First Timer Advice

[LimitedSlip7]

I'm planning on taking a week long trip sometime in February-April next year and Cozumel looks promising, although I have a few questions. I've only been to a few places in the Caribbean including DR, St John, and Roatan. I just got my OW cert in Roatan earlier this year and AOW cert in a local quarry a month ago but only have 9 dives. Would that be a factor in location?

I would be going with my non-diving, but snorkeling, girlfriend; are there any resorts/hotels/condos with a beach that also has good shore snorkeling? I'm probably only going to be able to do 6-8 dives so I would like to find a place that has easily accessible snorkeling for us. Preferably not in a location with strong currents.

I'm not really a big fan of AI's but if that is what checks most of the boxes I'm fine with it. As long as I can go into town a few times to get some decent food. I would also prefer to avoid cruiseship crowds if I can (as well as the constant haggling of beach vendors that come with them).

Is a car rental a good idea to explore the island and try other snorkeling sites?

Thanks!

 

[Diver Dave1]

If you are willing to put up with a 60-90 minute timeshare presentation, you can get the car rental for free. We did that the last time we were at COZ. Best snorkeling I know of is at Chankanaab Beach. Was there long ago and had many fish close to the surface. Coral was ~15-20 ft down but high viz. There was no current there when I visited.
Perhaps someone can speak about it that has been there more recently.

I did my first dive trip to Coz and had no issues with my limited experience. Just make a point of staying with your group. If you get out into the current and they do not, you could drift away from your group. Its not hard, just check on your group regularly.

Watch your depth! First dive in, the guide warned us to stay at his depth or less and stay above 80 ft. In the first 3 minutes, 2 people dropped to ~100 ft or more due to the great clarity and lack of attention. Dive guide banging his tank got them back up.

I find having a car is great for exploring and always get one wherever we go diving.

 

[ReefHound]

Cozumel is an excellent destination for beginner divers. Drift diving is really easy. Fall off the boat, drift with the group, and the boat is there when you come up. In other words, you don't have to worry about finding the boat, the boat finds you.

The western shore of Cozumel is mostly an ironshore wall. The hotels along the shore usually have a beach area but it's not really what passes for a beach by most standards. You have to get one of the resorts at the southern end (mostly AI) to get a true sandy gently sloping beach where you can walk into the water. Even there, the beaches have a lot of rocks. So here's the thing. Beaches don't make for good snorkeling. Rocky walls do. Your best snorkeling would be one of the hotels near town.

As for car rental, it's a great idea up until it becomes the worst idea ever. Having a car lets you explore the island better but comes with a lot of risks, some of them quite serious. The east side is not to be missed and hiring a taxi to take you there and bring you back will be a lot more than a rental car for a day, but having a major wreck or getting a DWI in a rental car will be a lot more than probably your next ten vacations. Traffic can be heavy, the rules of the road are different and sometimes non-existent. Parking can be scarce. It really depends on your experience driving in foreign countries, your tolerance for risk, and your general anxiety.

Taxis are abundant. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a taxi so you'll always be able to get around. And they are relatively cheap, usually $5-10 to anywhere in town. My advice is to forgo car rental your first time there. After you've been there a few trips, know the layout of the island, have a feel for how traffic operates, maybe then.

 

[deepsea21]

February through April is open? Skip February and March and go in April - 'Nuf said about that.

Non-diving girlfriend but wants to skin dive? Hmmm... Any chance you can get her classes and in-pool training completed before you go so she can do her OW check-out dives with you in Coz? PADI classes make a great X-mas gift! If not check with some dive ops and see how April looks for room on the boats (I've never been in April)... Perhaps you find one that will let her tag along on the boat for free that spends surface intervals at one of the beach clubs so she'd get an hour of snorkeling in with you during the SI yet she gets to hang out and catch rays on the boat while you're diving.

