Great Dive Combo: Xcalak and Cozumel

[ScubaBackpacker]

Recently wrapped up my first two weeks of diving at Cozumel and Xcalak, 10 dives in each place. Everyone here was so helpful with info. provided for a Cozumel first-timer, I thought you might like a report.
Flew into Cancun and after a wait of ten minutes or so caught the ADO bus for about $10 . Walked 2 or 3 blocks to the Cozumel ferry, bought a ticket for $5, and 10-15 minutes later the ferry was underway. Orlando airport to my hotel room was about 6 hours.
Cozumel: As a first-timer, the number of hotels, restaurants, bars , and dive shops here seemed overwhelming. 80 or more dive shops, scores if not hundreds of restaurants and hotels, and I've heard an average of 2,000 divers a day. Fortunately, with the help of folks here at scuba board, I had arranged a dive shop/hotel package in advance that worked out well, i.e. comfortable hotel with a good breakfast and a dive shop that got to the reefs early with a small group, all at reasonable cost. What struck me(a rusty diver that took 25 years off until last year) particularly about the diving was: the number of turtles - at least one on almost every dive and 5 or 6 on one dive; the schools of fish and some sizable individual fish; one site that had scores of lobster on it, one of which was probably the largest I've ever seen; the relatively good visibility, the various types of swim-throughs, and the currents.
Then took the bus to the Mayan Museum(I highly recommend it) in Chetumal to dry out a bit and then to Xcalak by bus. Xcalak is in many ways the opposite of Cozumel: one active dive shop, 3 or 4 places to eat, and relatively few places to stay, many inexpensive. On a lot of dives it was the dive master, me, and one or two trainees. One day we maxed out at 3 recreational divers. Dive shop/lodge/boats are on the water and the group is so small it is very easy to engage with everybody:staff, trainees, other rec divers(if present). Diving per tank was $10 more, but stayed at the boat captains 3 room "motel" for about $21/night, ate breakfast at the dive lodge, and menu del dia at Silvia's restaurant for about $6. Overall less expensive than Cozumel. I did all 10 dives on the local reefs, mostly spur and groove with no real wall. The abundance of soft corals really stood out, as did the schooling tarpon of at least a couple of hundred at the La Poza site. Visibility definitely not as good as Cozumel, nor are the fish or turtles or sharks as abundant as at Cozumel.
Personally, I really liked combining the two into one trip. I'm not solely focused on what's in the water, so for me having 2 such dissimilar places in the same trip was great.
After Xcalak, went on to Belize thinking I would finish out the trip diving there but after 4 days on a couple of the cayes, researching the diving, and looking at the prices, I decided to finish up with a final week or so in Cozumel.
Sorry to be so long-winded, but if anybody has any questions I'll try to answer them.

 

[drrich2]

Couple of questions. Out of the various Mexican mainland destinations you could've picked to try, what drew you to pick Xcalak? Do you speak Spanish? As with other less heavily touristed mainland destinations, I sometimes wonder how much of an issue 'English-only' people would have.

Did you use XTC Dive Center? Saw them mentioned in Undercurrent's Nov. 2015 free access article, where somebody wrote up a trip snorkeling with American crocodiles. Whew!

Do you see Xcalak as a 'once and done' destination for you, or one you hope to get back to?

Richard.

 

[Trailboss123]

Where did you stay in Cozumel and who did you dive with?

 

[lionfish-eater]

My son and I made a similar trip about 7 years ago.
Stayed at costa de coco. dove with xtc.
Stopped in tulum and mauhaul on the way down and back.
five days in xcalack, five in cozumel.
Enjoyed the remoteness of xcalack.
Enjoyed the road trip.
Next time will include time at Bacalar if i go back.
Good diving in xcalack but we are coz fans.

 

[ScubaBackpacker]

Couple of questions. Out of the various Mexican mainland destinations you could've picked to try, what drew you to pick Xcalak? Do you speak Spanish? As with other less heavily touristed mainland destinations, I sometimes wonder how much of an issue 'English-only' people would have.

Did you use XTC Dive Center? Saw them mentioned in Undercurrent's Nov. 2015 free access article, where somebody wrote up a trip snorkeling with American crocodiles. Whew!

Do you see Xcalak as a 'once and done' destination for you, or one you hope to get back to?

Richard.

I picked Xcalak because I wanted to dive in a small or very small place that wasn't overrun with large numbers of locals and tourists. In short, I wanted to get away from large numbers of people but in an affordable place. I speak a little bit of Spanish- enough to get by with the little bit of English lots of Mexicans speak. Little or no Spanish people will have little or no problem in Xcalak. They are glad to see you and help figure it out.
Yes, I used XTC dive centre and liked it. The only active dive center in town, so far as I could tell. There are croc trips and Chinchorro reef trips but I didn't participate in those, though people I ran into there and talked with did one or both.
I'll go back to XTC when I want to revisit a quiet, uncommercial, off-the-beaten track dive location.

 

[ScubaBackpacker]

Where did you stay in Cozumel and who did you dive with?

