Most beautiful dive site : difficulty ratio

[Streydog]

Where did you stay while you were there?

I stayed at the Mariposa Lodge. I did their dive and stay package.

 

[wildbill9]

My 1st trip to cozumel was also less the stellar because of the currents, gonna try it again in 2 weeks. Will report back

 

[Dogbowl]

It was Cozumel, it's majestic coral formations, easy direct flights in/out, cheap food and accommodations, excellent dive ops and DMs that really draws me there...however, on my most recent dive there I finally experienced what it meant when ppl say "flying in the current". I read about it here but never experienced it before. I was arms and legs spread parachuting-style and flying with the current. I knew I couldn't fight it. I saw my husband/buddy several feet away in the same position "flying along", and so was the private DM we hired. I was thinking: OMG, where are we going? Why are we going so fast? Will I be able to stop? I stayed calm cause my DM was still within sight and eventually the current let up a bit and our DM roped us in and that was that, but yeah it would've been unnerving for me had I not already read about it here.

 

[halocline]

The currents in Cozumel vary considerably from day to day and site to site. If you dive there enough (I've been at least 20 times) eventually you'll end up in a pretty strong current. For confident, calm divers this is no big deal; you really do just go with the flow. But it can be stressful for some new divers. I've seen it, they blow through their tanks in a very short time fighting the current.

Regardless, many, many new divers make their first dive trip to Cozumel, at least from the U.S. because of it's value, close proximity, and really developed dive industry. The majority of these new divers do really well. For me, I would still recommend Bonaire as a first destination, maybe with a hired guide for the first several dives. It's just so much shallower and calmer.

As an advanced diver, I keep returning to Cozumel over Bonaire, though. I just like the reefs better, and I usually combine a cave trip on the mainland with a few days of reef diving in Cozumel.

 

[wizpop]

Bonaire gets my vote for best all round in the Caribbean

 

[bshort4]

Just returned yesterday (July 6th) from doing 12 dives in Cozumel--weather perfect--sunny, warm, little to no wind, seas flat. The currents? That was a whole different ballgame--everything you could imagine--no currents to mild currents, moderate currents and then the roller coaster ripping currents. Only two dives with the ripping currents and we were told before hand that that may be the case--and bother it was--underwater flying at its best lol. If the current is ripping and you have a camera you can pretty much forget about taking pics and just wave to your subject matter as you fly by. Tried fighting the current at first for some photo ops but started blowing through my air so just gave up and went with it. Moderate currents were fine as you could always duck behind a out cropping or hug the bottom a little and still get your pics. Still enjoyed every dive even in the strong currents.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Tried fighting the current at first for some photo ops but started blowing through my air so just gave up and went with it..

One time I just had to get a video of a mermaid statue down there. I had about 1500 psi left and swam as hard as I could against the current. I was only about 15-20 feet from the statue and burned up the rest of my air just making it those few feet. I got the video

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I don't have a lot of experience vacation diving but everything I have read makes Cozumel sound like the best value with good diving. There are wrecks, reefs, deep or shallow, a very manageable current for drift dives, etc.

I could never understand the appeal of Cozumel for beginner divers. I found the dive sites there to be generally deep (with the exception of Paradise Reef), and mostly drift diving. This is far from ideal conditions for those with little experience.

As to the OP's question ... some of the better places I've been for beginner diving include ...

• Roatan - I stayed at CocoView, which has a very nice lagoon right off the beach where you can shore dive in fairly benign conditions as much as you like. The lagoon is surrounded by two walls, each of which provided some wonderful diving experiences ... and each day consisted of two boat dives that took you to dive sites that were entirely suitable for someone with little experience.
• Bonaire - shore diving to your heart's content. When you land in Bonaire you don't rent a car ... you rent a pickup truck with tank racks in the back. Each day you pile some tanks in the back of the truck and go for a drive. When you see a yellow rock with a name painted on it, pull in and gear up ... it's a dive site. The ultimate in easy-peasy diving. If you prefer boat diving, there are plenty of options for that as well that are suitable for the beginner diver.
• Bali - Tulamben is a beginner diver's paradise. Many resorts right on the beach with easy access to a wall, a WWII wreck, and a lovely shallow reef ... each of which offers spectacular diving. There are other dive sites nearby that a resort guide will happily take you to.
• Philippines - Last year's ScubaBoard trip to Puerta Galera and Dumaguette offered plenty of diving suitable for the newer diver ... much of it spectacular. And both Atlantis resorts that we stayed in were high on my list of best dive resorts I've ever stayed at.

I read recently that ScubaBoard is putting a Bonaire trip together for 2018 ... you might want to look into joining it. Besides the diving, it's a fantastic way to meet and greet a bunch of nice folks who you share this forum with, not to mention generally a pretty good value.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

If shore diving presents such a big hurdle, do the dives from a boat! There are plenty in Bonaire: Captain Dons, Buddy etc etc.

... or fall off a dock ... both Captain Don's and Buddy Dive (which live side-by-side) have easy access to a beautiful house reef ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[ls1dreams]

I could never understand the appeal of Cozumel for beginner divers. I found the dive sites there to be generally deep (with the exception of Paradise Reef), and mostly drift diving. This is far from ideal conditions for those with little experience.

As to the OP's question ... some of the better places I've been for beginner diving include ...

• Roatan - I stayed at CocoView, which has a very nice lagoon right off the beach where you can shore dive in fairly benign conditions as much as you like. The lagoon is surrounded by two walls, each of which provided some wonderful diving experiences ... and each day consisted of two boat dives that took you to dive sites that were entirely suitable for someone with little experience.
• Bonaire - shore diving to your heart's content. When you land in Bonaire you don't rent a car ... you rent a pickup truck with tank racks in the back. Each day you pile some tanks in the back of the truck and go for a drive. When you see a yellow rock with a name painted on it, pull in and gear up ... it's a dive site. The ultimate in easy-peasy diving. If you prefer boat diving, there are plenty of options for that as well that are suitable for the beginner diver.
• Bali - Tulamben is a beginner diver's paradise. Many resorts right on the beach with easy access to a wall, a WWII wreck, and a lovely shallow reef ... each of which offers spectacular diving. There are other dive sites nearby that a resort guide will happily take you to.
• Philippines - Last year's ScubaBoard trip to Puerta Galera and Dumaguette offered plenty of diving suitable for the newer diver ... much of it spectacular. And both Atlantis resorts that we stayed in were high on my list of best dive resorts I've ever stayed at.

I read recently that ScubaBoard is putting a Bonaire trip together for 2018 ... you might want to look into joining it. Besides the diving, it's a fantastic way to meet and greet a bunch of nice folks who you share this forum with, not to mention generally a pretty good value.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Thanks! This is exactly the kind of reply I'm looking for.