1st trip to Cozumel. Tips?

[gopbroek]

How long does it usually take to go from landing to walking out the airport terminal?

30? 45?

If you are talking CUN I have been on the street in less than 10 minutes from the door opening on the aircraft. In that scenario I am the first to deplane, no checked bags and an empty immigration hall. About the same time in CZM under the same conditions. Realistically at either airport it takes about 15-20 minutes for checked bags to hit the carousel. Clearing immigration depends on how long it takes to clear the aircraft, immigration seems to be about the same in either airport. CZM has a shorter walk but less manned booths while CUN has a long walk but more booths. Custom times are about the same but if you are mule'ing a lot of stuff and worried about customs (excessive amounts of boat and auto parts can be problem areas) CUN is better, no X Ray unless you get the 'RED' button. Overall wait times are reasonable and not excessive other than abnormal surge peak times such as Saturday afternoons when there is weekly spike in landings or if the incoming flights are late and cause congestion.

 

[gopbroek]

#1 Tip I skipped: DO NOT chase the EAGLE RAYS !!!!!!!
They are beautiful, majestic but shy creatures. If you swim at them, especially with a GoPro out front, they will automatically classify you as a bubble making sea monster (like something out of a 50's horror movie) and depart the area, quickly. No matter what you think they are faster than you and you can not catch them. As a bonus no matter how nice your fellow divers are before and after the dive at the time there is serious consideration of the option of cutting off your air supply for the benefit of the dive community, after they calm down most will deny the homicidal impulses but the thought flashes through many minds during the sacrilegious act.
Really try to stay calm and not spook them as they are truely magnificent creatures to watch and if you are lucky they may stay suspended in the current near you for a surprisingly long time. I will never get over the wonderful, awe inspiring, feeling I get when near them.

 

[Mary J Baker]

Yes, nearly 16 years ago, as a fairly new diver, while diving in Galapagos, I reached out and touched a whale shark who was skimming my body by mere inches. It would have been the first sighting of a whale shark for 99% of us, but, unfortunately he quickly high tailed away after my encounter. I had a perfect front row seat, but those behind me not so much. Lets just say I felt like the unwanted step child and on a liveaboard it made for close and uncomfortable quarters the rest of the week. Lesson learned, the very hard way.

 

[little seahorse]

Post trip update! Had an amazing week! We flew in to Cancun Friday night and stayed at the one Cancun centro, a very nice, clean and quiet hotel that I would highly recommend as a place to stay before catching the bus.

We used uber ( frowned down on by mafia taxi consortium, but way cheaper and I preferred) to get to the ADO bus station and found it and the ferry very easy to negotiate and oh so cheap! It was $17 for two people total each way for the bus and ferry together! We were going to rent a car but found it to be too expensive, so we ended up just taking a shuttle to the Iberostar resort.

We got checked in without issue and immediately went to the dressel divers shop to meet up with the rest of our group. There were 17 of us total, with 3 non divers.

My boyfriend and I had signed up for a two tank dive every morning, as well as a night dive, and a cenote dive. On retrospect we wish we had signed up for unlimited dives so that we could have had a bit more flexibility and slept in at least one morning, but that's splitting hairs lol.

One of the nicest perks we found by going through our local dive shop and diving with them as a group was our local dive shop owner had chartered one of the dressel boats for us alone, so every morning we were the first divers at the resort to get on the water, and we had two guides for a max of 14 people, as well as the captain and a deck hand.

I didn't appreciate how nice and roomy and convenient this was until we did the night dive with what seemed like 30 rushed/cramped people on a small boat with 4 different guides yelling over each other trying to get their groups attention and get weights situated. That was the most stressful part of the entire trip!

Every dive got better than the last as I got more comfortable in the water, figured out my buoyancy and got used to the current. Personal favorites were seeing the yellow seahorse King Louie, my first nurse shark, multiple turtles, and the mind boggling array of coral and fish. The final day of diving we did Jurassic Park and the Santa Rosa wall, and we saw 2 different eagle rays, a huge moray eel hunting with a giant grouper sidekick, and I finally found a large Cozumel splendid toadfish on my own under a rock, as well as an octopus chilling in his hideout.

This trip really cemented my new love and passion for diving and the community involved in it, as every single person I met was interesting and wonderful. I can't wait till the next trip! Our dive shop does a lot of trips and has an epic sounding one to Fiji in june 2018, which my boyfriend is all about, so I think that will be the next big one, with hopefully some smaller trips between now and then... in the meantime now I think I will be researching and shopping for equipment, as after renting for a week, I want my own stuff!!!

 

[drrich2]

What did you think of the Iberostar as a place to stay, topside? Food, on site amenities, value for money?

Richard.

 

[little seahorse]

What did you think of the Iberostar as a place to stay, topside? Food, on site amenities, value for money?

