Which part of the island to stay at?

[Thresa]

I will be vacationing in Cozumel sometime in May. I am a beginner diver and would like to stay as close to the reefs that I will be diving the most and can’t decide if it would be best to stay at the south end of the island (Iberostar or Reef Club) or towards the center of the island (Fiesta Americiana or Hotel Cozumel). I’m not really concerned about being close to town. Where are the best shallow reefs for novice divers located. From looking at a map it looks like most of the reefs are on the south side of the island, but I have recently been told that some of the shallower ones are to the central/north end of the island. Are most of the shallow reefs still worth seeing after the hurricane? I will only be staying for 4 nights, so unfortunately I won’t have time to see it all. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[redacted]

I suggest Occidental Grand (expensive) or Occidental Allegro. Their dive op does 4 single tank dive per day (2 deep & 2 shallow) which would allow you to do 2 shallow dive if you chose. Most ops do 2 tank dives, 1 deep & 1 shallow.

 

[ggunn]

I will be vacationing in Cozumel sometime in May. I am a beginner diver and would like to stay as close to the reefs that I will be diving the most and can’t decide if it would be best to stay at the south end of the island (Iberostar or Reef Club) or towards the center of the island (Fiesta Americiana or Hotel Cozumel). I’m not really concerned about being close to town. Where are the best shallow reefs for novice divers located. From looking at a map it looks like most of the reefs are on the south side of the island, but I have recently been told that some of the shallower ones are to the central/north end of the island. Are most of the shallow reefs still worth seeing after the hurricane? I will only be staying for 4 nights, so unfortunately I won’t have time to see it all. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If it's shore diving you are talking about, there's not much there, and there's less since Wilma. You'll mostly be doing boat dives, and since the island is fairly small, anywhere south of town is pretty close to the reefs.

Generally, the reefs get deeper as you go further south. There are, however, no reefs suitable for novice divers north of town. Paradise is the northernmost commonly dived reef, and it's between the Presidente and what's left of the cruise ship docks near La Ceiba.

And don't worry about the brevity of your visit; you'll be back. ;^)

 

[Christi]

The shallower reefs which I believe you are most likely referring to are paradise, Chankanaab, Yucab, Tormentos, Cordona, etc. I would recommend Fiesta Americana for the opportunity to dive all of these reefs. If you stay too far south (ie: Iberostar, Occidental, Allegro), you may be get to these shallower reefs because it would require the boat to back track, which is not practical for most operations. However, you should also be prepared to dive some of the Palancar sites as well...remember there will be other people on the boat and it is doubtful that they will want to dive two shallow dives in a day. These shallow reefs mentioned above are typically the second dive of the morning...and then as I said only if there aren't people on the boat staying at one of the far southern resorts. Make sense?

 

[Thresa]

That makes sense. We were not planning on shore diving, but didn't want to spend a lot of time on the boats, so we were trying to pick a location that would close to the reefs. I guess another option would be to hire a private Dive Master for my first 2 dives so that I could do the shallow dives until I'm more confident about going deeper. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Clyderyde]

The town of San Miguel is so much fun I would highly recommend staying closer to town. The first two times I visited the island, I stayed at what is now called the Allegro. Yes they are closer to the reefs, and they do offer 4 dives a day and that gives you some more latitude on when you may want to go, but in my opinion they do not offer the best dive masters or service. If you use a high qualty operator from town, their boats can get you to the south end without much delay, they will match the sites to your needs and ability, and when you are done diving there are many good restauraunts and night spots that you miss out on if you stay away from town.

If you want to shore dive or want great shallow dives pick Bonaire or Curacao. Cozumel is really for boat divers that like to do deep drift dives. If you are unsure of your buoyancy skills you may want to pick another location until you feel comfortable maintaining free decents and accents (no anchor line). That said, Cozumel diving is really not that hard so don't let me scare you off. My wifes first ocean dive, first back roll entry and first drift dive were done all in one dive across the channel from Coz in Akumal and she did fine.

As far as your comment about hiring a private divemaster. I would think that there are more dive operators in Cozumel per capita than anywhere else in the world. So look at the scuba board postings and pick a good small operator. Tell them your needs and they will take care of the rest, probably without charging you anything for the personalized service.

I wish I had a good recommendation for an operator that specilizes in beginning divers but I don't. I love Living Underwater and have heard great things about Liquid Blue but usually these guys cater to more experienced divers. Aldora was the original super service operator, and they are large enough to be able to group divers by ability.
Keep asking on Scuba board and I'm sure you'll get the answer.

Clyderyde

 

[Thresa]

I would love to dive Bonaire, but it’s twice the price as Cozumel and you have to stay for a whole week. I only have 4 days to take a trip, which is why I choose Cozumel. I have only done my open water certification and I don’t think it’s a good idea to do a really deep dive (100 ft) until I’m more comfortable. I would like to dive 60 ft or less for my first couple of dives, then I’ll probably be more comfortable going deeper. Is there not much to see at 60ft or less in Cozumel?

 

[ch0ppersrule]

We stay at the Occidental every year. It is between the Allegro and Iberostar. Dive Palancar is their dive operator (on site). They are good for beginner divers and you are at most of the dive sites before you are finished getting ready. They get your gear on your tank for you and you are only responsible for your wetsuit,booties, fins and mask. DP goes from Punta Sur (they won't take you if you are not an advanced diver- too deep) up to Yucab (my favorite drift dive). All the reefs/walls are awesome. Try to get a night dive in also. Have a great time in Coz.

 

[ggunn]

I would love to dive Bonaire, but it’s twice the price as Cozumel and you have to stay for a whole week. I only have 4 days to take a trip, which is why I choose Cozumel. I have only done my open water certification and I don’t think it’s a good idea to do a really deep dive (100 ft) until I’m more comfortable. I would like to dive 60 ft or less for my first couple of dives, then I’ll probably be more comfortable going deeper. Is there not much to see at 60ft or less in Cozumel?

You are wise to stay conservative until you are comfortable, and yes, there are plenty of good shallow (50-70 feet) dives around Cozumel. Make sure that whichever dive op you go with knows you are new to diving and will accomodate your acclimation.

 

[halocline]

Is there not much to see at 60ft? No way dude, (dudette?) the shallower dives in Cozumel are among my favorites, although they did suffer more damage during Wilma than the deeper spots. You're going to have a GREAT time, and don't be surprised if you end up a little deeper towards the end of your stay; you might get comfortable enough. There are lots of novice divers at Cozumel and the good ops have lots of experience taking care of divers just like you.

As far as staying closest to the reefs; most are a pretty short boat ride from any of the hotels south of town. If you want to stay really close, I think there's still a pier at San Francisco beach. If you bunk down on the tip of that, I believe that's the closest you can get.