why is Cozumel so popular? Bad experience or just over rated expectations?

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wildbill9

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Almost everyone seems to feel Cozumel is one of the most outstanding dive places in the Carrib. We gave it a try and yes I will admit we were budget minded. I won't go into entire story since it is on worst of Cozumel thread but we were very disappointed. Vis 40 ft at best (March) horrible current and lack of coral and sea life....maybe we set our expectations to high but maybe we just screwed up and should try it again. What do we want in a dive? Micro is nm one...colors and corals nm 2...macro is also fun ... we are both experienced divers and have been certified since the late 70's. Drift diving to me is ok at best...I like to be able to stop and smell the coral if I want. We are doing Little Caymen in two weeks....Bonaire in April and now talking about the trip after that. Should we give it a try again and if so stay where and what dive operation? If its not for us lets me know that also. I want and I need your input...I had written off Cozumel but then I do not want to miss out due to one bad decision. Thanks Bill
 
For many, Cozumel offers:

1.) Cheaper airfare to reach from the U.S. than some other destinations. No single leg of flight time is apt to be very long. Arrive same day.

2.) A range of hotel/resort offerings/price ranges, with some comfortable and affordable.

3.) A substantial number of very good dive op.s, at least 2 I know of (I've heard there's a 3rd?) with 120 cf tanks, which are a nice draw for some of us.

4.) Options for A.I. or not, but a reputation for having some very good places to eat in town.

5.) Varied underwater topography.

6.) Often excellent vis.; if you had 40 feet at best, you didn't get the usual Cozumel experience from what I understand.

7.) Drift diving if fun for many people; you hardly have to fin. If you are determined to stop and study creatures, and maybe photograph them, and that's a big deal, you might not like it so much.

It may help if you tell us some bare bones basics; which sites did you dive? How many dives did you do on your trip?

And a big thing we need to know - where have you dove before? That will impact your expectations.

Bonaire is a very different place. I suspect Little Cayman is, too; haven't been there.

I stopped in Cozumel on a cruise ship stop twice, dove one stop. I hope to make a 1 week dive trip there someday. What appeals to me about Coz. is fairly cheap overall trip cost, could probably leave the non-diving family at Hotel Cozumel while I dive, dive with Living Underwater or Aldora for big tanks, enjoy drift diving with excellent viz. & varied topography and see some bigger animals (one dive I saw a big black grouper & a big eagle ray, both at close range). This assumes I want a boat diving trip, but at Hotel Cozumel or Scuba Club Cozumel (near each other) I could do a shore dive if so inclined.

Question: If the viz. were excellent (100 - 150') on your trip, but it was pretty much all drift diving, how do you think you would've rated your trip?

Richard.
 
For those that don't want to search, here is your original post....

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/464311-worst-cozumel-35.html#post7255935

I've only been 10 times, and never in March, but I have never had vis less than probably 80' in my July/Aug. and Dec. trips. Yes, it is always a drift dive, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, and sometimes unpredictable and you get to go around in a big circle, but I have rarely lacked for fish or coral, and look up posts from JLyle or RobinT and you can see that amazing macro is certainly doable. Bonaire is nice, and Roatan is a dive circus, at least from Cocoview, but I love Cozumel for the diving, the People, the dining, the convenience and relatively low cost, and just the feel of the place. YMMV, I guess. Maybe try a trip at Blue Angel or Scuba Club, smooth operations. I stay at cheap hotels in town and dive with a small dive op with a fast boat, so never more than 20 or 30 minutes to the southernmost reefs.
 
Cozumel certainly isn't for everyone. Current varies from day to day and site to site so you may or may not be able to stop and smell the coral on each and every dive. Seldom have I had dives with 40 feet vis...maybe a handful and the DM thumbed pretty much every one of them and we went to a different location. But there is decidedly sea life and coral (some of it returning after Hurricane Wilma hit several years ago). From your post in the other thread, it sounds like you didn't go out with the greatest op and you only dived one day. I think you would have a better experience diving for a week with one of the many ops on this forum that regularly get good reviews. You can hit a bad day of diving but you are unlikely to hit a week of bad diving and especially once the op gets to know you, your skills and your interests. As Basscat says, I dive with an op which has a very fast smaller, well-maintained boat and it's usually a half-hour from my pick-up in town to the reefs in the far south. Generally speaking, I am home from my 2-tank dive around 1-2 p.m.
 
