selo
Contributor
Hotel: Caribe Blu.
I flew from LA to Cozumel (via Atlanta) on March 11, arriving around 1:30 PM at Caribe Blu. Nice hotel, basic services, some street noise but a nice restaurant for breakfast and lunch on premises. I would stay there again, but I would likely prefer a hotel within walking distance to the center. It is a long 20 minute-walk, not pleasant under the sun. It only costs $4 to take a taxi (and a few minutes only) and there are plenty of taxis going in both directions that you can hail. Still, if I were to go there again, I would make Scuba Club Cozumel the absolute southern most hotel to stay, as I now realize I value proximity a lot. Safety is not an issue; the whole place seems super safe. It is just that walking to that Starbucks in the afternoon is valuable to me!
I met people on the dive boats who were staying at Coz Palace and they were very happy. It is also very close to the center of the shopping area. El Cantil is another place that seems very good and close to center. Casa Mexicana is right at the center and would also be a great choice for people who do not want an AI. They are all excellent choices and there are many more I am sure, like Presidente and Fiesta Americana, etc.
Dinners:
The town is very laid back, lots of touristic shops that do all their business during the day when cruise ships are docked. It was very quiet at nights, with some shops closing at 9 PM. For dinner, I went to Chi the first night, a Chinese restaurant in Cozumel, on Christi's list. It was fine. The second night, after my wife and kids arrived, we went to Prima. An open air Italian restaurant on the second floor. Safe choices on pasta and pizzas, and lots of sea food and beef/chicken dishes as well. There were lots of families with kids. On Thursday night, we tried Casa Denis. We liked it also; however they had run out the cheese they use in their cream of avocado soup so we missed on this favorite part. They take cash only. A very nice Mexican restaurant. On Friday night, we tried another restaurant on Christi's list: Guido's. Excellent place. There is a patio inside and the pizzas and pastas are great. We liked it so much that we went there on Saturday night also. All except Casa Denis accepted credit cards; service was great across the board, but especially at Guido's. All breakfasts and lunches were at Rendez Blu at Caribe Blu. For breakfast, anything from bagel/cream cheese to buffet style. For lunch, chimichangas, tacos, burritos, and more Mexican fare, and more. We liked it a lot.
Diving: Blue XT Sea
I am the only diver in the family and I had arranged with Christi well in advance. I did 3 2-tank morning dives on March 12-14, and a night dive on the 14th, taking the 15th off and returning to Atlanta for business on the 16th (more on Atlanta airport later).
After diving off of Catalina Island (water temps at 56F to 64F) Cozumel was a dream come true. Visibility was stunning; some days it seemed more than 100 feet; my last day it was only 60-70 feet. Amazing. The first day, we did Palancar Bricks and Punta Tunich; Dalila Wall and Yucab the second morning, and Palancar Gardens and Paraiso Reef the third morning, with Paraiso Reef again the same night. On every dive (except the last day), we saw a nurse shark or two, barracudas, turtles, trigger fish, groupers, lobsters, angel fish, you name it. The night dive allowed us to see giant crabs, lobsters, toad fish, octopus and more octopus. Of course, the coral heads and spunges, the white sand channels between the coral buttresses at Palancar Bricks and Dalila Wall were fantastic. I will go back to Cozumel at the first chance, stay a bit longer and do some afternoon dives as well.
The DMs were Pedro for the first two days and the night dive, with Mago the captain. Arturo was the DM for the third day. Fast boats are fantastic; you minimize the trip time and maximize your dive and SI times.
Both Pedro and Arturo are excellent DMs who give complete briefings, describe the safety procedures and local conditions and currents, explain the dive plan, but after observing how you perform underwater, allow you to dive your air until you hit 700 psi. It was a pleasure to dive with them. My first dive was short, about 52 minutes on account of my air consumption. The rest, between 62 and 74 minutes. Even the safety stops became 3-5 minutes of observing barracudas or other fish, and trying not to drool into my mouth piece! I must go back again, and very soon.
My last day and the night dive, I was with Aubrie85, her fiancee and others; all very good divers and fun people.
I did not get to meet Christi but met Blanca who was taking care of the office on the day I visited them. A very nicely run operation with very good people. Thanks to all.
Now back to Atlanta airport. Due to its design, as you clear passport and customs after about an hour, which is typical, you are asked to check in your checked-in baggage again and go through security to go out of the airport. The reason is that the outlet from the first pass-through is to the gate area so they do not know who is taking another flight and who is just exiting the airport. And since you have access to your checked-in luggage briefly, they make you go through the pain a second time, taking at least one more hour of your time. If you are coming into Atlanta, just be prepared; it will take at least two hours to get out.
I snorkeled with my family off of Caribe Blu; they gave my family masks, snorkels and fins free of charge. Off we went in front of the hotel and we saw a lof of fish and marine life just the same. Directly to the South of Caribe Blu, there is an operator that has the biulding and they have cordoned off the immediate beach part into the sea and as previously reported on the board trapped a lot of fish inside. They now charge adults $48 to take a short snorkeling tour to show them a few sting rays. Sad place but it must be legal to operate.
I am sorry that this has been a long post but perhaps a first timer's experience will be usefuls to others. It was a fantastic vacation. If I lived closer, like in Houston or Atlanta, I'd try to go to Cozumel many times a year.
