jbuchow
Registered
We just returned from a week-long trip to Cozumel, and I thought I'd share some of our observations.
Hotel:
We stayed at Hotel Cozumel (formerly known as Brisas), which was a nicer hotel than I expected based on some of the posts here. Our room was quite spacious with a nice balcony, etc. Service was very good. The pool at the hotel was big, clean, and came in very handy to cool off after spending some time in the sun. The adjoining beach club, was fairly nice, although the small beach was man-made... One could snorkle or even dive right off the "beach"/dock, but there wasn't a whole lot to see. The dock did allow boat pick up for the diving. As a warning, every night from 9-10pm, the hotel has a variety show near the pool. It can be loud, and kept my wife and our friend awake on several occasions.
Diving:
We dove with Deep Blue for five days using their fast boats, limited to at most 6 divers. They picked us up at the dock each day. Overall, the operation was very solid. The dive masters (with only one exception) were very good. The one dive master we were not impressed with, surfaced with a couple of other divers early without letting the others know. We dove at most of the "far" sites including punta sur, etc. The diving overall was very good, although not as spectacular as I would have thought given all the reports I've read. I think the diving (in terms of health of the reef, fish-life, etc.) was better in Dominica, Thailand, and even Roatan. The formations/swim-throughs I must say were spectacular though, and better than anywhere else I've been.
In addition to diving in Cozumel, we spent a day diving the cenotes near Playa del Carmen at Hidden Worlds. Getting there was pretty easy. We took a ferry to PdC (90 pesos each way) and then a bus (bus station is one block away from the ferry terminal) to Hidden Worlds (19 pesos each way). The dive operation at Hidden Worlds was very solid as well, and I would strongly recommend them. I would suggest getting there at 9 am, so as to avoid the crowds. We dove Dos Ojos and Bat Cave and both dives were spectacular and unlike anything I've seen before.
Restuarants:
Our favorite restaruant by far was Casa de la Morena located on 10 avenida between 3 sur and 5 sur. They had the best mexican food (including traditional mayan dishes and drinks) we've had all week. We were very sorry that we didn't try it until our last night in town... After Casa de la Morena, our next favorite was Choza, which also had good mexican food. Prima (Italian) and Casa de Dennis were also pretty good.
Overall, our experience in Cozumel was a very good one, but I don't think we'll be going back until we explore other locations in the Carribean and beyond.
Hotel:
We stayed at Hotel Cozumel (formerly known as Brisas), which was a nicer hotel than I expected based on some of the posts here. Our room was quite spacious with a nice balcony, etc. Service was very good. The pool at the hotel was big, clean, and came in very handy to cool off after spending some time in the sun. The adjoining beach club, was fairly nice, although the small beach was man-made... One could snorkle or even dive right off the "beach"/dock, but there wasn't a whole lot to see. The dock did allow boat pick up for the diving. As a warning, every night from 9-10pm, the hotel has a variety show near the pool. It can be loud, and kept my wife and our friend awake on several occasions.
Diving:
We dove with Deep Blue for five days using their fast boats, limited to at most 6 divers. They picked us up at the dock each day. Overall, the operation was very solid. The dive masters (with only one exception) were very good. The one dive master we were not impressed with, surfaced with a couple of other divers early without letting the others know. We dove at most of the "far" sites including punta sur, etc. The diving overall was very good, although not as spectacular as I would have thought given all the reports I've read. I think the diving (in terms of health of the reef, fish-life, etc.) was better in Dominica, Thailand, and even Roatan. The formations/swim-throughs I must say were spectacular though, and better than anywhere else I've been.
In addition to diving in Cozumel, we spent a day diving the cenotes near Playa del Carmen at Hidden Worlds. Getting there was pretty easy. We took a ferry to PdC (90 pesos each way) and then a bus (bus station is one block away from the ferry terminal) to Hidden Worlds (19 pesos each way). The dive operation at Hidden Worlds was very solid as well, and I would strongly recommend them. I would suggest getting there at 9 am, so as to avoid the crowds. We dove Dos Ojos and Bat Cave and both dives were spectacular and unlike anything I've seen before.
Restuarants:
Our favorite restaruant by far was Casa de la Morena located on 10 avenida between 3 sur and 5 sur. They had the best mexican food (including traditional mayan dishes and drinks) we've had all week. We were very sorry that we didn't try it until our last night in town... After Casa de la Morena, our next favorite was Choza, which also had good mexican food. Prima (Italian) and Casa de Dennis were also pretty good.
Overall, our experience in Cozumel was a very good one, but I don't think we'll be going back until we explore other locations in the Carribean and beyond.
