Need advice for our family dive trip?

[Cali_diver]

Thanks for all the input. We bought our plane tickets so now we just have to find a place to sleep!! We are leaning towards Aldora Villas or El Cantil, is the pool at El Cantil fresh water?

My TA wants us to stay at a resort so she has found some great deals at La Cieba El Cid. I've read that this can be a cruise ship hang out and I don't think I want to deal with that. Does anyone have an experience with this place?

 

[jayjoans]

Yep, the El Cantil pool is fresh water.

 

[Cali_diver]

Yep, the El Cantil pool is fresh water.

Thank you for all the great info!

 

[Christi]

Thanks for all the input. We bought our plane tickets so now we just have to find a place to sleep!! We are leaning towards Aldora Villas or El Cantil, is the pool at El Cantil fresh water?

My TA wants us to stay at a resort so she has found some great deals at La Cieba El Cid. I've read that this can be a cruise ship hang out and I don't think I want to deal with that. Does anyone have an experience with this place?

Of course your travel agent wants you to stay in a resort...he/she gets a commission from them La Ceiba is right in front of the cruise ship dock and they do offer a day pass to cruise ship passengers to use the pool and beach area there...so yes, you'll have cruise ship passengers there.

El Cantil beats La Ceiba hands down ten times.

 

[merganser1]

Further elaboration on El Cantil:
* Most of the units provide high speed internet via wired or wireless connections.
* Most units provide free calling from and to the US.
* Unit size: as noted the units are quite large. I have personal knowledge of the 4 bedrooms and they are around 3200square ft which includes a balcony that is 46ft long and 10 ft wide and most do have hot tubs.
* Cost of food: as noted you can walk across the street to buy food at a very reasonable price. We typically buy food for breakfast, lunch, and snacks (softdrinks, beer, wine, chips, cookies, etc .....). We can feed 6-8 people for breakfast, lunch, and snacks for 6 days at the condo for anywhere between $8 and $12 US. It is a great convenience to eat breakfast or come in from a dive and shower and eat lunch and not leave the condo.
* Maid Service: to my knowledge all the owners that rent out their units include maid service. If you need to you can have the maid do some laundry for you at a very reasonable price.
* TV coverage: you have a great number of TV channels via the satlite system. Also, I am pretty sure all units provide a DVD.

If you have any specific questions just let me know.

Merganser1
Katy, Texas

 

[loudives]

Stayed at El Cid at the end of March. We had a standard hotel room. Room was clean and functional. Small pool, large sand area with plenty of chairs, steps into the water, cruise ships parked along the pier about 100 yards off the sea wall kept the water pretty calm. AI food was good but selections were very few. This is a no frills hotel that has turned into a timeshare but has no activities.

Good for a diver who wants an AI without all the pool and sand activities.

EL CANTIL is where you will enjoy the hotel and town. Christi may have a package with them. Also if you are concerned about the kids hire a private divemaster or charter the whole boat. Again Christi can help.

 

[jayjoans]

El Cantil does not package dives with anybody. (that I am aware of)

 

[Christi]

El Cantil does not have any official packages with any dive shop...but that doesn't mean you can't book El Cantil and your dive op separately. I do refer ALOT of people to El Cantil and the office staff of El Cantil and several owners (who dive with me) refer people to my operation. The rental fees are pretty much set at El Cantil due to the condo association, but if you can contact a specific owner, they may be willing to negotiate rental prices during certain times of the year. April is peak high season though, so you are less likely to get a deal during that time period.

I do have a new package that just went up and is being offered through the end of October for a two bedroom at El Cantil, it's here:

Scuba Resources | Scuba Resources | Cozumel - Blue XT~Sea Diving

The package shows pricing for 2 - 4 divers, but if there are non-divers in the party, of course I can work out the pricing.

 

[mississippidiver]

Here is another thought to keep in mind. Some people are much more tolerant of 'exotic' or different foods than others. Any of the popular restaurants or AI resorts will be easily tolerated by most travellers. But the same may not be said for the mom/pop operations and/or street vendors.

If your children tend to be finicky about what they can and cannot tolerate then you may want to consider an AI. One that comes to mind is, surprise, surprise, Cozumel Palace.

The food is as good as found in most any restaurant in town. The 'resort'/hotel is small in Palace Resort terms and the service and ambiance can't be beat on Cozumel. It is located directly across from the Chedruai (think Wal-Mart) store and you can easily walk to any of the other restaurants in town. I always stay there and choose to eat about half of my meals in town. I'm still looking for the restaurant that beats Cozumel Palace. The resort also offers an easy entrace to the snorkeling along the ironshore (in a roped off area) with freshwater showers situated nearby too. You will love the free massages, free entrance to the most popular beach clubs and the infinity pool. Your kids will enjoy the volleyball pool, nightly entertainment and possibly even the indoor movie theatre across the street.

 

[Christi]

...free entrance to the most popular beach clubs

FYI....the beach clubs don't charge an entrance fee to begin with...except Playa Mia here all the cruise ship pax go.