Is Cozumel cheap?

[Centrals]

I am in an odd situation being a grad student as well as working for an American company were more than 2 weeks off is extremely unusual. It is much easier for me to take time in December than January. I own a hosue, my parents are here, and my brother has a 4 year old, so a 1 way ticket to Indonesia is fun to think about, but not realistic.

How about Thailand?
Phuket is supposed to open to tourism on 1st Jul to fully vaccinated person. But the diving is best from late Nov onward for the West coast in the Kingdom.
Similan Islands(LoB) and Koh Lanta.

Indonesia? Need a miracle this yr!

 

[Janie88]

I think like others here have said, Cozumel can be a wonderful option for a reasonably priced dive vacation. Or just a nice option in general. I have looked at Coz versus live board dive trip but for me it just depends on what I want to do that trip - is dive-dive-dive and the location my priority, or some great long dives, with walking around town and eating at locale restaurants. etc.?

For me it's not just about going "cheaper" although Coz is typically less expensive than many other trips. It's about the experience - what experience do I want? I enjoy both Cozumel and liveaboards and other land-based trips.

 

[rick00001967]

it's mexico. so it depends when you go and what you idea of a good holiday is. it can be very inexpensive (even with the escalating costs these days) or it can be very expensive.
are you ok staying at a hostel or very basic place, or do you want a 5 star experience ?
will you be doing primarily shore diving, or will it all be boat diving ?
when you go out to eat, do you like the "hole in the wall" local dives (no pun intended haha), or white linen napkins ?

 

[ggunn]

...will you be doing primarily shore diving, or will it all be boat diving ?

Anyone who goes to Cozumel with the intention of primarily shore diving needs to fire their travel agent.

 

[bvbellomo]

it's mexico. so it depends when you go and what you idea of a good holiday is. it can be very inexpensive (even with the escalating costs these days) or it can be very expensive.
are you ok staying at a hostel or very basic place, or do you want a 5 star experience ?
will you be doing primarily shore diving, or will it all be boat diving ?
when you go out to eat, do you like the "hole in the wall" local dives (no pun intended haha), or white linen napkins ?

I want the cheapest accommodation where I won't be arrested for vagrancy, get wet when it rains or robbed in my sleep.

I do want the best authentic food, which is as often "hole in the wall" as "white linen".

 

[bvbellomo]

Anyone who goes to Cozumel with the intention of primarily shore diving needs to fire their travel agent.

Not sure of all the controversy over shore diving. Most boats offer 2 tank dive per day pachages, I assumed people did shore diving because 2 dives a day isn't enough and I started by looking at scuba club.

 

[drrich2]

From a U.S.A. starting point, a Cozumel vs. a Red Sea trip with a budget/value perspective? That's a pretty apples-to-oranges destination face off. I've been to Cozumel; from what I've read of the Red Sea diving, it's on the other side of the world, best done via live-aboard, and the diving is likely better than the Caribbean but not on par with some Indonesian sites like Raja Ampat...but you have the option for land tours like seeing the pyramids, if you extend your stay and topside excursions are of interest.

If that's all accurate, here's the mindset I'd approach your comparison with:

1.) I find air travel rather brutal where long flights are concerned. Even if airfare were similar, for one trip to trap me on more flights for a lot more hours would be an example of 'not equal; nowhere close.'

2.) If I did a far distant live-aboard trip, I'd want to arrive a day early to make sure I didn't literally miss the boat. No need for land-based op.s in Cozumel. Travel to/from the Red Sea I'd think would take 2 days, maybe 3...after all, do you want to show up strung out from jet lag and poor sleep on flights to leap right into an 'I'm doing all the dives to get my money's worth' live-aboard trip? Factor in the added costs of airport food and overnight hotels going and coming for what will likely be 2 extra days going (to get there a day early) and 1 extra coming back. For me, $14/day at Nashville airport's parking lot is also a factor - $42.

3.) Cozumel has good Caribbean diving, but it's my understanding the Red Sea is thought to be better? And there's not going to be a Thistlegorm or likely oceanic white-tip sharks in Coz. Just comparing potential trip dive counts doesn't tell the full story.

4.) A solid dive trip can be packed into 7 or 8 days in a Cozumel trip (Tres Pelicanos & Casa Mexicana, Cozumel Sept. 2018 Report - Tres Pelicanos/Casa Mexican Trip Report Sept. 2018 - I got 26 dives in an 8-day trip, no shore diving); for a Red Sea trip, I'd want a 10-day live-aboard to justify all the time and bother to get there and back, and round trip travel time would turn it into a 2-week+ trip. That's without any side-trips to look at pyramids, etc...

I like to apply reductionistic thinking to break it down to total trip cost divided by total # of dives as a value metric, but that's just not adequate here.

If I were comparing these, I'd probably lean toward Cozumel for a simple budget trip for now, and delay your return to the Red Sea until you have a stronger sense of what you want to do when you get there.

Just my 2 cents, and as I said, I haven't been to the Red Sea. Wherever you go, I hope you'll post a trip report about your experience to help the next guy researching. Good diving whatever you decide.

 

[ggunn]

Not sure of all the controversy over shore diving. Most boats offer 2 tank dive per day pachages, I assumed people did shore diving because 2 dives a day isn't enough and I started by looking at scuba club.

There's no controversy. Anyone who has ever been diving around Cozumel knows that the boat dives are where the vast majority of stuff to see is. Going diving there and only doing shore dives would be like going to the Louvre and never leaving the lobby.

 

[Janie88]

There's no controversy. Anyone who has ever been diving around Cozumel knows that the boat dives are where the vast majority of stuff to see is. Going diving there and only doing shore dives would be like going to the Louvre and never leaving the lobby.

And....from my experience as well as my friends, 2 boat dives a day is usually plenty. Especially if you are doing the longer dives with the steel tanks etc.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Not sure of all the controversy over shore diving. Most boats offer 2 tank dive per day pachages, I assumed people did shore diving because 2 dives a day isn't enough and I started by looking at scuba club.

While four dives per day is not uncommon elsewhere, two per day is the norm in Coz. Some dive ops have ways to cram in more for divers who want that, and most dive ops offer night dives. But two dives per day is what I might call the baseline.

I believe two dives per day is the baseline primarily because the dive sites can be a lengthy boat ride away. But I believe a secondary reason might be that Coz is not ALL about diving, the way some destinations are. Many people who dive in Coz are the types who enjoy an afternoon by the pool, exploring cultural things, dining out, etc. When I'm in Coz, I tend to be more of that kind of person--I just love being in Mexico--but when I'm at a dedicated dive resort where the diving is close to shore, and everything is set up so that I can dive-eat-sleep-repeat, then I'm all into that. Two different kinds of places.