Cozumel

[Mad Mark]

This is for you all out there in the Diving world.
I am heading to Cozumel over the Christmas and New Year period to get out of a Manitoba (Winnipeg) Winter... for some sun and diving. As this is my first time travelling here, i obviously have a few queries. Not too concerned about the weather, but mainly about the diving organisations. I have been onto TripAdvisor and of course reading is never the same as first hand information. It seems that a few of the Diving organisations have taken to just doing online bookings. Not a bad thing in the modern world , but for an island i feel that the personal approach might have been eroded away. So do any of you out there have first hand knowledge of the way it works. I have dived in many different places around the world, so pretty used to being able to "walk " up and at least see how they all operate , before being too committed to the financial outlay.... any suggestions most welcome.
Best Regards and happy bubbles
Mad Mark

 

[cicopo]

That's a very busy time so pre booking may be advisable.
Where are you planning on staying? Most hotels have an in house op or one near by but many of those run timed schedules rather than dive your air.

 

[DjDiverDan]

You'll find a lot of variety in terms of the types and levels of service offered by Cozumel Dive Ops. Everything from the high-end Valet service to the bare essentials. As an initial matter, I would NOT trust Trip Advisor ratings or even reviews -- those reviews can be gamed, and even if the review comes from a real tourist, you have no way to know what experience that tourist has. Just how much is a "Best Dive Operator Ever" review worth if the reviewer is a brand new diver who has never been to Cozumel before and has no basis for comparison? Search these boards, and you'll find several operators who pop up regularly as favorites of long time Cozumel Divers - Aldora, Blue XTSea, Tres Pelicanos, Dive with Allison, Dive with Martin, Living Underwater, and several others, and many of those posts will tell you WHY they like a certain operator - HP Steel tanks, small fast boats, big comfortable boats, great DMs, they take care of all of your gear, long SI on a beach, or at a beach club, short SI on the boat so you can get back to the Hotel in time for lunch, everyone ascends together as a group, or everyone gets to dive their own tank, DM lets you do your own thing, or DM careful that the group sticks together. There simply is no "best" Cozumel Dive Op for the simple reason that everyone has different criteria. So figure out what you want, check out the reviews here on Scuba Board where you can at least tell WHY a poster likes a given Op and what basis the poster has for comparison. Then use the websites to contact the Dive Ops with any questions you have. BTW, I always make reservations with my Dive Op ahead of time. And you'll find that the Christmas-New Years week is a busy week, and if you don't have reservations, you might miss some dive days, or be forced to use a Dive Op that just doesn't meet your needs.

 

[MMM]

Hi Mark and welcome to ScubaBoard! Are you wanting to see their offices or their boats/crew? There are some ops that have offices in downtown San Miguel, while others are located at hotel resorts or nearby to them...while others run their businesses from their homes, or close to it. Most ops keep and load their boats at the caleta (south of town), while a few keep theirs in the marina north of town. These are semi-public areas and you should be able to access them for a look-see but you may be merely interacting with contract DMs as opposed to the people who would make your bookings etc.

If it were me, I would take a look at some of the threads in this forum where people talk about the different dive ops, and see how they match up with exactly what you are looking for...and then contact the top 4-5 with a few more questions of your own. I wouldn't waste my time with Trip Advisor but if you are a member of Undercurrent, that might give you some idea of who is who at the zoo. Let me know if I can help anymore.

p.S. There's a guy who is originally from Winnipeg who has an op in Coz. His name is Troy Ruhr and his company is Pelagic Ventures. Maybe if you ask around a bit in Winnipeg they could give you some more info about him. I dived with him quite a few years ago...

I have dived in many different places around the world, so pretty used to being able to "walk " up and at least see how they all operate , before being too committed to the financial outlay.... any suggestions most welcome.
Mad Mark

---------- Post added November 29th, 2015 at 07:11 PM ----------

PPS, here is a good thread to get you started...http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/471056-fun-whos-your-dive-op.html?highlight=sharky60

 

[djanni]

For Christmas and New Year, booking at this date with any op worth their salt may be difficult. Don't wait!

Try Aldora. That's my recommendation.

