost perpendicular drop-off at the northern end of the site. It is distinguished by numerous caves and crevices that provide shelter for a wide variety of marine life.
Punta Tunich is also known for its strong currents, making it a site reserved for experienced divers. The richness of its coral formations combined with diverse marine fauna makes it a truly spectacular location.
Dive difficulty: Advanced
Depth: 15 to 37 m (50–121 ft)
Dive time: 45 to 65 minutes
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: Turtles, nurse sharks, eagle rays, barracudas, parrotfish, angelfish, green moray eels, along with a wide variety of sponges and soft corals.
10. Chankanaab
The Chankanaab dive site is located right in front of the Chankanaab Natural Park, famous for its protected waters and rich ecosystem. This site offers an accessible, shallow dive, making it ideal for beginners and recreational divers.
The terrain is mostly a sandy bottom dotted with small coral formations. It is often used as an alternative when diving at the C-53 wreck is not possible.
Dive difficulty: Easy
Depth: 6 to 15 m (20–50 ft)
Dive time: 40 to 50 minutes
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: A variety of tropical fish, hard and soft corals, as well as other typical Caribbean marine species, offering a relaxing and enriching underwater experience.
11. Tormentos
Tormentos is a popular drift dive site, appreciated for its proximity to the coast and its ecological richness. This site is made up of a system of patch reefs (small isolated reefs) with a fascinating diversity of hard and soft corals.
The tunnels and small underwater passages add extra appeal for exploration. This site is often chosen as a second dive.
Dive difficulty: Intermediate
Depth: 20 m (65 ft)
Dive time: 45 to 60 minutes
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: Nurse sharks, turtles, groupers, barracudas, rays, angelfish, moray eels, and a variety of colorful sponges.
12. Palancar
The Palancar dive site is one of the most renowned and iconic in Cozumel. It is characterized by its towering coral walls that slope gently into the depths, forming caves, caverns, and intricate coral formations.
Although its ecosystem is rich and well-preserved, offering an immersive experience in a multicolored underwater garden with exceptional biodiversity, this site is less frequently visited due to its distance from both Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. Palancar is also prized for its clear waters and remarkable visibility, often exceeding 30 m.
Dive difficulty: Intermediate to Advanced
Depth: 10 to 40 m (33–130 ft)
Dive time: 45 to 60 minutes
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: Turtles, rays, groupers, various species of tropical fish, lobsters, moray eels, and nurse sharks.
13. Colombia
Famous for its multicolored and diverse coral reefs, the Colombia dive site offers one of the richest biodiversity experiences around Cozumel.
The reef forms an impressive coral barrier with multiple levels and underwater canyons, allowing divers to explore varied areas within the same site.
Colombia is appreciated for its combination of clear waters, abundant marine life, and healthy coral habitats, making it a must-do dive for lovers of marine life and reefs. Like Palancar Reef, it is less frequently visited due to its distance from both Playa del Carmen and Cozumel.
Dive difficulty: Easy to Intermediate
Depth: 12 to 35 m (40–105 ft)
Dive time: 45 to 60 minutes
Type of dive: Drift
Highlights: Turtles, rays, large pelagic fish, moray eels, lobsters, and schools of tropical fish.
Other Dive Sites
For other sites such as Maracaibo or Bahia Ciega and others, they are located outside the marine park. However, it is within the park that you’ll find the greatest abundance of marine life and the most beautiful underwater scenery.
In addition, the sites to the north and outside of Cozumel are much more dangerous, as almost no one dives there. The currents are very strong, and most of the time only very experienced instructors venture into these areas. Even for them, it is not always recommended.
Dive Centers in Cozumel
To fully enjoy all these underwater wonders, it is highly recommended to rely on local dive centers.
Cozumel and Playa del Carmen are full of professionals ready to guide you through the underwater splendors of the Riviera Maya!
Many of these centers offer PADI courses, allowing you to improve your skills under the guidance of experienced instructors.
With Triton Diving, diving is a complete experience.
Here’s what’s included in your package:
✔️ Equipment rental
✔️ Tank fills
✔️ Transportation from the Playa del Carmen dive center to the dive site
✔️ Snacks for the day
All certification-related fees are included.