Richard.

I found Iberostar to be beautiful, with wonderful staff, and large clean rooms. They smelled a little musky when we first got there, but everyone has told me it's hard to find a place that doesn't with the jungle everywhere. Iberostar has a bunch of these little brightly colored buildings that held 6 rooms each, they reminded each of hobbit homes with their rounded lines and thatched roofs, and because of the design you felt very private, and every room had a hammock on the porch and a couple adirondak chairs to relax in. Our room was in the middle of the resort on the north edge! A short walk from the dive shop and slightly longer meandering walk to food.

The food wasn't bad. There was a fairly large selection every day, with lots of cheeses, breads, fruit, potatoes and eggs and several random things every breakfast, tacos, pasta, salads and meats for lunch, and 3 specialty restaurants in addition to the main buffet. I'm an adventurous eater, and was always able to find something to eat. I ate tacos and chips and salsa every day for lunch . Overall I was a bit tired of it by the end of the week, but it was definitely edible and I think anyone would be able to find something they would enjoy. I wish my boyfriend and I had gone into town once or twice to explore and eat in town more than when we arrived and left, but that just means I'll have to go back .

The beach was lovely with plenty of lounge chairs and shade, the pool was large and the bars made yummy drinks! That's all I did between dives, relax, eat and drink, and nap
Overall I would stay at Iberostar again in a heartbeat, and would recommend it as a relaxing place to stay in between dives!


We ate at Amparos for lunch the day we arrived, and I'd HIGHLY recommend it. Beautiful food that tastes awesome. The lion fish appetizer was unique and the cucumber and watermelon salad was so refreshing!

Before we caught the ferry back to the mainland we did dinner at La Choza, which was ok but I felt had been too Americanized, if that makes sense.

 

[DjDiverDan]

Little seahorse, let me HIGHLY recommend that you try a trip to Cozumel without the group dictating where you stay and who you dive with. While I am not dead set against All-Inclusive resorts, my position is NEVER do AI on Cozumel. Unlike Jamaica and some other Caribbean destinations (parts of the DR), safety in Cozumel is not an issue, so there is no reason to spend your vacation there in a fenced in compound. And unlike the Caymans, doing AI on Cozumel is not likely to save you money on food - there are a wealth of great restaurants on Cozumel, all very reasonably priced. Cozumel is warm and friendly, with a host of excellent Dive Ops, an abundance of wonderful dining options, and wonderful people, and you are going to miss out on a lot of this if you only do group trips to AI resorts. Book a room in a downtown hotel, like Casa Mexicana, Suites Bahia, Suites Colonial, Hotel Plaza Cozumel, or one close to downtown, like Hotel Cozumel if you want more of a resort feel, and check out any of the really good Dive Ops that will pick you up downtown, or provide transport to the marina - Aldora (HP Steel 120 tanks, long bottom times, long SI at a beach club for even longer second dives), Blue XT-Sea, Tres Pelicanos, Living Underwater, or any of several others. Then spend your evenings experiencing some great local dining options. You won't regret it.

 

[Carlos Diver]

I also give Iberostar a thumbs up. Food was good, but by the end of the week, yes, might get a little old. However, the buffets always had a good variety, so if you arent a glutton, you should be okay. I actually really enjoyed their lunches. The steak house was okay, not great, but I was also hammered that night, so take it for what it is worth. Albertos is also right next door, so head over there once or even twice to give yourself a food break. Well worth it. I think I paid $30 including two drinks and tip, for lobster tail and enough sides that I could barely finish. The resort itself is clean and nice. Rooms are small, but unless I was sleeping I wasnt in it, and it still had enough space for three of us. I liked the grounds and the animals, beach is rocky (its coz) but they have a nice easy steps down from the pier. My only complaint was the lack of AC in common areas. When its humid (and it almost always is) it can get uncomfortable in some of the open areas.

I would also stay there again, though I like to try new resorts.

The onsite op charges if you want to use their pier for pickup if you dont use Dressel. I would use Dressel again for a quick night or afternoon dive, but I would pay the fee and use Allison or Living Underwater. Both are superior outfits.

 

[geokr]

I agree with the above on AI resorts. Part of the fun in Cozumel is taking part in the local life in town which you can't do easily from most of the resorts. There are plenty of reasonable places to stay in town, Villas las Anclas being my favorite, and is only steps from all the other things Cozumel has to offer like shopping, a little night life, great restaurants ranging from $ to $$$$, and the plaza to mingle with the locals on a nice evening. And, the central part of town is where most of the dive operators are from so you're not inconvenienced a bit when it comes to getting to the boat in the morning, afternoon or evening depending on when you're diving. If you want to experience more of what Cozumel has to offer next time try staying in town. Think you'll like it and the costs will be about the same, maybe better.