Cozumel\caradonna.com questions ...

[Divernoob]

After bunches of reading here and elsewhere, I'm looking at booking a 5 day dive trip to Cozumel in mid April, but I have some questions.

First, has anyone used Caradonna.com to book a trip to Cozumel? I checked out a 5 day package on Caradonna and for $1,300 per person, we get:

1. Round trip airfare (Continental with a transfer in Houston).
2. 5 nights (arrive Wednesday, leave Monday) at Casa Delmar.
3. 4 days of 2 tank diving in the mornings.
4. Unlimited shore diving.
5. Breakfast, lunch, dinner & all domestic alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks.
6. Transportation from and to airport.
7. Travel insurance.

Is this too good to be true? Heck, I spent $1,600.00 in November doing a similar trip to Key Largo.

Second, my dive buddy says all the diving in Cozumel is drift diving and for more advanced divers. From what I'm reading, there are all kinds of dive opportunities for all skill levels in Cozumel: reef, wall, wreck, drift, etc. Comments?

I'm getting a new camera\strobe rig and I want to try it out on this trip, so any feedback y'all can offer would be greatly appreciated.

And btw, I'd like to thank everyone here for the treasures of info available at SB. This place has been an invaluable resource for me and I expect it will be way into my diving future!

 

[greylion]

Drift diving is easy and fun, don't worry about it. My wife got her OW certification there. Just make sure you are weighted properly so you can hold your safety stop at 15 ft for 3-5 minutes with a mostly empty tank while you're drifting along, remember there is no line to hold onto.

As far as the travel deal, Cozumel is a reasonable cost destination, so good deals abound. Check around, Fiesta Americana and Scuba Club have similar deals all the time. Personally, having done the all inclusive trips a few times in Coz, I prefer to stay at a hotel closer to town and eat out at all the great restaurants every day, but hey, that's me. You'll have a great time at the deal mentioned above. WTH, you have to spend something, do it.

 

[BTravlin]

I just checked Orbitz for a 4/14 departure from Cincy, OH and a 4/19 return. Orbitz shows $636 per person with RT air and stay at Casa del Mar. I know it's longer than what you were looking for but for only $735 per person you get RT air + 7 nights at the Casa del Mar for 4/10-17 plus you may very well be able to get $200 per person off that rate with their Entertain200 coupon code. You can get 5 days of 2 tank diving for around $300 each. So now you're at $535 RT air & hotel + $300 for diving or $835 total and you still have $465 left to eat with. RT transportation from airport to hotel will run about $16 each.

Bottom line, the Caradonna deal is a pretty good deal with everything it includes.

I wouldn't worry too much about the drift diving. Tell the dive op what your diving experience is and most dive ops there in Coz will do a good job of getting you acclimated to the drift diving. You will love it.

 

[Scott]

Fairly descent price but it depends on the room you're getting, they have four options. Casa del Mar site won't load for me (using cached page) but looking ala carte I get the following

$358 for airfare on Continental
$595 @ Casa Del Mar Superior Room (highest rate)
$260 $65/day diving
$25 RT Transfer
$390 for meals option
$?? trip insurance

$1628.00 + trip insurance

 

[Divernoob]

I'm very comfortable with the price of the dive package, but what about the website? Has anyone here booked a trip through caradonna.com?

 

[Scott]

Never have but Caradonna is big and I know they just got larger by combining with PADI Travel Network.

 

[PNW Dive Girl]

Yes, I've used Caradonna with no problems. They are a great company.

 

[robint]

I have also used Caradonna and they did exactly what was expected of them, answered all questions, etc.
You can get them to do quotes for more than one hotel package too.... don't be afraid to ask them. Tell them what you want and see what they can come up with. That is their job.