What to do in Cozumel while he is diving?
 

Taking a trip with my sweet husband. He loves diving - I am afraid of any water over 5 feet deep. What can I do while he is in the water? Is it safe for a woman to take a taxi alone to town? Ideas please.

I really like Cozumel. It doesn't have the beaches of the mainland, but it's a nice place to visit. It's perfectly safe to go into town on your own. There's lots of shopping and there's a small museum. (I haven't been to the museum, but it's on the road facing the waterfront.) Lots of restaurants, so you could stop and have a drink or lunch. I wouldn't feel uncomfortable being on my own there. <BR> <BR>Another idea - you mention that you're afraid of water over 5 feet deep. How about trying snorkeling off one of the beaches? Chankanaab (the national park) would be way too deep, but we've gone to Playa Corona several times over the past few years and the water is very shallow there. Maybe you could get your husband to go snorkeling with you. My husband isn't especially confident in the water, but he wears a snorkeling vest when he's in the water. And if you did decide to check out Chankanaab, there are some nice displays, etc. there. You don't have to go into the water. <BR> <BR>If you're adventurous, another possibility is to take the ferry over to Playa del Carmen. It's an easy 45 minute trip from Cozumel and ferries run every couple of hours. It's very different from Cozumel and would make for a change of pace.

Shop! Ours is the same situation - he dives and I can't even put my head under water! <BR>However, Cozumel is wonderful and you will feel very safe if you feel like cabbing it into town to explore the shops. San Miguel 'downtown' is a grid of streets around the main square so you can't really get lost if you want to look at shops that are a little away and a little more quieter than the touristy just slightly higher priced ones than on the main drag by the waterfront. Mind you if you start at one end of the main drag and just browse in the shops all the way to the end, that will fill about the same time that he would spend on a two tank dive. However do be adventurous and go along some of the side streets to check out the shops off the main drag. Besides the plentiful silver, the colourful Mexican blankets (which are great lap robes while TV watching or reading), the vanilla extract and of course, the Kahlua are all great buys. <BR> <BR>Ditto on everything Susan said as well -take the ferry over to PDC and check it out or just sit in a waterfront cafe in San Miguel and people watch when you need a break from shopping. All perfectly safe things to do on your own. <BR> <BR>Susan is also spot on about Playa Corona and Chanakanaab - even I got in the water by the dock where it's so shallow. <BR> <BR>Last, but not least - if they allow you to and you want to get out on the water ask to go on the dive boat with your husband. Usually if the boat isn't going to be full they won't mind you going along and you can just sit and sun yourself on the boat while he's diving. Er...does the 'afraid of water over 5 feet deep' mean boats are out as well for you? <BR> <BR>Anyhow - feel free to email me direct with more questions if you want. Have fun and hope you are going soon as you start getting into the rainy steamy season towards June.

Tina; I have tried to send you my Cozumel information sheet. My husband and I (he a diver, me not) spend several weeks in Cozumel each year. I have several pages of things to see and do that I've put together over the years for friends and family. If you would like to have this, send me your actual email address - AOL doesn't seem to have you as a member - I'll be happy to share it with you.

My fiance and myself both are non-divers but had a great time in Cozumel. My favourite part was renting a 4X4 and driving around the island. The east coast has many gorgeous desserted beaches. THe island is very lush. There are a couple of sites of Mayan ruins on the isle that are worthwhile. They are small but interesting. Take the ferry to Playa for a day or two and you can take a bus to Tulum or Chitzen Itza. On our last day we took this underwater sub with glass walls. It was very wavy and my fiance got sick as did most of the passengers. Have fun.