Kicker1866
Contributor
The wife and I flew down with another couple for the weekend. My buddy and I have dove together for years, but the ladies are very new. Both around 10 post-triaining dives. Figured I would do a nice trip report for anyone interested.
ARRIVAL - We flew AA from MIAMI to CZM and arrived on Fri a little before noon. Custom/Immigration moved faster than I have ever seen. Ground crew had bags off the plane in lightening speed. I've never really had a Loooong delay at the airport, but like most people, by the time I hit the ground I am ready to get outta the airport and start my trip, so any slight delay is magnified 100 fold. We grabbed our van and were own our way.
RENTAL CAR - Now for me, I enjoy renting beat up pieces of crap wen I am on the island. I have no idea why....I guess it just lends itself to the day when that was your ONLY option. Normally, I grab one of the convertible bugs from Margarita over at ISIS,, but she did not return my email so I decided to pre-pay Ernesto's for a jeep. If you are not familiar with Ernesto's, it is a little restaurant that also rents a few jeeps. They are located on the main highway directly across from Casa Del Mar. Pre-paying online had me paying $40 per day, liability insurance included. they were very cool and offered to it to me at the resort but I just dropped a few bucks on my van driver and he dropped me off at Ernesto's and continued to the resort with my group. The guys at Ernesto's had me in and out in no time. Yes, it was a piece of crap....many things did not work on it and the headlights were practically worthless...but I knew this going in.
IBEROSTAR - First time at this resort and honestly, probably last. This is not a raving slam review of the resort, but rather that I have enjoyed other places more. I am actually one of those strange folk that have always enjoyed and had a nice time at the Sabor ( or whatever it is called this week). I also think Casa Del Mar is a good price value....and have even enjoyed the Barracuda once. The rooms at the Iberostar were large, clean and nice. The fridge was kept stocked with soft drinks, water, and beer. I think my biggest issue with the resort was that the food sucked. Now, I have been on the island around 30 times and I do not expect gourmet dining at the AI....but thiswas bad. No variety....same stuff every day on the buffett. We ate breakfast....snacked mid-day but drove into town for a nice dinner each night. Plus, this resort is the furthest away from town and toward the south side of the island. A little bit of a drive back and forth.
DIVING -
- We opted to just use the dive operator at Iberostar, which is Dressler Divers. Nice folks but nothing special. The biggest PLUS is that the resort is located directlyacross from Santa Rosa wall and Paso de Cedral ( 2 of my favorite sites) as well as being just a minute or two away from Palancar or COlumbia. The NEGATIVES are more. WAAAAYY too many people diving. Don't get me wrong...they maintained the proper DM/Diver ratio...but in the morning at the shop it was ordered chaos getting 4 boats filled with about 15-20 divers each. I did not like a "dive schedule", as I prefer to decide where we feel like going that day. (Pick a dive to reflect your mood I suppose) They also seem to push the "resort courses" which I have a HUGE issue with. I saw a lot of bad divers in the water this weekend....people hat had no business being dumped onto some of these sites, especially considering some of the currents we had. I also saw a lot of unsafe diving, DM's not paying attention to unskilled divers, and I even moved to intervene during an episode on Saturday. When will I learn to just always call Cesar at Carribean Divers and stick with them?
- Conditions were mixed. The viz was hazy for Cozumel. That means it is still GREAT, but when you are used to unlimited viz in crystal water, a hazy 80' disappoints a spoiled diver. LOL. The island has gotten a lot of rain lately and I think the haze isa product of some of the run off. Temp was awesome...I had 84/85 on my computer.....I dove in shorts and a 1/2 mm shirt every dive except the first. ( my test dive where I had on my 1mm) Lots of active marine life as always....maybe more sharks this trip than any other.
RESTAURANT SUGGESTIONS - Rolandi's by the water is great casual place with nice ambiance as you sit next to the water and enjoy the evening breeze. Prima Trattoria is a nice high rise on the water. Great steaks and seafood. Very good service. There is a life changing italian place just a few feet off the main road in downtown....I cannot remember the name, but I will look it up and post it later.
