July - Diving Solo - Cozumel, then Mujeres or Holbox - Looking for Op, Advice, Etc!

[kekomixtle]

I would also recommend Blue Angel Resort in Cozumel. I've gone with them, it's a small hotel for divers, and service is great. Since it is a hotel full of divers, I don't think you'll have trouble finding a buddy. When I went, a friend that works there joined us so we could all have couples.

 

[divingjd]

Miffy:

I'll try to answer your questions from the Aldora perspective.

Sue Sue, MMM, krbailey, DandyDon, Tunaman68 (do you like tuna?), and Ron Lee… thank you so much for your input… I was up until 4:20am Toronto time (until Scubaboard kicked me off due to maintenance (?)) reading posts and trying to edit my original post as I came across some more information and had a couple more questions I have a lot of questions!

Dive Ops
I had narrowed it down to Aldora, Living Underwater, and Blue XTSea Diving. Tres Pelicanos has surfaced in some posts. Anyone else have experience with them? There are a lot of older posts on here tho… Very curious to hear of other people's stories / experiences with either one of these in terms of:
1. boat size Mostly six-packs, but Aldora has one 40+ foot boat, the Falicity. Falicity usually carries two groups. The bigger boat sometimes allows Aldora to go out on rougher days when the harbor is closed to smaller boats. They also have a few smaller boats, mostly used on the east side of the island. I think the Aldora fleet is around 7 boats.
2. shade on boat Yes!
3. quality of PADI instruction (for my Rescue, and if I have time, my Nitrox --> if I'm in Cozumel for a week, do i have time to do my Rescue and a couple of speciality ie. Nitrox and Peak Performance Buoyancy or Deep Dive? ) Can't speak to it directly. I haven't done any classes with Aldora. I was already certified as an instructor the first time I dove with them. I know most of the staff at least a little and I have been very impressed with them.
4. bottom times: I hear Aldora allows you to dive your tank, but not many posts about Blue XTSea doing this or does Blue XTSea insist that everyone ascend together when the first diver runs out of air? As someone else mentioned, Aldora's policy is actually for the group to ascend together. However, with the high-pressure 120 c. ft. and 100 c. ft. tanks they use, you will rarely feel that your dives are being limited. They group divers of similar skills and experience together and if one member of the group is running low, the divemaster will share air with that person to extend the dive for the group. The group will ascend when two divers are at 700 psi. Unless your air consumption is really good, you should not feel short-changed diving with Aldora.
5. camera only rinse bins (I'm considering getting an underwater camera and want to be sure they have bins only for camera gear on the boat, unless I just have to wait until I get back to the hotel and rinse it in the sink? Unfortunately, not on the six-packs. There might be one on Falicity. You can probably rinse it at the surface interval at a beach club. I've seen people bring bottles filled with tap water to rinse cameras.
6. extras (ie. water, towels, snacks / fruit, SI on beach is preferred, I don't want to carry my own tank but I do want to check it before every dive <-- esp when the tanks are placed too high and I end up hitting the back of my head, and to check the tank o-ring is fine. I've had hissing when I checked my tank before one dive and found out that the o-ring was almost shot) Aldora has plenty of water on the boats, but unfortunately no other drinks or snacks. Surface interval is at a beach club, where you can buy drinks, snacks, or lunch. Surface intervals are long, usually two hours, which is necessary to burn off the nitrogen from long first dives and allow long second dives. It makes for a fairly long day. We usually leave the dock at 7:30 and get back around 2:00. No need to carry tanks, but check out your gear all you like. They will set it up for you. No towels on the boats, but there are parkas. Long, fleece-lined parkas. For some people, this is one of the highlights of diving with Aldora. I don't usually need one, but a few times, it has been very much appreciated. It's very nice to have them available.
7. no need for dive ops to rinse my gear Aldora will keep your gear in a mesh duffle bag, rinse it at night, and bring it back on the boat the next morning. You are responsible for your own wetsuit (which has been discussed ad nauseum in another thread).
8. outdoor shower! - Not a must but I loved this extra when I was living and diving in Asia&#8230; nothing beats a warm outdoor shower to help you peel your wetsuit off! Doubt I'll see anything like this in Coz Outdoor shower at the Villa. None at the Aldora pier downtown. I don't know about other resorts.

