annlaur
Contributor
I had originally planned on staying and diving 5 days in Cozumel, then heading off to Belize and other Mexican destinations. Mainly because of you guys : so many people raving about how great Cozumel was, I had to see it for myself.
Long story short : I never made it to Belize, stayed 11 days on Cozumel, went to Isla Mujeres to visit my friends, got "Cozumel-sick" and went back for 5 more days !!!
The hotels
I originally stayed at the Vista del Mar, which I found a wonderful value (great view and balcony, charming big room, firm but very comfortable bed, lovely and spotless bathroom, new bottle of purified water daily that you can refill in the kitchen) and was treated wonderfully by the staff. Maidalid, Martin and Eva gave me great restaurant and other recommandations. The only drawback for me was that they serve breakfast at 7:30, which is when the Aldora boat leaves. Sometimes they were able to serve it earlier, but usually I just bought pastries from the delicious Zermatt bakery the day before, got a cup of coffee at Oxxo (the Mexican equivalent of 7/11) and had breakfast by the water (where the mosquitoes had breakfast too… Oh well, still better than the Parisian frost bites).
The Vista del Mar also offered me a 15% discount at Mr. Sancho's Beach Club, which is where Aldora stops for the surface intervals, so that came in handy.
I had booked through a French Internet site such as Orbitz, and payed only USD50 a night, taxes included, for the ocean-view room (that was before the high holiday season).
For my "second trip", which was a spur of the moment thing, I had to cut my expenses a bit and stayed at the Pepita. It was inexpensive (USD32) and not quite as charming or spotless, but perfect for my needs. Two beds, a fridge, big shower and free coffee available at 6:30 AM in the cute garden area. Free purified water refills also.
I got to see Villa Aldora when I took my refresher and that place seemed awesome : very quiet, small pool, hammocks, chairs and tables right on cristal clear turquoise water with great snorkeling. It's a bit too far from town for me (about 2 miles), but perfect if you rent a car or don't mind riding a bike or paying a cab to go out for dinner.
(EDIT: it's a 10 min walk into town according to TSandM - Thank you for correcting my mistake)
The dive op
I had picked Aldora for several reasons : their good reputation, their downtown location, their steel tanks (which is what I'm used to when diving in France... Plus I smoke and can definitely use the extra air…
and their rental Dive Rite Transpac (I want to buy a BP/W but wanted to try one first). And I was delighted with my choice. The staff, from Memo the manager to Chino the East-side captain/tank carrier to all the Instructors and boat captains, were professionnal, dedicated to the satisfaction of their divers and really nice, interesting and fun people as well.
I wasn't thrilled about the early departure times at first, but it was awesome to be the only boat on the dive sites. The two times we saw another group of divers underwater, they were from our boat but with a different guide. I loved the relaxing surface intervals at the beach.
My 100 cu ft steel tank was consistently filled between 3400 and 3600 psi, so all my dives but two were over an hour. I shared air a couple of times with the guide when I got to 1000 psi and found it a great and safe way to extend the dive (by then we were in the shallower part of our multilevel dive and they are breathing Nitrox). Of course I went back to my own reg for the "mandatory" safety stop (they do one on everydive).
In 21 dives, I got almost 23.8 hours of bottom time. With the shortest dive lasting 57 minutes and the longest 83 minutes (almost twice my average bottom time for the same depth with an AL80 tank during my last trip in Egypt !) They are more expensive than other dive ops, but just the bottom times themselves made them great value for my money.
I found the praises made by other people here about Aldora justified : efficient dive op, personalized attention, nice boats (especially Falicity, the big one) and all the cute extras such as warm fleece coats, ice chests filled with water, mask and camera rinse tanks on the big boat, gear handling/rinsing/setting up… It's gonna be hard to go dive with a "regular" shop after that.
