Punta Sur and the Wild Side: Cozumel's East Coast, and How to Reach It

Everything Cozumel is known for happens on the west coast: the reefs, the piers, the beach clubs, the town. The other side of the island has almost nothing on it, and that is exactly the reason to go.

One road runs around the island. Driving the full loop takes two and a half to three hours with stops, and most of that time you will be looking at coastline with no buildings on it.

Punta Sur is the anchor of the trip

The Punta Sur Eco Beach Park occupies the southern tip, and it is the one place on this route where you pay to get in and get something specific for it.

The crocodiles. The Colombia lagoon inside the park has an observation tower, and from it you will usually see crocodiles lying up in the mangrove. This is wild habitat with a platform over it, not an enclosure.

The Celarain lighthouse. You climb it, and from the top you see how narrow the island really is – open Caribbean on one side, lagoon and jungle behind.

El Caracol. A small Maya structure near the point, built in a shape that is said to whistle in a strong wind – it is thought to have served as a warning of approaching storms.

Shore snorkelling and beach. The park has reef close to the beach and calm water in front of it, which on this side of the island is unusual.

Practical: the park generally opens Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm, and the park operator lists 25 US dollars for adults, 17 US dollars for children aged 4 to 12, and free entry under 3. Take cash. Card payment at the gate is reported as unreliable, and it is a long way back for a cash machine. Confirm the current rate and the opening days before you set out – a park that closes on Sunday is a wasted morning if you assumed otherwise.

The beaches: look, eat, think twice about swimming

The east coast faces the open sea, and the water behaves accordingly. There are currents, there is undertow, and there is nobody watching.

There are no lifeguards on this coast. There is also no reliable mobile signal in places and no street lighting at all.

Two spots are named locally as the exceptions where people do swim: Chen Río, where a rock formation offshore makes a natural pool that stays calm while the surf breaks outside it, and Punta Chiqueros / Playa Bonita, where the water is usually gentler. Even there, the sensible approach is to look at the sea for a few minutes before anyone goes in, and to keep children in the shallow protected part.

The rest of it is for walking on. Which is not a consolation prize – empty Caribbean beach with nobody on it is the rarest thing this island has.

From May into October these beaches are turtle nesting ground. Nests are marked. Do not drive or walk over the marked areas, do not use lights on the beach after dark, and leave any hatchling you see alone.

How to get there, honestly

There is no bus service to the east coast. Colectivos work the west coast road; they are not a way to reach a beach on the far side and get back.

That leaves three options.

A guided tour. The private buggy tour to Punta Sur, all-inclusive runs 4 hours 30 minutes from €87.69 at 4.4 stars from 50 reviews, and includes the park entry that you would otherwise pay at the gate – what it does not include is a state park preservation fee of 8 US dollars per person. A private jeep tour with lunch and snorkelling is 5 hours at €184.47 and holds 4.5 stars from 71 reviews – the expensive end, and the one that does not require you to drive. For the inland tracks rather than the coast road, an ATV seashore adventure with a Maya cenote is 4 hours 30 minutes at €70.27.

A taxi. Possible, and the fare is fixed by zone rather than metered, but you are paying for the driver to wait while you look at a lagoon. Agree the whole round trip and the waiting time in advance, in writing if you can.

Your own car. For a full day on this side of the island, with a picnic, three stops and no schedule, a hire car is the option that actually fits – and you can compare rental cars for Cozumel before you travel rather than at a counter by the pier.

Four things to settle before you take one out here:

• Fuel. The petrol stations are concentrated in and around San Miguel. Fill up before you start the loop rather than hoping. Stations in Mexico are attended – you do not pump it yourself.
• What the agreement covers. Read whether unpaved roads are included before you turn off onto one. Several of the routes to the inland caves and ruins are not made roads, which is part of why the ATV and buggy tours exist.
• The excess and the deposit. Ask what the excess is, what the deposit is, and on what card it will be held – not at the desk, before you book.
• Daylight. No streetlights, no signal in stretches, nothing open. Plan to be back on the west side before dark.

When the guided trip is the better answer

If you want to see the caves and ruins in the interior – 5 hours, €96.63, with 4.6 stars from 75 reviews – the guide is not an optional extra. The tracks are unmarked, the sites are on private land in places, and nothing about the route is obvious from a map.

And if lunch on the east coast is going to include a beer or two, that settles it as well.

The full list of island tours is on the Cozumel island tours page, 23 of them from €39.53, and the self-drive machines – jeep, buggy, ATV – are on jeep, buggy and ATV tours, 46 from €35.08.