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Summer Time Fun is Here! |
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School is ending, temperatures are rising and the dog days of Summer are FINALLY here! What better place to spend a summer vacation than right here in Cozumel so get those tickets booked and come on down!!
We send our heartfelt thanks to all of you who use and recommend COZUMELINSIDER for your Summer vacation planning.
We appreciate your business and wish for you a most glorious and totally excellent Summer! ~ Sherri & Mauricio ~
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Self-Catering Accommodations |
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IslaMar Vacation Villas located in the heart of historic Midtown District. Now with WI-FI throughout the complex!
Owner/Operator Sherri Davis says "Thank You" to our many valued customers for over 15 years of continuous operation!
*For arrivals 7/15/2013 - 10/31/2013 |
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Weekly Cruise Ship Schedule |
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Great Value Snorkel Tour for US$ 50 !! |
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Come explore Cozumel's beautiful reefs on a 4+ hour adventure to snorkel El Cielo and another reef area if time permits. Fantastic fun, snacks and beverages included. Limited space ~ book now!
Cozumel El Cielo Reef Snorkel Trip
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Relax in a Tropical Garden, Surrounded by Butterflies! |
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Now the island of Cozumel offers visitors another beautiful experience! 
Come and take a leisurely stroll through a lavish tropical garden, smelling the fragrant jungle flowers and watching butterflies of all colors, shapes and sizes in free flight. You and your family can learn about butterfly habits and the miracle of metamorphosis. Visit the federally licensed Patas Y Alas Butterfly Sanctuary |
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Incredibly Detailed Island Charts & Reef Maps |
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 These beautifully crafted, hand-drawn maps take the mystery out of finding your way around Cozumel. A "must have" for island adventurers and divers!
Revised & Updated for 2013!
Franko's Cozumel Insider Maps
Peter Zwick's Cozumel Chart
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Great Value ~ Local Operator! |
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Providing good quality rental cars for over a decade, BLUEWAY takes pride in their excellent customer service and loyal clients who come back year after year! They have what you're looking for ~ economy cars, jeeps as well as suburbans and vans! Reserve now!
Blueway Car Rental Cozumel - Full Size Van (Automatic) 8Pax
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Swim/Scuba with the Dolphins |
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 For those disembarking in Costa Maya, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Calica or crossing over to Cozumel we have specials you will find no where else!
Book Your Dolphin Encounter, Swim or Scuba Now as well as Sea Lions & Manatees!
Book Your Dolphin Activity with us now for FREE or DISCOUNTED Chankanaab Park entry!!
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Chankanaab Park $2 Entrance Discount Coupon |
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| Download and Print $2 off discount coupon on Entrance to Chankanaab Park! Chankanaab Coupon (PDF Format) |
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Back by Popular Demand! Reserve Now-Limited Space! |
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Join in the fun with these entertaining and affectionate creatures - give and receive a sea lion kiss (watch out for those whiskers – they tickle!), pet them, watch them jump over you, and be prepared to laugh at their amazing sense of humor!.
Cozumel Sea Lion Discovery
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Nice Gift for Island Lovers! |
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These beautiful Cozumel artworks & dive site maps make excellent gifts for those special folks who love the island. Plus they are perfect to hang in your home, office or vacation rental property!
Click on the map to see more selections!
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Want Away from the Crowds? This is it! |
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The cruiser beaches all pay incentives to taxi drivers and tour providers to stop at their locations all along the new highway route but many small beach operators can't afford these premiums and get little traffic. Located just minutes from downtown and the ship piers but on the OLD beachfront highway, PalMar Beach offers excellent snorkeling and a beautiful fresh water pool! Gates close after 50 people ~ reservations a must! So go & relax away from the crowds!!! Great Coupon Special Offer !! FREE WI-FI !!
PalMar Estate SMALL Beach Club
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Get Up Close with Cozumel's Nesting Turtles! |
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For a small donation, you can volunteer to work with Cozumel's Marine Turtle Salvation Program or go on an observation expedition! An amazing and unforgettable experience with local island volunteers that helps a worthy island cause!
Cozumel Marine Turtle Observation & Baby Liberation Events with FP&M
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Legalize Your Car Today! |
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FINALLY ~ Vehicle Legalization Services in Cozumel! 
Our services make legalizing your foreign car to drive in Mexico fast and hassle free! Get a quote today and stop worrying about being legal on the roadways!
Legalize Your Car in Mexico! |
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FREE Taxi BACK w/Royal 3/pax! |
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Valid for Dolphin Royal Swim or Swim Adventure in Cozumel booked thru INSIDER website.
Restrictions:
- At least 7 day advance purchase required.
- Minimum 3 Adults booking in same activity date/time & sales transaction via this website.
- Reservation must REQUEST FREE ROUNT TRIP TAXI in comments to receive further details.
- All must DEPART the Park together.
