First time diving Cozumel- Need Help!

[uncfnp]

Jamie. Timely thread for me as well. I was planning to start one for our first trip there this June. Do you mind if I join your thread instead? I had been considering Aldora or Tres Pelicanos based on SB reviews and perhaps a vrbo 1 BR recommendation since we often cook our own meals. Money for us is a consideration but the quality of the diving is the most important factor plus a clean place to stay.

 

[JamieMc5280]

Jamie. Timely thread for me as well. I was planning to start one for our first trip there this June. Do you mind if I join your thread instead? I had been considering Aldora or Tres Pelicanos based on SB reviews and perhaps a vrbo 1 BR recommendation since we often cook our own meals. Money for us is a consideration but the quality of the diving is the most important factor plus a clean place to stay.

The more the merrier We are considering Aldora & Blue Angel. Just so you know where most of my questions are coming from.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Aldora dives dive deeper than that, trust me. The long bottom times are due to larger tanks..120cu ft IIRC. I really enjoyed Aldora due to the wonderfully long beautiful drift dives. Not that hard to dive with them and stay elsewhere. I think the extra money is worth it after all the expense and hassle of travel. People where i stayed (Las Anclas...very nice !)) used tres pelicanos and raved about them. I used Dive House years ago and they too were great. Others here on SB rave about several others.

Nitrox is a very nice thing to have due to the depth and length of the dives - I nitrox certified from Aldora and was glad I did. Very useful for typical Cozumel type diving. I also highly recommend a night dive and a rental car trip to Punta Sur and around the island. Bring bug spray and sun screen and lots of bottled water. For diving its good to have a safety sausage and a good, attached, dive light for both night dives and swim-throughs. There are many good choices but i seriously doubt you will go far wrong... relax...you could probably make no plans...fly there, walk around town and get all your dive, lodging and dining needs met. Great restaurants too. I sometimes tend to over think travel and usually its just a waste of anxiety.

 

[JamieMc5280]

Aldora dives dive deeper than that, trust me. The long bottom times are due to larger tanks..120cu ft IIRC. I really enjoyed Aldora due to the wonderfully long beautiful drift dives. Not that hard to dive with them and stay elsewhere. I think the extra money is worth it after all the expense and hassle of travel. People where i stayed (Las Anclas...very nice !)) used tres pelicanos and raved about them. I used Dive House years ago and they too were great. Others here on SB rave about several others.

Nitrox is a very nice thing to have due to the depth and length of the dives - I nitrox certified from Aldora and was glad I did. Very useful for typical Cozumel type diving. I also highly recommend a night dive and a rental car trip to Punta Sur and around the island. Bring bug spray and sun screen and lots of bottled water. For diving its good to have a safety sausage and a good, attached, dive light for both night dives and swim-throughs. There are many good choices but i seriously doubt you will go far wrong... relax...you could probably make no plans...fly there, walk around town and get all your dive, lodging and dining needs met. Great restaurants too. I sometimes tend to over think travel and usually its just a waste of anxiety.

I love this post and your thinking Thank you!

 

[uncfnp]

I have read that dives in Cozumel are very weather dependent. Are there dive operators that are less likely to cancel due to weather? We don't mind some "sporty" seas with a knowledgable captain.

 

[ggunn]

I have read that dives in Cozumel are very weather dependent. Are there dive operators that are less likely to cancel due to weather? We don't mind "sporty" seas with a knowledgable captain.

There are three levels of weather as it relates to diving Cozumel:

1. Calm winds or wind not from the west or northwest - everybody dives
2. Strong winds from W or NW - nobody dives
3. Moderate winds from the W or NW - only boats over 40' go out

Rain is not a factor unless it's a raging thunderstorm where lightning is a factor, and then nobody dives.

Most days are case 1. A norte or tropical storm can drive it into case 2 or 3, but case 3 is the least probable of the three. All the dive ops operate under the same rules.

 

[ggunn]

I'd suggest Blue Angel. The hotel is on the water, and every room has a balcony to enjoy the view. It's not luxurious, but very clean and a great place to stay. The on site restaurant serves breakfast (usually included in their room packages I believe), the lobby has coffee made however early you ask for it, and there's fridges in the rooms. The dive op has multiple boats, so they can split groups by experience. They do have a few large boats, but I've seen those used primarily for groups diving together, and their mid day mixed dive/snorkel trip.

