shore dive in Cozumel

[blue steal]

I am curious to know if you can walk in to Blue Angel with your own gear and rent a tank from them to shore dive around the sting ray pen for a couple of hours. Great for an afternoon, then enjoy their happy hour drinks/snacks and a nice sunset.

 

[ReefHound]

I am curious to know if you can walk in to Blue Angel with your own gear and rent a tank from them to shore dive around the sting ray pen for a couple of hours. Great for an afternoon, then enjoy their happy hour drinks/snacks and a nice sunset.

I've done it a number of times, most recently last December. I think it was about $10 for tanks and weights.

 

[newgentry]

My daughters first real dive was a boat dive in Coz. She was 12 and we had no issues. I emailed the dive operator well in advance and let him know our experience level and my concerns. That dive was with Dive With Martin and our location was limited to 60 feet because of her certification level. There are lots of amazing shallow dive opportunities that are boat dives as well. You might consider chartering your own boat so you won't limit more experienced divers to a shallow dive. We did that because there were 4 of us and it was only $10 more per person to have our own boat and own DM. If not your own boat, you could get a separate DM for you and your daughter. That would be much less than a boat for 2. If you will email several of the dive ops in advance, I know they will accommodate any special needs.

our last dive in Coz was 30 to 40 feet because we were flying out the next day. And it was still a great dive for over an hour.

safe travels,
jay

What he said. My daughter was 11 when we went to Coz, both of us with fresh C-cards, we got our own boat the first day, then went with an operator the rest of the week but got a separate DM for just the two of us, I think we paid $15 for a two tank dive or something ridiculously inexpensive like that.

 

[ggunn]

I am curious to know if you can walk in to Blue Angel with your own gear and rent a tank from them to shore dive around the sting ray pen for a couple of hours. Great for an afternoon, then enjoy their happy hour drinks/snacks and a nice sunset.

Yes, you can and it sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon, and then you can go for a night dive if you haven't had too much fun.

 

[nodakdive]

Going to Cozumel and only shore diving is a little like going to Disney World and spending your time on a swing set at the hotel. Swing sets are fun, for sure, but there's no comparison to what's inside the gates at Disney World. There's a vast difference between shore diving in Cozumel and diving the reefs from a boat. Vast.

If you hire a private DM, you'll be set. You don't need to get a private boat, just hire a private DM. It generally costs about $50 extra and would be worth every penny to you and your child. The private DM can work with both of you to make sure you're comfortable diving from the boat, and that you and your child have safe, fun dives.

If you want to glide into it, maybe you could do both. The first day, do a shore dive or two with a guide/DM and then the second day go out on a boat with a private DM. It's an extra $100, but money very well spent. If you arrange it through one shop, you would very likely have the same DM for both days.

I've never been diving with them or stayed at their hotel, but Blue Angel sounds like a good fit for you this trip.

 

[cruiser]

Gordon--

Do Blue Angel and Villablanca have easy ways to get in and out of the water? Like a dock for jumping in and sturdy stairs to get out?

I have done shore dives at Blue Angel and Villblanca, The one at Blue Angel is much better due to the life that is accumulating around the stingray pen next door. There is not much to see right at Villablanca, but there are some nice small coral heads about halfway between VB and BA; a dive I sometimes do is to get in at Villablanca and drift to Blue Angel.

 

[ReefHound]

Gordon--

Do Blue Angel and Villablanca have easy ways to get in and out of the water? Like a dock for jumping in and sturdy stairs to get out?

Villa Blanca - giant stride off pier, exit by tossing fins onto pier and climb ladder

Blue Angel - walk in/out, or you could also giant stride off the dock

 

[ggunn]

Villa Blanca - giant stride off pier, exit by tossing fins onto pier and climb ladder

Blue Angel - walk in/out, or you could also giant stride off the dock

What he said

 

[Coral-Reefer]

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---------- Post added January 29th, 2015 at 10:36 PM ----------

I have done shore dives at Blue Angel and Villblanca, The one at Blue Angel is much better due to the life that is accumulating around the stingray pen next door. There is not much to see right at Villablanca, but there are some nice small coral heads about halfway between VB and BA; a dive I sometimes do is to get in at Villablanca and drift to Blue Angel.

I have often thought about doing that. I like going in at BA and staying at 22' while going south. There are some nice little coral heads out there. Last time I did it there were two spotted morays living in the same hole and a couple of lion fish around it. Well, there 'were' a couple of lionfish living there.... then just drift back to the prison.

 

[ReefHound]

Another decent shore dive is at Hotel Barracuda. They will let you access the site but you have to walk through their shiny tiled lobby and they get irritated if you drip water on it after the dive (whether you're staying there or not). So dry off well or clean your mess with a towel. There are steps for walk in/out or giant stride off dock. Just south are the artificial structures of Margaritaville and the two sections of a small plane. Another hundred feet south and there are tons of concrete rubble from a collapsed pier system. I have seen more critters on this shore dive than any other. Dive Paradise has a small shop there that can rent tanks/weights. It's usually manned by one guy so don't expect a DM to be hanging around for hire. You have a rinse tank and an outdoor showerhead. There is a beach area with table service to order post-dive food and drinks.