Quick answer: Four of Cozumel's best-known wall dives are closed until the end of November 2026. Mexico's national parks commission, CONANP, has closed San Francisco, San Francisco Shallows (San Francisco Bajo), Santa Rosa and Santa Rosa Wall to diving and snorkeling from October 1 to November 30, 2026. Palancar Caves (Cuevas) and Palancar Bricks (Ladrillos) finished their two-month rest at the end of September and are open again. Plenty of other sites in the marine park, including Colombia, Colombia Shallows, Punta Sur and the other Palancar sections, are open.
Why are Cozumel's reefs being closed?
Since 2019, after stony coral tissue loss disease (often called white syndrome) hit the island's reefs in 2018, CONANP has rested a few of the most heavily used sites at a time. Each closure lasts about two months and then moves to other sites, so dive boats don't wear down the same spots all year. The closures cover the reefs inside the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park, which runs along the west and south coasts.
CONANP staff on the island have said there's no precise way yet to measure how much a single reef recovers during a rest, and local press has reported boats entering closed areas. Even so, divers and dive shops have mostly backed the rotation as a way to spread the pressure.
2026 closures so far
| Months | Sites closed |
|---|---|
| August–September 2026 | Five sites, including Palancar Caves and Palancar Bricks (now reopened) |
| October 1–November 30, 2026 | San Francisco, San Francisco Shallows, Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa Wall |
The sites for December onward haven't been announced yet. We'll update this page when they are.
What it means if you're diving or snorkeling
- Your dive shop plans around it. Licensed operators know the closures and pick open sites with similar walls and drifts. You won't lose dives, just those particular sites.
- Want Santa Rosa Wall? Book for December or later, and check the closure list again before you go.
- Snorkelers aren't much affected. The closed sites are deep walls. Popular snorkel spots such as Palancar Shallows, Colombia Shallows and the shore reefs are open.
- Pay the marine park fee and follow the rules: reef-safe sunscreen, no touching or standing on coral, and no gloves.
Also new this year: more protection for the east coast
In late April 2026, a federal decree placed a stretch of Cozumel's wild east coast, its dunes, beaches and nearshore reef, under CONANP management for conservation, research and education, with limits on new construction and land use. The east side was already partly protected under a 2012 decree. The new decree doesn't change the rules for the west-coast marine park.
Questions and Answers
Which Cozumel reefs are closed in October and November 2026?
San Francisco, San Francisco Shallows (San Francisco Bajo), Santa Rosa and Santa Rosa Wall are closed to diving and snorkeling from October 1 to November 30, 2026.
Is Palancar Reef open?
Yes. Palancar Caves and Palancar Bricks reopened at the start of October 2026 after their August–September rest, and the other Palancar sections are open.
Why does Cozumel close reefs?
Since 2019 CONANP has rotated two-month closures of the busiest sites to let the coral recover from heavy use and from the coral disease that hit the island in 2018.
More Cozumel news and guides:
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Top photo: a diver over Palancar Gardens, one of the reef sites open this fall. "Deep blue cozumel 2018" by Matthewselig2019, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain (CC0). Resized.
