We have stayed at Scuba Club Cozumel over a dozen times. We have dived all over the world, but we keep coming to back to SCC. Most of the same people have been working there since we first started coming in 1998. The service is incredible; the food is good to excellent, and the dive operations terrific. The place is laid out for divers, all tile in the rooms and conducive to wet divers.
My wife and I went early to have some alone time. There were two large groups at Scuba Club and we got the small boats with a total of 7 - 8 divers. We met some great people; some of which were at Scuba Club for their first time.
Then the rest of our group came the following Saturday and we had 8 divers and 2 non-divers. So we had the small boats again, with just our own group. So, we could pick the dive sites we wanted.
The diving was terrific. We dove all the great sites, including Palancar Caves, our favorite first dive. We did a lot of shore diving too, always a treat at Scuba Club.
There was lots of fish life, some eels, some lobsters, and lots of crabs, some nurse sharks, seahorses, octopi, nudibranchs, and spotted drums. The dive master speared a couple lionfish and fed them to various predators. We saw many less lionfish than we did last September. Good work!
The drill at Scuba Club is: Up at 6:00 am for coffee and check email and the hurricane websites. Breakfast at 7:00 am, with a buffet of American and Mexican dishes. Then analyze our nitrox mixes for the boat dives. Go back to the room and change into a bathing suit and get your gear out of the locker to carry to the boat at about 8:15 am. The first dive is a deeper dive - 70 to 80 feet. After a surface interval of about an hour, the second dive is shallower - 50 to 60 feet. Then lunch when the boat returns - the special or order off the menu - one side of the menu is traditional Mexican lunches and the other side American dishes like cheeseburgers or BLT's.
We did a lot of shore diving in the afternoon. Tanks for shore diving are included; you just have to sign for them. We did a twilight/night dive one day, and many of our group did the wreck dive. The only strong current we encountered was on the night dive at Paradise. Go figure . . .
Then dinner: They usually have one meat dish, one fish dish, and one vegetarian dish. The held a traditional Mexican BBQ once a week with a piñata. We went out two nights - once to Prima's and once to Kinta. Both were superb.
On Wednesday of the second week we went to snorkel with the whale sharks. We were scheduled to fly to Holbox in 2 Cessna's and take a small boat to the whale sharks. But we received a call from the operator that the whale sharks had moved closer to Isla Mujeres. So we took the 6:00 am ferry to Playa Del Carmen and were picked up by a bus for an hour's ride to Cancun. Then we boarded a boat and it was a 45 minute ride to the whale sharks. There were over 150 whale sharks when we arrived, swimming in very clear water. The rule is two snorkelers in the water at a time with the guide, no getting within 3 feet of the sharks. It was terrific! We had 8 people in our boat -- all our own group. We got pictures and videos. We swam with the sharks until we were all sharked out, then we went to a beach on Isla Mujeres, anchored in about 3 feet of water, and the guide and boat captain made fresh ceviche for us. What's better than drinking cold Coronas and eating fresh ceviche standing in 86-degree water on a nice sand bottom? Then a boat ride back to Cancun, a bus ride to Playa Del Carmen and another ferry ride to Cozumel, and a taxi back to Scuba Club. Made for a very long day - but definitely worth it.
My wife and I went early to have some alone time. There were two large groups at Scuba Club and we got the small boats with a total of 7 - 8 divers. We met some great people; some of which were at Scuba Club for their first time.
Then the rest of our group came the following Saturday and we had 8 divers and 2 non-divers. So we had the small boats again, with just our own group. So, we could pick the dive sites we wanted.
The diving was terrific. We dove all the great sites, including Palancar Caves, our favorite first dive. We did a lot of shore diving too, always a treat at Scuba Club.
There was lots of fish life, some eels, some lobsters, and lots of crabs, some nurse sharks, seahorses, octopi, nudibranchs, and spotted drums. The dive master speared a couple lionfish and fed them to various predators. We saw many less lionfish than we did last September. Good work!
The drill at Scuba Club is: Up at 6:00 am for coffee and check email and the hurricane websites. Breakfast at 7:00 am, with a buffet of American and Mexican dishes. Then analyze our nitrox mixes for the boat dives. Go back to the room and change into a bathing suit and get your gear out of the locker to carry to the boat at about 8:15 am. The first dive is a deeper dive - 70 to 80 feet. After a surface interval of about an hour, the second dive is shallower - 50 to 60 feet. Then lunch when the boat returns - the special or order off the menu - one side of the menu is traditional Mexican lunches and the other side American dishes like cheeseburgers or BLT's.
We did a lot of shore diving in the afternoon. Tanks for shore diving are included; you just have to sign for them. We did a twilight/night dive one day, and many of our group did the wreck dive. The only strong current we encountered was on the night dive at Paradise. Go figure . . .
Then dinner: They usually have one meat dish, one fish dish, and one vegetarian dish. The held a traditional Mexican BBQ once a week with a piñata. We went out two nights - once to Prima's and once to Kinta. Both were superb.
On Wednesday of the second week we went to snorkel with the whale sharks. We were scheduled to fly to Holbox in 2 Cessna's and take a small boat to the whale sharks. But we received a call from the operator that the whale sharks had moved closer to Isla Mujeres. So we took the 6:00 am ferry to Playa Del Carmen and were picked up by a bus for an hour's ride to Cancun. Then we boarded a boat and it was a 45 minute ride to the whale sharks. There were over 150 whale sharks when we arrived, swimming in very clear water. The rule is two snorkelers in the water at a time with the guide, no getting within 3 feet of the sharks. It was terrific! We had 8 people in our boat -- all our own group. We got pictures and videos. We swam with the sharks until we were all sharked out, then we went to a beach on Isla Mujeres, anchored in about 3 feet of water, and the guide and boat captain made fresh ceviche for us. What's better than drinking cold Coronas and eating fresh ceviche standing in 86-degree water on a nice sand bottom? Then a boat ride back to Cancun, a bus ride to Playa Del Carmen and another ferry ride to Cozumel, and a taxi back to Scuba Club. Made for a very long day - but definitely worth it.
. I would recommend having your own prior to leaving the US.