One last word about the guides (whom I believe are all instructors). I dove at least once with Javier, David, Mateo, Edgar, Sherief, Dario. Each has their unique style and personnality, but all are very safety conscious and listening to the needs and wants of theirs customers, and I would go back to dive with any of them in a heartbeat.
As a matter of fact, I'm heading back there in February provided I can find a good deal on airfare.
The dive sites
In one word : WOOOOOOWWWW.
I had never seen such amazing coral reefs and formations before. It really is like a bunch of mountains underwater.
I dove Paraiso (where I saw my first sea horses, including a juvenile one), Paso del Cedral, San Francisco Wall, Jardines, Tormentos, Horse Shoe, Chankanab, Palancar Caves, Yucab, Columbia profundo, Punta Tunich (turtle land !), Punta Sur Sur… Saw a few nurse sharks, a pilot fish, giant lobsters and crabs, groupers, barracudas, spotted eagle rays, southern stingrays, garden eels, countless parrott and angel fish, eels, many turtles, jawfish, a splendid toadfish, a lionfish…
All in all, wonderful dives. Just wish I had been able to enter some of the narrower swimthroughs, but I found out that they freak me out. I had actually planned a trip to the cenotes, but got so nervous in a small overhead environment the day before that I cancelled.
The island
My main concern about going to Cozumel was that it would be too touristy for my taste. I've backpacked and lived in Mexico and absolutely love this country, its culture, its food, its people, so my very first impression getting off the ferry and seing all these duty free shops packed with cruise ship people was not the best.
But I soon realized how easy it is to escape the crowds. Just walk a few blocks inland and you'll find great little loncherias and smiling locals who won't try to sell you something.
If you enjoy beautiful beach sceneries, don't miss the East side. I rented a scooter twice to tour the island and it was a wonderful experience (don't flame me, I have motorcycle training as well as experience riding in Paris and Mexico).
The first time I did so, I left really early to watch the sunrise and just had the whole road to myself. I stopped on the way "back up" to town to snorkel at Playa Paraiso (poor vis), Playa Corona (food was so-so but lots of fish and nice quiet place with hammocks to relax and have a drink) and the Money Bar (upscale, crowded, good food, nice snorkeling).
The second time was on Christmas afternoon, the port was closed due to the Norte so Chen Rio and most other beach restaurants of the "wild side" were packed with local families picknicking. Fun people watching.
The food
I got hooked on Los Otates on 15 Avenida (best tacos al pastor and quesadillas I've ever had) and also recommand Los 3 Gatitos (I think it's on calle 7 or 9, a few blocks inland from the waterfront) for their Yucatan fare and a loncheria right by the mercado called Chavelas (fresh fruit and veggie cocktails, cheap and tasty meals made at the order).
If you dive with Aldora, ask Memo about the pescaderia in town, I can't remember its name or location (somewhere between 50th and 80th Avenue, I'd say), awesome fried fish and conch ceviche.
Mr. Sancho's Beach Club, where we did our surface intervals, serves really good food at moderate prices. Having a full lunch was sometimes too much for me in between dives, but it was hard to resist their fish filet al mojo de ajo.
I also tried El Pique (cheaper than Los Otates but I didn't like the food as much), Camillo (inexpensive seafood dishes) and the nearby Zermatt bakery (their tuna empañadas are awesome, as well as their carrot cake), The Coffee Bean on calle 3 (real expresso, huge pieces of cake and tasty tuna melt), Guido's (upscale Italian restaurant ; I love crème brûlée and theirs was perfect ; get the vanilla one or the trio of flavors). Don't miss having an ice cream at La Flor de Michoacan. Their fruit sherbets are awesome.
On the other hand, La Choza was a bit of a disappointment (tasteless tortilla soup, huge but still overpriced nachos), except for their Tikinchik fish.
La Cocay was a let down : great romantic garden, perfect service, fancy dishes, gorgeous plate decoration, fresh ingredients, but the flavors didn't mix well together at all. I found the place pretentious and the kitchen lacking talent.
All in all, though, I found Cozumel a wonderful place for food lovers.
