First Cozumel Trip

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Morgan_5

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Hi everyone,
My boyfriend and I are heading to Cozumel in September for our first "destination dive trip". We have only ever dove in fresh water springs and off boats in FL. Does anyone have any tips for us? We will be staying at the Secrets on Cozumel, I know that Dive house is the in house dive shop but I've read mixed reviews about them so we are looking for possibly a different shop to dive with. We have also never drift dove, which I am sort of nervous about. Any advice and information would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi everyone,
My boyfriend and I are heading to Cozumel in September for our first "destination dive trip". We have only ever dove in fresh water springs and off boats in FL. Does anyone have any tips for us? We will be staying at the Secrets on Cozumel, I know that Dive house is the in house dive shop but I've read mixed reviews about them so we are looking for possibly a different shop to dive with. We have also never drift dove, which I am sort of nervous about. Any advice and information would be greatly appreciated.
Drift diving is a piece of cake; no navigation skills required. Bring your surface marker in case you get separated from your group though. Wear only as much weight as you really, really need, otherwise you'll have to add air to your BC and you'll move along in the water faster. Also, look for little spots in the reef to duck into and escape the current if you DO find yourself ahead of the rest of your group (which you really, really don't want to be). You'll have a great time. Are other ops allowed to pic up at Secrets?
 
Other dive Ops can pick up there but the hotel is, to the last of my knowledge, charging $2USD per diver per day. That is apparently organized at the front desk. You would be using the wood pier in front of Secrets.
Proper weighting contributes to good bouyancy which will help (above post). Current is slower near the bottom.
Lots of reviews and trips reports on other dive ops on SB in this forum including discussion of bigger versus smaller boats. You'll be south so boat rides are shorter.
 
Put Cozumel in the search field above and be prepared to see tons of threads about everything Coz. Don't get psyched out by drift dives unless someone with experience diving in Coz during Sept. tells you different. I've only been in the months of July and November and some drift dives were weak, some were stronger, and some were non-existent.
 
I wont add to the subject of which dive OP to choose as you will find tons of recommendations on here and I'm sure many will chime in with suggestions of which OP to use. As for diving in Cozumel, it will ruin diving in alot of other places for you. Amazing coral structures and reefs, good amount of life, relaxing and thrilling currents to keep you entertained. Drift diving can seem scary until you try it. Dont fight the current, you wont be successful. Relax and enjoy the ride instead. Proper weighting 8s key, the closer you are to the reef the calmer it will be. If need duck behind coral heads to hide from the current. Lastly enjoy yourselves and dive as much as you can. We will be there in 27 days, 18 days of pure diving bliss.
 
I had great experiences and dives with both Tres Pelicanos and Blue-XtSea down there. I don't think you can go wrong with either. I've heard good things about Aldora Divers as well, along with several others. There's a bunch of threads with "top dive shops in Coz" here on the board. Have fun!!
 
I have dove with Dive House a few times and have not had a bad experience. If it was me I would use the Inhouse dive shop just to simplify things on your first trip. Pick up, drop off, gear storage may be simpler with the Inhouse dive shop.
Do research on other dive outfits while you are there and plan the next trip around the style of diving you want to do.
It may be your first Cozumel Dive trip but if you love diving then there will be more.
Have fun.
 
Copied from a post on an earlier thread:

Personally, I LOVE drift diving in Cozumel. It is the easiest, most relaxing, least physically exerting diving you’ll ever do. AND since I’m following a DM for the whole dive, and the boat is going to pick me up when I surface, I don’t have to worry about my compass or dive navigation (I do practice those skills on shore dives, however). That having been said, there are some simple yet important rules of drift diving to follow: (1) DON’T fight the current, it is your friend, it’s doing all the hard work for you. And everyone in your dive group is going that way anyway, so what’s the problem with just floating with the current? (2) DON’T get out ahead of your DM. He may stop off from time to time, lead the group through a swim-through, hide behind a coral head to show the group something interesting. If you have to swim back against the current to return to the group, you’ll use up a lot of energy, AND a lot of air to do so. (3) DON’T helicopter above the group, thinking that if you keep to a shallower depth you’ll preserve air. Currents can vary in speed by depth, being just 15-20 feet above the group you can find yourself swept right past the group, violating rule (2) above. (4) There are a number of ways to minimize the effect of the current or get out of it entirely. Learn good buoyancy control and good trim, get absolutely horizontal to present the smallest cross-section to the current. With really good trim, you can hover nearly motionless in Cozumel’s generally gentle currents with little effort. Currents generally move slower very close to the bottom, so if you are in a shallow dive site, you can minimize the current by getting very close to the bottom (but be CAREFUL not to reach out and touch anything that can hurt you, like coral, a fire worm, or a scorpion fish!); if there is a nice clean sandy spot on the bottom, you can stick just a finger or two into the sand to anchor yourself. Also, there are generally coral heads that you can duck behind to get out of the current all together. Follow these rules and then just relax; let the current do the heavy lifting and just follow the DM - easy!
 
Hire a private DM for the two of you. He/she will give you a great dive and do their best to show you what you want to see. I wanted to see splendid toad fish and stopped counting after 10. I think it runs $25-35 a day plus tips.

We stayed on the other side of Secrets a few years ago. You will know quickly where the best spots for dinner are located. Best advice, go early.
 
Went with dive house on my first trip, there were 30 of us. Unless something changed they were a good outfit and we all had a good time. Last time I went with another shop that was newer and also had a good time, it was called salty endeavors.

I don't think you can go wrong with most shops down there. The argument on this board seems to be what time the shop picks up at, or what time you have to eat to get to a shop.


See the recent long thread on Cozumel diving feels rushed for insight into a lot of people's feelings.
 

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