Trip Report Cozumel Trip Report: October 30 – November 9, 2022

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Hi Trailboss 123 - appreciate this review and the tip for Quinta Suites! From the pics, it looks like the kitchen includes a microwave and fridge, and possibly an electric skillet for cooking. Is there no stove top? Thanks!!
There is no stove top, just the skillet and the deluxe rooms have a bit better equipped and larger kitchen. It is definitely not a fully equipped kitchen, but it is much more than a kitchenette (a la Suites Colonial).
 
There is no stove top, just the skillet and the deluxe rooms have a bit better equipped and larger kitchen. It is definitely not a fully equipped kitchen, but it is much more than a kitchenette (a la Suites Colonial).
Thanks for that! Also, did you leave your gear at the dive shop, or cart it back and forth? And did you rent a car? Our first trip to Cozumel - always been fearful of the drinking water...
 
Thanks for that! Also, did you leave your gear at the dive shop, or cart it back and forth? And did you rent a car? Our first trip to Cozumel - always been fearful of the drinking water...
The shop handles your gear the entire duration of your time diving with them. Just bring back what you want to bring back each day. For me, that is my computers and camera only.

I stay downtown and never rent a car. I walk everywhere and taxis are literally everywhere and quite inexpensive, if you require one. I have rented a car on an off day of diving to tour the island, but that is the only time or reason and honestly, you can hire a taxi for 4-6 hours and have them take you where you want to go and the difference in price is negligible.

If you dive with Tres Pelicanos, you just show up at their shop each day at the appointed time and they will get you to the boat and back to the shop after diving. Quinta Suites is literally across the street from the shop.

You should be concerned about the tap water. Drink only bottled water. I even brush my teeth with bottled water. I have had no issues whatsoever at restaurants in Cozumel. They are well aware and you can trust their water and ice.
 
I popped down to Cozumel for some diving with friends. We were a group of 9 from California, Florida, Arizona and Washington.
We did all of our diving with Tres Pelicanos since their boats can accommodate that number of divers exactly and we were able to dive together each day. We did 2 tank dives each day (some days in the morning and some days in the afternoon and 1 night dive).
Water temp was a consistent 83 degrees the entire time. Visibility was always 100+ feet and clear blue water. Dived nearly all the reefs with the exception of Santa Rosa and San Francisco Walls as they are on the closure and rest schedule for October and November.

Diving was typical Cozumel with the occasional large nurse sharks, green morays, a couple of small black tip reef sharks on the last day and a couple of nice seahorses thrown in. Lots of Octo’s on the night dive and the largest green moray out hunting that I have ever seen and I have seen a lot.
Highlight was a new dive site for me. With Santa Rosa and San Francisco closed, we did a drop on the Yucab Wall. Also known to some as Virgin Wall, since hardly anyone dives it. It was a spectacular wall with overhangs between 100-120 feet, nice and vertical in spots. We ran out of wall 30 minutes into the dive and then began a 6 minute (I timed it) traverse across the sand in a NE direction until we hit the beginning of Tormentos and then spent the rest of the dive on Tormentos. Currents were extremely absent most of the time on all dives with just a couple of exceptions where we had some mild current. So, lots of finning about.

I would like to draw attention to the place I stayed on this trip. I have stayed at a number of places on Cozumel. Most often, I stay at one of the Casa Mexicana family of hotels, with a preference for Suites Colonial down near the plaza. On the recommendation of a friend, I stayed this time at Quinta Suites. It is on the corner of 5th Avenida and 5th Calle Sur. Diagonally across the street from the Tres Pelicanos dive shop and a ½ block from the International Hospital and Aldora dive shop.
I can highly endorse Quinta Suites. Price point is $60-$75 a night depending on the room type. They have Standard Studios, Standard 1 bedrooms, Deluxe Studios and Deluxe 1 bedrooms and one 2 bedroom suite. All rooms are suites with kitchen and living areas. The deluxe rooms have a bit better equipped and larger kitchen and the beds are King Size instead of Full Size. A simple continental breakfast is included. Two 5 gallon jugs of drinking water are in the kitchen.

The WIFI is excellent, the TV situation is the best I have ever seen with 750 channels from all over the world, the NFL ticket in order to be able to watch any NFL game, the NFL Red Zone, any NBA game desired, etc. All of the streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, etc. are also available. There is a rooftop swimming pool and a place to rinse and dry gear, adjacent to the pool. A large Palapa to provide shade next to the pool with plenty of chairs and tables and a hammock and a BBQ. Extremely hot water coming out of the shower that needs to be tempered with the cold knob to get the desired temp and more than adequate water pressure, which can be a challenge in Cozumel. Bed and pillows were comfortable.

The entire property is maintained immaculate and spotless. There is daily maid service to clean rooms and make sure you have clean towels, TP, etc.
The owner, Carlos, is super responsive and speaks impeccable English as well as 3 other languages.
I will definitely stay there in the future, as it meets my needs for location, customer service, cleanliness, reliable internet and price point. I will be back down next month for another 10 days of morning dives and then afternoons and evenings with my mom and her husband. We will be staying at El Cantil Condominiums (which will be a new experience for me) and I will be diving with a new, to me, dive operator (Ambient Diver)—So, I will do another trip report for those experiences next month.

I almost forgot. There are three newer Vegan restaurants on the island in the downtown area, for those interested. They have formed a bit of a relationship with one another and support and promote one another. One is called Sol de Maple, another is the Nutty Treesome (both of these are on 5th Avenida south of the plaza) the 3rd is called Coral Restaurant. All 3 can be found on the app Happy Cow. I ate at all three and liked them all and they all do something different. Everything is made fresh, so allow a bit of time for certain meals to arrive. The Mole dish at Sol de Maple might be the best Mole sauce I have ever had. Mole with mushroom or with garbanzos (chickpeas) + rice and beans and tortillas. Excellent dish, as are the Tacos.
We were in Cozumel Dec 4-14, 2022 (stayed at Miramar) and then again March 3-13, 2023 (stayed at Palmar Condominiums). We are vegetarian and were pleasantly surprised to find Sol de Maple, Nutty Treesome & Coral. Of the 3, our favorite is probably Nutty Treesome (best hummus ever and the owner, Jonathon was a chef in Canada and is always coming up with new creations) followed by Sol De Maple (excellent pizza!) and then Coral. Another place with good vegetarian (not necessarily vegan) options is La Cuisine. We’ve had pretty much everything on the menu at Sol de Maple & Nutty Treesome and thoroughly enjoyed every meal.
 
Great trip report! We are looking at a quick trip this winter to Cozumel for AOW before our first liveaboard in March. Thank you for vegan restaurant recommendations. I also checked out some of your liveaboard trip reports and they are quite helpful for finding boats that do a good job with vegan options. Sounds like a really easy trip with a hotel across from the dive shop!
 
Hello Trailboss:
Several of us are staying at quinta suites this October and November.
We all will be diving with tres pelicanos and I know that they will take care of most of your gear like wetsuit and fins.
My question is a place to dry some of your other gear like booties, hood, bathing suits.
Does quinta Suites have balconies or drying racks we can use?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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