What specifically brings you back to Cozumel?

[Drewpy]

"a" cruise ship..?How about six or seven?
Its a haul to Bon from the west coast, but worth it!

 

[azscubadude]

I know many of us return often, but what is it that keeps bringing you back to Coz?

When the airport shuttle pulls up to the gate to drop me off the smiles and "welcome back" start and don't end until the goodbye's are said at the end of my stay.

It is truly like having a second home and extended family. I've met many family members of the people that work at the resort and shared many stories. Plus all the great friends I've made from fellow divers I've met and continue to stay in contact with.

It is a very good feeling that lasts through the years and many visits.

 

[Karloss]

For the wife and myself it is around the same cost as going to the Keys plus easier, not to mention the diving is a whole lot better.

 

[Lopez116]

"a" cruise ship..?How about six or seven?
Its a haul to Bon from the west coast, but worth it!

No kidding. In April, there were I believe 5 in port at once. We avoided Gtown at that time! In August, not nearly as bad, but still, to be avoided of possible


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[DjDiverDan]

For the sake of argument, can someone argue why Coz is better than Grand Cayman? I need convincing...

"Better than" is such a subjective judgment -- I would never try to tell someone else that one vacation destination was "better than" another, since we all have different tastes, priorities, desires. However, I can tell you why I prefer Cozumel; I'll let you make up your own mind about what is better for you. Disclaimer - while I've been to Cozumel 4 times in the last two years, and going back in December, it has been more than 5 years since I was in Grand Cayman, so my info may be dated.

1. DIVING -- the diving is great in Grand Cayman, but fixed mooring diving is harder work for me. I'm old, fat and not in the best shape of my life. I really enjoy the drift diving, where the hardest work I have to do is climb back on the boat at the end of the dive (or maneuver through ironstone at the end of a shore dive). And diving is a much better value in Cozumel. In Grand Cayman, I found it hard to find a dive operator that charged less than $100 for a 2-tank dive, and that pricing was in Cayman Dollars, which means it was really $125. Without tip. I have been diving with Aldora, one of the highest priced Ops on Cozumel (but well worth it, for the HP Steel 120 tanks, the long SI at a beach club, the great valet service, and the great DMs, IMO), and I think I only paid $85 US plus tip at the time (it was a few years ago) for two dives where I had more than an hour of bottom time on each dive. You can also find many dive ops in Cozumel where, on a multi-day package, your cost for 2-tank boat dives is $60 US or less, a price that no one on Grand Cayman comes even close to. And, frankly, IMO, Cozumel has walls, reef structure, and sea life that can match or exceed anything Grand Cayman has to offer.

2. DINING -- Frankly, some of my very favorite restaurants are in Cozumel, and I can get a great fine dining meal without breaking the bank. And I can also get very good, tasty and filling local dishes at any of a great many locally owned restaurants and loncherias for dirt cheap. Every trip I make to Cozumel I would go back to Sabores, a little loncheria south of the square, and have a great 3-course lunch for 70 Pesos, plus tip. That's a total, with tip, of about $7. There are just no "cheap eats" on Grand Cayman, at least as far as I was able to find. Food on Grand Cayman is just plain expensive. I had a fish sandwich at one place on the waterfront there, I forget the name, and it was $12 in Cayman Dollars (meaning it was really $15 US) before tip and without a drink. And, while fine dining is certainly available in Grand Cayman, a really good dinner there will set you back $100 US or more per person. I've had really excellent meals in Cozumel for less than $40 US, and that included appetizer, desert and a cocktail. For quality, variety, and value in dining, I think Cozumel is miles ahead of Grand Cayman.

