Newbie heading to Cozumel in April

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missyjane

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I'm finishing up my classes this weekend and have my checkout dives shortly thereafter. My fiance is already certified, but hasn't actually done any dives since certification. We plan on hiring a DM to dive with us for the first 2 dives in Cozumel. How many dives should we do during the whole trip? We'll be there 8 days/7 nights. Should we dive everyday or is that a bit excess for new folks? Thanks so much!
 
Dive every day if you can. The diving here is fantastic and the best way to get better is practice practice practice. Every shop I have ever heard of here always has a divemaster in the water with you on all dives. Having another all to yourself for your first few dives is a good idea though.

If your fiancé has not been diving for a long time I would recommend doing a refresher in the pool before you come down. Just to make sure all of the skills are fresh in their mind. And if it has been a REALLY long time some of the skills might have changed. :)
 
Well do not dive on the last day so you can give your ears a chance to get back to the sad "dry" reality of normal life

I would say, dive every day other than that, as long as you do not experience and real issues and do not get cold( my wife got cold on most second dives), go for it. If you do get cold, you can skip a day then, and lay in the sun like the many iguanas you will see.

If you have only been in the pool and fresh water, I do recommend doing a bit of swimming/snorkelling in the water first, to get a "taste" for the saltwater. So you will be used to it, once you diving in it. It was a bit of a shock for a "freshy" like me, to get that taste of the ocean in my mouth and my mask.

Enjoy your trip, I was there in early Feb, had a great time, both under and over the water
 
Except of course for not diving the last day before flying home, there's no hard set rule.
Some people like to dive every day for a week, others will plan a day off diving mid week so they can rest and visit the island, others still are happy diving every other day or less.
It depends on your desires and your state of fatigue. Diving takes a toll on some people (it's my case, all I can do afterwards is eat and sleep), others barely seem to experience any kind of tiredness after 2 dives.
Unfortunately, you won't really know what rhythm works best for you until you're there.

Of course you can always decide on a day to day basis whether you want to dive the next morning or not. Just be aware that some dive ops who offer packages with a set number of dives may not reimburse you if you cancel a day trip. Better to enquire about this ahead of time if you want flexibility.
If that's the case, you may want to plan ahead of time on taking a day off mid-week so you don't loose any money. Then, if you do decide to dive every day, it should be possible to pay for an extra day trip.
Hiring a DM for you first dives is a great idea.

Enjoy your trip.
 
My noobler tips are as follows:

1) Remove your snorkels before diving - they are only good for......snorkeling. You will notice no one other than new divers wear them as they just get in the way, and in Coz you don't have to swim out to get to dive sites or do any surface swimming.
2) When you come up.....if the boat drifts away from you while waiting for others to board, don't chase it. They will move back to you....you will just wear yourself out if the boat is getting moved a lot due to a strong current.
3) Great call on private DM 1st day!
4) Dive as much as you can handle - no diving 24 hours before flight. Shore dives are always fun if you are staying/diving in a convenient location where it is easy to do
5) If I wasn't married - I would do 4-5 dives a day while down there! :) But in reality I am only allowed 2 a day with a few shore dives/night dives thrown in.....keeps the wife unit happier that way! :)
6) Drink a bottle of water before your 1st dive, drink a bottle between dives, drink another after 2nd dive. Hydrate hydrate hydrate!
7) Learn to pee in the ocean. It is your friend and a handy skill to have after doing #6. Plus it beats peeing in the jungle during a surface interval......between the mosquitos, flies, sand fleas......peeing in the ocean is much more convenient!

Have a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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I think most dive ops offer a 5 day dive package. I always get a private DM for my first day. Seems I always have a new piece of camera equipment and don't want to interfer with other divers getting use to it on the first day. I do 2 tank morning dives and am always back by noon. That leaves every afternoon to explore the town and the east side of the island. Having a rental car makes this a lot easier.
 
Yes, hire a private divemaster.

Do as many days of diving as you can. The more you dive, the better you will become.

I would recommend 5 days.

Become Nitrox certified, so you don't load up on nitrogen.

Remember - Have FUN!
 
Make sure he has his C-card.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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