Cozumel's advanced dives.

[SeaFlea]

Holiday Greetings to all.

I've been to Cozumel a number of times and will be again in Feb 05. This trip I would like to try some of the more advanced dive sites. I was reviewing my logbook and found alot of repetition of the major sites. Could someone tell me about some of the less visited dive sites and the profile of the dive at those sites.

Thanks very much.

 

[jlyle]

By "advanced" do you mean deeper, more difficult, or simply less visited?

IMHO, doing really deep dives in Cozumel is a waste of vacation time, there is nothing more to see and you get less bottom time.

Barracuda and San Juan are advanced because of the extremely fast currents at those locations and the potential for being swept off the island - next stop, Cuba.

On the extreme south end of the island, places like Chun Chacab are less visited because they are so far away from the resorts.

Very few people ever dive the reefs on the windward side of the island due to distance, wind/wave conditions.

If you get bored with the traditional dive locations, arrange to do them a little farther off shore - like the wall at Paso del Cedral.

Booking an afternoon boat trip to the deep walls when the sun is on the wall and there are few boats makes for a different experience.

 

[Jester]

I agree with jlyle. The sites at the extreme northern tip (Barracuda & San Juan) shouldn't be done unless you are truly "advanced." At the southern end, I've always liked Chun Chacab, and you can't go wrong with Palancar (Horseshoe, caves, bricks, etc.). If you avoid diving with the Cattle Car dive ops, you'll have a better chance of diving some more pristine sites.

Just my .02. Have a great time.

 

[Christi]

Great advice from jlyle and jester.

I have nothing really to add except to emphasize that there IS a difference when you pay a little more and dive with a smaller more personalized operator than diving with one of the big dogs (high volume and/or big boats) This is a perfect example Not that they are bad, they just have cookie cutter schedules and rules.

 

[alcina]

I'll throw in a vote for Chun Chakaab, too. It was very different than the other sites and well worth diving. You can see what else I liked by clicking my report below, but not sure there is anything there to really help...

I loved the area around Paso del Cedral and it would be a must visit next time as would Tormentos...

 

[SeaFlea]

Thanks for your replies. You're right in that I'm not looking for deep dives that approach the rec. limits but instead dives that are more interesting and those less dove by the major, hi-volume dive operators. I think the Palancar sites would fit the bill and I think I've only seen Horseshoe.

Maybe I could ask for opinions on everyones favorite dives and why they liked them. That would give me a good list to work from.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[alcina]

I think there are several threads on favourite sites - a bit of digging should unearth them.

My sites & what I thought of them are listed in the trip report in my sig line...I think jlyle has them in his excellent reports, too...

 

[Warren_L]

As the others have said, you don't have to do deep dives to see lots, but one of my faves happens to be a deep one, though. Punta Sur (devil's throat) at the south end of the island is off a deep wall with some swim throughs in the reef, leading you through some caverns and eventually bringing you out from the reef to the big blue ocean. At the deepest point of the dive you do get down to about 120-125ft.

 

[mediakzar]

Holiday Greetings to all.

I've been to Cozumel a number of times and will be again in Feb 05. This trip I would like to try some of the more advanced dive sites. I was reviewing my logbook and found alot of repetition of the major sites. Could someone tell me about some of the less visited dive sites and the profile of the dive at those sites.

Thanks very much.

I have a discussion of some of the advanced dives in Cozumel at:
http://www.mxtravel.com/cozumel/cozumel_diving.html#exotic dives

JK
http://www.mxtravel.com/cozumel/santa_fe.html

 

[jlyle]

I think there are several threads on favourite sites - a bit of digging should unearth them.

My sites & what I thought of them are listed in the trip report in my sig line...I think jlyle has them in his excellent reports, too...

Thank you, Alcina. Make sure you click on Alcina's link for lots of wonderful pics and narrative from an intersting perspective!

Let's see, if I could only go back to Coz and do a couple of dives, where would I choose?

1. Palancar Gardens with a long surface interval at the end of the dive. You get it all here - a wall, swim throughs, shallow reef with lots of fish, turtles...

2. Chankanaab in the afternoon when no one else is on the reef. This reef has the most fish and the prettiest sponges/coral.

It's hard to choose. Heck, I even like "muck" diving on the sand and would be very happy there. Let's face it, Cozumel has a lot to offer. I've been there more than twenty times, often for two-week stays, and keep going back.