Cozumel experiences - where to stay, etc.

[Giggi]

Hi Tracy and welcome to ScubaBoard. We have been to Coz twice and stayed at La Ceiba for the first trip and Meson San Miguel the second trip. Hubby and I both decided that we prefer staying in town or as close as possible because we love people watching (when we're not diving) and also the freedom to go where we want without having to catch a cab. The downside (if you really want to call it a downside) is that we had to catch a cab to the Caleta to meet our dive boat. Because we were with a private charter, we didn't have to haul our gear every day, but YMMV.

Our first trip was in mid-November and the weather was perfect, except for one afternoon of a beautifully warm rain. However, we both decided that we prefer going in February mainly because by that time of year, we are good and ready for something tropical after being in the frigid midwest for the previous 4 months.

As for diving as a newbie in Coz, there are some beautiful areas to dive that are great for new divers...not too hard, sufficiently shallow, and also slower current. Don't let the current freak you out...it sure threw me off on my first dive and scared me a little bit, but I managed just fine once I convinced myself to relax and literally "go with the flow." I highly recommend Columbia Shallows and Palancar Gardens.

The downside is that Cozumel diving will spoil you for anything else and you might not want to ever leave the island, thus spiraling you into fits of depression and addiction to living vicariously through others' trip reports on ScubaBoard.com.

 

[rje634]

Hubby and I both decided that we prefer staying in town or as close as possible because we love people watching (when we're not diving) and also the freedom to go where we want without having to catch a cab. The downside (if you really want to call it a downside) is that we had to catch a cab to the Caleta to meet our dive boat.

Though it is nice to stay close to town for all the reasons that Giggi lists, there is one tremedous down side, Pod People.. San Miguel gets, on the average day, 5000 cruise ship people desending on town like a swarm of shopping crazed locusts.
The cab fare to town is between 5 and 10 dollars each way, a small price to pay for the serenity of the southern resorts. Additionally you will have a much shorter trip to the dive areas which are mostly at the southern portion of the island. Also most of the dive ops pickup at the docks of the southern resorts, so it's roll out of bed, walk to the dock, and get picked up.

Just be warned...once you set the bar this high, they will be spoiled and want diving to be this great everywhere!!!

Sharky60 is right, its hard to dive elsewhere after you dive some of the best reefs in the world.

 

[Giggi]

I think the Pod People can be funny to watch. We saw one lady get so drunk that she sat on the stairs, pulled her shirt out, and puked down the front of it. We might have felt bad about it, but her friends were with her and trying to get her back to the boat and she was a little belligerent.

I suppose the humor and novelty of P.P. may wear off after a while, but then again, we like to people watch where we will get the best guffaws for the time we spend, and I'm sure that much like watching Jerry Lewis movies, P.P. can start to grate on one's nerves after a while.

 

[rje634]

I think the Pod People can be funny to watch.

That goes without saying.
I just wonder, who is getting all of that crap they buy while they are out "Looking for Bargins".