Advice on cozumel dive for beginners

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ccanfield

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Hi!

I was just informed about this board from a friend of mine. I have browsed the boards for a few days and have found lots of great recommendations on a number of issues and I was hoping to get some advice.

I am taking a trip to the Riviera Maya coast near Cancun July 22-29 with my wife, and her sister and brother in law. I have been certified for a few years but have not had an opportunity to do many dives. I have heard great things about the diving in Cozumel so I made it a priority to do at least one dive while we are there. My wife and in-laws just completed their certification this week in preparation for our trip.

I was hoping to hear from any of you that might have some suggestions for doing a first post-certification dive in Cozumel. Is their a particular dive company that you would recommend for first time divers that takes small groups? Which of the Cozumel reefs would be the best if we can only do one dive? I REALLY want their first experience to be a positive one and I know that they are fairly nervous about doing an ocean dive for the first time. Any advice is greatly appreciated and I am sure I might have even overlooked some important questions that you might have some insight on. THANKS!
 
There are many quality dive operators on Cozumel. On this board, you'll see many fans of Blue Angel, Blue XT Sea, Aldora, Dive with Martin, etc... Really, any of these ops will be give you good service. Personally, I'm a big fan lf Blue XT Sea, and don't plan to dive with anyone else in future.

If you're staying on the Riviera Maya, then keep in mind that you will have to catch a morning ferry from Playa del Carmen, but there are also operators on the mainland that will take you over to Cozumel if you wish. Having gone diving on both sides of the channel, I think that Cozumel wins hands down for the beauty and diversity, but there are some great dives on the Yucatan side as well... many people love diving Tortugas where you will (oddly enough) encounter many turtles, and also the cenotes (fresh water sink holes/caverns) are something that has to be experienced at some point, but I wouldn't recommend it for completely new divers, because it requires very good buoyancy skills. In Coz, a very easy dive for beginners would be the Paradise Reef, which is fairly shallow, but has a lot of nice marine life, though it's best experienced at night (and hence, it's a popular night dive destination.) The sites that make Cozumel a world famous dive destination are places like Santa Rosa Wall, Palancar Reef, Columbia, etc... but most of these sites tend to be a bit deeper than 60 feet.

Many new divers are afraid of diving into greater depths, but quite frankly, in Cozumel, the 90 ft. dive isn't really any different than a 30 ft. one, because the water is so clear that you can easily see the surface even from a 100 or more feet. When I was a newly certified diver a few years ago, my first blue water dives were in Coz, and actually, my 2nd dive there I went down to 89 feet. Didn't think much of it, just enjoyed the incredible beauty of the ecosystem.
 
bnajdrovsky:
Many new divers are afraid of diving into greater depths, but quite frankly, in Cozumel, the 90 ft. dive isn't really any different than a 30 ft. one, because the water is so clear that you can easily see the surface even from a 100 or more feet.

Maybe not as long as everything goes well. When things go wrong you'll find quite a bit of difference between 30' and 90'. Seeing the surface and getting to the surface (safely) are two different things.
 
ReefHound:
Maybe not as long as everything goes well. When things go wrong you'll find quite a bit of difference between 30' and 90'. Seeing the surface and getting to the surface (safely) are two different things.

While that's certainly true, you still have to buddy-breathe and do all the same things in case of an emergency at 30 feet that you would at 90 feet, so I really don't think that a shallow dive is somehow inherently 'safer' than a deeper one.
 
Contact ScubaTony. He is a runs a small very personalized operation. I have read lots of great things about him and been in contact via e-mail with some people that dove with him.... some friends on the island recommended him to me because I too am also a new diver and somewhat unsure of myself. Even though I did dive in Cozumel earlier this year things were a little out of my comfort level. I wrote to Tony via e-mail and told him my concerns and asked for his input and advice. He wrote back asking for my phone number so we could chat…. He called me and we had a wonderful talk. He is going to work with me and my husband to get me a couple of really good shallow comfortable dives in and work on erasing the little demons that want to haunt me on the dives.
After talking with him I really feel I made a good solid choice.
Because he is a smaller dive operator he may be able to work with you on later departing time if taking the ferry over is a concern.
Good luck and have fun!
http://www.scubatony.com/services.asp
 
bnajdrovsky:
While that's certainly true, you still have to buddy-breathe and do all the same things in case of an emergency at 30 feet that you would at 90 feet, so I really don't think that a shallow dive is somehow inherently 'safer' than a deeper one.

