Comments re: "Dive Palancar" at Allegro Hotel and Occidental Grand Hotel -Punta Sur

[vancouverdiver]

I just got back from the Occidental Grand. Dive Palancar is the hotel dive operator. I elected to pre book a different dive operator Livingunderwater.com I decided to go with them because they have a smaller boat, max 8 divers, steel 120's, they pick you up/drop off at the hotel pier, and offer great service. They do everything for you and the staff are there to readily assist you. You give them your kit in the beginning of the week, and you don't have to touch it after that. They switch over to new tanks, and when you come for the next day your kit is already set up, and all you have to do is your safety checks! They do the little things like clean your mask with anti de-fog. There is warm towels at surface intervals, fruit, and cookies. My shortest dive was 65 min. and my longest was 80. On my last dive they rinsed all my gear and dropped me off at the hotel pier. They are more expensive than Dive Palancar but in my opinion, you get what you pay for.
Some hotel guests I talked to enjoyed Dive Palancar, and it really depends on your expectations. While other divers were less impressed. Some of our group participated in a discover scuba. Personally, I wasn't very impressed with the extent of training they received, before they did a shore dive in 8 ft of water to see the sand for 17 min.
Anyway, due to time constraints, I did do one dive with Dive Palancar. You carry your gear to the boat and back after every dive. You gear up your kit, which of course is the norm. They have aluminum 80s and the dives are restricted to the first diver who reaches 500 psi, or 45 min. whichever comes first. My impression of the staff are that they are not happy, and it shows in their professionalism.
Having said that, you might prefer Dive Palancar as it is cheap, they offer 4 or 5 times a day to dive. I don't think DP wins on convenience, as the other dive operators will pick you up on the pier and store your gear. So that is actually more convenient. Finally, it is all about having a great experience, and for me that translates into friendly staff and longer bottom time.

 

[Esox69LB]

I just got back from the Occidental Grand. Dive Palancar is the hotel dive operator. I elected to pre book a different dive operator Livingunderwater.com I decided to go with them because they have a smaller boat, max 8 divers, steel 120's, they pick you up/drop off at the hotel pier, and offer great service. They do everything for you and the staff are there to readily assist you. You give them your kit in the beginning of the week, and you don't have to touch it after that. They switch over to new tanks, and when you come for the next day your kit is already set up, and all you have to do is your safety checks! They do the little things like clean your mask with anti de-fog. There is warm towels at surface intervals, fruit, and cookies. My shortest dive was 65 min. and my longest was 80. On my last dive they rinsed all my gear and dropped me off at the hotel pier. They are more expensive than Dive Palancar but in my opinion, you get what you pay for.
Some hotel guests I talked to enjoyed Dive Palancar, and it really depends on your expectations. While other divers were less impressed. Some of our group participated in a discover scuba. Personally, I wasn't very impressed with the extent of training they received, before they did a shore dive in 8 ft of water to see the sand for 17 min.
Anyway, due to time constraints, I did do one dive with Dive Palancar. You carry your gear to the boat and back after every dive. You gear up your kit, which of course is the norm. They have aluminum 80s and the dives are restricted to the first diver who reaches 500 psi, or 45 min. whichever comes first. My impression of the staff are that they are not happy, and it shows in their professionalism.
Having said that, you might prefer Dive Palancar as it is cheap, they offer 4 or 5 times a day to dive. I don't think DP wins on convenience, as the other dive operators will pick you up on the pier and store your gear. So that is actually more convenient. Finally, it is all about having a great experience, and for me that translates into friendly staff and longer bottom time.

Sorry I forgot to follow up on this thread. I also have booked Jeremy at Living Underwater. He will bring you back with 200psi, lots of bottom time. Better keep your eye on your computer! ProDive needed to learn more of what they have as to "Spot on spot" attractions, this will come with time. I wish them well. Hope you had a great trip.

 

[vancouverdiver]

Say hi to Jeremy for me if you see him. He also has a DM working for him. Cheers, wish I was heading back soon! Alan

 

[jfproul]

We are planning on using Prodive next week and just to have a second confirmation : Do Prodive have DIN cylinders ?

thanks

 

[DandyDon]

Enough Canadians, Northwesterners, and Europeans visit Coz that I suspect most Ops can accommodate DINs. I would confirm that with the Op tho to make sure they have your tanks lined up or enough adapters.

 

[Tmack]

Aldora appears to dive exclusively on steel 100-120 with DIN. Their website says they take your gear in and fit an adapter (if needed) and will clean/store/setup your gear between dives and overnight if diving multiple days.

I do have a question regarding Occidental Grand and Dive Palancar: is the free shore diving they list only if you schedule dives with them or are a guest of the Grand, or is it just show up and borrow a tank? Im staying at the grand in a week, but plan to use aldora and would like to get in a short shallow shore session to adjust weights, quick skill refresher (been a while since my last dive) and practice with my buddy (newly cert'd) and relax on the day before my boat trip.

 

[DandyDon]

Free shore diving is generally offered by the dive Op you book with, not the hotel you use, so you would probly have to pay a small fee to use DP tanks & weights. Whatever weights you use with DP 80 cf Aluminum tanks, you'll use some less with stelel 120s I think. Aldora can advise you on adjustments.

 

[Jason3213]

all else fails, sanddollar was awesome 2 weeks ago. stayed at the wyndham and dock was right there

 

[vancouverdiver]

just saw your post. prodiver does have a few DIN tanks, but it was very awkward. Also, for some strange reason, my regs did not fit their bcd inflator hose. It was slightly different.
They let you use ONE free tank. After that, you pay.

 

[Tmack]

Just got back from my trip.. Ended up not doing any shore diving once I saw the beach (too shallow to be of much use). Still had awesome dives from the boat via Aldora Divers (I highly recommend). The tanks they use are normal yoke, even tho their website said DIN adaptation was needed (when I asked, the owner mentioned something about standards and HP vs LP din valves and a screw in doughnut fitting and using yoke if the reg could handle it, which both ours could (scuba pro d400 and Poseidon jetstream (which has its yoke adapter), most of which is clearer after reading the end of this thread )). Each dive was with steel 100s (120s if requested) at 3300-3500psi. Shortest dive was 65mins with max depth 95'. DM kept us just under the no-deco limits for the dive profile (per my computer).

As for pro-dive, they are at the Allegro, a good hike up the beach (very soft coarse sand, steep beach, hard to walk on even without gear). They had a "Free Nitrox Fills" banner over their hut. Guessing they got their O2 mix issues taken care of.

Dive Palancar: saw the masses from our place (the Grand) packing their boats, dragging gear with them. Saw other outfits loading/unloading at our dock as well, and plenty of cattleboats going by, along with a few other smaller ones... Glad I dove with Aldora, 6 divers, DM and a DM in training on a small+fast boat.