Aldora Divers vs Scuba Club Cozumel

[redacted]

Aldora will almost surely do longer dives and have more options on site selection. SCC will send LOA divers up in pairs and the remaining group will ascend after about an hour or when most are approaching 750 psi in Al 80. The big plus for SCC diving is their shore dive. I probably have at least 50 dives in their back yard and no sign of getting tired of it yet. You can do a night shore dive every night and all it costs is a little sleep and some batteries. I have even hit it at 1am and 5am (solo - she wanted no part of it) just for something a little different. But it is unlikely you will get SCC to some of the very desirable northern or extreme southern sites. For a first trip to Cozumel and maximum diving, SCC would probably be the better choice.

 

[ronkoplus]

We spent several weeks in Cozumel in February with 12 dive trips with Aldora. In some type of order, Aldora may be more expensive than many other dive operations. The boats are fast. The Dive masters are excellent. The shore break is a pleasure in your dive vacation. 120 tanks. 80's for women. Nitrox used if your group is using Nitrox. In other words, skill levels and abilities are matched for the dive group on board. We had 60 and 70 minute dives, but were ready to surface at 50 in some cases. They clean and store your gear overnight. We did the dive sites from Devil's Throat to Barracuda. Just ask in the office and get into the mix that suits your style.

 

[Prop Joe]

Be Happy!

 

[amoses]

I don't know when you are planning on going, but I will be there form July 18- July 23 and I am staying at Scuba Club Cozumel. I do not have a roommate yet, but would like to find one so that I can take advantage of the double occupancy rate. They are having a special right now, click on this link to see it - SCC Special

If you want to split a room, let me know.

 

[Skittl1321]

I have a Suunto Cobra and it is pretty conservative, I would not want to cut another diver with a more liberal computer dives short.

the rental gear I used had a non suunto computer on it and I noticed a big difference in the NDLs when my suunto was getting low on the last dives of the trip. Like 20 minutes, iirc.
That last day I tried to stay 10 ft above the group to extend my time, but when it got to 6 min it was easy to signal I needed to go up 20-30 ft and keep diving. That gave me plenty more time.



Of course, I never dove super deep.

 

[Hatul]

I have simple hotel needs: a place to sleep, shower and use the internet. Noise levels or hard beds will not bother me, I just care about diving though exploring the town sounds fun too.

With both SCC and Aldora do you have to dive as a group with the divemaster and surface all together? Or can I continue my dive until I am ready to surface?

In general in Cozumel, because it's drift diving, the dive guide shoots up a SMB towards the end and wants everyone to surface near him to get picked up.

 

[cvchief]

In general in Cozumel, because it's drift diving, the dive guide shoots up a SMB towards the end and wants everyone to surface near him to get picked up.

Well lots of ops let divers dive their tanks and surface as needed. Our op comes up and deploys the SMB then goes back down. Others I know have the divers shoot their own and get picked up. There are varieties of how things are done.

 

[JFS]

If you dive nitrox with that Suunto , your NDL will more than likely be adequate for the profile of dives from Aldora.

 

[old gaffer]

If you dive nitrox with that Suunto , your NDL will more than likely be adequate for the profile of dives from Aldora.

Yes that is what I probably will do. I am nitrox certified and in fact in past trips to coz I have dove air on the first dive each day and nitrox on the second dive. I will talk to Aldora about that. The other dive ops I have used in the past let you dive your tank and computer and sent you up alone to your safety stop when you reached 700 lbs. though it will add additional cost to what is already a higher end dive op.

gaffer

 

[Mossman]

though it will add additional cost to what is already a higher end dive op.

So do this: Tell everyone on the boat that you'll be cutting their dives short by 10 minutes because you'll be low on NDC time, unless of course they all chip in for your nitrox tank. If there are 5 other diver, that's only $2 each, a small price to pay for an extra 10 min of bottom time.