Can't Dive Cozumel w/o an Instructor?!?

[NorthWoodsDiver]

If you book through a hotel on the beach you should be able to do unlimited shore diving for free or for the cost of the tank fill.

a fill station has a truck that runs around dropping off and picking up aluminum 80 scuba tanks right at several hotels so you dont have to leave the grounds to get air.

the shore diving doesn't require a DM.

However if you can get a chance to do some drift diving its spectacular and worth the money. PM me and I can get you contact info for the place we went through for lodging and diving and it was the most reasonable place at that time. I did 3 days of 2 tank diving and 1 extra night dive with lodging for 5 nights that had a stove/tv/shower/ac/fridge/etc for $475 total. the price may have changed in the past year, I went in march 08 but for the price and the level of service I was blown away.

They picked us up everyday at the hotel, took us to the boat, provided us with lunch and would gladly assemble/carry everything for you if you allow the service (I dont). They worked very hard to make you happy and there was never more than 10 people diving and 2 days there was only 5 divers plus the DM.

T

 

[SailNaked]

when we went last month, they said the rules were that you could dive in the marine park without a DM or instructor however you were not allowed to swim across the channel right in front of the beach. so basically you could not legally shore dive in the marine park, however I asked how they would know if you swam "under" the channel and the answer was that if they caught you in the marine park without a boat they could give you trouble and confiscate your gear, and maybe require a bribe or fine you or all three. ask when you get there and see if it is worth the risk, dives were about $23 as I remember a deal and not worth pissing off the local constabulary.

 

[PToone]

We rented a house a few blocks off the beach, so no hotel.

Fairybasslet: thank you, I will have to look into that.

 

[SkipperJohn]

If you book through a hotel on the beach you should be able to do unlimited shore diving for free or for the cost of the tank fill.

a fill station has a truck that runs around dropping off and picking up aluminum 80 scuba tanks right at several hotels so you dont have to leave the grounds to get air.

the shore diving doesn't require a DM.

However if you can get a chance to do some drift diving its spectacular and worth the money. PM me and I can get you contact info for the place we went through for lodging and diving and it was the most reasonable place at that time. I did 3 days of 2 tank diving and 1 extra night dive with lodging for 5 nights that had a stove/tv/shower/ac/fridge/etc for $475 total. the price may have changed in the past year, I went in march 08 but for the price and the level of service I was blown away.

They picked us up everyday at the hotel, took us to the boat, provided us with lunch and would gladly assemble/carry everything for you if you allow the service (I dont). They worked very hard to make you happy and there was never more than 10 people diving and 2 days there was only 5 divers plus the DM.

T

I just booked a similar trip. 7 days/nights. 5 days of 2 tank diving (including 1 night dive). All meals, drinks included. With airfair, $1,700 ($1,400 for non-divers). Hotel Cozumel.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

You can shore dive without a DM.

 

[redacted]

So, I will be attempting a shoredive when I go there next month...

I suspect you will be quite disappointed. Shore diving in Coz is very limited. With few exceptions, corals and their associated inhabitants are well beyond the range of shore dives. The water is clear and there is stuff to see, just not the stuff that Cozumel is famous for. Plus, entry and exit points may be very limited due to very rough iron shore formations. There is a lighthouse about a mile south of town that affords good access but make sure you don't get carried away in the current. You really shouold spend what it take to do some quality diving.

 

[Pelagicsal]

The shore diving can be fun. Did a 2 hour 26 minute night dive out in front of Villa Aldora - where I stay there. Not big coral, but we lost count of octopi and eels. Lots of great life - electric rays, Spanish dancers, mating crabs...
Didn't have the beautiful shore divedropoffs of Curacao, Bonaire, or Dominica, but it's fun!

It's definitely worth shelling out some bucks for boat dives. Can't be on the boat ALL the time, so explore the shore, but get on the boat, too!

Ah... I'm waiting impatiently for June and the palapa...

Happy Bubbles!

 

[Garrobo]

I saw lots of people shore diving while I was there. Some would take a taxi down to the docks for a couple bucks and enter there and then drift back up to their hotel landing. Some of the hotels will give you filled tanks for nothing if you are staying there and diving with them at other times.

 

[Christi]

I'm heading to Cozumel next month and my bro-in-law told me that you are not allowed to dive Cozumel without a certified Diving Instructor with you at all times in the water. (The LDS won't even fill your tank because you aren't a Cozumel Dive Instructor)

I have searched around and haven't found much information on this topic on the internet. Does anyone have some experience in this region, or know what the law is down there? I'd really like to take some shore dives and not have to pay for dive boats the whole time we are there...

I'm glad that you think you have it all figured out...but I'll sum up the way it works here for you, from a dive shop owner/Instructor/Marine park guide's perspective.

The marine park starts at Paradise reef (at the Carnival cruise ship pier) and extends around the south point of the island to Punta Molas. It includes the shoreline and extends from the shoreline outward for 2 nautical miles...much further than you can swim.

"Sneaking" through hotel property to get to the shoreline to dive is not going to be as easy as you seem to think. The resorts have tight security that doesn't allow non-guests onto the property. Furthermore, if you do get through...how do you plan to get tanks, weights and equipment if needed?

There are a few places for shore diving outside the park that are accessible to pretty much anyone and have a shop there that will rent you tanks and weights for a nominal fee with proof of certification. However, unless you are an experienced diver, I don't recommend this as even shore dives can have some wicked current. Some of these places are: Caribe Blu/Blue Angel, Barracuda/Dive Paradise, VillaBlanca/Dive Paradise, VillaBlanca/Papa Hogs, Casa del Mar/Del Mar Aquatics, Hotel Cozumel/Dive Paradise. If you are foolish enough to attempt to swim out into the channel towards the reef, you will find yourself in a very dangerous position due to currents and heavy boat traffic...boat captains that are not expecting or looking for divers in this area between the reef and the shoreline...even if you do have a buoy deployed.

If you come all the way to Cozumel and only shore dive, you're going to go away with a severely warped perception of Cozumel diving, and that would be very sad. As others have said, this is not Bonaire or Curacao. The reefs here are something special and shore dives don't come close to representing the Cozumel reef system.

If you book diving with a dive operator, as do 99% of divers that come here to dive...they will be boat dives and a divemaster (not necessarily an instructor) WILL be on the boat and in the water with you. You don't pay extra for this...it's part of the charter and should be no more than 8 divers per DM...less is obviously preferrable. The DM's are GUIDES not BABYSITTERS. They will give you a briefing and tell you the rules/policies of the operation and how the dive will be conducted. Every DM is different and has a different style. If you get in the water and prove that you're a safe and responsible diver...most will leave you alone and do your thing. If on the other hand you have problems, and/or are molesting marine life, not following the dive plan, etc....you'll be monitored more closely.

I hope this gives you a better understanding of diving Cozumel.

 

[cicopo]

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. Shore diving pre Hurricane Wilma was most likely a real experience but those days are gone. Christi has pretty much hit the nail on the head and to expect a good dive trip by avoiding the expense of boat diving will leave you wondering why the rest of us even go to Coz. Depending on where you stay, and it needs to be outside of the Park, you may enjoy a shore dive or 2, plus maybe a night shore dive, but don't venture too far from shore or you might get into trouble with the current, and after that you'll really want to see what we all go to see.