Dive schedules to work with one day visit using ferry

[bdombrowski]

I haven't been to Coz in 10 years. Going to be on mainland first week of Aug and have time budget to spend one day in Coz.

I recall most dive shops run just early morning trips. I need to rely on the ferry, thus a later morning or afternoon boat trip is ideal. Any recent recos for operators who run such trips?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Christi]

If

I haven't been to Coz in 10 years. Going to be on mainland first week of Aug and have time budget to spend one day in Coz.

I recall most dive shops run just early morning trips. I need to rely on the ferry, thus a later morning or afternoon boat trip is ideal. Any recent recos for operators who run such trips?

Thanks,
Brian

you have at least 2 people, I will run an afternoon trip for you.

 

[SeaDreaming]

Blue Angel runs trips several times a day, so you might check with them.

 

[lionfish-eater]

Take the early ferry and you won't have a problem. You might even get 3 or 4 dives in in one day if you do.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Looks like the first ferry to Cozumel is 6:30. Assuming you wanted to be up at the butt crack of dawn on vacation to get to the ferry pier in time, you could probably catch any dive op that leaves at 8. I have not dove with Christi (yet) but have no reservation recommending Blue XTSea as one of the top dive ops on the island. If your schedule will work or you can find extra divers, you won't be disappointed.

We dive Aldora for the steel 120 tanks and they will run a late afternoon dive with one being a twilight dive, the other being a night dove. Those have to be booked in advance though and may be dependent on a minimum number of divers. I believe they do guaranteed night dives on certain nights as well, but check with them. Aldora leaves their downtown pier about a block away from the ferry pier at 7:30(ish....it's Mexico). In theory....you could catch the Aldora boat if you did the paperwork in advance by email. The ferry usually takes around 45 minutes and you would want to be one of the first off and have your bag with you. Time for rental equipment might be tight for sizing issues, But if you only needed tanks and weights, it would be easy. We have waited 10-15 minutes for late divers many times before at the doc...never though twice about it.

I have dove with Blue Magic and they left their shop at 8ish. They paid for the taxi to get to the boat. Their shop is a few blocks from the ferry pier so that might work as well. Great shop and they have aluminum 100s available as an option too if you wanted to extend your dive times. (I like big tanks) Blue Magic felt like diving with family.

Tres Pelicanos has a large following here, and their shop is downtown, but I don't know what their schedule is or how you get to the boat. They have lots of fans on here for a reason.

My experience with the dive ops we have dove with in Coz is that the operators will do almost anything to accommodate a reasonable request. A 15 minute wait to depart won't ruin anyone's dive if needed. The key would be good communication and maybe a text or call once you were on the ferry to verify you were on the way.

Send the dive op of your choice an email with your needs and I'm sure you find something that works. We have around 80 dives in Cozumel and have never had a bad experience....even the less than perfect dives were great!!

Good luck, safe travels!
Jay

 

[Milkman670]

Mexico Blue Dream in PDC runs a fast boat across for 2 dives. Must book a couple days ahead for a spot.

 

[Brodydog]

Tres Pelicanos runs afternoon trips if you let them know ahead of time. I can't remember if they require 2 or 3 people for an afternoon trip but give Jeanie a call and ask. Scuba Diving Cozumel -Dive Packages-Top Rated Cozumel Dive Shop

The shop is an easy walk, about 2 blocks, from the ferry pier. You walk or taxi over with your gear to the shop and then they will transport you to the boat and back.

 

[deepsea21]

3P's runs morning and afternoon dive trips. Morning trips leave from the shop in town at about 7:40AM with courtesy transport to the marina and back (a 10 minute walk from the ferry terminal) and they will have you back in town at the shop usually around 12:30-1:00PM. PM trips leave from the shop as well but I can't comment on times as I'm an AM diver. Tough to tell if there will be enough divers in August for many ops to run afternoon trips unless they have already booked some afternoon dives on their schedules. If you contact Jeanie through 3P's website she can tell you more about their schedule, your date, and how you can fit into it. Personally, I'd look to get to bed early and grab the earliest ferry that can to get the island by 7:30am so you can grab 3P's AM trip with courtesy transport to and fro the marina and be back in town very early afternoon to depart the island at your leisure.

 

[gopbroek]

When I can get down for a weekend trip I will normally fly into Cancun on Saturday evening and stay in a cheap room downtown. I take the first bus to Playa and catch the 6:45 ferry. Into Cozumel around 7:20 and a short walk to Tres Pelicanos by 0730 to catch the 8AM boat.
I do this routine about a half a dozen times a year. If starting out of Playa, no problems just catch the 6:45 ferry. If starting out of Cancun it is still pretty easy if you catch the 0500 ADO bus. The 0500 goes to the new station about 8 blocks from the pier but it is a quick, cheap taxi ride to the pier / old bus station.
For the ferry I normally use Barcos Caribe since it is 30MXN cheaper but since last fall their schedule seems to be slipping. Often the bicyclists and locals use it because of it being cheaper than Waterjets or Ultramar but the bicyclists seem to arrive late with their bikes which delays the departure by about 10 minutes.
If you plan to catch the morning boat a couple tips:
1) Maintain good communication with your dive OP and if you have phone service make sure they have your # and comunicate if you are going to be delayed.
2) Obtain a release before hand and email it to them prior with copies of your certs.
3) If you need equipment let them know prior so that it will be available.

 

[Brules]

Christi will take care of you! Dove with several ferry visitors when I was there in June and diving with her!!!!!!