I disagree. Risk increases with depth when all other things are equal. Not necessarily by much, especially in a place like Cozumel, but the further from the surface you are, the longer it takes to ascend, and if things are going wrong in a hurry, then time can be important. If you must ascend rapidly and ignore the DCS risk, then the deeper you are, the more that risk.
 
bnajdrovsky:
While that's certainly true, you still have to buddy-breathe and do all the same things in case of an emergency at 30 feet that you would at 90 feet, so I really don't think that a shallow dive is somehow inherently 'safer' than a deeper one.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong besides running out of air. Accidentally drop your weights and rocket to the surface and you'll be better off if it's from 30' than from 90'. Get too negative and maybe you drop to 60' instead of 120'. And if you can't get to your buddy for some reason and are out of air, a 90' CESA is much more difficult and dangerous than a 30' one. Then there's also the potential for narcosis.

Remember, you're talking about beginners.
 
I think you'll love diving in Cozumel - it's my favorite for the price, relatively short travel time, and what I can see underwater.
My favorite dive op on Cozumel is Blue XT SeaDiving and I'll be diving with them in 2 months.
http://www.bluextseadiving.com/

I've also heard good reviews for Aldora, Deep Blue and many others.
http://www.aldora.com/
http://www.deepbluecozumel.com/
The above mentioned ops tend to have smaller but faster boats with 8 or fewer divers (way beter than cattle boats that take 20), and take better care of their customers due to small group size. They do charge a little (like $5-10) more than cattle boats, but believe me, it is worth every extra penny.
If the newbies in your group are concerned, talk to the owner/divemasters early, before the trip. They may be able to assign a DM specifically to your group to provide even more personal attention.
I was a jittery and anxious newbie, but the anxiety and apprehension went away by my 5th or 6th dive, so I think your new diver in-laws should be confident divers by the time they leave Cozumel (and maybe become addicted to diving, like some of us here).
Let us know if you have more concerns or questions about accomodations, things to do, and restaurants on Cozumel. I'm sure we'll be happy to answer them.
Happy diving and Dive safely!
 
Cool advice, I only have 14 dives under my belt so Im doing some research on good reef's to dive for my skill level. Im definitely looking to do a few shallower dives first (around 60") and then if the situation is good maybe deeper. I have a few dives of 80 ft under my belt so I hope I'll be able to still hit up some great area's without having to go to deep!

So far I heard that Paradise, and Santa Rosa are some really great reef's that do not require to much experience.
 
split0101:
Cool advice, I only have 14 dives under my belt so Im doing some research on good reef's to dive for my skill level. Im definitely looking to do a few shallower dives first (around 60") and then if the situation is good maybe deeper. I have a few dives of 80 ft under my belt so I hope I'll be able to still hit up some great area's without having to go to deep!

So far I heard that Paradise, and Santa Rosa are some really great reef's that do not require to much experience.


I have made two trips to Coz this year. May and June to be exact. The reefs are not what they used to be, but some are still pretty good. My advice is to forget Paradise. It's damaged badly. There are better reefs.

Not to steer you away from Coz, but there may be some decent reefs close to Cancun. Do some looking. There are wrecks over there--C 56. Of course there may be a lot of damage from the Wilma, but it may be worth a search. The reefs over toward the mainland tend to be shallower, too. Maybe better for beginning divers.
If you have a chance to get south there is always Tortugas reef. It means turtles. Very common to see upwards of 25-40 turtles on a dive, depending on how long you're down. And some can be very close, like a couple feet. This is almost a MUST dive if you have the chance.
 
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