LCTX
Registered
First a bit of history. After getting our OW in 2013, we did a few dives in the local lakes around Houston to get our feet wet and gain some experience before taking a cruise in November. We then did 2 tank dives in both Roatan and Cozumel during the cruise. We both really loved the experience and right away we started talking, researching and planning this trip to Cozumel. I joined SB and then started reading the new and old threads, going back a few years and I also read dozens of articles from other websites and watched lots of videos.
After receiving some excellent advice, we decided on Aldora and opted for Casa Mexicana after finding out the Villa was booked.
We arrived in Cozumel before 11am and after playing (and losing) the green light/red light game, we headed to Aldora to sure up the pre-planned dives for the week and drop off our equipment. Afterwards, we walked to CM to check-in but the room wasn’t ready so checked the bags and headed out to grab some lunch and few items from Mega for the room. At 2:30 pm, we met Dario w/ Aldora for our first dive at Paradise Reef. Again, on some very good advice from Aldora plus reading many of you on SB giving the same advice, we opted to have a private DM for the first dive. I have to say this was a great decision, especially for my wife which it benefited greatly. She is naturally the nervous type, this calmed her down and set the tone for a great week. Dario was very patient and did a great job. As you know, if mama isn’t happy…
My wife has scoliosis. So, I very much appreciate that they take care of your equipment for you. (minus the wetsuit) I fully realized the value after the first 2 am dives. No matter how short the walk was back to CM, it would not have been fun with two full sets of equipment.
During the week, I logged 10 dives including 1 night dive on Saturday and my wife logged 9. Each of the 10 dives were so amazing. I guess that is why Cozumel is one of the top dive spots in the world, each area seems so different and unique. The night dive was awesome! We saw a variety of sea life, such as spotted rays, angel fish, spotted drums, seahorses, lots of lobster, turtles and nurse sharks (including an 8-footer) and a whole bunch of sea life that I didn’t have a clue what it was. The SI’s at Mr. Sancho’s we great. It’s a nice place to relax, eat a bit if you want or just people watch.
I know my experiences with dive Ops are limited. But my experience with companies that supply services (Oil/Gas Industry) are not. That being said, Aldora is a class act. They made our 1st real experience in scuba absolutely great. To the many that recommend Aldora on SB, you are 100% correct....Thank you for steering me in the right direction.
Casa Mexicana was good second choice for us. The hotel was very clean and well kept. The rooms were nice and the A/C worked very well. The bed was very comfortable. The staff was friendly and helpful. The breakfast buffet was good and the coffee was ready at 6 am. With it being in the city, it was a short walk to restaurants, shopping and made it easy to get out explore. Plus, we got to see the cruise ship folks sprint down pier screaming “wait” that decided to arrive late. The only down fall to our stay was the band played until 4 am Sunday morning somewhere very near the CM. I’m not sure where they were but it seemed as if they were in the room next door.
As far as restaurants, we felt there was no sense in reinventing the wheel nor suffering the consequences of Montezuma’s revenge so we relied on the recommendations from SB. Since CM has a good breakfast buffet, we only ate one meal a day out. We tried Le Chef, Wet Wendy’s, La Mission, El Moro, Del Sur and La Choza. My wife’s favorite was Le Chef and mine was Del Sur but all of the restaurants were very good.
Overall, every aspect of trip was great. We are already planning our next trip Aldora in the fall. This time, we are going to stay at the Villas.
After receiving some excellent advice, we decided on Aldora and opted for Casa Mexicana after finding out the Villa was booked.
We arrived in Cozumel before 11am and after playing (and losing) the green light/red light game, we headed to Aldora to sure up the pre-planned dives for the week and drop off our equipment. Afterwards, we walked to CM to check-in but the room wasn’t ready so checked the bags and headed out to grab some lunch and few items from Mega for the room. At 2:30 pm, we met Dario w/ Aldora for our first dive at Paradise Reef. Again, on some very good advice from Aldora plus reading many of you on SB giving the same advice, we opted to have a private DM for the first dive. I have to say this was a great decision, especially for my wife which it benefited greatly. She is naturally the nervous type, this calmed her down and set the tone for a great week. Dario was very patient and did a great job. As you know, if mama isn’t happy…
My wife has scoliosis. So, I very much appreciate that they take care of your equipment for you. (minus the wetsuit) I fully realized the value after the first 2 am dives. No matter how short the walk was back to CM, it would not have been fun with two full sets of equipment.
During the week, I logged 10 dives including 1 night dive on Saturday and my wife logged 9. Each of the 10 dives were so amazing. I guess that is why Cozumel is one of the top dive spots in the world, each area seems so different and unique. The night dive was awesome! We saw a variety of sea life, such as spotted rays, angel fish, spotted drums, seahorses, lots of lobster, turtles and nurse sharks (including an 8-footer) and a whole bunch of sea life that I didn’t have a clue what it was. The SI’s at Mr. Sancho’s we great. It’s a nice place to relax, eat a bit if you want or just people watch.
I know my experiences with dive Ops are limited. But my experience with companies that supply services (Oil/Gas Industry) are not. That being said, Aldora is a class act. They made our 1st real experience in scuba absolutely great. To the many that recommend Aldora on SB, you are 100% correct....Thank you for steering me in the right direction.
Casa Mexicana was good second choice for us. The hotel was very clean and well kept. The rooms were nice and the A/C worked very well. The bed was very comfortable. The staff was friendly and helpful. The breakfast buffet was good and the coffee was ready at 6 am. With it being in the city, it was a short walk to restaurants, shopping and made it easy to get out explore. Plus, we got to see the cruise ship folks sprint down pier screaming “wait” that decided to arrive late. The only down fall to our stay was the band played until 4 am Sunday morning somewhere very near the CM. I’m not sure where they were but it seemed as if they were in the room next door.
As far as restaurants, we felt there was no sense in reinventing the wheel nor suffering the consequences of Montezuma’s revenge so we relied on the recommendations from SB. Since CM has a good breakfast buffet, we only ate one meal a day out. We tried Le Chef, Wet Wendy’s, La Mission, El Moro, Del Sur and La Choza. My wife’s favorite was Le Chef and mine was Del Sur but all of the restaurants were very good.
Overall, every aspect of trip was great. We are already planning our next trip Aldora in the fall. This time, we are going to stay at the Villas.
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!!) Aldora is a class act and I'm glad you got to dive with them. Thanks for the report!!!