Where to stay? In-town. My GF (now wife) started in town as we both can't stand AI's and continue to stay in town. Check out the Casa Mexicana. Worst case if you are going to be diving you can be up and out early and back in town before 12:30PM. She sleeps in, wakes up late, has a late breakfast at the buffet and you're back to spend the rest of the day walking about or grabbing a cab to a beach club for all the snorkeling she can stand. The best part of staying in town is the best food and drink is at your feet... Too many great places from which to chose. I wouldn't select accommodations based on whether it has a beach or not. Beaches will have you far from town for the most part and they stink in my opinion compared to probably every beach you've been to elsewhere. Natural wide, soft, sandy postcard-quality beaches aren't found in Cozumel - the sand is generally trucked in and once you wade out a bit you reach sharp coral rubble

Rent a car? Not worth it. Sounds like a good idea until you do it and then that thing feels like an iron ball chained to your ankle. Where to park it? Did I drink too much? Where "did" I park it? What is that scratch going to cost me? - it is just hassle. Cabs throughout town if you don't want to walk it to the furthest restaurants will run you less than $3 each way inside the downtown zones. Cabs to and from a distant beach club for the afternoon will cost less than a car would for the day. Again, who needs the hassle?

 

[DjDiverDan]

Go with your gut on AI - Cozumel is NOT the place for AI UNLESS: (a) you have small children that you want to leave at the resort to fend for themselves, or (b) you intend to get your money's worth at the bar by drinking nonstop during waking hours, or (c) you just want to chill at the resort and never expend the energy to see any of the rest of Cozumel. For me, Cozumel has three great draws: (1) incredible diving - warm water, great visability, vibrant life, incredible coral structure, and a very friendly current that does 90% of the work for you (man, I LOVE drift diving, the most relaxing trip there is - fall off the boat, adjust bouyancy, let the current carry you lovingly over the reef, let the boat come to you when you surface, it is the perfect lazy man's dive trip!); (2) a wealth of great and very reasonably priced restaurants, with a wide variety of cuisines, and in every budget category; and (3) incredibly warm and friendly people. You'll miss out on two of those three staying at an AI on Cozumel.

As to where to stay, as noted above, the only resorts with anything close to a big natural beach are all way south and AIs. I enjoy staying downtown, but if you are looking for more of a "resort" feel, there are places south of town, like Hotel Cozumel (HUGE pool area, nice rooms, very comfortable, DO NOT DO THE AI OPTION - when I was there the food was terrible; breakfast only option works well), Blue Angel, Casa Del Mar, La Cieba/El Cid, that are either easy walks to town for meals, or reasonable taxi rides. I think that a taxi ride from Casa Del Mar to town ("Centro") is 80 pesos (IMPORTANT TIP - ALWAYS CHANGE CURRENCY AND ALWAYS PAY FOR TAXIS IN PESOS!), which is about $5 US at current exchange rates. It's walkable, but it's a hike.

 

[ReefHound]

February through April is open? Skip February and March and go in April - 'Nuf said about that.

What's your basis for this advice? Especially since you say you've never been in April. I've been every month except January. You run a slight risk of a norte but the water only varies a few degrees cooler from summer to "winter" and topside temps are not cold. You won't sweat your ---- off but it's still shorts and t-shirt weather. Carnival is in Feb, Cozumel's implementation of Mardi Gras.

 

[nwflyboy]

Excellent advice from DjDiverDan above - Hotel Cozumel is a good choice. Forget the AI!!

And consider - carefully - if your SO might have any interest in getting certified. You have time to accomplish it, and doing so would resolve this issue, which will only grow with the passage of time.

Good luck.

 

[ggunn]

February through April is open? Skip February and March and go in April - 'Nuf said about that.

Why would you say that? I've been in January and I had a great time.

 

[nodakdive]

Casa del Mar might fit your bill. It's not AI, though you can pay for AI if you'd like. I think it's $42 per person, per day. The snorkeling there is pretty good as far as shore snorkeling goes. Ocean access is easy and there's a nice little bart/restaurant right next to the dock called Tikila that has showers and easy ocean access. There are manmade fish/coral structures northwest of the dock between the dock and the moored Fury catamarans. I think the cab to town is 90 pesos now. If you book a room, make sure you upgrade from the standard room. Those rooms don't have balconies, and you'll want a balcony if you're diving, or even if you're not.

 

[LimitedSlip7]

I don't think I'm going to be able to talk her into it. I've even tried to get her to just do a pool DSD and offered to pay for her OW cert. Not sure how she would do with it as I've seen her start to panic when caught in a mild current just snorkeling. Sure would make vacation planning easier though...