 

[cicopo]

Yes Troy is from the Winnipeg area & offers very good service & pricing but may not pick up at a few of the in town locations. If you're staying at any of the loctions south of town he'll pick you up unless maybe they are doing the sites north of town but they don't go north that often.

 

[jake11]

We just dove with Tres Pelicanos and loved their operation. If you email them, you will get a very prompt response from Jeanie. Great boats and dive masters. They also keep your gear and clean it every day. It is all ready the next day for you on the boat! Have fun!!

 

[lamarpaulski]

Get Nitrox certified if you are not. Bring a light, safety sausage and a camera. With 500-1000 dives you might really like Aldora (just e-mail them) as they supply larger tanks, cater to experienced divers and you get long dives. However there are many with good reputations. Surprisingly great places to eat on the island too...(diet now.) Kondesa restaurant springs to mind but there are many. The other side of the island is worth an afternoon to explore imho so renting a car (Isis rentals ?) is worth it.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

DJDiverDan pretty much said everything I would have to offer. I have dove with Aldora, Blue Magic, and Dive with Martin. I would not hesitate to dive with either of them again. Excellent service on all accounts, great diving, and no complaints whatsoever. I think you will find most operations will provide that level of satisfaction. The key to finding the right operator for you will be in the slight differences between the operators. The main differences will be where they leave from, where they spend their surface interval, boat size (# of divers), and tank availability.

That said, Aldora uses steel HP120's filled to almost perfect 3500 psi everytime. Our last dive was almost 90 minutes of pure drifting perfection. They leave from their own dock near the ferry pier (but also pick up resort divers on the way to the dive sites) and spend their surface interval at a beach club. water is available on the boat but cokes or snacks are a cash deal at the club. I didn't really care for the beach club, but the steel 120s far outweighed an complaint I might have. With the increased dive times, spend the money before you leave and get nitrox certified. Diving air for over an hour leads to some serious nitrogen naps when you are done. 2 tank dives were right at $100, but you get a 10% discount by paying cash on the island. Make sure you have exact change.

Blue Magic has great Sleep and dive packages, 2 tank dives run about $80 and 100 CF tank as well as nitrox are options. Divemaster Pumba is a local legend with more dives than most others on the island. The feel is very personal, full valet dive service. They even invited me to a shop going away party for one of their divemasters. They seem to get lots of divers from Israel. Water and snacks are on the boat during the SI. They pull into a beach with no improvements for the SI. I really liked that. They leave from their shop and pay for the cab to the Caletta Marina south of town.

We only dove 1 day with Dive With Martin and were on a cruise. The accommodated every request and leave from their own dock next to the International Pier. It was super convenient and they took incredible care of my daughters for their first Caribbean dive. If I remember correct, I used an al. 100...but cant recall exactly. SI was on the boat, but we were worried about time to make it back to the cruise ship with a little time for shopping. Great operation.

I tried to book with BlueXTsea because Christy is a huge supporter of this forum. She was booked up for the dates we would be there so maybe next time.

Im a bit of an airhog (6'1"-235#) so the Steel 120's were amazing and allowed me to finish every dive with plenty of air left. That usually doesn't happen with 80's and sometimes 100's depending on how deep we go. If you are one of those divers that sips air and can get and hour 20 out of an 80...I would think that any operator mentioned in this forum would be capable of meeting your expectations with one caveat. Smaller one boat operators may stick you with new divers that will blow through their air, limit your dive site options, and reduce the quality of your dive. (Im not being critical...we have all been there and Im just barely beyond being that diver) In that case, you might charter your own boat if your traveling with several friends, hire a private divemaster to dive with you and your buddy, or make sure the operator has enough boats to put you with the more experienced divers.

If you are looking for ways to save $$$$, check flying into Cancun and take the $10 bus and $12 ferry to Cozumel. It adds about 2 hours time total each way. There are lots more flights into Cancun so scheduling may be easier if you have to change planes along the way and have layovers that are too short to make the next flight. If you are flying American, expect delays.

We stay at Casa Mexicana and they have the best breakfast buffet on the island. A nice room is about $70-$80 a night and include breakfast. No beach though, but is close to everything we like to do.

If this will be your first trip to Coz, I guarantee you will be back. Have fun,

Jay

 

[WarrenZ]

How are Aldoras villas?