best cozumel concierge dive company

[Jayfarmlaw]

We dive with Aldora, but Blue Magic was great and was a valet op as well. I don't know if Dive With Martin handles your gear but they are one of the most cost reasonable on the island. Blue XTSea is run by Christi who is a huge supporter of this site and is a "valet" op as well. Lol...I just called her "huge", but I think y'all know what I mean. 3ps has a devout following on here as well. We all have our favorites for all our own reasons. My reasons may not work for you.

We dive Aldora for the steel 120's and long long long dive times. Lots of boats so you are with similar skilled divers. My wife loves the surface interval at a beach club with facilities...me...meh.. I do love 90 minute dives though.

So, in answer to your question with a thought out answer...

There is no "best" but there is best for you. Based on our experience, here are the differences you need to address:

1 cost- DWM gets down around $65 for multiple booked dives, going rate for an aluminum 80 is around 80 per 2 tank dive, Aldora Is 95 per 2 tank morning dive with steel 120's

2 standard tank size, optional tank size (usually it's an al80 with an al100 as an option) 3 dive ops use stell 120's. Aldora, living underwater, and one other...blue something I think.

3 # of boats....more boats means your not mixed with new divers who suck suck suck, Hoover, burn, inhale, their air and force the group to surface. Not an insult, we were all there once. New divers won't be able to go to the advanced sights. Barracuda is a fun dive, but not for beginners, same with the far south reefs.

4. Boat size (6 pack vs cattle boat). We prefer 6 packs, but larger boats will have a head and be smoother in rough water.....but slow like grass growing in the winter.

5 surface interval location, beach club, beach, or boat and what snacks are provided. Most will provide bottled water.

6 surface strategy- dive your computer and surface with your buddy, timed dive, or group surface with first to hit 700 psi. We had one DM that would buddy you up with someone else who was about to hit 700 and then the rest kept diving. That worked great!

7. Pick up location- downtown dock, resort dock, cab ride to south marinas, leave from shop, pick up at hotel

8. Departure time and morning or afternoon dives

9. Nitrox cost/free

10. Alternate plan for diving if port is closed.

Those are the questions to ask. Email the operators of your choice and then you can decide what works best for you. My guess is that there are over 100 operators on the island, some by the book, others not so much.

Don't forget your DAN insurance.

Safe travels, good luck,
Jay

 

[nwflyboy]

Indeed. I am a "vintage" diver also. I like things "easy" and am a bit of a princess when it comes to how I want the boat to be outfitted (snacks BEFORE and AFTER the beach resort SI, seat cushions and a huge camera tank anyone?) and maintained. I am approaching 1000 dives with them... Jeremy (the owner/DM) picks up your gear at your hotel and drops it off at the end of your dive trip so the only time you lift your dive bag is entering and departing the airport. Also keeps and rinses your wetsuit so you literally do nothing except dive if you are so inclined. LP steel tanks (95s and 120s) are usually overfilled by a couple of hundred pounds since LP steel tanks are pretty forgiving in this regard.

Yep, me, too: I'm with Marg (well, dove with her several times, actually, on our last trip). Living Underwater is all that. All the above, plus two more positives not yet mentioned:

1. Divemaster Jeremy is the owner, and he's really good at spotting critters and pointing them out. They really take good care of you (on the boat, always offering bottled water, fruit, cookies, fresh baked goodies, dry towel, boat coat - the works...they do pamper you).
2. After settling my bill (paid by credit card) and coming home after our last trip (February), I was pleasantly surprised to find that VISA had coded the dive charges as "travel". That means I earned 2X points. Wasn't expecting that, a nice little bonus (OK, I'm obsessed with earning frequent flyer points...I just used some to book our next flight to Cozumel next February).

 

[ggunn]

The good news is that one could choose a dive op totally at random and stand a very good chance of not being disappointed. A lot of the differences between dive ops are all about the boat ride and once you get in the water they aren't much of a factor. Also, with all the divers that go to Cozumel and all the ops that are there to serve them, competition is intense and the bar is set pretty high.

 

[MMM]

Indeed. Although on the flip side, I do think that the worst thing one can do - for all parties involved - is to adopt a position that "my dive op best for any and all people looking for a dive op". Different strokes for different folks. You run the risk of sending folks to an op that won't match what they are looking for or sending your favourite op divers that don't match their business model. And then one or the other or both are not happy.

The good news is that one could choose a dive op totally at random and stand a very good chance of not being disappointed. A lot of the differences between dive ops are all about the boat ride and once you get in the water they aren't much of a factor. Also, with all the divers that go to Cozumel and all the ops that are there to serve them, competition is intense and the bar is set pretty high.

 

[ColoDale]

Bottom Time Divers will wash wetsuits, Full service dive op. I followed the DM (Raul) through several dive ops until he started his own company.
SI is usually at the stone pier at Palancar beach with a beach club very near but does stop at others. You can ask and I am sure you can be accommodated. He does not take credit cards but does take Paypal.
I believe Jeremy at Living Underwater also will keep/wash wetsuits. I've dived with him and you can get larger tanks. Same services. I like the side entry on the boat - easy.

I only know these two that will wash wetsuits. There are threads about ops that wash wetsuits but they generally degrade into other conversations.

Other OPS will do for ease and your other requests except the wetsuit washing. They'll be mentioned in this thread.

 

[mediumone]

Bottom Time
Living Underwater
Tres Pelicanos
Scuba Mau
Blue Magic

 

[ggunn]

Indeed. Although on the flip side, I do think that the worst thing one can do - for all parties involved - is to adopt a position that "my dive op best for any and all people looking for a dive op". Different strokes for different folks. You run the risk of sending folks to an op that won't match what they are looking for or sending your favourite op divers that don't match their business model. And then one or the other or both are not happy.

That's not really a flip side. I agree with you; many of the glowing recommendations of particular dive ops come from folks who haven't dove (diven?) with all that many ops. Such recs aren't worth all that much; I may have been the first to refer to this as "cheerleading".

 

[Sue Sue]

Blue Project, Dive with Alison and Tres Pelicanos.. Hubby and I have had Excellent service from all three ! (Wetsuits Excluded from Blue Project and Alison) Tres Pelicanos might handle the wetsuits, however, I believe they would receive a community rinse...

 

[jbjclj]

We have been diving Cozumel since 1979 and have dived with a young Martin (before he was DWM), Aldora, Dive House, Blue Angel, Del Mar Aquatics, Blue XT Sea, Living Underwater, Tres Pelicanos. Our favorites have been BlueXTSea (Pedro Pablo), Living Underwater and 3P.

We have been diving with 3P for the last 4 years and love their service, great fast boats, freedom to dive your dive, concierge service and price.

 

[sharky60]

Aldora, BlueXTSea, Dive with Alison, maybe ScubaTony ...