Cozumel Under the Sea

Thanks to its proximity to the Mesoamerica Reef, Cozumel holds excellent standing among divers and swimmers. It offers an appealing range of underwater activities like SCUBA dives, snorkel adventures, and then a whole bunch of activities that fall somewhere in between.

If you haven’t spent any time in a beach resort with fairly calm water, then you probably haven’t heard of any of the following activities, because they’re specifically geared toward casual tourists who want to see underwater life without committing to the SCUBA certification process. There’s helmet diving, offered by Sea Trek in two island locations—it basically outfits participants with an oxygen-fed helmet-and-torso ensemble that allows them to walk around on the ocean floor like astronauts in flippers. Then there’s power snorkeling, which is a very different experience than regular snorkeling: A motorized scooter propels people through the water at hurried speeds, so the fun is as much about steering as sightseeing. The closest alternative to real diving is snuba, where the tank is left on the surface, and the person is connected by an extended air hose. You can go to depths of nearly 20 feet this way—not nearly as deep as in a real SCUBA dive, but much deeper than witha snorkel.