San Miguel is the only town on the island and where almost everything happens — the cruise piers, the dive shops, the restaurants, the central plaza. The waterfront promenade (the Malecón) runs for several kilometres along the western shore, lined with restaurants and souvenir shops aimed squarely at day-trippers from the ships.
The town's character is split. The streets immediately around the piers are pure cruise-port: chain jewellery shops, tequila tastings, and tourist menus. Walk three blocks inland and you find ordinary Cozumeleño life — taco stands, family-run cafes, and a quiet leafy plaza with a Sunday-evening dance band. The Cozumel Museum on the Malecón is worth an hour for its overview of the island's natural and human history.