All of the sudden our old routine of taking it easy during the week and living it up on the weekends has completely swapped to the opposite. It’s Saturday and we’re recovering. Even last night we stayed in and watched Netflix after stuffing ourselves at a great Italian spot with our new friend/old Airbnb host Julie.

That’s because we went to Cozumel this week – and what was supposed to be a one night stay – turned into 3 nights of way too much fun. We definitely treated it like a true vacation – and now we’re back to real life (ish.)

On Tuesday we hopped the ferry over to the island of Cozumel. It’s a short 35 minute ride and it’s super convenient to get to – there are ferries that run every half an hour. Cozumel is known for being a cruise ship stop so when we arrived in the morning the little city of San Miguel was buzzing with people. The main street is lined with very touristy shops selling t-shirts with a bikini body on them and giant ridiculous sombreros.

The first night we rented an Airbnb (go figure) on the south end of town. It was away from the hustle and bustle of the cruise ship ports so that was a plus. And! We were right behind a Mega so we could do a little grocery shopping.

Prior to arriving we did some research on where we could find some great food on a budget. We came across a pescadaria (fish market) that also serves dinner called Pescadaria San Marcos. It’s a bit off the beaten path but we were SO excited we found it. We ordered the ceviche and a whole fried fish (because that’s how we roll) and it was all delicious and super fresh. The owner, Carlos, was working that night – he was the sweetest man ever and chatted with us for a bit after buying Kile a beer!

After walking around the town and stopping at places to try their margaritas (which it’s surprisingly hard to find good REAL ones in Mexico come to find out) – we knew that one night was not going to be enough. Luckily – our little Airbnb was available the next night as well so we re-booked it!

I chatted on the phone with my dad a few days before we went to Cozumel and he told us to check out a beach club called Carlos N’ Charlie’s. It’s about 10 miles south of the main town so you have to take a cab. It’s definitely everything you’d expect from a beach club at a cruise ship stop – but still super fun AND there’s a beach unlike the main drag of town. It’s VERY touristy and a bit expensive but glad we checked it out.

Deciding to stay with the “F-it, let’s act like tourists!” mentality it was an obvious choice to go to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville for dinner. Again – this is typically not how we travel but we really did feel like we were on vacation so hey – we ran with it. It was of course way too expensive but extremely fun. You know, get in a conga line while the servers pour tequila down your throat type of shtick. But the sunset is what made it all worth it. We got to watch the cruise ships drift away and the sun go down. Gorgeous!

After waking up on the third day I asked Kile “should we just stay ONE more night?!” We were having way too much fun and Cozumel is so clean and pretty and different than Playa del Carmen – I just wasn’t ready to head back. So, we didn’t. But for our last night we found a really reasonable hotel (Hotel Plaza Cozumel) more in the heart of the city with a freaking roof top pool! I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It felt like such a treat – and the room was only $56!

After waking up on Thursday we knew we had to head back “home.” I didn’t want to at all but it was time – we were running out of cash and had only packed enough clothes for one night so…we were already pushin’ it. But all in all – we absolutely LOVED Cozumel. It’s gorgeous, the streets are super clean and all the buildings are painted pretty colors. They also have beautiful street art everywhere AND we found a place that served IPAs! If we get a chance to come back, we’ll definitely be more prepared. We’d love to rent a car to see the “wild side” of the island!

We’ll see what we get into this next week. Most likely headed down to check out Coba (some ancient ruins) and maybe back to Tulum. Either way – we’ll keep you posted!