How does gear (rental & storage) work? I will have to rent my BCD, regulator, octopus, weights from the Dive Ops. Do I need to drop off my fins, booties, mask, etc off at the Dive Op the night before my first dive if I am not staying at their accommodations? I've only dived Asia so have only been exposed to liveaboards and diving with the resort Dive Op. As described above, Aldora will store and rinse gear. Go the shop when you arrive to check in, drop off any gear you want (other than wetsuit), and take care of rental gear. If you stay at the Villa, they will have a duffle bag and forms for you, which saves some time at the shop.

Dive Sites
1. A friend of mine who used to photograph underwater with National Geographic has mentioned diving Punta Sur, Chun Chakab & Maracaibo. Do all dive ops bring their guests here? No, not all dive ops go to these sites. You are considering most of the ones that do. All of these sites are highly weather-dependent. The wind at the southern end of the island is sometimes too strong to allow safe diving at these sites. Aldora will want to see you in the water and assess your skills before you go to these sites, which are considered advanced sites. I understand the other ops you are considering will want to do the same. There are lots of great sites on the island. You can have an outstanding trip without getting to these sites. That being said, access to Punta Sur, Maracaibo, and the northern sites (Barracuda and San Juan) was what attracted me to Aldora in the first place. It's also one of the things I really like about Aldora
2. Apparently you can dive the cenotes? Has anyone done this before? Yes, you can and yes, I have. The cenotes are on the mainland, mostly near Tulum. Take the ferry to Playa del Carmen (an hour or less). Usually meet a dive operator in PDC and head to the cenotes. If your buoyancy skills are very good, it's a blast. The first time I went was with a large group, when I only had a few dives under my belt. My buoyancy wasn't that good, I was pretty nervous, and didn't like it much. Went back about 500 dives later and really enjoyed it. Been going to Cozumel a lot over the past ten years and haven't gone to the Cenotes since a trip to PDC. It's hard to tear myself away from the reefs and the cenote trip makes for a pretty long day. I may do it this July

Accommodations
I've been reading a lot about Hotel Cozumel, and Villa Aldora. I'll have to look into Blue Angel. Any other recommendations?
I know not to go to Iberostar or Allegro even tho there's a Groupon going on with them. I remember you asked if the Villa was noisy. The answer is no. The street there is pretty quiet. Street noise has never been a problem. It is close to the airport, but the flights are not frequent enough to be a real problem.

Isla Mujeres / Isla Holbox
According to what I've been reading, they've been seeing the plankton numbers decrease, therefore more whaleshark trips are coming out of Cancun as opposed to Holbox. So it looks like Mujeres is my choice now. Anyone else have any other experiences?

Getting there
DandyDon, wish there was a tour company that could help me with this. I've been spoiled with my previous dive trips (I'm a few dives shy of 100 right now), and have had a tour operator take care of my flights, transfers, pick-ups, etc for me. Is there not one that does that for Cozumel dive trips?

I will probably be flying from San Francisco (as I will be attending a conference there) and then returning to Toronto. Tried Kayak.com to find flights but no luck. I just don't know what my flight path would be. SFO -> Cozumel, dive 1 week, Cozumel -> Cancun, then ferry to Isla Mujeres? 1 week in Mujeres, then ferry back to Cancun ->YYZ?

Air Transat is a charter airline. I've never flown them but I'm assuming they're ok?

Is there a flight that gets me from SFO -->Cozumel (maybe with stopover in Cancun if I have to), and then have the dive op or hotel shuttle me to the hotel I decide to stay with? As I'm traveling alone as a female, I'd feel more comfortable if I didn't have to take taxi or bus or ferry on my own if I didn't have to. Maybe I'm being paranoid. I have lived in Asia for 8 years all on my own, but this is Mexico, not Asia

Ok, I'll stop here. I'm still researching but I'm sure I'll have more questions I hope you all can help me with. Thank you again!

