When I was about ten years old we crossed over the border to Mexico from Texas. All I remember is about an hour trip that took us about one square miles. I also remember my dad having his first panic attack. We apparently crossed into the wrong part of Mexico. Today however, when we entered into Cozumel it was a completely different experience.
When we first got off of the ship today we walked through the large duty free store to get to the port shops. When I say the duty free store is large, I’m not exaggerating at all. It actually is a full city block long, and what you have to walk through to and from the port shops. And while the port shops are similar in our other stops, the layout and stores themselves have got to be some of the cleanest and best kept. The shopping mall area is large, has easy to navigate walkways and a great mixture of chain stores as well as local artists and regional stores.You could easily spend several hours in the port shop area. We, however, decided we wanted to go into Cozumel and see a bit more of the local area. What we found however was more shopping, a larger downtown that caters to tourist area and smaller artists markets. The main street is filled with larger stores and more of the chain stores we’re use to seeing, but if you go down the side street you can find smaller vendors – and barter with them on prices. You can find local artwork, Mexican silver, food vendors and even wrestling masks. It’s wise to get a better understanding of the exchange rate before you travel to Mexico and spend your money. Here you can find more about what the US dollar to Mexican Peso is so you can plan accordingly for your next trip.
There are some benefits getting out of the port area. They still love tourists, so you can find some great deals and shopping. But the stores aren’t as regulated, so yes – you can barter, but you may have more pushy sales people when you go off the main drag.
With all that in mind we still had a great time. Goonie got a wrestling mask and was able to battle his first opponent. And back in the port shopping area, he even got to play with a mariachi band! I have to say, this was a much better experience with Mexico than the last one we had. We had some fantastic food, and did a great amount of shopping. But got a good laugh as the locals were wearing in winter jackets in 80 degree weather :).