raymanta
Registered
Got back from Coz on Nov. 18. Here's my story.....
Background:
I live in the Midwest and learned to dive in stone quarrys where 20 feet is "good viz", so you can imagine how much I love the caribbean. Previous trips have been to Bahamas, Bonaire, and Florida Keys.
General Impressions:
Cozumel is a great diving destination. November weather varied from 90 degrees F and very humid to cloudy, windy, overcast and high temp. of 73 when the Norht Winds came. Generally it was a lot more pleasant than Midwest U.S. weather in Novemner. People are friendly. I never felt unconfortable walking around, even at night in neighborhoods away from the tourist district. Choice of hotel is varied, as is the choice of dive ops.
Hotel:
I stayed at the Casa del Mar. It was a nice clean place with internet access in the main lobby for guests. The restuarant/bar was nice and the food was better than average. I did not opt for the all inclusive package because I wanted to sample the restaurants in town. A taxi ride into town was $4 U.S. from the hotel, but I usually walked. I like to walk for exercise and could make it downtown in 35 -40 minutes. It is an enjoyable walk along the oceanfront.
Diving:
I went with the on-site dive-op Del Mar Aquatics. Had a refresher course the first day since it had been a few years since I did this. The instructor was very good and the dive masters on the boat the next four days were very professional and safety minded. One diver has a minor emergency (equipment failure) and they handled it in a very impressive manner.
I had never experienced drift diving before and admittedly was a little aprehensive. I can now assure anyone who has never done it before that it is easy and very enjoyable. The two tank boat dives consisted with a first dive to 80 - 90 feet with really cool swim-throughs followed by a shallow dive to more than 50 feet that usually lasted 60 min. or more.
Sealife that I enjoyed most included nurse sharks, octopus, turtles, lobsters (many), and crabs.
Nightlife, social:
I traveled alone and met some beautiful people and enjoyed evenings filled with fun and stories related to diving and other great adventures.
Conclusion:
Cozumel is great and I WILL RETURN!
Background:
I live in the Midwest and learned to dive in stone quarrys where 20 feet is "good viz", so you can imagine how much I love the caribbean. Previous trips have been to Bahamas, Bonaire, and Florida Keys.
General Impressions:
Cozumel is a great diving destination. November weather varied from 90 degrees F and very humid to cloudy, windy, overcast and high temp. of 73 when the Norht Winds came. Generally it was a lot more pleasant than Midwest U.S. weather in Novemner. People are friendly. I never felt unconfortable walking around, even at night in neighborhoods away from the tourist district. Choice of hotel is varied, as is the choice of dive ops.
Hotel:
I stayed at the Casa del Mar. It was a nice clean place with internet access in the main lobby for guests. The restuarant/bar was nice and the food was better than average. I did not opt for the all inclusive package because I wanted to sample the restaurants in town. A taxi ride into town was $4 U.S. from the hotel, but I usually walked. I like to walk for exercise and could make it downtown in 35 -40 minutes. It is an enjoyable walk along the oceanfront.
Diving:
I went with the on-site dive-op Del Mar Aquatics. Had a refresher course the first day since it had been a few years since I did this. The instructor was very good and the dive masters on the boat the next four days were very professional and safety minded. One diver has a minor emergency (equipment failure) and they handled it in a very impressive manner.
I had never experienced drift diving before and admittedly was a little aprehensive. I can now assure anyone who has never done it before that it is easy and very enjoyable. The two tank boat dives consisted with a first dive to 80 - 90 feet with really cool swim-throughs followed by a shallow dive to more than 50 feet that usually lasted 60 min. or more.
Sealife that I enjoyed most included nurse sharks, octopus, turtles, lobsters (many), and crabs.
Nightlife, social:
I traveled alone and met some beautiful people and enjoyed evenings filled with fun and stories related to diving and other great adventures.
Conclusion:
Cozumel is great and I WILL RETURN!