Miffy

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you will have a great trip. You are looking at the right places and asking good questions. Luckily, there does not seem to be one "right" answer for Cozumel, which is why so many of us like it so much.

 

[scubavaquera]

DD [As I said, I stay at Hotel Coz with their AI. The food is good enough for me, and so convenient. Tip a buck or two here and there and the service is great. I would not dive with that Op. They're ok, but slow boats and a cattle boat experience I hear]

DD and Miffy,

I work as a DM and Instructor for 'that Op' (Dive Paradise) that Don mentions in above quote. I just wanted to point out that while it is true that a couple of our boats offer slower, caribbean style cruises out to the reefs, we also have a fleet of 14 with the majority of them being as fast as anyone elses. The key is to specify which type of trip you are interested in when you check-in with the shop. I also want to say that it is unlikely that you will have a 'cattle boat' experience in July - which is during low season.
Miffy - You will not go wrong with any of the shops that have been mentioned to you here. And the only 'danger' you need to worry about is that you will become a Cozaholic after diving here and feel compelled to return again and again!
I traveled solo to Cozumel many times as a single woman before moving here to live and work and never had a problem at all. And now, I almost feel safer knowing that if anything were to happen, most of the Mexican men here have a great sense of chivalry and would butter the toast of anyone they saw messing with a single woman. That has been my experience, anyway.
Enjoy planning your trip!

 

[judydivescoz]

I would recommend Blue Angel as well. Book a room on the ground level. It's still a beautiful view and no issue with road noise. Honestly, just closing the bathroom door and night on the other floors eliminate noise. It's small, it's easy to meet people at the pool and restaurant. The food at the restaurant is great. If you decide to try shore diving it's the bests it gets in Cozumel. It's a 1.5 mile walk to town. You might also consider diving with BA as well. They offer classes and it's very convenient, they have many loyal customers. I have been diving with BA and Blue XTsea have enjoyed the diving. BA had water on board, Blue XTSea had great snacks. My favorite op is Albatros Charters. There are many great ops on the island. The 3 you mentioned are great. I hope you have a great vacation.

 

[Okie Mike]

I just got back from a long weekend trip where I did 3 boat trips with Tres Pelicanos and 1 with Al Dora. The answers below are for TP unless noted.

Dive Ops
I had narrowed it down to Aldora, Living Underwater, and Blue XTSea Diving. Tres Pelicanos has surfaced in some posts. Anyone else have experience with them? There are a lot of older posts on here tho… Very curious to hear of other people's stories / experiences with either one of these in terms of:
1. boat size TP's boat is the "Skinny Shark". It has seating for 14 divers, but we never had more than 9. It has a very wide beam--I could sit on the floor (nice spongy pads) between 2 divers sitting on the benches and there was plenty of room to walk past me. Single 300 HP outboard moves the boat very fast.
2. shade on boat Yes! Shade, but it is not a waterproof top as we discovered in the deluge this weekend. Probably would have been for lighter rain. There is no front cabin or windscreen, so the rain comes right under the cover and through the boat at speed.
3. quality of PADI instruction (for my Rescue, and if I have time, my Nitrox --> if I'm in Cozumel for a week, do i have time to do my Rescue and a couple of speciality ie. Nitrox and Peak Performance Buoyancy or Deep Dive? )I did my nitrox course on this trip. Servando is the instructor (and DM) and is great. I read the book ahead of time. When I got there, we spent 30 minutes showing that I knew the material and then I took an exam. The whole process took less than 2 hours. Cost is only $150 and that includes 2 nitrox tanks. I am amazed at how much more bottom time you get on nitrox, especially on the deeper (60-80) dives.
4. bottom times: I hear Aldora allows you to dive your tank, but not many posts about Blue XTSea doing this or does Blue XTSea insist that everyone ascend together when the first diver runs out of air? TP absolutely lets you dive your tank. When someone is low, the DM shoots the SMB and that person (or the buddy team if they wish) ascend and everyone else keeps diving. All of my dives were over an hour and a couple were 70 minutes. My 2 dives with Al Dora (2 tank twighlight with only 3 divers total) were only 60 and 55 with the DM calling the dive both times when I still had 1500 PSI (neither of the other 2 divers were below 1200). Maybe the day dives are longer. I will post in the Steel Tanks thread more about this, but I got longer dives with TP for a much better price, and I am not a fan of the heavier steel tank. THe only thing AD had that TP did not were boat coats, which came in very handy in the cold, windy weather this last weekend. Should not be an issue in July/August.
5. camera only rinse bins (I'm considering getting an underwater camera and want to be sure they have bins only for camera gear on the boat, unless I just have to wait until I get back to the hotel and rinse it in the sink? TP has a cooler that is a dedicated camera tank. If your fits in the sink, it will fit in this.
6. extras (ie. water, towels, snacks / fruit, SI on beach is preferred, I don't want to carry my own tank but I do want to check it before every dive <-- esp when the tanks are placed too high and I end up hitting the back of my head, and to check the tank o-ring is fine. I've had hissing when I checked my tank before one dive and found out that the o-ring was almost shot) SIs for TP were on the boat. I did not ask why they don't go to a pier and did not ask if they would. They had fresh fruit and pastries or cookies and water.
7. no need for dive ops to rinse my gear TP will rinse and keep your gear. I let them do it once, and I kept it the other time--no problem.
8. outdoor shower! - Not a must but I loved this extra when I was living and diving in Asia… nothing beats a warm outdoor shower to help you peel your wetsuit off! Doubt I'll see anything like this in Coz TP has no dock location, so you would need one at the hotel you are staying at.