- CANNOT use in conjunction with EARLYBOOK promo!
- Clik Here for More Details!
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Dolphins - SAVE 25% !! |
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Reserve ANY dolphin activity ALL LOCATIONS via INSIDER website
June 2013 Discounts ~
USE DISCOUNT CODES ON INSIDER RESERVATION FORM |
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Snorkel with the World's Largest Fish! |
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 WHALESHARKS ~ DOMINOES ~ It's that time of year again and they're back!!! Reserve now ~ space is limited!!! 10 - 13 Hour Excursion ~ US$210/person ! |
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Weekly NEWS & Events |
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Island NEWS In English. We choose and translate selected weekly news articles that we think may be of interest to our English speaking residents and visitors!
Top News Stories for week Jun 17
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Fantastic Snorkeling! |
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 Come read all about Cozumel Snorkeling! Unbelieveably clear, warm water reefs - known to be the best in the world! |
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Spectacular !!! |
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Watch this Space for Official 2014 Dates !!!
 Carnaval 2013 events have officially ended! If you missed this year, reserve early to get the best accomodations for next year! Music, Food, Dancing in the Streets, Parades ... all non-stop excitement! Combined with diving and all sorts of other island and mainland adventures during the day, it can't be topped!
Cozumel Insider has the ORIGINAL, biggest and best archive of Carnaval Photos available spanning over a decade!
Check out the Carnaval 2013 Photos to see all the fun! |
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Book Your Scuba Diving Right Here! |
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We are linked up with some of the best run operations on the island.
 We will help you find exactly what you are looking for - matching your skill level perfectly.
We also have some great dive/accomodations packages!
View the Reef Reports on what you can expect to see, being updated regularly by local dive masters! |
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Perspectives from Cozumel Insiders |
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Freelance writers & photographers C.J. Gustafson and Fox Hill both share a passion for Cozumel. CJ travels to the island as often as possible while Fox actually lives on the island. Both colorful writers describe their adventures and inside secrets of Cozumel! Visit Spicy Travels, Photographing Cozumel for CJ's island travel tips/adventures and Fox Hill's Cozumel for island living experiences and perspectives.
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Delicious, Unforgettable Italian Food!! |
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Attention to detail, fine service and outstanding food make this owner operated restaurant an INSIDER favorite year round! As former Carnival cruise line executive, this owner knows the standards for excellent food and service and raises the bar for all Cozumel restaurants to meet! Give them a try!
Sorrisi Italian Restaurant
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7n/15tank Dive Package $600!! |
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The IslaMar/Dive Paradise Package is always a winning combination! Dive with the name "You Know & Trust" for over 25 years and stay in a fully furnished apartment for a true island living experience. If you visit often and like getting to know the neighborhoods and friendly people while you dive Cozumel's incredible reefs then this package is for you!!
IslaMar Villas & Dive Paradise - Dive Package B - 7 Nights
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A Personal Note from Sherri "It's About Time...." |
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It was three years ago this week that our mundane, ordinary lives in Cozumel were inconceivably disrupted as Mauricio and I were kidnapped, transported off the island and detained in an attempt to intimidate me into surrendering some land rights I have acquired out here at Dzul Ha. It seemed incredible as it was happening and even now rather unbelievable that a supposedly professional, educated Mexican advisor to a very wealthy foreign investor would develop and implement such an ill-conceived scheme. But he did.
At the time, those neighbors claimed we were guilty of some crimes and had been “arrested” by “authorities.” We found that “arrest” claim exceedingly ironic since none of those who physically took us from the highway that day had uniforms or badges and none of the 6+ vehicles that forced us from the road were marked in any way nor could anyone produce any paperwork to show us ordering our “detention.” Conveniently the paperwork materialized LATER, along with 8 criminal complaints and multiple Civil lawsuits as well. A great deal of effort has been expended over these past 3 years to clear our names and that of my company. From a legal standpoint, that objective has now been 100% accomplished. Just recently, the final Civil lawsuit filed against us by that bunch was decided in OUR FAVOR by the appellate courts.
All told, we’ve now been VINDICATED in 8 criminal complaints and 2 civil lawsuits and we have endured countless appeals by the losing party in an effort to simply delay the inevitable release of this news in our favor and to DELAY/AVOID PAYING US legal fees and damages. Now that Islamar, Mauricio and I have been fully exonerated of all claims, we are now aggressively moving forward to recover legal fees and damages, AS IS OUR RIGHT, under Mexican law since we PREVAILED in the litigation.
The significance of this body of legal effort and the outcomes generated cannot be understated for those living, working and trying to conduct business in Cozumel and Quintana Roo. From the phone calls and emails received, I know I am not the first or only VICTIM of the area’s bigwigs. But this overwhelming defeat of attempted judicial extortion shows that perhaps there is a positive wind of change finally blowing toward Quintana Roo and Cozumel for those willing to defend their rights rather than flee. The Federal judicial system of Mexico “gets it,” and does not hesitate now to quash these types of ridiculous regional power skirmishes that have nothing to do with the law and everything to do with creating fear and intimidation.