Take care and dive safely.
I flew from LA to Cozumel (via Atlanta) on March 11, arriving around 1:30 PM at Caribe Blu. Nice hotel, basic services, some street noise but a nice restaurant for breakfast and lunch on premises. I would stay there again, but I would likely prefer a hotel within walking distance to the center. It is a long 20 minute-walk, not pleasant under the sun. It only costs $4 to take a taxi (and a few minutes only) and there are plenty of taxis going in both directions that you can hail. Still, if I were to go there again, I would make Scuba Club Cozumel the absolute southern most hotel to stay, as I now realize I value proximity a lot. Safety is not an issue; the whole place seems super safe. It is just that walking to that Starbucks in the afternoon is valuable to me!
I met people on the dive boats who were staying at Coz Palace and they were very happy. It is also very close to the center of the shopping area. El Cantil is another place that seems very good and close to center. Casa Mexicana is right at the center and would also be a great choice for people who do not want an AI. They are all excellent choices and there are many more I am sure, like Presidente and Fiesta Americana, etc.
Dinners:
The town is very laid back, lots of touristic shops that do all their business during the day when cruise ships are docked. It was very quiet at nights, with some shops closing at 9 PM. For dinner, I went to Chi the first night, a Chinese restaurant in Cozumel, on Christi's list. It was fine. The second night, after my wife and kids arrived, we went to Prima. An open air Italian restaurant on the second floor. Safe choices on pasta and pizzas, and lots of sea food and beef/chicken dishes as well. There were lots of families with kids. On Thursday night, we tried Casa Denis. We liked it also; however they had run out the cheese they use in their cream of avocado soup so we missed on this favorite part. They take cash only. A very nice Mexican restaurant. On Friday night, we tried another restaurant on Christi's list: Guido's. Excellent place. There is a patio inside and the pizzas and pastas are great. We liked it so much that we went there on Saturday night also. All except Casa Denis accepted credit cards; service was great across the board, but especially at Guido's. All breakfasts and lunches were at Rendez Blu at Caribe Blu. For breakfast, anything from bagel/cream cheese to buffet style. For lunch, chimichangas, tacos, burritos, and more Mexican fare, and more. We liked it a lot.
Diving: Blue XT Sea
I am the only diver in the family and I had arranged with Christi well in advance. I did 3 2-tank morning dives on March 12-14, and a night dive on the 14th, taking the 15th off and returning to Atlanta for business on the 16th (more on Atlanta airport later).
After diving off of Catalina Island (water temps at 56F to 64F) Cozumel was a dream come true. Visibility was stunning; some days it seemed more than 100 feet; my last day it was only 60-70 feet. Amazing. The first day, we did Palancar Bricks and Punta Tunich; Dalila Wall and Yucab the second morning, and Palancar Gardens and Paraiso Reef the third morning, with Paraiso Reef again the same night. On every dive (except the last day), we saw a nurse shark or two, barracudas, turtles, trigger fish, groupers, lobsters, angel fish, you name it. The night dive allowed us to see giant crabs, lobsters, toad fish, octopus and more octopus. Of course, the coral heads and spunges, the white sand channels between the coral buttresses at Palancar Bricks and Dalila Wall were fantastic. I will go back to Cozumel at the first chance, stay a bit longer and do some afternoon dives as well.
The DMs were Pedro for the first two days and the night dive, with Mago the captain. Arturo was the DM for the third day. Fast boats are fantastic; you minimize the trip time and maximize your dive and SI times.
Both Pedro and Arturo are excellent DMs who give complete briefings, describe the safety procedures and local conditions and currents, explain the dive plan, but after observing how you perform underwater, allow you to dive your air until you hit 700 psi. It was a pleasure to dive with them. My first dive was short, about 52 minutes on account of my air consumption. The rest, between 62 and 74 minutes. Even the safety stops became 3-5 minutes of observing barracudas or other fish, and trying not to drool into my mouth piece! I must go back again, and very soon.
My last day and the night dive, I was with Aubrie85, her fiancee and others; all very good divers and fun people.
I did not get to meet Christi but met Blanca who was taking care of the office on the day I visited them. A very nicely run operation with very good people. Thanks to all.
Now back to Atlanta airport. Due to its design, as you clear passport and customs after about an hour, which is typical, you are asked to check in your checked-in baggage again and go through security to go out of the airport. The reason is that the outlet from the first pass-through is to the gate area so they do not know who is taking another flight and who is just exiting the airport. And since you have access to your checked-in luggage briefly, they make you go through the pain a second time, taking at least one more hour of your time. If you are coming into Atlanta, just be prepared; it will take at least two hours to get out.
I snorkeled with my family off of Caribe Blu; they gave my family masks, snorkels and fins free of charge. Off we went in front of the hotel and we saw a lof of fish and marine life just the same. Directly to the South of Caribe Blu, there is an operator that has the biulding and they have cordoned off the immediate beach part into the sea and as previously reported on the board trapped a lot of fish inside. They now charge adults $48 to take a short snorkeling tour to show them a few sting rays. Sad place but it must be legal to operate.
I am sorry that this has been a long post but perhaps a first timer's experience will be usefuls to others. It was a fantastic vacation. If I lived closer, like in Houston or Atlanta, I'd try to go to Cozumel many times a year.
Take care and dive safely.
the Channel Islands!!!
