dive paridise or papahogs??????
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IMO... of the two Papa Hog's is the best choice. I've never been impressed with Dive Paradise.
Lisa Boggs
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My husband and I used Papa Hogs in November 2001 and we thought they were fantastic. They only do 6 pack dives, and most of our dives were no more than 2-5 divers. The dive masters were great able to find the smallest sea horses, frog fish etc.
Each dive WE chose our dive location (Santa Rosa Wall, Palancar, Villa Blanca Wall etc). And, we only had dives with people of the same experience level.
Dive Paradise went out every morning packed like a true cattleboat. I cannot imagine that you would receive the same detailed care. True, Paradise is cheaper, but both my husband and myself were very satisfied with Papa Hogs.
Each dive WE chose our dive location (Santa Rosa Wall, Palancar, Villa Blanca Wall etc). And, we only had dives with people of the same experience level.
Dive Paradise went out every morning packed like a true cattleboat. I cannot imagine that you would receive the same detailed care. True, Paradise is cheaper, but both my husband and myself were very satisfied with Papa Hogs.
Natasha
Contributor
I just got back from Cozumel and used Dive Paradise.
I can't say enough good things about them.
The divemasters were excellent.
The boats were well kept up and clean. Ours had a head on it, a nice platform, a ladder, and a canopy. There are also "fast boats" that do not have these luxuries, but we all wanted a head. They gave us a full lunch everyday between dives.
One day was a tuna sandwich, one a cheese and ham, and so on ... they also included an orange, banana, and apple on each plate. Not just one of those fruits, all three on each plate.
They had a big gallon of bottled water, and tons of soft drinks to choose from.
The owner, " Apple" was always available to talk to, and always there. The woman is incredible. She works more hours then anyone I know.
I give them an A+ and will always use them when I go to Cozumel.
I can't say enough good things about them.
The divemasters were excellent.
The boats were well kept up and clean. Ours had a head on it, a nice platform, a ladder, and a canopy. There are also "fast boats" that do not have these luxuries, but we all wanted a head. They gave us a full lunch everyday between dives.
One day was a tuna sandwich, one a cheese and ham, and so on ... they also included an orange, banana, and apple on each plate. Not just one of those fruits, all three on each plate.
They had a big gallon of bottled water, and tons of soft drinks to choose from.
The owner, " Apple" was always available to talk to, and always there. The woman is incredible. She works more hours then anyone I know.
I give them an A+ and will always use them when I go to Cozumel.
FriscoScuba
Registered
Hi,
I too had the big question of who to dive with and settled with Papa Hogs. As a new diver, it was very important to be with a small operation and I can tell you first hand, that is exactly what I got. My boyfriend and I just got back a couple of weeks ago and we dove with Papa Hog's for 3 days and had a blast. I am a new diver and we only had 4 divers total in our group and dove sites that weren't too challenging and that we chose. Margaret, one of the owners, is very attentive to newbies and I did a refresher course my first day with a private instructor. Afterwards when I went out on a 2 tank trip the next day, she told our DM (Tony) to keep an extra eye out for me since I was so inexperienced. He kept checking up on me and it was fabulous. saw rays and the biggest lobsters ever! Fast boats too.
THe only drawback is that you are missing the luxury and maybe some comfort of the bigger boats but I didn't mind. It was a quick trip. I too considered Dive Paradise since the price was right but looking out my balcony in the mornings that I didn't dive and seeing those boats loaded with sometimes up to 18 divers, it was a little too much. Natasha sounds like she had a good experience though which is great but she also had an organized group so that might had made it more effecient (she organized the entire trip I believe).
Good luck and have fun.
I too had the big question of who to dive with and settled with Papa Hogs. As a new diver, it was very important to be with a small operation and I can tell you first hand, that is exactly what I got. My boyfriend and I just got back a couple of weeks ago and we dove with Papa Hog's for 3 days and had a blast. I am a new diver and we only had 4 divers total in our group and dove sites that weren't too challenging and that we chose. Margaret, one of the owners, is very attentive to newbies and I did a refresher course my first day with a private instructor. Afterwards when I went out on a 2 tank trip the next day, she told our DM (Tony) to keep an extra eye out for me since I was so inexperienced. He kept checking up on me and it was fabulous. saw rays and the biggest lobsters ever! Fast boats too.
THe only drawback is that you are missing the luxury and maybe some comfort of the bigger boats but I didn't mind. It was a quick trip. I too considered Dive Paradise since the price was right but looking out my balcony in the mornings that I didn't dive and seeing those boats loaded with sometimes up to 18 divers, it was a little too much. Natasha sounds like she had a good experience though which is great but she also had an organized group so that might had made it more effecient (she organized the entire trip I believe).
Good luck and have fun.
Natasha
Contributor
FriscoScuba:
Yes, my group was 12 divers and 2 non divers. We had our own boat the whole time. We always went out a bit later then most of the boats, so the dive spots we picked wouldn't be loaded with other divers at the same time. This worked out well. We were the only divers at the sites we picked. I did see Papa Hogs boats and several other dive operators boats. I don't really think there is a Bad Dive Op in Cozumel. If there was, they wouldn't last long. I counted 40 dive operators in Cozumel in the phone book. I'm sure there are even more then that that are not listed.
The thing about Dive Paradise that I like the best is that they own 12 boats. This way you will find some with less divers on them, some dedicated to groups, and some with a miss mash too I guess. But with 12 boats, if some are out of service, you're still guaranteed a trip. Others that don't have as many boats can be out of business for a short time if one or two of their boats are down.
Anyway, glad you had specialized service and a good time. We did too!
Yes, my group was 12 divers and 2 non divers. We had our own boat the whole time. We always went out a bit later then most of the boats, so the dive spots we picked wouldn't be loaded with other divers at the same time. This worked out well. We were the only divers at the sites we picked. I did see Papa Hogs boats and several other dive operators boats. I don't really think there is a Bad Dive Op in Cozumel. If there was, they wouldn't last long. I counted 40 dive operators in Cozumel in the phone book. I'm sure there are even more then that that are not listed.
The thing about Dive Paradise that I like the best is that they own 12 boats. This way you will find some with less divers on them, some dedicated to groups, and some with a miss mash too I guess. But with 12 boats, if some are out of service, you're still guaranteed a trip. Others that don't have as many boats can be out of business for a short time if one or two of their boats are down.
Anyway, glad you had specialized service and a good time. We did too!
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