How does gear (rental & storage) work? I will have to rent my BCD, regulator, octopus, weights from the Dive Ops. Do I need to drop off my fins, booties, mask, etc off at the Dive Op the night before my first dive if I am not staying at their accommodations? I've only dived Asia so have only been exposed to liveaboards and diving with the resort Dive Op. TP has rental gear at their shop in town. You would need to stop by before your dives for check in and sizing (although, I bet they would bring what you needed to the boat if you could not make it. I assume but do not know that they would let you keep the rental gear between dives for a shore dive.

Dive Sites
1. A friend of mine who used to photograph underwater with National Geographic has mentioned diving Punta Sur, Chun Chakab & Maracaibo. Do all dive ops bring their guests here? TP went to Punta Sur the day before I dove. You would have to have a boat full of experienced divers and they would want to see you dive first. TP only has 1 boat, so they cannot divide divers by skill the way Al Dora can.
2. Apparently you can dive the cenotes? Has anyone done this before? I have not.

Accommodations
I've been reading a lot about Hotel Cozumel, and Villa Aldora. I'll have to look into Blue Angel. Any other recommendations?
I know not to go to Iberostar or Allegro even tho there's a Groupon going on with them. One thing I did not really like about TP was that they picked me up at my hotel (Villa Blanca - $40 per night, pool, hot tub, restaurant, across from La Hach and a little beach club) in a car and drove me to the Caleta. We then rode the boat to a couple other hotels to pick up more people--including hotels to the north not too far from mine (Casa Del Mar, La Cieba). Same process in reverse at the end of the dive. Maybe I should have slept in and walked to Casa Del Mar. I was solo, so it may simply have been a space and efficiency issue since there was at least 2 divers at each pickup. If you stay downtown, you will certainly get a ride or taxi to the Caleta. Staying south of the Caleta would solve this problem and make you one of the last on/first off. Hurry up Fiesta Americana!

 

[Miffy]

Well all, Villa Aldora is out. They are booked when we want to go (Yep, I managed to drag someone with me&#8230;. let's hope he doesn't bail on me!).

Cozumel
Dive Op: Looks like it's between Aldora Divers, Blue XTSea and SCC. Still waiting for their reply
Hoping Blue Angel Resort can pull through for me <fingers crossed> with accommodations.

Don't think I'll do Cenotes. Doesn't really appeal to me. What I would LOVE to do is do a day trip to 3 particular Cenotes and take some pictures while wading / swimming.