Much gratitude and thanks go to my unwavering team of Mexican advisors, counsel and litigators who have successfully navigated us through the very murky waters of local/State judicial systems here. Systems dominated by corruption and collusion that all too frequently are utilized by white collar thugs in the area to intimidate and extort both local and foreign investors into simply abandoning their capital and walking away ~ leaving the vultures to scavenge and exploit the assets left behind. My team of advisors (NONE from Cozumel) possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of the law and its appropriate application. They never wavered in their support of us nor in their fight for us throughout this ordeal. And honestly, my really simple words of thanks here are completely inadequate because to me….and I don’t think I’m embellishing here…. this group has quite literally changed the course of judicial history within the State of Quintana Roo. Not that the judicial system of QRoo WANTED to change mind you….but by Federal justice system rulings that FORCED compliance with the law, change for the better has been effected in my cases and stands as precedent for all of those who might need it in the future.
Being quite literally one of the top online promoters of Cozumel as a travel destination for over a DECADE, I can tell you it was NOT easy making the decision to share our story online. But YES, it was ME… I made the decision in June 2010 to publicize our plight on MY website and I have no regrets about that decision. LESS “island friends” for doing so but no regrets as I feel very strongly that publicity quite possibly saved our lives back then.
Lots of folks advised me and copied me on segments of raging forum discussions out there in cyberspace. My email response was always the same: “Sorry but I don’t even know these people posting about me and our situation.” Love or hate them, those forum rants were frankly irrelevant to the eventual outcome. Public opinion was not going to decide our cases ~ judges did so based on facts and evidence. Nonetheless, it was still sad for us to see how those motivated by fear and ignorance in a one horse town dependent on tourism turned on us like wild dogs in very public online forums under some misguided notion that bashing us (the VICTIMS) was going to improve folk’s perception of the incident.
Over these years, literally thousands of you have emailed or called me with support or armchair quarterback versions of what I shoulda/coulda done differently during this ordeal. I read the good, the positive, the ugly, the stupid and the misinformed. I most especially enjoyed those with a sense of humor discussing what they thought my father (US Navy ’58-62) would have done to those guys were he still alive. But ignorance of the Mexican judicial process, fear of negative publicity and fear of losing business drove many of our fellow islanders to turn their backs on us. Lots of local folks refused to support or acknowledge the existence of our website and/or our situation as extortion VICTIMS where we were simply telling the truth of what was going on in our lives and around Mexico.
Again let me be clear:
WE didn’t do anything illegal.
WE didn’t file civil or criminal complaints against anyone.
WE didn’t instigate the “detainment” of anyone.
It’s not OUR fault that bodyguards are needed now to ensure our personal safety in Cozumel.
As the VICTIMS (not self-proclaimed but determined by the judicial system) in this ordeal, we kindly suggest those island folks turn their attacks and disdain toward the PERPETRATORS in this case for a change. And feel free to marginalize THEM and shun THEIR businesses as you have ours these past years.
As it turned out over these years, while internet forum gossipers and a lot of the local community showed us their ignorance and ar$es by attacking and marginalizing us (victims), the worldwide travelling public that follows and uses our website was much more astute in their comprehension, thinking and decision making about Cozumel and our situation. They “got it” and made their own informed decisions about visiting the island and continuing to support our website and businesses. Many thanks to all of you vacationers and travelers for your continued use of this website. At INSIDER, we “get it”…. you guys aren’t “silly travelers wandering around like toad frogs in the rain” who only want to hear “positive” PR blather about a place. What you want is simply the truth ~ good, bad, indifferent ~ so you can make your own decisions about what to do while on vacation in Cozumel. We respect that and strive every day to give you what you need to make informed decisions. Again we THANK YOU for your DECADE of trust and continued patronage!
To our close friends and family who have been our “rocks” through this ordeal ~ there simply are no words that would be adequate here to express our gratitude for your love and support! All we can do is say how much we love you and try each day to conduct our lives in a way that makes us worthy of your endearment.
So for now, our great island adventure continues….
Mauricio and I look forward to the future and several exciting announcements we will share with you soon!
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COZUMELINSIDER.COM – EXPERIENCE AUTHENTIC COZUMEL |
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A unique destination website designed to help visitors create a vacation filled with one-of-a-kind experiences and adventures that include the tradition of the island and the culture of its people. The information on this site was compiled by folks who actually live here and want to make your vacation truly special by sharing what they have learned over the years. Because the island continues to grow and change, the COZUMELINSIDER is constantly adding additional features and tips, always striving to give you the most up to date information and the best values our island has to offer. |
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