I stayed at Suites Colonial and dove with Tres Pelicanos. In fact, I'm back in Cozumel and I'm writing this now from Suites Colonial and doing a second ten dive package with Tres Pelicanos. Suites Colonial is not for everybody- no pool and no beach and in-town location. But I'm from Florida and didn't come here for a pool or the beach !!

 

[lthomas132]

Recently wrapped up my first two weeks of diving at Cozumel and Xcalak, 10 dives in each place. Everyone here was so helpful with info. provided for a Cozumel first-timer, I thought you might like a report.
Flew into Cancun and after a wait of ten minutes or so caught the ADO bus for about $10 . Walked 2 or 3 blocks to the Cozumel ferry, bought a ticket for $5, and 10-15 minutes later the ferry was underway. Orlando airport to my hotel room was about 6 hours.
Cozumel: As a first-timer, the number of hotels, restaurants, bars , and dive shops here seemed overwhelming. 80 or more dive shops, scores if not hundreds of restaurants and hotels, and I've heard an average of 2,000 divers a day. Fortunately, with the help of folks here at scuba board, I had arranged a dive shop/hotel package in advance that worked out well, i.e. comfortable hotel with a good breakfast and a dive shop that got to the reefs early with a small group, all at reasonable cost. What struck me(a rusty diver that took 25 years off until last year) particularly about the diving was: the number of turtles - at least one on almost every dive and 5 or 6 on one dive; the schools of fish and some sizable individual fish; one site that had scores of lobster on it, one of which was probably the largest I've ever seen; the relatively good visibility, the various types of swim-throughs, and the currents.
Then took the bus to the Mayan Museum(I highly recommend it) in Chetumal to dry out a bit and then to Xcalak by bus. Xcalak is in many ways the opposite of Cozumel: one active dive shop, 3 or 4 places to eat, and relatively few places to stay, many inexpensive. On a lot of dives it was the dive master, me, and one or two trainees. One day we maxed out at 3 recreational divers. Dive shop/lodge/boats are on the water and the group is so small it is very easy to engage with everybody:staff, trainees, other rec divers(if present). Diving per tank was $10 more, but stayed at the boat captains 3 room "motel" for about $21/night, ate breakfast at the dive lodge, and menu del dia at Silvia's restaurant for about $6. Overall less expensive than Cozumel. I did all 10 dives on the local reefs, mostly spur and groove with no real wall. The abundance of soft corals really stood out, as did the schooling tarpon of at least a couple of hundred at the La Poza site. Visibility definitely not as good as Cozumel, nor are the fish or turtles or sharks as abundant as at Cozumel.
Personally, I really liked combining the two into one trip. I'm not solely focused on what's in the water, so for me having 2 such dissimilar places in the same trip was great.
After Xcalak, went on to Belize thinking I would finish out the trip diving there but after 4 days on a couple of the cayes, researching the diving, and looking at the prices, I decided to finish up with a final week or so in Cozumel.
Sorry to be so long-winded, but if anybody has any questions I'll try to answer them.

My wife & I spent a couple of weeks last summer in Xcalak, loved it. We rented a 2 bedroom home 6 miles down the beach road, off the grid - solar power, rainwater cistern, no phones. Nothing to hear but the palms swaying and the waves on the reef. We did the trip to Banco Chinchorro, did the reef dives but didn't get to dive with the crocs. I thought at the time, I gotta go back, and will be in August. Doing it solo this time for 2-3 weeks, maybe a week in Mahahual or Tulum, probably staying at Costa de Cocos ( Costa de Cocos Resort - Xcalak, Mexico - Beauty and Tranquility at the End of the Road Less Traveled) since it is close to XTC. I can't say enough about the people at XTC; it's like its own community but with people from all over the planet. It's so easy to pick up a rent car, overnight in Tulum, grocery shop, arrive by noon next day. My wife gives directions to Xcalak as "drive to the end of the earth, then hang a left, you'll be in Xcalak"

 

[lthomas132]

Couple of questions. Out of the various Mexican mainland destinations you could've picked to try, what drew you to pick Xcalak? Do you speak Spanish? As with other less heavily touristed mainland destinations, I sometimes wonder how much of an issue 'English-only' people would have.

Did you use XTC Dive Center? Saw them mentioned in Undercurrent's Nov. 2015 free access article, where somebody wrote up a trip snorkeling with American crocodiles. Whew!

Do you see Xcalak as a 'once and done' destination for you, or one you hope to get back to?

Richard.

I know enough Spanish to get by, my wife, none, but she would use the Android translator that you can speak English and it does a voice translation. XTC is nearly all gringos or gringas, no problems. There are 2-3 small tiendas in the village but very little selection, bring groceries. The small bar/cafe at XTC was our default evening dining. My wife fell in love with the lionfish which they kill daily. Other small restaurants associated with the "resorts" are hit & miss.

 

[lthomas132]

Sadly, if they ever build the Tulum International Airport, that is being talked about, Costa de Maya will become what you see up the coast at Cancun, PDC, etc. For now it is still what Cozumel and the upper coast used to be, primitive and unspoiled.