Cozumel mid december, need advice/reccomendations

[squee!]

Hi everyone,

I am making my first ever trip to Cozumel this december with my girlfriend who is just getting certified. I used to live in Puerto Rico and dove every weekend. I got decompression sickness about 3 years ago and haven't dove since. Naturally I am excited to get my feet wet again. I searched through the forums and the stickies and read quite a bit about Cozumel already. What I would like to do is get my girlfriends referral dives to complete her certification there and then go diving for a few days. We'll probably do some land based activities as well. When i first started into this sport/hobby, I dove on a lot of cattle boats, and I like to avoid that as much as possible. We are both medical students and so we are on a budget. What I'd like to hear are suggestions as to where is a decent place to stay that has some beach access (night access too!) and a recommended dive op where we won't have to be on a cattle boat, however, we aren't looking for a lot of expensive amenities, just smaller boats.

All suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

 

[Debbie O]

Let me be the first to say "Welcome back to SCUBA" . By mid-December Cozumel is building up to it's busiest season, so it's good to make your plans soon. You've come to the right place to learn oh so much about what your choices are. Many smaller shops as you described that will make your dives memorable. Have fun planning and enjoy your well deserved vacation.

 

[rje634]

Something you may want to check into. Seeing that you've been treated for DCS in the past you may need a waiver sign by you're doctor stating that you are OK to dive. When filling out the release waiver that ever dive op makes you fill out if you say yes to anything on that sheet a doctor's written OK is required.
Just something to check out, it would be ashame to not be able to dive because you didn't have it.

As far as recommendations a little more information for you would be helpful, such as budget, what your looking for in a resort (beach, pool, AI all-inclusive, close to town, etc). That said we are partial to Blue XT~Sea Diving, which has dive and hotel packages that are pretty reasonable.
I'm sure other will chime in with their preferred operators.
Have a great time, the diving in Coz is tremendous!!

 

[ggunn]

Hi everyone,

I am making my first ever trip to Cozumel this december with my girlfriend who is just getting certified. I used to live in Puerto Rico and dove every weekend. I got decompression sickness about 3 years ago and haven't dove since. Naturally I am excited to get my feet wet again. I searched through the forums and the stickies and read quite a bit about Cozumel already. What I would like to do is get my girlfriends referral dives to complete her certification there and then go diving for a few days. We'll probably do some land based activities as well. When i first started into this sport/hobby, I dove on a lot of cattle boats, and I like to avoid that as much as possible. We are both medical students and so we are on a budget. What I'd like to hear are suggestions as to where is a decent place to stay that has some beach access (night access too!) and a recommended dive op where we won't have to be on a cattle boat, however, we aren't looking for a lot of expensive amenities, just smaller boats.

All suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

Check out Hotel Caribe Blu and the (on site) Blue Angel dive shop (Caribe Blue Hotel & Diving Resort). The hotel is small, but clean and quiet, and there is water access and free tanks for shore diving. Blue Angel is a no-frills operation, with small fast boats and great DM's. Both the hotel and dive shop are very reasonably priced. I recommend them both from personal experience.

 

[Diver Kat]

We are both medical students and so we are on a budget. What I'd like to hear are suggestions as to where is a decent place to stay that has some beach access (night access too!) and a recommended dive op where we won't have to be on a cattle boat, however, we aren't looking for a lot of expensive amenities, just smaller boats.

Gordon beat me to the post, but I'd second his recommendation of Caribe Blu & Blue Angel ... They do decent priced package deals (see link below.) Although I haven't used the instructors there myself, I have heard good things about them.

:: Blue Angel Dive Shop ::

 

[116fire]

I'll be there also. Aldora--great hotel, dive operation. Take a look at their web site. Be sure to do a night dive. Get some dive insurence. There are two chambers on Coz, I'm sure you won't need them, but just in case.

 

[tommydz]

if you are concerned with the dcs, you may want to burn nitrox and keep the diving on the shallow side. good luck.

 

[squee!]

Thanks for all the great suggestions!
I looked through the websites of some of those dive ops and I was wondering how to do my girlfriend's referral dives and saw that the aldora group states that the referrals are small sessions before a regular reef dive, (i.e. it is rolled into a typical reef dive). That method sounds really great for our situation so that I'm not stuck waiting for a couple days while she finishes up. Does anyone know if any of the other dive ops mentioned do their referral dives in a similar fashion?


I really appreciate all of your comments and suggestions! Keep them comming! We will probably be there the week prior to christmas (i.e. the 15th-22nd).

 

[csky217]

The Barracuda Hotel is cheap, close to town, and right on the water. No actual beach, but there is a sandy area and outdoor bar plus entry into the water.

For ultra-cheap you might want to check out Hotel Pepia or Suites Bahia downtown. No beach, no pool, good rooms, good price ($40/night).

I love Raul at Bottom Time Divers, but I did a night dive with Blue Angel and they have a good operation. I also did an afternoon dive with Dive Paradise (shop near the Barracuda) which seemed like a good operation but most definitely not a six-pack.

Have a good trip -- got to enjoy those med school vacations before you start residency!

 

[ggunn]

Thanks for all the great suggestions!
I looked through the websites of some of those dive ops and I was wondering how to do my girlfriend's referral dives and saw that the aldora group states that the referrals are small sessions before a regular reef dive, (i.e. it is rolled into a typical reef dive). That method sounds really great for our situation so that I'm not stuck waiting for a couple days while she finishes up. Does anyone know if any of the other dive ops mentioned do their referral dives in a similar fashion?

She might consider doing her checkout dives elsewhere if she can so she would arrive at Cozumel ready to dive. It would be cheaper, too, and if conditions where she would do them are not as ideal as they are at Cozumel, so much the better to expand her comfort zone. I did my checkout dives in Lake Travis with water temp about 65 and viz about 15 feet. Two weeks later at Cozumel I was ready to do some real diving.