Cozumel in March with extended family: young kids and grandparents

[JohnnyRock]

My wife and I were certified two years ago and have done about 30 dives in the lake we live on. Went to Cancun for a wedding in December 2011 and took the bus and ferry to Cozumel for one night. Did a shore dive with Scuba Club upon arrival; and a two-tank dive with them the next day. Stayed at El Presidente. (Friends who later backed out made the arrangements.)
We'd like to return for 8 days in March 2014 with our family of non-divers (two 19 year olds, 6 year old, and 4 year old, and grandparents; and possibly one or two sibling's families.) Would possibly like the two older kids to get certified there; and have a good "beach" where we could all get in some worthwhile snorkeling, shore diving, and/or playtime.
Wife and I would like to book a private DM or go with a small outfit for three or four days of two-tank dives.
Anyone have any suggestions where to stay and who to dive with? I would like to use steel 120s.
Thanks.

 

[diverokc]

The one suggestion i have is to do all your certification's at home except your open water dives. That way when you get to cozumel your kids can do thier open water dives and have a private DM which is what you said you wanted anyway. This is how i would do it if i had to do it again.

 

[nodakdive]

Per the steel 120s desire, it sounds like Aldora might be a good bet for a dive operation, though if you requested 120s from other dive operations, they may be able to accommodate you. Make sure you ask about that, don't just assume. I'd also mention that good snorkeling and shore diving don't really go hand in hand with good "beach". Almost all the hotels have some kind of beach type situation, but that might mean beach loungers on sand in front of the water with a sea wall between you and the ocean. Where there is iron shore, there is better snorkeling and shore diving, where there is sand beach, it's generally not so good.

The Presidente is basically top of the line in terms of hotels. It's a good location too, imho, as you're at the north end of the marine park, so whichever dive op you use, you'll be able to go to the north sites, like Paradise, Chankanaab, etc. If you stay far south, where the better "beaches" are, and dive with a house op, you might not go to dive sites that are more northern.
On the other hand, if you're only going to dive for 3 or 4 days, there's plenty to keep you busy without having to see the northern marine park sites.

Anyhow, for hotel recommendations, you probably need to be a little more specific about what you'd like. Do you want to stay All Inclusive? Do you want to eat at restaurants in town each night? Do you plan on renting a car? Do you want to do any cooking yourself, or require a fridge?

I stay at a place called Casa del Mar, and it suits me just fine for what I want. It's not all inclusive, though they have a plan for $39/day that's all inclusive. Never done it. It's got shore diving and snorkeling. It's not terribly far from town in terms of taxi cost. I don't need a fridge. There are a few nice restaurants close by if we want to stay close at night. The on site restaurant is just fine but has a small menu. Plenty of good food there though. It's a smaller property. There are a couple of convenience stores very close by. They have an in-house dive op, but you can be picked up by other dive ops from CDM's dock for free. Right across the street is another nice dive op, Scuba Shack. Compared to the cost of the Presidente, it's very inexpensive.

Doing the pool and classroom at home and then finishing the certification via a "referral" is a great way to go. Big time saver, and for the most part, you show up to Cozumel and dive. No reading to do, etc.

Hope this helps,
-Blair

 

[stevep4444]

Check out Residencias Reef Condo's. Lots of shops will pick you up down there.

 

[Ron Lee]

Read some of the suggestions here :

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/466091-multi-family-villa-ai.html

 

[MMM]

The dive ops that use steel 120s are Living Underwater, Liquid Blue and Aldora. Given all the folks in your group, I'd look at either a condo or house rental. Check out VBRO!

As to snorkelling, beach time...I think your best choice is a car rental and exploring the island that way.

 

[John Larsen]

Have you looked into Coral princess hotel and Pepe Scuba their on site dive op...small fast boats and great DMs.