Ok, I have to confess… I’ve lived in Playa del Carmen for nearly 8 months now and I’ve never been to the Isle of Cozumel. Until this weekend, that is… Time to rent some scooters on Cozumel!!!
My brother came down to visit me from Minnesota and that provided me the opportunity to play tourist again. Since we both love riding motorcycles, I figured that exploring Cozumel on scooters would be a great chance to check out the island at our own pace and really get a feel for the place.
The ferry for Cozumel leaves out of Playa del Carmen starting at 8 am and we were on the first boat out. It’s about a 35-40 min trip to get to the island but there was a bar on the boat, plus live entertainment so the 40 minutes went by pretty quick and fortunately neither of us are susceptible to sea sickness. If you are, I would recommend taking some Dramamine prior to taking off or you might be in for a rough ride.
When you get off the boat after docking at Cozumel, there are a ton of little shops and restaurants right there at the pier – everything from Senor Frogs to Margaritaville. We grabbed a quick breakfast at a place called the The Thirsty Cougar. Great omelets and a nice view of the water from the sidewalk table. After that, we walked around a bit and then went and got our scooters from the rental place.
After slathering on some SPF 50 sunblock, we headed south out of town. There are quite a few beach side resorts and places to check out along that part of the coast. We stopped into a few – most notably a place called Carlos and Charlies. The joint was packed and they had a great beach with lots of cool stuff on the water like inflatable towers you could climb and then jump off. Overall, a really cool place that would be fun to hang out at for an afternoon.
As you round the southern tip of the island and start heading north, you will find a must stop place – the Bob Marley Bar. An iconic stop on Cozumel since the early 80’s, this was one of the best highlights of the whole trip. I like the whole Rasta and reggae thing so it was right up my alley but the service was good, the food was exceptional and the drinks were cold. Quite a few people on TripAdvisor seem to agree with me… What else could you ask for, right? 🙂
After The Bob Marley Bar, we headed up the east coast of the island and stopped at a few other places along the way, enjoying a few snacks and really soaking in the breathtaking views of the Caribbean. We also made a few stops at a couple beaches that were basically deserted and just enjoyed hanging out – that’s the beauty of renting scooters on Cozumel… you dictate when and where you go, where you stop and for how long. Since I can’t stand being on a schedule and crammed in with a bunch of other people, that was the perfect way to check out the island.
We made it back to town and returned the scooters in basically the same condition that we received them. Lol… We caught the ferry back to Playa after enjoying a cold chillada in town. All in all, one of the best day trips I’ve taken. If you are going to Cozumel, I would strongly advise renting a jeep or some scooters and do some exploring. We found some really neat things that one wouldn’t normally find as part of an organized excursion. Plus, we could come and go as we damn well pleased.
So… get some scooters on Cozumel and have a blast!! 🙂