Hope to see some of you back there in February if I can make it happen.
Happy bubbles to all.
Long story short : I never made it to Belize, stayed 11 days on Cozumel, went to Isla Mujeres to visit my friends, got "Cozumel-sick" and went back for 5 more days !!!
The hotels
I originally stayed at the Vista del Mar, which I found a wonderful value (great view and balcony, charming big room, firm but very comfortable bed, lovely and spotless bathroom, new bottle of purified water daily that you can refill in the kitchen) and was treated wonderfully by the staff. Maidalid, Martin and Eva gave me great restaurant and other recommandations. The only drawback for me was that they serve breakfast at 7:30, which is when the Aldora boat leaves. Sometimes they were able to serve it earlier, but usually I just bought pastries from the delicious Zermatt bakery the day before, got a cup of coffee at Oxxo (the Mexican equivalent of 7/11) and had breakfast by the water (where the mosquitoes had breakfast too… Oh well, still better than the Parisian frost bites).
The Vista del Mar also offered me a 15% discount at Mr. Sancho's Beach Club, which is where Aldora stops for the surface intervals, so that came in handy.
I had booked through a French Internet site such as Orbitz, and payed only USD50 a night, taxes included, for the ocean-view room (that was before the high holiday season).
For my "second trip", which was a spur of the moment thing, I had to cut my expenses a bit and stayed at the Pepita. It was inexpensive (USD32) and not quite as charming or spotless, but perfect for my needs. Two beds, a fridge, big shower and free coffee available at 6:30 AM in the cute garden area. Free purified water refills also.
I got to see Villa Aldora when I took my refresher and that place seemed awesome : very quiet, small pool, hammocks, chairs and tables right on cristal clear turquoise water with great snorkeling. It's a bit too far from town for me (about 2 miles), but perfect if you rent a car or don't mind riding a bike or paying a cab to go out for dinner.
(EDIT: it's a 10 min walk into town according to TSandM - Thank you for correcting my mistake)
The dive op
I had picked Aldora for several reasons : their good reputation, their downtown location, their steel tanks (which is what I'm used to when diving in France... Plus I smoke and can definitely use the extra air…
and their rental Dive Rite Transpac (I want to buy a BP/W but wanted to try one first). And I was delighted with my choice. The staff, from Memo the manager to Chino the East-side captain/tank carrier to all the Instructors and boat captains, were professionnal, dedicated to the satisfaction of their divers and really nice, interesting and fun people as well. I wasn't thrilled about the early departure times at first, but it was awesome to be the only boat on the dive sites. The two times we saw another group of divers underwater, they were from our boat but with a different guide. I loved the relaxing surface intervals at the beach.
My 100 cu ft steel tank was consistently filled between 3400 and 3600 psi, so all my dives but two were over an hour. I shared air a couple of times with the guide when I got to 1000 psi and found it a great and safe way to extend the dive (by then we were in the shallower part of our multilevel dive and they are breathing Nitrox). Of course I went back to my own reg for the "mandatory" safety stop (they do one on everydive).
In 21 dives, I got almost 23.8 hours of bottom time. With the shortest dive lasting 57 minutes and the longest 83 minutes (almost twice my average bottom time for the same depth with an AL80 tank during my last trip in Egypt !) They are more expensive than other dive ops, but just the bottom times themselves made them great value for my money.
I found the praises made by other people here about Aldora justified : efficient dive op, personalized attention, nice boats (especially Falicity, the big one) and all the cute extras such as warm fleece coats, ice chests filled with water, mask and camera rinse tanks on the big boat, gear handling/rinsing/setting up… It's gonna be hard to go dive with a "regular" shop after that.
One last word about the guides (whom I believe are all instructors). I dove at least once with Javier, David, Mateo, Edgar, Sherief, Dario. Each has their unique style and personnality, but all are very safety conscious and listening to the needs and wants of theirs customers, and I would go back to dive with any of them in a heartbeat.
