Favorite dive sites around Cozumel?

[Mike]

Hello all,

I have a trip booked Feb.8-15, and am looking for any recommendations you might have for dive sites around Cozumel. I have dove Yukab, Santa Rosa and Paradise but that was 8 years ago. Recently I have been diving in Hawaii, Fiji, the Philippines, and was at Sipadan in Sept.
I'm looking for some variety, the possibility of seeing some big stuff - sharks, rays, etc, maybe some big schools. Basically I'm looking for some dive sites that have that wow factor. I realize I've been spoilt by some of the diving I've done recently, and I'm hoping Cozumel has some diving that will surprise me! Any advice or recommendations you can give me are greatly appreciated!! Thanks for your help.

I think you're going to be disappointed if you're too focused on the wow factor comparing the south pacific to cozumel hoping for big stuff and massive schools, it's just not going to be there. Cozumel's wow factor is structure and great visibility and of course easy drift diving/live boat diving. You're going to possibly see very impressive reef structure , walls and 100 ft visibility. Big stuff there will be an occasional nurse shark and depending on the time of year some eagle rays, thrown in is the occasional turtle, sting ray, some decent sized green morays and if you get really, really lucky a reef shark. On the plus side you do have the opportunity to commonly see sea horses during the day and octopus at night.To me I think the french angels in Cozumel are more unique than anything else there. I rarely have seen french angels as big as they grow in cozumel. The wow factor in cozumel usually is tied to the more advanced dive sites with seeing unique reef structures or more prestine conditions that are harder and harder to find in the caribbean. If you are a swim thru guy, Cozumel will definitely offer you plenty of that. Oh, and it's the only place to see Cozumel's version of the spendid toad fish which is really unique and spectacularly colored.

 

[Scott]

There are a number of good sites depending on what you like in diving. Any site on Palancar and Columbia never fails to deliver.
Least favorite, Tormentos. It lives up to its name with me.


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[mstevens]

I tend to favor the ones under water.

 

[ggunn]

For me, it's a tossup between the site we just left and the one we are on the way to.

 

[Scoober]

Coz iz what it iz, which iz great in terms of viz--and massive reef structures. And sometimes some great currents. Yeah, not so much in the way of fish and such compared to Asia Pacific, but amazing reef and well worth diving repeatedly! And when doing so, Devil's Throat is awesome! And Cathedral (not Cedral, which is pretty great) is phenomenal! And the northern sites in February for the Eagle Rays will give you a top shelf animal dive. Fingers crossed re no Nortes!

 

[Bucko911]

My favorite in Cozumel is the Palancars (Gardens and Cave). Whenever I got to Cozumel I dive with Alison. She's been there for many, many years and knows a lot of "off the grid" sites. If you get to know her you might be lucky enough to go somewhere special....

 

[hyperbaric_1]

Chun Cha Cab is my most recent favorite. It is subject to change with every trip.

 

[caseybird]

Santa Rosa Wall. Spectacular structure.

 

[Donnah]

We were in Cozumel in November, and have gone many times. Had the chance to dive Santa Rosa with NO current at all, so we could go very slowly and poke around -- huge nurse shark, splendid toad fish, schools of grunts, spotted moray. Columbia Deep was great with swim-thus and juvenile black tips. La Franchesca and Yucab were boring -- I think we had some new divers on the boat. I also have Palancar Bricks starred this time because it was just a beautiful dive. We love going through the tunnels and coming out on the reef. Most of the week we had little or no current, which made our usual dives a little different. There was the opportunity to stop and look at things.

 

[DreaminOfSand&Salt]

Chun Cha Cab is my most recent favorite. It is subject to change with every trip.

This site was recommended to us last year by Mateo at BA but we didn't make it ... hope to in May! How is it different than the more commonly visited sites?