3. LODGING -- when last I stayed in Grand Cayman, I opted for the "cheap" lodging, a small B&B that, with tax, cost me nearly $100 US per night. The big Resorts on Grand Cayman will charge $180 US or more per night. I don't typically stay at the most high-end places on Cozumel, places like Cozumel Palace, or the Grand Occidental. But I can get very nice lodging at places like Casa Mexicana downtown (a nice hotel, not a resort) for about $65 US a night, or Casa Del Mar (more of a resort, with pool and smallish beach area) for about $90 US a night, and both prices include all taxes and breakfast in the morning. If I want to go "cheap" in Cozumel, I can find very adequate rooms for $35 US a night or even less, and get quality and service equal to or better than my $100 US a night B&B in Grand Cayman. IMO, Cozumel is a much better value for lodging than Grand Cayman.

4. ATMOSPHERE -- I would never call the people of Grand Cayman unfriendly, but there is not nearly the feeling of warmth and welcome that I get most places in Cozumel. Grand Cayman seems to take tourists for granted, you are always treated politely and cordially, but you are certainly not treated as part of the family or community, the way you will be in many places on Cozumel. When you keep coming back, you see the same people, the same DMs, the same Hotel bell hops, the same waiters, waitresses, and restaurant owners, and they remember your name and treat you as a friend. Now maybe that would happen in Grand Cayman, too, if I came back year after year. I just can't afford that many trips to Grand Cayman, so I'll never find out.

 

[Darol]

robbcayman asks:

What specifically brings you back to Cozumel?

A big jet airplane.....

 

[robint]

No kidding. In April, there were I believe 5 in port at once. We avoided Gtown at that time! In August, not nearly as bad, but still, to be avoided of possible


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In Cozumel the only time WE see the cruise ships and people is when our dive boats are heading out and back from diving. They all head back to their boats from town around dinnertime, too. So those who go into town to eat every night, don't usually see a single pod person.

 

[macado]

I had written a long reply regarding cruise ship/ pod people and crowded reefs but my browser crashed so I'll try to remember what I said..

Yes, the reefs can be crowded especially the popular ones and during high season. (Example: The Palancars, Colombia, Santa Rosa, Paradise for snorkelers, etc ). It's tough and double edged sword because everyone wants to enjoy the beautiful reefs of Cozumel and it's hard to deny people that opportunity but yes there are times when it's crowded. One of the better reasons to go to Cozumel off season too.

I find a balance is sticking with a fast six-pack boat or very early AM departure and beating the crowds to the reefs. I've been on Punta Sur Sur and Maracaibo many times and were were the only boat in the general vicinity. Alternatively, head north and you'll very likely be the only boat there (although lots more dive operators are starting to go north now). If you're on a trip (dear I say..cattle boat?) with 8:30am or 10am departure that holds 15-25 divers, you're not going to escape the crowds.

The fact of the matter is dives like Palancar Caves, Bricks and Colombia Deep are still beautiful dives and having lots of dives there doesn't take away from that as long as they're not damaging the reef. Yes, there may be people in your pictures and perhaps they'll scare some of the more interesting critters (sharks, turtles) but they're still very good dives.

Back to cruise ship people, they don't bother me. They provide some very good free entertainment and prime people watching opportunities. I'm usually underwater and on a boat when the cruise ships are in port anyway. By the time I've had my afternoon siesta and ready for dinner, most of the cruiseships have already left port.

 

[archman]

Unlike most of the rest of the Caribbean reefs, which are rapidly going down the s$thole from pollution, dredging, water temps, etc., Cozumel's rather special underwater geography does a whiz-bang job in keeping it's corals and critters in top notch uberness.

Having a Margaritaville on the water also helps... it's 5 o'clock Somewhere.

Ditto Cheap Flights and Buttloads of Rad Dive Operators.

 

[robint]

Unlike most of the rest of the Caribbean reefs, which are rapidly going down the s$thole from pollution, dredging, water temps, etc., Cozumel's rather special underwater geography does a whiz-bang job in keeping it's corals and critters in top notch uberness.

Having a Margaritaville on the water also helps... it's 5 o'clock Somewhere.

Ditto Cheap Flights and Buttloads of Rad Dive Operators.

Totally agree... the whipping current keeps the water flushed out, and vis pretty spectacular. The fish like it, too.