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I have talked to a few people that have not liked Cozumel but I think it had more to do with their dive op experience. The first time I went I didn't expect much other than a reprieve from another lousy MN winter. I figured after doing Bonaire a few times it wouldn't compare. I was wrong, even missing a couple of days to a Norte, I returned two more times in the next year. I am a confirmed Bonaire fan but it is very different diving than CZM. Besides the easy access, Coz has bigger animals, a reason to actually get on a boat, and more diverse dive sites.

Give it another try with a different op and hotel and I bet it suits you better. If not, you will know we are all nuts! :cool2:
 
Almost everyone seems to feel Cozumel is one of the most outstanding dive places in the Carrib.

It's not "almost everyone", they're just very vocal. Like the BP/W people who make it sound like everybody loves them when they actually account for less than 5% of sales.

In any case, here's the reason: For part of the US, it's cheap and close. If you like drift diving with a DM, it's nice. If you like anything else, it isn't.

If I'm there, I'll sometimes do a dive, but I certainly wouldn't go there for that purpose. I'd much rather hang out on Bonaire or Curacao for an hour and a half watching a small patch of coral than take a 40 minute fly-by in Coz. Coz does have a little quiet, low current diving but it's not what they're known for.

flots.
 
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From what I understand, sometimes the 1st dive an op. may use as a check out dive. You may not get taken to the best sites 1st.
 
I personally think Cozumel is great. Big stuff, small stuff, and even smaller stuff. Swim throughs, walls, a good wreck, shallow dives, deep dives, you catch my drift??? No pun intended. I think I have about 25 dives there, ranging from no less then 55 minutes, up to 80+ with visibility WAY over 40feet on pretty much every dive. All I can say is you need to find another operator, because your experience of Cozumel doesn't add up!!! I dive with Tres Pelicanos, and not even a Kenyan marathon runner could run as fast as their boat in reverse. And if you have to argue with a dive master over your weighting, well I won't go there, lol. Ok maybe I will, when a dive master ask how much weight you need its a question, not a discussion, if you can spit the number out like ( 12lbs, or even I usually use 12lbs, but I got a brand new suit) then maybe there is another issue there.
 
I spent 9 days in Cozumel in 2007. We had the best viz I've seen anywhere outside of a cave. The structure was dramatic, but I didn't find the life as impressive as other places, and the current ranged from a mild, pleasant drift, to, "I sure hope I can stay SOMEWHERE near my buddy", which is not my favorite kind of dive.

We did a couple of days of reef diving, and then went over to the mainland for 2 days of cavern diving. After a couple more days on the reefs, we all looked at one another and said, "Let's go back to the caverns!"
 
If you want to spend an entire dive looking for little critters on a small patch of reef, Cozumel will never be a great choice for you. There are places where you can do that, but it's unlikely you could make an entire trip of it. That's what Bonaire and Little Cayman are for. Cozumel is really about going with the flow. That's not just a reference to drift diving, where going with the flow is essential, but also going to the sites that offer the best opportunities on any given day, which can vary widely depending on weather and currents. I've done about 200 dives in Cozumel and have had bad viz, meaning less than 60 feet, on about five dives. It can happen, but it's very rare. I've had dives in Coz that are all about reef structure and others that are all about critters and fish. I like the variety. I think you would be more likely to enjoy diving with one of the ops often mentioned on the board that have small, fast boats and will choose sites to cater to those on the boat that day. I understand the "stop and smell the coral" approach and had a great time doing that in Bonaire. If that's really what you want and you want it on all your dives, Cozumel may not be the best place for you.


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