Hello, Does anyone know of a good dive op in Coz that uses big spacious boats and are uw camera friendly? Other then Aquaworld as I had a really bad experience with them 3 years ago.
I really hate cramming onto small boats that don't have a camera table or even space to work with my camera gear.
I'm staying close to town in a house near the main pier and south of Hotel Zone north. I will have a rental car but still looking for an op close bye.
Thank You.
just thought I would give you some more info...
Diving Cozumel with Dive Paradise
I have heard many great things about Cozumel and diving there, so my mother and I were heading there with great anticipation to dive with Dive Paradise. Once we landed in Cancun we took the Cancun Shuttle to Playa Del Carmen which took about an hour and fifteen minutes where we had a short ferry ride over the 13 mile journey to Cozumel. There is also another option to fly directly into Cozumel from certain cities in the US, which then you only have a short taxi ride, or you can rent an inexpensive car or scooter to get you to your hotel or resort.
Cozumel is the worlds largest cruise ship port. Unlike cruise ships where you only have the day visiting Cozumel; staying on the island gives you a chance to experience the fabulous coral reefs, beautiful turquoise water, and the abundance of sightseeing, shopping and restaurant options. With a wide variety of merchandise ranging from beautiful textiles, Mexican handicrafts, fine diamonds and sterling silver jewelry to duty free perfumes and watches you are sure to find the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one at one of the many shops found on the island. The main town of Cozumel is San Miguel. It is very cute and quite busy but with its easy to walk streets and easy to find shops and restaurants it is a great place to investigate and walk around. Walking through town you can see why this is a divers haven. Cozumel has a copious amount of dive shops. Around every 4 store fronts or so is a dive shop, so as one walks around, you immediately realize that you have found a divers paradise. Not to mention all of the gift shops with as many items one could want with the divers signature red and white divers down flag on them.
In 1961 Jacques Cousteau discovered the extent and beauty of Palancar, the coral reefs at the south end of Cozumel and publicized it as one of the most beautiful scuba diving areas of the world. Cozumel is famous for its beautiful reefs and spectacular underwater marine life. This is due to the fact their extensive use and ecological importance, and that most of the reefs surrounding the island and lagoons on its south side were declared as the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park in 1996. One of the greatest threats to the beautiful reef system are tourists themselves. From over 1500 tourists a day coming through Cozumel, it is very important to dive responsibly and to pick a dive operation that also adheres to these important principals. In addition to this there is also a $20 pesos user fee for all marine protected areas to help sustain and maintain these unique and gorgeous underwater environments. The waters surrounding Cozumel are abundant with marine life. With temperate waters there are hundreds of varieties and colors of fish, hard and soft corals, sponges, crustaceans, anemones, mollusks and incredible reefs inhabit the area and which many take 500 years to regenerate. The west side of the islands boasts most of the boat diving sites. With over 27 boat diving sites around the island, and endless shore diving, there is no shortage of dive sites to fulfill your trip no matter what the length of your stay is. This side of Cozumel is also where the majority of the dive sites are located and usually just a short distance from the beautiful sandy beaches that stretch for as far as the eye can see, and generally where the water is calm. Dive operations do drift dives where divers get dropped off together as a group, they float with the current and surface where they may, and the boat picks them up. The diving is usually very effortless with currents 1-2 knots and thus you dont need to worry too much about navigation and getting back to the boat. With these constant currents you can expect visibility to be upwards of 100 to 150 with water temps ranging 74 degrees to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Whereas on the east coast side of the island, it generally has waters that have breakers and undertows which make diving a little more challenging. Many great restaurants and other attractions such as the Mayan ruins are also located on the east side and the best way to enjoy these sites is either by renting a car or scooter. Personally I feel the best deals are located at the all inclusive resorts such as the Hotel Cozumel and Resort where my mother and I had a great opportunity to stay. Apple from Dive Paradise has spectacular deals with diving and the all inclusive resort at phenomenal prices. Dive Paradise has 4 convenient locations to serve you no matter where you are staying. One of their locations is directly across from the Hotel Cozumel and Resort. There they have 150 lockers for your dive gear so you dont have to take it back and forth. They have a gorgeous white sandy beach area with lounge chairs and a couple areas to easily enter the water for snorkeling, beach dives, and/or training. Dive Paradise offers 2 morning boat dives, 2 afternoon boat dives, and one boat dive at 3pm, so no matter what your schedule you can dive every day. One of our favorite dives was the Palancar Bricks. It has tall pinnacles of coral and amazing swim-throughs as far as one can swim. The topography of the coral was truly breathtaking with its pinnacles rising from the sandy bottom upwards of 80 to 100 feet. Palancar has some of the most gorgeous reefs we have ever seen. The marine life was also just as breathtaking. With many turtles, Groupers, Nurse sharks, lobsters, diverse fish, and Cozumels infamous indigenous toadfish, there was no lack of beautiful and exciting marine life. Dive Paradise has 11 boats to make sure all divers get to dive and that all can have the diversity of the diving offered on Cozumel. Their boats are some of, if not, the cleanest boats I have ever been on. The area around the dive shop is also spotless. With convenient and clean rinse tanks to easy hanging drying racks, you will feel as though this is the closest resort to a livaboard you can get. From the moment you meet the people working at Dive Paradises locations, to the Divemasters, Captains, and crew, you see how easy and effortless your dive vacation is going to be. Dive Paradise can accommodate and take care of anyone from around the world with their multilingual staff. They are there to ensure you have a safe and wonderful dive vacation. I have met and talked with numerous people who have visited Cozumel countless times, and now I can understand why. With the ease of getting there from the states, and the fabulous prices for staying, shopping, activities, and the addictive, and so many numerous dive sites, one can easily see why so many people return time and time again to Cozumel.
There is so much to do and see in Cozumel and staying as long as you possibly can, will benefit you to be able to see and do everything. In addition to scuba diving there are many shore excursions and other water activities to keep you busy. From dune buggies, all terrain vehicle tours, horseback riding, touring Mayan temples, shopping, hiking, renting scooters, Dolphin encounters, yacht and lobster cruises, bus tours, snorkeling, snuba, Sea Trek, deep sea fishing, diving and snorkeling in the caves, parasailing, and golf, there is surely an activity to occupy everyone in your group or family. I highly recommend Cozumel for your next diving vacation and I definitely recommend looking into the all inclusive packages for the best dive deals around. You are sure to feel you got your moneys worth and experienced some of the best diving in the world.
