Female first time travelling solo, first dive trip. I think Cozumel is the way to go?

[lamarpaulski]

I echo staying in town and flying direct. I take my kids there and feel pretty safe. You will have a great time.

 

[Token]

In less than two weeks [YAY!] my wife and I will be flying from Calgary to Toronto [redeye] and thence directly to Cozumel. We did the Cancun-Playa-ferry thing once and we feel it's worth the extra time and trouble to fly direct from Toronto.

I can't say much about being a single female traveler/diver in Cancun, but I'd be astonished if you can't find another woman in your situation to buddy with, both in the water and out.

Playa is certainly touristy, but is probably worth a day trip to do a bit of shopping and sightseeing unless you are allergic to ferry rides [my wife gets seasick easily].

 

[nodakdive]

I did a comparison between Deep Blue and DWM. The difference in price between Deep Blue and DWM was basically the equipment rental. Deep Blue leaves from downtown and has a 9am departure. It would save having to make the trip to the marina and give one a nice relaxed morning to get breakfast, etc. I only figured $10/day for taxi but I think it would be a little more than that. It's 80 pesos from downtown to Casa del Mar, and I think it's 100 pesos to the marina from downtown? Looks like Tres Pelicanos would be around $40 cheaper than Deep Blue, but you'd have to make that trip to the marina every day.

 

[cicopo]

Tres Pelicanos provide the transportation to & from the marina as part of their service.

 

[Ron Lee]

The Cancun to Cozumel bus/ferry option is not hard and can be done by a first timer. The ferry complex at Playa del Carmen has changed and I do not have pictures for it. If you do it, only buy one way ferry tickets and do not schedule an early flight back home from Cancun unless you spend the night near the airport.

I have gotten a $50 a night room at Hacienda San Miguel on cheaptickets.com using a typical promo code.

Their kitchens allow you to cook breakfast or other meals if you wish.

Some dive ops make stop at a beach club between dives. That is the only way I roll. Have a late breakfast/early lunch with your feet in the sand and it makes for a nice dive experience. Aldora does that as does Blue XT~Sea Diving - Cozumel Scuba Diving - Blue Xt Sea Diving

There are likely others who do as well. Aldora leaves from a downtown pier.

If you choose a flight making a change in the USA then to Cozumel, knowing how to fly into Cancun and get to Cozumel could save multiple vacation days if your initial flight sequence is busted. It happened to me once.

Fly to Atlanta then Cozumel. Flight to Atlanta had a mechanical issue that made arrival into Atlanta too late to make the ONE flight into Cozumel.

Changed my entire flight plan to another airline via DFW or IAH then into Cancun for the easy bus and ferry option.

 

[cicopo]

Ron she can fly Toronto to either Cancun or Cozumel direct. As for Aldora & Blue XT Sea based on her original message they are too expensive. She's on a tight budget and with it costing $1.42 or more Cdn per US dollar price is important.

 

[nodakdive]

Tres Pelicanos provide the transportation to & from the marina as part of their service.

Yeah, the cost of the taxi is a wash between Deep Blue and Tres Pelicanos. If you add taxi fare to DWM's 5 day 2 tank package, they're $5 cheaper than Deep Blue, but DWM provides free equipment. Deep Blue charges for equipment rental as does Tres Pelicanos. I didn't see a weekly break on the price from Deep Blue, though I've had friends rent equipment there and get a good deal on multi day rental. It's $50 for equipment from Tres P, per their website. Personally, I'd fork out an extra $31 to avoid having to make the early trip to the marina, even if it's a free ride. Per websites, Deep Blue's 5 day package is $360. Tres Pelicanos is $329. DWM is $305. (I was wrong in my last post about $40. I had Tres P at $320, not $329.)

 

[cicopo]

Well that means she has at least 3 similarly priced ops to choose from that are convenient if she stays in the downtown core area. I haven't dove with Deep Blue but I can't say I have ever heard anything bad about them so she's got enough to start the planning & pricing side of the trip.

 

[ohsomeday]

Thanks for all the help. I am thinking of doing Airbnb downtown, have heard there are a lot of good restaurants and no need to do all inclusive. So is going with Tres Pelicanos worth it over Dive with Martin, even with the costs of renting gear? Would be nice to not have to worry about taxis, jus trying to keep costs low of course. Thank you so much to everyone for the helpful advice! I hope a week is just enough time. Being my first dive trip, I don't want to exhaust myself. I am hoping 4 days is good, but if I am feeling up for it I'll do 5.

---------- Post added January 4th, 2016 at 04:33 PM ----------

Also, do they do refresher courses in Cozumel? Or it is better to just hire a private DM for the first two tank dive?

---------- Post added January 4th, 2016 at 05:00 PM ----------

I am confused with the DAN insurance - after I get a membership, is it Dive Accident Insurance I want? or a different type of travel insurance?

 

[MMM]

Yes they do refresher courses, but it may be that you will be doing them later in the day, after the morning dives are finished. How long ago has it been since you've dived? If it has been more than a year, given that you are a new diver, I would go with the refresher course. As to the DAN insurance, yes, you want the dive accident insurance. You should see 3 levels offered, at different prices. I buy the middle level.

Also, do they do refresher courses in Cozumel?

---------- Post added January 4th, 2016 at 05:00 PM ----------

I am confused with the DAN insurance - after I get a membership, is it Dive Accident Insurance I want? or a different type of travel insurance?