I brought in 2024 in a very unexpected way while staying in Cozumel, Mexico. The street that my accommodation was on became a block party complete with a band and (drum roll)—a drag queen!
The evening started with a beautiful beach sunset and dinner. Then, I celebrated at midnight with locals in a low key bar-restaurant setting in the main tourist area of San Miguel.
While I thought the night was over, I was both shocked and elated to find that the real party was right on the street back home with the neighbors. Furthermore, their support for the LGBTQ+ community was palpable, going against my previous held notions.
This goes to show that travel outside of the tourist areas really does produce some of the most unexpected and wonderful experiences that may even challenge your assumptions about a culture.
I finally visited Mexico over New Years and managed to keep the cost down during this peak travel time. Mexico is not known to be an expensive country to visit. However, the price tag can skyrocket in an island cruise destination like Cozumel.
Not including travel insurance, I spent just over $1000 on 9 days in Cozumel, Mexico. That’s about $115 per day including airfare, accommodation, food, activities, transportation, and more.
I am quite proud of that price tag considering I did everything I wanted to do and even some things I didn’t know I’d do!
So how did I keep the cost down? Aside from travel points for my flights, many of the excursions and activities I did involved finding back ways to experience the same thing without the cost or bargaining my way to a better deal. Check out this full cost breakdown to understand how I spent my money in Cozumel.
