Finally Get to Go to Cancun / Cozumel

[divingjd]

Yea, the Westin allows the use of Marriott points, but I booked the Villa - so, nice mention. We got the last room, one of the courtyard rooms. Do they have nitrox? They said that we won't be there for night dives and mentioned we could do night dives from shore. How are the shore dives there at the villa?



I'll definitely put those on my list, thank you.

The tanks at the Villa are all air. You’ll be diving in 15 feet of water or less, so it doesn’t make much difference. The dive is pretty good. It’s an ironshore mini-wall. Lots of sponges and stuff on the wall, but not much coral. Lots of concrete rubble from past storms, which makes pretty good habitat. Lots of fish, particularly juveniles, and other critters. Tow a float. I always enjoy it. It’s easy and you can spend a lot of time poking around looking for little things.

The courtyard rooms are nice. I’ve stayed in them before.

 

[George Monnat Jr]

I've never done it as it looks like a gimmick. A high quality gimmick maybe, but Cozumel reefs and Tulum cenotes are both so much better.

Too bad. If you had a couple of weeks, you could dive Coz for a week, dive cenotes a couple of days, tour mainland (peninsula actually) ruins, and more. So many possibilities around. Cancun gets most of the tourists, but I only go there for the airport and my dentist. You'll just have to keep going back again and again, like many of us do.

The Westin is way up north by the golf course, isn't it? Who are you diving with? Google maps shows it's 2 miles from Aldora if it has the locations right. Quite a ways from town, and I've heard that taxis are scarce up there - which includes the risk of some drivers overcharging because no one else is around. You may want to rent a car, but if you do - there are several cautions to share. Several risks.

I got a room at the Villa Aldora and will dive with them, so no museum or Cancun dives. I believe we'll definitely make the trip multiple times (I should have a birthday every year ), especially since I can use SW points for the direct flight from Austin. I saw the Westin looked pretty far from everything. Thank you for the confirmation.

The tanks at the Villa are all air. You’ll be diving in 15 feet of water or less, so it doesn’t make much difference. The dive is pretty good. It’s an ironshore mini-wall. Lots of sponges and stuff on the wall, but not much coral. Lots of concrete rubble from past storms, which makes pretty good habitat. Lots of fish, particularly juveniles, and other critters. Tow a float. I always enjoy it. It’s easy and you can spend a lot of time poking around looking for little things.

The courtyard rooms are nice. I’ve stayed in them before.

Thank you again for the info.

 

[Snoweman]

Make sure to dive Palancar Horseshoe. I think that's my favorite dive in CZM.

 

[divingjd]

I got a room at the Villa Aldora and will dive with them, so no museum or Cancun dives. I believe we'll definitely make the trip multiple times (I should have a birthday every year ), especially since I can use SW points for the direct flight from Austin. I saw the Westin looked pretty far from everything. Thank you for the confirmation.



Thank you again for the info.

De nada. Enjoy! Let us know if you need anything else.

 

[DandyDon]

I got a room at the Villa Aldora and will dive with them

Ah, not at the Westin. Ok, if you're staying & diving with them, that'll make all of that work easily. It's over a mile to the downtown plaza, but you're probably young enough to not be bothered by such, and cabs are more common in that area south of the northern marina I think. My Op took me into the northern marina one day last trip to pickup something. My CO monitor I use for tank testing got excited with all of the boat engines around.

Ever traveled to Mexico before? Here are a few rules I try to enforce on myself and family...
(1) Never lose your passport and tourist card. My daughter & granddaughter had to extend a trip to China after a failure with that, and it took a lot of get them back home.
(2) Carry a copy of passport and spare PP photo in a ziplock in a different bag. At least they had those.
(3) Good trip insurance anytime you leave the US, mostly for the medical coverage and in case of emergencies we can get people back, dead or alive.
(4) Use your ATM card to get pesos from a bank owned ATM, never the other ATMs, but don't forget to let your bank know you will be using cards in Mexico.
(5) I presume you already have DAN dive insurance.

Cozumel island is a great destination, relatively safe, and Chief's van guy he messages you about is great for the land travel. Allow for Murphy's Law tho in everything.

 

[George Monnat Jr]

Thank you for the additional info. I've been to the two extreme border towns (which I don't consider truly Mexico) and all over Asia. Yep we have DAN, and the PP copy is a great idea. I have USAA for bank, and I'm pretty sure they'll reimburse any ATM fees (because they have so few ATMs), but I don't know about exchange rates.

Is the walk to the downtown plaza lit and safe (including steady terrain)?

 

[Dogbowl]

Thank you for the additional info. I've been to the two extreme border towns (which I don't consider truly Mexico) and all over Asia. Yep we have DAN, and the PP copy is a great idea. I have USAA for bank, and I'm pretty sure they'll reimburse any ATM fees (because they have so few ATMs), but I don't know about exchange rates.

Is the walk to the downtown plaza lit and safe (including steady terrain)?

It's a long walk. Better bike or cab it. Villa Aldora provides bikes.

 

[George Monnat Jr]

Bikes, brilliant.

 

[horn34]

Getting pesos out of an ATM will give you that day or the prior days current exchange rate. If you get ATM fees reimbursed, your only fee will be the foreign transaction fee that USAA charges, usually 3%. No avoiding that unless you have an awesome debit card (like Schwab Bank) that reimburses ATM fees and has no forex fees.

If you don't have a credit card that waives forex fees, you should get one. That will save you some money on stuff you charge (villa rental, diving, etc).

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Bikes, brilliant.

The Villa Aldora is exactly 3/4 mile to town. And yes we do provide very nice bikes for our guests, along with the necessary bike locks.

On the other hand many guests walk into town, it is quite pleasant walk, then after dinner take a $5 taxi ride back.

I am sure you will enjoy it, thanks for trusting in us.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers