Traveling on my own for some diving in Cozumel December & January

[cbm32]

My wife and I spent something like two months in Coz last fall and could have stayed much longer. There are a LOT of dive sites with varied topography and even diving the same sites a couple of times during the two months I never got bored at all.

I can hook you up with a room at the El Cid by using my timeshare points at a very reasonable cost. They have AI available but there is also the option of cooking your own meals in your room. We chose not to go AI. Wife did a lot of cooking but we also did many dinners at the various restaurants downtown.

I dove with four different ops while there but my favorite, and the one I dove with the most, was Tres Pelicanos. Cervando is fantastic DM and will take care of you very well.

 

[farsidefan1]

Whales, hmm. Easy to get into whale sharks in July and August. Just go off Isla Mujeres. Other times of year, good luck.

 

[Tigerman]

You can whale watch at the cruise ship piers as well.

But what he said, doing 2 dives a day is standard and you will be back at your hotel by noon-1pm. What do you want to do the rest of the time?

The obvious answer would be "do a third" or even "do two more"

Whales, hmm. Easy to get into whale sharks in July and August. Just go off Isla Mujeres. Other times of year, good luck.

Definetly a worthwhile experience swimming with the whalesharks. They are AMAZING creatures

 

[Ron Lee]

The whale shark season just began and goes until mid-September. Start and end dates seem to be soft.

 

[pkpowerofone]

Hi everyone, THANK-YOU for all your helpful tips. I will definitely look into the places that were mentioned. It seems Cozumel has a lot of great places to stay and dive. I think, after reading the responses, I might change my trip to June/July so I can catch the whale sharks. That's definitely one thing that's been on my bucket list! Glad I didn't book my flights yesterday! And I'll dive the Cenotes as well. And I'm excited for the night diving available. There seems to be alot of other activities to do... parasailing, hiking, turtle conservation etc so I'm really excited

 

[Brules]

I like the Blue Angel recomendation and agree, 3 weeks is just fine. I could dive the same site multiple times and see new things each time. Cozumel has a ton of variety coral wise, from the huge pinnacle corals down south that raise up from 100' to near the surface, to the sloping or vertical walls like Santa Rosa, to the shallows at Columbia. Staying for 3 weeks you could do every single dive location in Cozumel, and maybe even get a chance to do the devil's throat, san juan and barracuda (if your skills are up to it and you can get a group to go there). Staying at Blue Angel you are close to town with lots of options for food, plus a good on site restaurant and great grounds/pool/location at Blue Angel.

 

[bbarada]

Another vote for Scuba Club. My wife and I often go there alone, before the big group comes. We've met many singles at Scuba Club and we take them into the group. We like the food, but we go out to dinner a couple times a week. The resort is secure and safe. It's tailored for divers, but we have many non-divers among the group. They do activities while we are diving, then join us for lunch after diving.

 

[messenone]

Since you are staying for 3 weeks go for a couple of dives with Hector Reyes (Drumfish tours - look them up on facebook). He is just excellent!!

 

[jmb]

Just wonder if you might want to consider staying a few days at Isla Mujeres or Holbox for the whale sharks, heading down to Playa Del Carmen or Akumal for the cenotes, and then over to Cozumel for the rest of your trip. Lots of great food choices available, so while an all-inclusive might be a great way to get started, I would think it could become a little repetitous after a week. Have a great trip whatever you decide !
Julie

 

[Mossman]

Hi everyone, THANK-YOU for all your helpful tips. I will definitely look into the places that were mentioned. It seems Cozumel has a lot of great places to stay and dive. I think, after reading the responses, I might change my trip to June/July so I can catch the whale sharks. That's definitely one thing that's been on my bucket list! Glad I didn't book my flights yesterday! And I'll dive the Cenotes as well. And I'm excited for the night diving available. There seems to be alot of other activities to do... parasailing, hiking, turtle conservation etc so I'm really excited

Just take into consideration that it will significantly warmer (i.e. hotter) in June/July than December/January. As a Canadian, it is highly possible that you may melt in the summer. Also, the eagle rays swarm during the winter. You'll miss them in the summer. And there is always the possibility of a hurricane since that's technically hurricane season then, but most hurricanes tend to hit in the fall months so that's the least of the worries IMO. But since you mentioned taking advantage of land activities, unless you're very heat tolerant, you really might not feel like hiking on a hot July day.

On the other hand, the winter months are notorious for northers, weather conditions that often shut down diving for a couple days and with wind and rain that would certainly preclude other activities like parasailing as well. I think the diving conditions are better in the late spring/summer months, it can just be hot as hell back on land.

(I'm not sure that there's much hiking on the island in any case, it's not very mountainous by any means, so hiking might mean walking around the decrepit ruins in the middle of the island)