The typical profile for a 2 tank dive in Coz is a deeper first dive (70-90 feet) to a wall or large reef where the topography is the main feature, and a shallower second dive (40-60 feet) where the marine life is more of a feature. Obviously that isn't true of every dive trip, or every op, but it's what seems to happen most often.

I second Blue Angel. I can't imagine staying anywhere else. I'll be there in May.

 

[DandyDon]

We would like a coffee maker in our room

Ha! I take a quart ziplock of coffee and filters with me, buy a cheap maker at Mega, use it for the stay, then give it to someone.

We are not beginner divers and do not want to be forced into dive groups where the beginners dictate our dives.

Your profile says less than 50 dives. Do make sure your DAN dive insurance is current, and hire a private DM for the first couple of dives. Money well spent. After that, a good Op will match you up ok.

she said their dives, as well as most dives in Coz, are in the 40-60 ft.

On the second dive, yeah. First dive often deeper.

If we choose a dive op that is not close to our hotel, do dive shops typically pick you up from your hotel/resort?

Nope. I hate hiring cabs alone, but if there are two of you - it won't be so expensive each.

1. Casa Mexicana would be perfect. Walking distance to all the good restaurants. Rooms from $63-120 (oceanview). Fridge. Coffee in the lobby. Fabulous breakfast included. Great beds.

2. Good walks along the oceanfront on non dive days. Bycicle rental around the corner.

3. Our shop is Tres Pelicanos right around the corner from the hotel. ( about $70 for 2 tanks) We pay cash and get a discount. 2 Boats. They transport you to and from the Caleta.

Good choice, but only some rooms overlook the channel I think. Tres Pelicans will indeed handle your trips to & from the dock.

there is a wide range, from very advanced deep dives, like Punta Sur Devil's Throat, that can take you down to 135'

He has less than 50 dives. I have seen newbies on that trip, but hated it.

I'd suggest Blue Angel.

Better choice. I'm too cheap but for a couple, yeah - a nice choice. Their Op runs panga boats, and they pick up at the hotel dock for a nice boat ride to the reefs.

I vote for Scuba Club Cozumel.

He said he wanted to avoid cattle boats.

I have read that dives in Cozumel are very weather dependent. Are there dive operators that are less likely to cancel due to weather? We don't mind some "sporty" seas with a knowledgable captain.

Aldora is probably the best in weather challenges, but those are rare in the summer.

 

[scubafanatic]

I have read that dives in Cozumel are very weather dependent. Are there dive operators that are less likely to cancel due to weather? We don't mind some "sporty" seas with a knowledgable captain.

Cozumel has recently hired a new 'harbor master' who is hypersensitive to anything remotely approaching 'sporty' seas, he's very gun-shy, conservative, so the odds of having the harbor closed to diving due to 'weather' are MUCH higher these days then they used to be.

 

[scubafanatic]

Aldora is the op that quoted $111/day- $93 + tax & park fee. I really want to dive with them but am not sure I can afford it. I looked at staying with them as well- but again, super pricey and overkill for what I need. I don't need a 2 bedroom suite for my husband and I alone- pretty much all they have available for the times we are traveling. They do offer unlimited shore dives if you stay with them so that is a bonus. Maybe we don't dive as many days- take advantage of the longer bottom times and make use of the free shore diving? I know they have big tanks- but Aldora is the one that says they don't dive past 40-60 ft. this alone would account for longer bottom times correct?

The shore diving in Cozumel is essentially non-existent, useful for doing your scuba refresher and/or testing new or newly serviced gear, or checking one's weighting prior to doing the 'real' dives in Cozumel, so be careful not to get too excited about' unlimited shore diving'.

With respect to typical dive depths, if you're being quoted 40'-60' max depths, that's a sure sign of a cattle boat op. The reefs don't even start until those depths (especially since Hurricane Wilma destroyed most of the shallow reefs back in 2005) so you'll have to go deeper to see anything. Max average depths range from 80' - 120', let's say 100' average. If you stick to 40' - 60' depths, you'll be seeing a LOT of sand, rubble, algae.