As a matter of fact, I'm heading back there in February provided I can find a good deal on airfare.
The dive sites
In one word : WOOOOOOWWWW.
I had never seen such amazing coral reefs and formations before. It really is like a bunch of mountains underwater.
I dove Paraiso (where I saw my first sea horses, including a juvenile one), Paso del Cedral, San Francisco Wall, Jardines, Tormentos, Horse Shoe, Chankanab, Palancar Caves, Yucab, Columbia profundo, Punta Tunich (turtle land !), Punta Sur Sur… Saw a few nurse sharks, a pilot fish, giant lobsters and crabs, groupers, barracudas, spotted eagle rays, southern stingrays, garden eels, countless parrott and angel fish, eels, many turtles, jawfish, a splendid toadfish, a lionfish…
All in all, wonderful dives. Just wish I had been able to enter some of the narrower swimthroughs, but I found out that they freak me out. I had actually planned a trip to the cenotes, but got so nervous in a small overhead environment the day before that I cancelled.
The island
My main concern about going to Cozumel was that it would be too touristy for my taste. I've backpacked and lived in Mexico and absolutely love this country, its culture, its food, its people, so my very first impression getting off the ferry and seing all these duty free shops packed with cruise ship people was not the best.
But I soon realized how easy it is to escape the crowds. Just walk a few blocks inland and you'll find great little loncherias and smiling locals who won't try to sell you something.
If you enjoy beautiful beach sceneries, don't miss the East side. I rented a scooter twice to tour the island and it was a wonderful experience (don't flame me, I have motorcycle training as well as experience riding in Paris and Mexico).
The first time I did so, I left really early to watch the sunrise and just had the whole road to myself. I stopped on the way "back up" to town to snorkel at Playa Paraiso (poor vis), Playa Corona (food was so-so but lots of fish and nice quiet place with hammocks to relax and have a drink) and the Money Bar (upscale, crowded, good food, nice snorkeling).
The second time was on Christmas afternoon, the port was closed due to the Norte so Chen Rio and most other beach restaurants of the "wild side" were packed with local families picknicking. Fun people watching.
The food
I got hooked on Los Otates on 15 Avenida (best tacos al pastor and quesadillas I've ever had) and also recommand Los 3 Gatitos (I think it's on calle 7 or 9, a few blocks inland from the waterfront) for their Yucatan fare and a loncheria right by the mercado called Chavelas (fresh fruit and veggie cocktails, cheap and tasty meals made at the order).
If you dive with Aldora, ask Memo about the pescaderia in town, I can't remember its name or location (somewhere between 50th and 80th Avenue, I'd say), awesome fried fish and conch ceviche.
Mr. Sancho's Beach Club, where we did our surface intervals, serves really good food at moderate prices. Having a full lunch was sometimes too much for me in between dives, but it was hard to resist their fish filet al mojo de ajo.
I also tried El Pique (cheaper than Los Otates but I didn't like the food as much), Camillo (inexpensive seafood dishes) and the nearby Zermatt bakery (their tuna empañadas are awesome, as well as their carrot cake), The Coffee Bean on calle 3 (real expresso, huge pieces of cake and tasty tuna melt), Guido's (upscale Italian restaurant ; I love crème brûlée and theirs was perfect ; get the vanilla one or the trio of flavors). Don't miss having an ice cream at La Flor de Michoacan. Their fruit sherbets are awesome.
On the other hand, La Choza was a bit of a disappointment (tasteless tortilla soup, huge but still overpriced nachos), except for their Tikinchik fish.
La Cocay was a let down : great romantic garden, perfect service, fancy dishes, gorgeous plate decoration, fresh ingredients, but the flavors didn't mix well together at all. I found the place pretentious and the kitchen lacking talent.
All in all, though, I found Cozumel a wonderful place for food lovers.
Hope to see some of you back there in February if I can make it happen.
Happy bubbles to all.
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