All in all a good trip. The weather cooperated. Had a isolated shower here and there, bbut mostly hot and sunny.
I'll be back in January
ARRIVAL - We flew AA from MIAMI to CZM and arrived on Fri a little before noon. Custom/Immigration moved faster than I have ever seen. Ground crew had bags off the plane in lightening speed. I've never really had a Loooong delay at the airport, but like most people, by the time I hit the ground I am ready to get outta the airport and start my trip, so any slight delay is magnified 100 fold. We grabbed our van and were own our way.
RENTAL CAR - Now for me, I enjoy renting beat up pieces of crap wen I am on the island. I have no idea why....I guess it just lends itself to the day when that was your ONLY option. Normally, I grab one of the convertible bugs from Margarita over at ISIS,, but she did not return my email so I decided to pre-pay Ernesto's for a jeep. If you are not familiar with Ernesto's, it is a little restaurant that also rents a few jeeps. They are located on the main highway directly across from Casa Del Mar. Pre-paying online had me paying $40 per day, liability insurance included. they were very cool and offered to it to me at the resort but I just dropped a few bucks on my van driver and he dropped me off at Ernesto's and continued to the resort with my group. The guys at Ernesto's had me in and out in no time. Yes, it was a piece of crap....many things did not work on it and the headlights were practically worthless...but I knew this going in.
IBEROSTAR - First time at this resort and honestly, probably last. This is not a raving slam review of the resort, but rather that I have enjoyed other places more. I am actually one of those strange folk that have always enjoyed and had a nice time at the Sabor ( or whatever it is called this week). I also think Casa Del Mar is a good price value....and have even enjoyed the Barracuda once. The rooms at the Iberostar were large, clean and nice. The fridge was kept stocked with soft drinks, water, and beer. I think my biggest issue with the resort was that the food sucked. Now, I have been on the island around 30 times and I do not expect gourmet dining at the AI....but thiswas bad. No variety....same stuff every day on the buffett. We ate breakfast....snacked mid-day but drove into town for a nice dinner each night. Plus, this resort is the furthest away from town and toward the south side of the island. A little bit of a drive back and forth.
DIVING -
- We opted to just use the dive operator at Iberostar, which is Dressler Divers. Nice folks but nothing special. The biggest PLUS is that the resort is located directlyacross from Santa Rosa wall and Paso de Cedral ( 2 of my favorite sites) as well as being just a minute or two away from Palancar or COlumbia. The NEGATIVES are more. WAAAAYY too many people diving. Don't get me wrong...they maintained the proper DM/Diver ratio...but in the morning at the shop it was ordered chaos getting 4 boats filled with about 15-20 divers each. I did not like a "dive schedule", as I prefer to decide where we feel like going that day. (Pick a dive to reflect your mood I suppose) They also seem to push the "resort courses" which I have a HUGE issue with. I saw a lot of bad divers in the water this weekend....people hat had no business being dumped onto some of these sites, especially considering some of the currents we had. I also saw a lot of unsafe diving, DM's not paying attention to unskilled divers, and I even moved to intervene during an episode on Saturday. When will I learn to just always call Cesar at Carribean Divers and stick with them?
- Conditions were mixed. The viz was hazy for Cozumel. That means it is still GREAT, but when you are used to unlimited viz in crystal water, a hazy 80' disappoints a spoiled diver. LOL. The island has gotten a lot of rain lately and I think the haze isa product of some of the run off. Temp was awesome...I had 84/85 on my computer.....I dove in shorts and a 1/2 mm shirt every dive except the first. ( my test dive where I had on my 1mm) Lots of active marine life as always....maybe more sharks this trip than any other.
RESTAURANT SUGGESTIONS - Rolandi's by the water is great casual place with nice ambiance as you sit next to the water and enjoy the evening breeze. Prima Trattoria is a nice high rise on the water. Great steaks and seafood. Very good service. There is a life changing italian place just a few feet off the main road in downtown....I cannot remember the name, but I will look it up and post it later.
All in all a good trip. The weather cooperated. Had a isolated shower here and there, bbut mostly hot and sunny.
I'll be back in January
