Is Cozumel LGBTQ-friendly?

The real trade-off on Cozumel is cruise traffic, not hostility. Some days five or six ships tie up at the Punta Langosta, International, and Puerta Maya piers, and downtown San Miguel fills with day-trippers, many of them bachelorette groups working the tequila-tasting loop on Avenida 5. Those groups are loud but harmless, and most are back on board by about 5 pm, after which the town turns quieter and more local, with scooters and church bells replacing the cover band. Stay away from the three piers. Secrets Aura Cozumel is an adults-only resort in the north hotel zone, and its pool deck stays calm. A small rental in the Centro grid puts you 10 minutes on foot from dinner, no all-inclusive wristband required. Before you book a downtown table for 7 pm, look up how many ships are in port on your dates.

Split Day 1. The history buff takes a taxi to San Gervasio in the middle of the island, the Maya sanctuary of Ixchel, goddess of the moon and fertility, where women once crossed from the mainland by canoe to leave offerings. The limestone paths are already hot by 10 am, so go when the gates open, around 8 am, and bring water. The foodie stays in San Miguel for cochinita pibil tacos at the Mercado Municipal, where the pork is smoky with achiote and the pickled red onion is sharp enough to wake you up. Meet at noon and drive the east coast to Chen Río, a rock-sheltered cove where the surf booms on the reef outside while the inner pool stays calm enough to float in. Finish at Punta Sur, where the small Caracol structure whistles when the wind blows through its conch-shaped openings.

Dinner is where Cozumel works best for a couple. The west coast faces Playa del Carmen across the channel, so every waterfront table on Avenida Rafael E. Melgar looks straight at the sunset, and we'd arrive 45 minutes early to claim the rail seats. Kinta, on Avenida 5, serves modern Mexican food in a garden courtyard that smells of lime and charred corn, and dinner for two with mezcal runs about 1,500 MXN, roughly US$81. Nobody there will look twice at two men or two women sharing a dessert. Skip the chain restaurants at Puerta Maya, which feed ship passengers who have to be back on board. The next morning, book a snorkel trip in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park, decreed in 1996 and now a Ramsar site. The water stays near 28°C for most of the year, warm enough that neither of you will need a wetsuit.