Stingray Beach

Just a few hundred metres south of San Miguel de Cozumel (the main town on the island) and the island’s airport, Stingray Beach is named after its marine visitors. The only beach on Cozumel where its possible to swim with these mysterious, yet harmless, creatures, it is subdivided into various sections.

Some sections are freely-accessible to the public, while others are owned by a private resort. The stingrays are unable to make the distinction and visit the shallows of both, although the sands and the facilities are significantly better at the resort. Paying the entrance fee is the best way of getting close to these animals in a respectful way.

This popular attraction is quietest in the morning, with the last tours starting at 3pm. Encounters allow you to hand feed the rays, while on snorkel trips you’ll also meet other reef residents such as parrot fish, starfish and the 800 species of coral which provide habitats for innumerable tropical fishes. 

There’s also a restaurant and all the facilities you would expect of a resort beach.