The first people to settle in the area which is now known as Cozumel, Mexico were the ancient Mayans.  Today, the Maya ruins are popular tourist attractions. 

The top Mayan ruin site on the island that's easily accessible by scooter, car, taxi, etc., is San Gervasio, located almost in the middle of the island.  It's a 20 minute drive from downtown San Miguel, and you don't need a guide to take you there, just a decent map of the island.  There are also some small Mayan ruins and caves at El Cedral which is in the southern interior.  An extremely fun way to see them is to sign up for a 2 hr. ATV tour that is located right near the ruins.  It's more fun than history, but it's still quite interesting and you get to see a cenote (sinkhole) too.  There are several ruins located along the northeast coast of the island, but you cannot access these unless you are with a designated guide and/or group.  Private vehicles and taxis are not allowed on the road. 

Additionally, many people visit Cozumel for spiritual reasons associated with the Mayan culture; it is said that Cozumel was favored by the Mayan Mood Goddess and many women believe that visiting Cozumel can help them with fertility problems.

Sadly, with the influx of Spanish conquistadores and the resulting small pox plagues which affected the area, the Mayans were all eliminated before the middle of the seventeenth century.  After the Mayans were no longer in the area, Cozumel was settled by the Spanish.

Cozumel remained a little-known place until it was re-discovered by French explorer Jacques Cousteau in 1959.  At that time, Cousteau published information about the scuba diving opportunities available on the beautiful coral reefs of Cozumel.  Soon, tourist interest was generated and Cozumel began to be seen as the travel destination it is known as being today.

In the early 1990’s, several cruise lines got together and built a deepwater pier on the edge of Cozumel.  This made it easy for cruise ships to dock at Cozumel and put the city on the cruise ship destination map, further increasing tourism.