Cozumel Show and Tell. Advice for diving/hotel por favor?

[DandyDon]

Is March a busy time in Cozumel?

I was there in March 2 or 3 years ago. It was nice. I don't go in December, but I can't imagine Coz being too busy any other time of the year. Besides, it's very rare that your boat will drop you will you may run into another group. It's probably late enough to not incur any northers and early enough to not get caught in Texas weather delays, altho we have those year 'round to some degree. San Antonio got hit by a tornado last night, but the odds are in your favor.

 

[joewr]

I’ve read the threads… Still would love some Insider tips on dive ops and accomodations please? I Almost horned in on the "who to dive with" and "solo diver" threads but thought that might be rude. Hope this is OK!

I am planning a solo trip to Cozumel for next March 2012. I've done some research on Cozumel and read through these threads and tripadvisor etcetera, and my head is spinning. Aldora sounds like an amazing operation, but so does Blue XTsea and some others. Do these ops take people to cenotes? Is that like a 10 hour excursion and totally unrealistic? My ideal stay is 10-days with tons of cozumel dives and a centote dive. Smaller groups preferred. I’d rather stay in one place the whole time. I'm an intermediate diver (~50 dives, Advanced open water cert). No drift dives yet. I can carry/set up my own gear but I'm lazy and also don’t mind having it set for me.

In terms of accomodations, Again, I'm very lazy, and I like to roll out of bed and saunter to the dock. Don't want to rent a car, want to be ocean front in a beautiful setting in a room with a view. would love to stay in a place where I could just dive, then hang out, snorkel out front or nearby, don't need nightlife or to be right in town but do need easily accessible food/drink...
I loved Kona Tiki Hotel in Kona, I loved Banarama in Roatan, so if anyone has been to those places and knows of comparable moderately priced places you can also dive from with a good op that meets all my princess needs? Any thoughts on staying at Blue Angel or Villa Aldora? Vs. staying elsewhere and having a dive op pic me up?

Thanks in advance!!!

If you do not mind being a long way from town,try the Fiesta Americana. It has nice rooms, a good restaurant, and the dock is right there. Now here is a definite highlight: it has its own lagoon and a dive shop on site so you can hop into lagoon with a rented tank anytime you feel like it. There are also cleaning tanks and lockers you can use post-dive.

You want to go into town? The taxis are always there...and cheap...

As for dive boats, we like Fernando Gonzales' Mantaraya: he has a nice 6-pack and will pick you up right at the Fiesta's dock. Click on the word "history" below and you can read about Mantaraya:

history

If you are a first time drift diver, he is super: just let him know and you will get TLC and he won't make a big deal about it!


joewr...Ah, the warm waters of Cozumel Island...Paradise calls...

 

[djdande]

Aldora Divers, my opinion, is the best...been diving with Memo for 5 + years and staying at the Bahia....clean rooms, not fancy, around 40 to 60 bucks a night, and across the street from the pier where Aldora boat picks you up..and 3 blocks from the main square and restaurants...My brother and I will be there Oct 16 thru 22...