Anyone know of a good tour company that would bring me / us to 1. Ik-Kil, 2. Dos Ojos, and 3. Gran Cenote for the day?

Isla Mujeres
In August, what are the chances of seeing manta rays as well as dolphins on whale shark trips? A website I went to made it sound like they were there in addition to the whale sharks in July. Anyone?

Trip planning
DandyDon, maybe you can help me with this one. What do you think?

Day 1: YYZ -> CUN -> Playa del Carmen; Stay Playa del Carmen
Day 2: Cenotes (not diving, just land tour so I can take pictures in and out of water); Transfer to Cozumel (are there evening ferry times? I'll have to find that ferry schedule stickie if there is one on this site); Stay Cozumel
Day 3-11: Dive & PADI Rescue, Nitrox, etc (9 days)
Day 12: Cozumel -> Playa del Carmen -> CUN -> Isla Mujeres (is there a sticky about how to do this?)
Day 13-18: Isla Mujeres
Day 19: Isla Mujeres -> CUN -> YYZ

Miffy

---------- Post added June 3rd, 2014 at 11:20 PM ----------

MMM, Ok, I'll check out Living Underwater.

Sue Sue, thanks for the feedback for Blue XT Sea (and thanks for the PM! I haven't gotten around to replying to you and to others yet! My apologies!)

RE: Dive Insurance, what's the difference between Dive Assure and DAN? PROs and CONs?

Miffy

---------- Post added June 3rd, 2014 at 11:26 PM ----------

Hey everyone, again.. huge thanks for all the advice and feedback. It is helping me tremendously and although it was going to be my first dive trip solo (cross your fingers he doesn't bail on my last minute), I feel much more confident about this every day. My travel buddy (he's like a brother to me) is however a very new diver, so a bit more pressure on me to make sure everything runs smoothly and that I can take care of him.

Keep the opinions coming!

 

[lamarpaulski]

I dove with Aldora and really liked them but i stayed in town at Las Anclas, which worked for me. Town is most convenient and sociable and has great restaurants. I felt safe there with my kids but wasn't out super late either. Don't neglect the Mayan temples on the mainland. I did trips to Coba and Chitzen Itza and thought it was amazing. Cenotes too. Snorkeling in them is refreshing and very cool. This can be done in conjunction with a Mayan temple trip. A lot to see.

You will have a great time. Keep some wiggle room in your plans. You can plan most of the extras once you get to Mexico. Cozumel diving alone is a great time.

 

[Ron Lee]

Miffy, Ik Kil is very close to Chichen Itza. That is a long day, especially from Cozumel. I really like it but you have a hard time doing it and the other two cenotes on the same day...especially with a group.

If you want to see Ik Kil, consider going to Chichen Itza if you have never been there. Another cenote near Valladolid is Dzitnup.

"Day 1: YYZ -> CUN -> Playa del Carmen; Stay Playa del Carmen
Day 2: Cenotes (not diving, just land tour so I can take pictures in and out of water); Transfer to Cozumel (are there evening ferry times? I'll have to find that ferry schedule stickie if there is one on this site); Stay Cozumel
Day 3-11: Dive & PADI Rescue, Nitrox, etc (9 days)
Day 12: Cozumel -> Playa del Carmen -> CUN -> Isla Mujeres (is there a sticky about how to do this?)
Day 13-18: Isla Mujeres
Day 19: Isla Mujeres -> CUN -> YYZ"

1) Ferry schedule...add both sets of dates to get the COMPLETE schedule of both ferry companies. Only buy ONE WAY tickets

http://www.granpuerto.com.mx/en/


2) Cozumel to Isla Mujeres: Cheapest way follows:

a) Ferry from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen
b) Walk to ADO bus station
c) Take ADO bus to downtown Cancun. About 70 minutes travel time and about 60 pesos but verify.
d) Go outside the Cancun bus station and get a taxi for roughly $5 USD per taxi to Gran Puerto/Puerto Juarez
e) Take ferry to Isla Mujeres.

