What's happening in Cozumel this week?

The number of cruise ships tied up south of San Miguel shapes your week on Cozumel more than anything else. They dock at three piers: Punta Langosta, the International Pier and Puerta Maya. On a five- or six-ship day, well over 10,000 day visitors can come ashore between 9am and 10am, heading for Avenida Rafael Melgar, the snorkel boats and the beach clubs along the southwest shore. Port-tracking sites such as CruiseTimetables post the ship count weeks ahead, so check it the night you land and plan around it. On heavy days, get to the crowded west side before 9:30am, when the water off Caleta is still glassy and the boats from the marina are leaving with half-empty decks. Most ships sail between 4pm and 6pm. After that the Melgar seafront empties out fast, and the shopkeepers stop calling to you from their doorways.

San Miguel's own rhythm runs early and late. Cochinita pibil, slow-roasted pork that smells of bitter orange and achiote, is a breakfast dish here, and the taco stands a few blocks inland from Avenida 30 tend to sell out by noon, so go hungry and go early. On a two-taco plate, eat the pickled pink onion along with the pork; the habanero salsa in the small bowl is far hotter than the green one. Sunday evening is the week's local high point: families fill Plaza Benito Juárez after dark, with a band under the clock and kids chasing pigeons across warm paving stones. The marquesita carts sell rolled, crackling crepes filled with grated Edam cheese, and they taste better than they sound. Dollar prices on the Melgar strip usually work out to a worse rate than the market's 18.48 pesos per dollar, so carry pesos.

On ship days, cross to the windward side at midday. The east coast has almost no buildings, and the surf is loud and cold-looking, with red flags on most stretches. Chen Río is the exception: a rock shelf breaks the swell there, so you can swim. San Gervasio, the island's main Maya site, opens around 8am, and we'd go first thing, before the tour vans arrive, while the jungle is still dripping and loud with birds. Punta Sur, at the southern tip, holds the Celarain lighthouse and the small Caracol structure and takes most of a morning. Taxis charge fixed fares by zone and don't use meters, so agree on the peso price before you get in.

Weather can rewrite any week on Cozumel. In the warm months, expect sticky 30°C air, sea water around 28°C, and short afternoon downpours that pass in 20 minutes. The Atlantic hurricane season covers summer and autumn, and from autumn into spring the nortes blow in from the Gulf of Mexico. When the port captain closes the harbor, the 45-minute ferry to Playa del Carmen stops and dive shops cancel boats, sometimes for 24 to 48 hours. If you have a flight from Cancún, keep a spare day at the end of your stay. The Cozumel reef park became a protected area in 1996, so park wristbands are required on every reef trip, and your operator collects the fee.