First timer to Cozumel and First time Diver

[reesespbc11]

I went to Cozumel last summer and stayed at the Presidente Intercontinental! They have their own beach which is absolutely beautiful, it wasn't crowded at all in August. We stayed at the resort most of the time but rented a car a few days to drive around the island and explore. Also took the ferry over to Cancun for a day of zip lining, snorkeling, and other adventures!
They have a dive company right on the resort premise called "Scuba Du" which I had an amazing time with and would highly recommend! Very friendly and personalized, they really get to know you and make sure you have the best time possible. Some divers wore shortie wetsuits, others didn't wear any wetsuit, the water is that warm, and they supply you will all the equipment you need. I did both boat and shore dives with them and got my Advanced OW certification while there, my instructor Sandy was fantastic. Because most of the diving is drift diving, it might be harder to obtain your OW certification as no matter where you dive you always seem to drift somewhere else, which can be hard if you're first learning how to dive. My suggestion would be to get certified beforehand so you'll be able to take full advantage of Cozumel's diving. It's so beautiful and you'll most certainly enjoy your trip!

 

[DandyDon]

The Presidente Intercontinental may be out of her (?) budget from some of her remarks, or maybe not?

I wouldn't spend 3 weeks on the island tho, now that you mentioned the peninsula. IF you like ruins, you might like to ferry over to Playa del Caremn one morning after a couple of weeks, rent a car from Easy Way with good rates, good insurance package, and no drop charges...

1: Drive to Tulum, stop at the grocery on the Coba hiway corner, buy a cooler, ice, and water (I take 2 quart vacuum bottles & backpack for any outing!), motor over to Coba, rent bicycles and tour those ruins, then drive to Chichen-itza and check-in at the lovely Mayaland resort for a couple of nights.

2: Next day, tour the Chichen-itza ruins in the morning before the tour buses arrive, do lunch, then drive over to Ek Balam to tour those ruins in the afternoon before heading back to Mayaland for a swim, dinner, and another night in the delightful hotel.

3: Next morning, drive down to Tulum* to tour those ruins, then up to Cancun to ferry over to Isla Mujeres for two or three nights. *That route is a little out of the way, but it gets you to Coba and Chichen-Itza in the mornings, the toll road from Chichen to Cancun is boring, and driving thru Cancun that way can be confusing unless you are fluent in Spanish signs. This way is not too far out of the way.

4: Next two mornings, go snorkeling with the gentle Whale Sharks - quite an experience. You could do some Cancun night life, but I'd skip it.

5: Drive back down to the Cancun airport one morning, turn in the car, and fly home from there - maybe cheaper and easier than flying from Cozumel.

An idea...?

 

[Skittl1321]

I'd look into a trip to snorkel with the whale sharks too.

 

[ggunn]

Absolutely true, and I never meant to imply otherwise. HOWEVER, if you get completely horizontal, face into the current, and present the smallest cross-section to the current, you can stay stationary, in the same location, or even move slowly against the current, with only moderate finning. If you present a big cross-section to the current, like a kite in the water, remaining stationary or moving against the current takes a LOT more effort, and you'll burn through more air with the added effort.

But of course there's current and then there's current. But anyway, I didn't mean it as a contradiction, only a clarification for someone who hasn't experienced it for herself. Once she does that, all will become clear.

Sorry to hear of your accident; I hope you recovered completely. One of the guys I know that got hurt on a moped will never be the same. Well, two of them, I guess; one of them is dead.

 

[ThePetiteRunner]

Sorry for not stating earlier - I'm in Sacramento, and I do know of a local diving op here that does ocean dives in Monterey. I love that area so much anyway, I'm sure it'd be a great place for me to learn to dive at as well.

As far as our budget, we don't mind spending the cash, but we're just not into the resort atmosphere. I prefer a little more privacy and lounging poolside or beach side on a cabana for days on end just isn't our idea of a fun vacation (not to say that this can't be fun for a ton of other people, hence the success of all inclusive resorts ). We're just looking for a less resort-like feel. And luckily, our house does have a plunge pool in the backyard. A total bonus!

We do plan on doing a trip to Tulum as well as Chichen Itza, each probably a day on their own. I'm not sure we want to stay overnight too many other places since it would just up the cost and we're already paying for the lovely house. I know you guys suggested renting cars versus mopeds, but has anyone ever rented or just bought bikes while in Cozumel? We were thinking of doing a biking trip around the island - I read some post that it's about a 44 mile round trip and I thought that could be quite a fun little day trip / adventure.

Thanks again for all the help!

---------- Post added July 4th, 2014 at 08:03 PM ----------

BTW, I agree with ggunn completely on the mopeds - I was a moped casualty in January, 2000 - 7 broken ribs, punctured lung, punctured spleen, very expensive air ambulance to U.S., and lengthy hospital stay. My advice -- DO NOT EVER RENT THE MOPEDS. Rent a jeep, a car, take a taxi. Just DO NOT RENT MOPEDS. And DEFINITELY JOIN DIVERS ALERT NETWORK (DAN) and GET THE DAN INSURANCE.