Useful pictures here:

www.tinyurl.com/7m3r6

The Riviera Maya map/guide from cancunmap.com may be useful.

 

[DandyDon]

I told you that you'd get a lot of other suggestions. Good that you listed preferences so people would give reasons and not just turn into cheerleaders.

Dive Op: Looks like it's between Aldora Divers, Blue XTSea and SCC. Still waiting for their reply.

SCC? I thought they only took divers who stayed there?

Don't think I'll do Cenotes. Doesn't really appeal to me. What I would LOVE to do is do a day trip to 3 particular Cenotes and take some pictures while wading / swimming.

Anyone know of a good tour company that would bring me / us to 1. Ik-Kil, 2. Dos Ojos, and 3. Gran Cenote for the day?

I was fascinated by my cenote dives, but I guess not everone likes them. You don't need to find a tour group to just visit cenotes and snorkel. I like Easyway car rentals for price in PDC or Cancun - no drop charges Easy Way Cancun Car Rental | your Cancun Airport Rental Car, and driving is easy enough with a few cautions. If you drive tho, let's do a new thread as good discussion on just that would be beneficial and attract more advisers. Get some of the maps from Cancunmap.com ASAP. MapChick's Map Store-Can-Do Maps & Travel Guides Mayan ruins and Ik-kil might be a nice side trip to consider. I did Chichen Itza as an overnight trip, staying a delightful resort at the back gate, then saw the ruins there and Ek Balam before heading back to PDC to catch an evening ferry. https://www.locogringo.com/mexico/ways-to-play/mayan-ruins-archaeological-sites/

Isla Mujeres
In August, what are the chances of seeing manta rays as well as dolphins on whale shark trips? A website I went to made it sound like they were there in addition to the whale sharks in July. Anyone?

It's possible. Dominoes and mantas feed on the same plankton bloom and dolphins feed on the fish attracted.

Trip planning
DandyDon, maybe you can help me with this one. What do you think?

Day 1: YYZ -> CUN -> Playa del Carmen; Stay Playa del Carmen
Day 2: Cenotes (not diving, just land tour so I can take pictures in and out of water); Transfer to Cozumel (are there evening ferry times? I'll have to find that ferry schedule stickie if there is one on this site); Stay Cozumel
Day 3-11: Dive & PADI Rescue, Nitrox, etc (9 days)
Day 12: Cozumel -> Playa del Carmen -> CUN -> Isla Mujeres (is there a sticky about how to do this?)
Day 13-18: Isla Mujeres
Day 19: Isla Mujeres -> CUN -> YYZ

I thought you wanted to fly out of SFO? From Toronto would work find, sure. Ron gave good suggestions on the maps, how to get to IM, etc. already. If you want to do ruins and/or Ik-kil, I'd get the car in Cancun and go there instead of PDC the first day, maybe PDC the second night, and ferry to Coz earlier in the day to meet your Op the day before diving rental gear. I think 5 nights is too much on IM, but maybe it fits you better?

RE: Dive Insurance, what's the difference between Dive Assure and DAN? PROs and CONs?

Not a lot of differences really. DAN dive insurance is the original, while Dive Assure is a new player giving them needed competition.

b) Walk to ADO bus station
c) Take ADO bus to downtown Cancun. About 70 minutes travel time and about 60 pesos but verify.
d) Go outside the Cancun bus station and get a taxi for roughly $5 USD per taxi to Gran Puerto/Puerto Juarez

Walking to the bus station in PDC is easy, 3 or 4 blocks, and a porter with the tricycle luggage carrier will be glad to show you for tips. For any taxi, anywhere, always agree on a price before you get in for any trip as some will really rip you off if they think they can.

:laughing: I almost hit that 2:30am Central blackout!

 

[cvchief]

Can you get the PADI Nitrox book and do most of the work and then just quickly pass the test now days? My LDC (which isnt that local) sold me the book and I drove down and tested with an instructor in like 20 minutes.

And I am working on 2 private boats for whale sharking. Probably day trips out of Cozumel, catching the boat in Cancun. If you are interested, we might have space.