Diving Cozumel -- Should I???

[nirajpatel13]

Hello,

I am certainly no diving extraordinaire, but I have been to some cool places to dive.

Sipadan
Philippines (Cabilao, Apo Island)
Galapagos
Manta Ray dive in Kona
Providencia
Poor Knights
Belize

I am going to Mexico and have the opportunity to dive in Cozumel. I just hate paying 200$/day (wife and I) to do mediocre diving. I would rather spend my money and time elsewhere especially since (from what i have read), the island of Cozumel isn't itself a great place to hang out.

What do you guys think?

thanks
Niraj

 

[Mike Boswell]

IMHO: There are a lot of great dives in Cozumel. Some hotels are near the best dive areas, and some are farther and entail longer (i.e. 30-minute) boat rides. Closer is better.

The dives I have done were all guided drift dives, and a lazy guide won't show you all the cool stuff you would otherwise miss as you go zipping by. So I would make sure I got hooked up with a good DM and dive operator.

 

[boulderjohn]

Welcome to ScubaBoard. It is a big site, and you may not be aware of the fact that there is a forum specifically devoted to Cozumel. I was thinking that your thread should be moved there, but then I figured you may not want it there, because you will certainly get hit with a huge list of comments from Cozumel enthusiasts. Maybe you are hoping for less biased reports here.

As far as what the island has to offer, it all depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for whoop-it-up nightlife and casinos, then you are in the wrong place for sure. In fact, IMO, the recent focus on cruise ships and all-inclusive resorts has really hurt the night life that used to be there.

If you check my profile, you will see that I have been to a few spots myself, so I have some basis of comparison.

Swinging nightlife does not interest me in the least. I personally love the town of San Miguel. I think the people are great, and I love the local restaurants.

The diving in Cozumel is up near the top 25% of the places I have been, IMO. It is very different from most of the places you have visited because of the shape and size of the coral formations.

I personally really like the island. I am very comfortable there, both in and out of the water.

 

[Garrobo]

There is some decent diving off of Cozumel, mostly drift diving. San Miguel is your typical Mexican or Central/South American slum though there are some half-decent hotels and retaurants to be found if you look hard. Beware of the Canuks, they are everywhere. If you like to drift dive, eat and get drunk you'll like the place. Personally, unless I were looking for a place to get some sun and relax and blow half a grand on an airlines flight, I'd go somewhere else with more interesting diving.

 

[halocline]

San Miguel is your typical Mexican or Central/South American slum though there are some half-decent hotels and retaurants to be found if you look hard. Beware of the Canuks, they are everywhere.

Nice.

 

[joebubbles]

I have been to Sipadan, Cabilao and Apo Island as you have and I would not hesitate recommending Cozumel at least once. It may not rank as your top dive experience, but it will be unique and enjoyable nonetheless. As an added bonus, you should try a Cenote (Cavern dive) on the mainland--a very unique dive experience that should be tried at least once. I am attaching a link to my Cozumel dive video when I was there for a few days last month.
Scuba diving Cozumel, Mexico HD on Vimeo

PS
You are more than welcome to view my videos on Sipadan and Cabilao to refresh your memory.
http://vimeo.com/11645286 Sipadan

http://vimeo.com/11755145 Cabilao

 

[pjhansman]

Personally, unless I were looking for a place to get some sun and relax and blow half a grand on an airlines flight, I'd go somewhere else with more interesting diving.

Really? And where might that be? Us Canucks are always looking for interesting new dive areas to occupy.

 

[ringmod65]

Niraj,

First welcome to Scubaboard. It is a great resource with may helpful users. Unfortunately, there are also racist idiots such as Garrabo. Pay them no mind.

I am at the Occidental Grand in Coz right now, enjoying some fresh papaya and hot black coffee as I wait for the good folks from Living Underwater to pick me up for a three dive morning trip. In addition to your usual dive ops, Coz has several "boutique" ops such as LU that provide a high level of customer service. I like to dive with them because they offer HP120s and don't enforce any mandatory bottom time limits. Tonight, I'm doing a night dive with Dive Palancar, the dive op located right at the hotel. Tomorrow, I'm headed for the mainland for a day of cenote diving with Nicolas from CenoteXperience. Between the variety of diving and dive ops, Cozumel is deservedly known as a top global dive destination. My personal experience only shores up its reputation.

Best.

 

[Garrobo]

Well, I trolled out one Canuk anyway. Don't you just love 'em, eh?

 

[macado]

3 posts and you're bashing Cozumel? Deliberate trolling? You're lucky this wasn't posted in the Cozumel section where you might have been eaten alive.

I wouldn't call Cozumel "mediocre" diving by any means. It's often rated one of the best dive spots in the Caribbean. While I haven't been to all the "exotic" locations you've been to I would overall say I prefer Cozumel over Belize (one of your destinations mentioned above) but that is a matter of opinion.

Cozumel has great visibility, massive coral structures and many swim-thrus. It has great wall diving. It also has some of the best dive operators I've had the pleasure of diving with.

Also, just asking where did you read "the island of Cozumel isn't itself a great place to hang out." I'm not disagreeing with you I'm just curious where you got this.