Holy moly! I'm so sorry to hear that I hope you've recovered okay. Goodness. Things to consider.

 

[Dr Dog]

I got certified in Cozumel.
I did the referral thing from a dive shop in Canada, and it worked out splendidly. I did all my pool work in Canada and then did my four check out dives over two days with a Cozumel outfit. Besides english not being my instructors first language, he was awesome.

I found it more of an issue with my new diver ears after i was certified, and i was just equalizing too hard...I dove nearly every day there, and having the fantastic visibility and sea life..

The only advice I have, is try to explore the island off the beaten path...Get away from the main drag and go see the rest of the island

 

[Badge353]

If you live in California and plan to dive ever in California certify before the trip. California diving is quite different then warm water diving and you would do better learning in cold water going to warm then warm going to cold. California diving requires more weight and gear. My thoughts only.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[DandyDon]

We do plan on doing a trip to Tulum as well as Chichen Itza, each probably a day on their own. I'm not sure we want to stay overnight too many other places since it would just up the cost and we're already paying for the lovely house.

You don't need a day each for those two, but you can if you want to. It'd be a shame to do Chichen Itza and not do Ek Balam just across the tollway. I try to minimize ferry crossings tho. If you can rent the house for a few days less, you can do one crossing, then maybe save money flying back from Cancun. And the whale sharks are a treat to consider.

 

[drrich2]

1. Should we get our open water certification in Cozumel or before we leave the States?

Before. Don't waste brief vacation time in the lovely tropics clearing your mask & doing other scuba skills.

2. What pieces of equipment would you suggest we purchase and bring with us? Recommendations for brands/equipment?

Get an SMB (surface marker buoy). Hopefully you will never need it, but in the highly unlikely event you are separated from your group and surface elsewhere, it makes you much easier to spot. Your little head poking up in the distance on a wavy ocean can be very hard for boat crew to spot. This is a good thing to have on all ocean dives.

3. Any local dive shops/outfits you enjoyed using in Cozumel? Things we should look out for?

Living Underwater and Aldora are the 2 I know off-hand that offer steel 120 cf tanks, which are great news for 'air hogs' (folks with high gas consumption rates), and both are quite reputable. My 2 Cozumel dives were done with Living Underwater and I'd like to dive with Jeremy again; Aldora has such a strong reputation on the forum I wouldn't hesitate to use them, either. Many people, especially big guys, go through air fast in the early part of their diving, and since Cozumel dives are often deep, you could do a lot worse than to hit the water with 1/2 again the air the mainstream 80 cf aluminum tank people dive with.

4. What are some of your favorite dive spots in Cozumel?

I, too, liked Santa Rosa a lot. Right after jumping in large black grouper (doubtless somebodies been feeding it) swam up about arm's length from me and a big eagle ray swam right under us, very close, so I suppose I'm heavily biased about Santa Rosa.

5. Anything we should worry about going mid-June to early July?

When in the tropics, be disciplined in your use of sunscreen.

Stay well-hydrated. While the link between dehydration & decompression sickness isn't fully proven, conventional wisdom suggests you act as though it were.

6. Any other Cozumel secrets you'd like to share?

Temp. tolerance varies widely. I believe it was a January I was there, with 76 degree water. I'm big, beefy and pretty cold resistant, and that's a little chilly but okay for me with no wet suit. Over in July, I wouldn't bring a wet suit. Some people prefer to always wear at least a 'rash guard' (very thin wetsuit) on the off chance of jelly fish stings & the like.

When you dive, stay pretty close to the guide. If something interesting is fine, he's probably the one finding it and showing it. If you get in trouble, that's the guy you need to reach and let know you can't equalize, your air is low, etc... Don't be one of those timid people who wants to cruise way back behind the group.

Some op.s offer the option to high a private dive master/guide, so if you guys want your very own personal supervisor, you can have that. It's often recommended. I suspect you'd be okay without it, but whatever floats your boat.

The 3 minute 15 foot safety stop followed by a slow ascent is a very good habit to get into early, especially on deep dives.

If you're going to engage in dive travel, considering pursing your Advanced Open Water cert. soon, since some op.s in some places restrict your depth and sites until you get it.

Have fun.

Richard.

 

[DjDiverDan]

I'm pretty good now, but I wouldn't say I will ever recover completely from the moped accident. When you break multiple ribs, and I broke 7, 4 of them in more than 1 place, they heal, but never in exactly the same way they were before. I'll have intermittent back pain for the rest of my life, I can't sit in one position for long periods (long drives are miserable), and I had to give up golf, which I loved - I can't make more than about half a backswing without pain, so I'm pretty much limited to pitch and putt courses. Luckily, it doesn't interfere at all with my diving.