Wi-Fi on the waterfront: Cozumel goes wireless

Cozumel connection: Technophiles will soon roam free on the seafront in every sense of the word.

By Amy Drew Thompson

Cozumel’s mayor, Aurelio Joaquín González, has announced that its downtown seafront area will soon have free Wi-Fi Internet service for locals and visitors. In fact, Telmex is already hard at work on infrastructure, getting the technology in place to be ready by year’s end. What does it mean? Guests at Cozumel hotels traveling with laptops, tablets and Wi-Fi-enabled phones — from the Punta Langosta cruise terminal to the downtown plaza and all along the shoreline — will have Internet access.

Like most properties, Hotel B Cozumel Boutique by the Sea has Wi-Fi, but guests who manage to tear themselves from its saltwater pool, diving pier and sweeping Caribbean views for the 10-minute ride into town won’t have to lose their connection as they search for off-the-beaten-path drinking, dining and shopping. In fact, the downtown plaza offers myriad comfortable, connected places to get your bearings for a bit of self-guided San Miguel exploration.

In a seaside paradise such as this, canned air is a commodity, but even the most avid divers — many of whom choose the Hotel Cozumel and Resort as their well-equipped base of underwater ops — like to stretch their land legs. Those eager to kill the shopping-and-dining bird with one stone often amble to Los Cinco Soles to browse its impressive collection of crafts (not to mention tequila; there is a sampling bar to try before you buy!).

Casa Mexicana Cozumel already places guests in the middle of the downtown action, just blocks from the central market. Get your haggle on and bargain for silver jewelry, Talavera pottery, Day of the Dead art, and handmade clothing (paying cash will give you an edge), then check your mobile for the best place to grab margaritas. Snap some photos of your vacation finds and upload them — along with a nice real-time shot of your cocktail with the sea as the backdrop — for the suckers back home.

Related resources:

Freelance travel writer Amy Drew Thompson finds the world’s rapidly increasing level of connectivity somewhat terrifying. Until she needs to find good coffee in a strange neighborhood.

Tagged: Hotels, Mexico