Cozumel: the largest reef in the Caribbean

Overlooking the world's second-longest coral reef, Cozumel remains one of the Caribbean's most celebrated diving destinations.

A rental car or scooter remains convenient for exploring the island.

The Palancar Marine Park, with its coral formations overhanging known as 'Palancar Caves', remains among the most photographed diving sites in the Caribbean.

A few minutes away, the ruins of San Gervasio, a Maya sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Ixchel, protector of fertility, remain the island's most important archaeological site.

Continuing toward the center, you visit San Miguel de Cozumel, the island's only inhabited center, with a waterfront animated by souvenir shops and fish restaurants.

As evening falls, Playa Palancar beach, on the southern coast, offers calm waters ideal for snorkeling before sunset.

Explorer and marine biologist Jacques Cousteau made Cozumel's coral reef famous in the 1960s, calling it one of the world's best diving sites after personally exploring it.

Mayan women once undertook a canoe pilgrimage to San Gervasio to honor the goddess Ixchel, a ritual that according to historians every Maya had to perform at least once in their lifetime.