Cozumel January 2020 Advice

[DandyDon]

Sounds like you have a great plan. Two weeks in one place is too long for me, I'd have to cover more territory and see more sites, but you have your own preferences.

Now it’s time to start reading up on tips for staying at Casa Mexicana, and good places to eat in the general area. I’m sure this has been written and rewritten time and time again, so I won’t ask. But if anyone thinks of anything that I should know that I don’t know I don’t know, I’m all ears.

Oh lordie, there are volumes written on this forum, with adamant posts from some of our foodies. Eating is just fuel breaks for me generally, and I could stand to skip more of those - I'd really love to get some clothes I used to wear again, but there are plenty of good places to eat downtown. In general, prices are better a block or two from the water, but that's no guarantee.

I won't post on restaurant threads, but I'll tell you a few of my favs here...

1. Los Otates, 15A Avenida Sur, 0.4 mile walk from Casa Mexicana: good, cheap food in an open air cafe. We had a SB gathering there last month. Great turnout but the cafe ignored my requests to reserve a table. I nearly knocked out the lighting system moving a table, but didn't - barely.
   
2. Caribe Burger, Calle Dr Adolfo Rosado Salas, 0.3 miles from Casa Mexicana: tiny but fun open air hole in the wall with great burgers, 200 peso/$1USD tacos, etc.
   
3. La cucina italiana, Calle 6 Nte 300, 0.7 miles from Casa Mexicana: lovely restaurant open 1-5pm weekdays only with outstanding food. I had the best linguine alfredo in my long life there, small lobster tail, drink & fixings for like $12. Can't miss!

Have you booked air yet? Since you are thinking about ferrying over to Playa del Carmen anyway to dive with the bulls, you might consider a few more days on the peninsula and renting a car from a company with no or cheap drop charges at Cancun.

1. Tour Tulum ruins one morning, then drive into town, stop at the grocery on the corner with the Coba highway to buy bottled water - I take my own vacuum bottles & backpacks and buy gallons but however you want to do it, then tour Coba by bicycle that afternoon.
2. Drive to the back entrance of Chichen Itza after Coba, stay at the historic Mayaland Hotel - only $99/night with a view of the observatory, enjoy dinner in their lovely restaurant and the light show at the ruins. Do an early breakfast and tour the ruins the next morning before the tour buses arrive and ruin the place, then after lunch, drive over to Ek Balam ruins for the afternoon. All of those four sites are quite different from the others.
3. After Ek Balam, spend another night at Mayaland, or load your car that morning if everything will fit hidden in the trunk and leave for the airport and an evening flight home.

Here's more info on the ruins: Mayan Ruins Mexico: Yucatan Peninsula Mayan Ruins, Mexico - LocoGringo

 

[bradStyle]

Don, you are just a wealth. We've already got our flights down to Cancun on Dec 21st... my girlfriend's family is all flying in to spend Christmas at a resort together, but we haven't booked return flights yet (maybe we won't if the diving is that good). Thanks for all the local recommends!

 

[DandyDon]

I guess you botth have DAN dive insurance. I consider Trip insurance essential when leaving the US, too - altho DAN membership includes repatriation benefits. You'll be in norte season with regard to no diving when the port is closed as well as making ferry crossing rough. Hope you miss those.

 

[Streydog]

The beds at Casa Mexicana are a pretty big upgrade to Hotel Plaza Cozumel. Not that they are bad at Plaza, they are just nicer at Mexicana or Bahia. You will get more information on restaurants than you will have time to eat at so you had better plan it out. Eat breakfast at Casa, light snack during your SI at Playa Palancar, then lunch before a nap. Casa Cuzamil has a good daily lunch special and on their second floor they have a hammock setup that is irresistible. Last time I was there I crashed in their hammock and accidently left my wallet in it. A few hours later when I realized where I had left it I went back and they had my wallet at the bar. I had enough cash in my wallet to pay off my diving bill and it was still there.

 

[bradStyle]

@DandyDon We always travel with DAN insurance on dive trips. As far as trip insurance goes I've racked up a million and a half air miles over the years without it and only got bit once (I do occasionally get it in specific situations like trips with elders booked long in advance). If I get hit on this trip then I'll chalk what I spend to fix it up to what I would have paid out over the years. If the insurance companies are still in business then I guess the odds are in my favor, if that makes sense. LOL. But yeah, good call on the nortes, I hadn't factored that in. Hopefully if I'm diving with Aldora they've got a backup plan for that.

@Streydog Good to know about the beds, you just put all thought of HPC out of my mind. Do you know if the double beds at Bahia are fixed to the wall (or if there's a fixed night stand in between)? My GF and I are tall people and need a lot of space to sleep comfortably, but if the beds could be pushed together that could possibly work for us, and save us some dive bucks at the same time.

 

[Streydog]

The rooms I have stayed in at Bahia had a short dividing wall between the double beds. The ocean view rooms I stayed in were smaller but had a queen size bed, They have some larger ocean view rooms on the north end but I don't know how they are configured

 

[DandyDon]

As far as trip insurance goes I've racked up a million and a half air miles over the years without it and only got bit once (I do occasionally get it in specific situations like trips with elders booked long in advance).

Yes, well, as I mentioned, DAN membership includes repatriation arranged thru DAN, so you're good there. I get trip insurance mostly for the medical coverage, and then you are looking 9 months of exposure to unplanned changes. I nag my daughter about always getting trip insurance when leaving the US, then she took the cheapest option from the company I suggested, but it actually covered their extra expenses pretty well when my granddaughter lost her passport in China. Now when I nag, I remind her to get the better coverage. I think you've been to Mexico before, but as a reminder - Immigration will give you a tourist card on arrival. I always put that with my PP in a ziplock after losing the card one trip. I carry a spare PP photo and a copy of my PP information page in a separate bag, just in case. They took that advise and that helped a lot.

 

[sefuchs]

@Brad - attached is a resturant list I've created/plagerized. We get to Coz 2-3 times a year and everytime we go we find another great resturant. Don't be afraid to try the hole-in-the-wall places. We have noticed some incosistency in food quality at times, one night it is fantastic and the next it is just good!. Also it is almost impossible to keep up with all the resturants so don't expect this to be 100% correct. Our next trip is in Oct so will probably have a bunch of updates then. Any updates you find would be appreciated..

 

[Chris Owens]

@BradStyle My wife and I (also escaping the cold and rain in Portland) will be in Coz 12/29-1/5 and diving with Aldora. Hopefully we see you on or in the water!

 

[bradStyle]

@BradStyle My wife and I (also escaping the cold and rain in Portland) will be in Coz 12/29-1/5 and diving with Aldora. Hopefully we see you on or in the water!

Hey, have a great time! Our schedule changed a bit, and we're stopping off in Tulum first to do GUE Fundamentals and PADI Rescue Diver. We don't get to Cozumel until after you're gone (we arrive the 12th), but we'll be diving with Aldora from then through the end of the month. I hope they take great care of you and your weather is awesome!