Is Cozumel cheap?

[ggunn]

Easy, Longer dives. It's a hassle getting to the point where you jump in, why would you want to do more dives, if you could just stay down longer instead? My wife and I easily get 70-90 minute dives (80 cuft for me 60 cuft for her), I don't know why any experienced diver would want to come up at 45 mins and 1500 psi.

Easy for me as well - more dives. I can usually get an hour diving an AL80, and by then I'm usually ready to come up.

 

[ReefHound]

Easy, Longer dives. It's a hassle getting to the point where you jump in, why would you want to do more dives, if you could just stay down longer instead? My wife and I easily get 70-90 minute dives (80 cuft for me 60 cuft for her), I don't know why any experienced diver would want to come up at 45 mins and 1500 psi.

I want more than 45 minutes but 60-65 minutes and I'm good. Just because I really enjoy doing something and enjoy doing it often doesn't mean I want to do it for long periods at once.

My partner and I like to watch a streaming show in the evenings. Two episodes and I'm done. Even if it's Friday night and can sleep in next day. Doesn't mean I don't love the show and don't look forward to the next night. It's like that with lots of activities. There's a length, and it may be different for others, at which point the desire for that activity has been satisfied for the moment.

 

[MikadoWu]

Lots of my friends point to Scuba Club Cozumel as a cheaper place to dive. And airfare (about $400 from Cleveland Ohio) is certainly cheaper than the Red Sea or Asia. But Scuba Club is running a special which is $143.75 / per night for double occupancy, which I believe doesn't include the $75 for a 2 tank boat trip, and single occupancy will be more. So about $220 per night or $100 per dive (the per-dive cost going down with more shore diving). About $2000 for a 1 week trip with about 20 dives.

I just got back from the Red Sea, where I ended up on a more expensive group trip, but planned to go alone before COVID cancelled my boat. I would have paid around $1100 airfare but $165 per night or $60 per dive. About $2500 for a 1 week trip with about 20 dives.

Both have nice land based opportunities for a 2 week dive + on shore trip, Mexico is probably cheaper, but Egypt lets me visit anywhere in Europe which has a lot more possibilities.

With the Red Sea, I can turn that into a 30 dive trip adding a mini-safari for around $3000 total. With Cozumel, I am well over $3000 for a 30 dive trip.

The diving is nicer in the Red Sea, and places like Thailand or even Indonesia aren't much more.

Obviously, if I wanted a less than 1 week vacation, Cozumel makes a lot more sense, but I don't see that.

Am I missing something? I might do a Cozumel once just to see a wider variety of places, but I have a hard time seeing this as a budget trip.

If you really want to go cheap in Cozumel, go Native. When I was doing my Divemaster Course I stayed in town. The house I shared with 3 others was on Calle 3 S 1/2 a block from 30th Ave. I hit up the Mega, for breakfast and lunch food to make then, I almost ate daily at Chilangos (amazing). When we we not doing Boat dives, we would do beach dives from Tiki Taquila (afternoons and Evenings/night) and Café Del Mar for morning dives (homemade strawberry jam on break toast to die for). The Air Fill station would drop the tanks off at the dive site for us, I think the Peso was about $7. I spoke to many divers in IDC programs around town and they where renting AirBnB's for $200-$400 a Month. Price depended on oh much privacy and AC you wanted. I was there in the summer, no AC and was surprised it really did not bother me. Maybe 1 hot week of the 6 I was there, besides I was in the water a lot. Logged in 85 dives in 6 weeks. I spent $2500 for a 6 week vacation, seeing the town, my DM course, and one heck of a lot of dives and more.

Below picture taken off Tiki Taquila with a GoPro 3.

 

[bvbellomo]

If you really want to go cheap in Cozumel, go Native. When I was doing my Divemaster Course I stayed in town. The house I shared with 3 others was on Calle 3 S 1/2 a block from 30th Ave. I hit up the Mega, for breakfast and lunch food to make then, I almost ate daily at Chilangos (amazing). When we we not doing Boat dives, we would do beach dives from Tiki Taquila (afternoons and Evenings/night) and Café Del Mar for morning dives (homemade strawberry jam on break toast to die for). The Air Fill station would drop the tanks off at the dive site for us, I think the Peso was about $7. I spoke to many divers in IDC programs around town and they where renting AirBnB's for $200-$400 a Month. Price depended on oh much privacy and AC you wanted. I was there in the summer, no AC and was surprised it really did not bother me. Maybe 1 hot week of the 6 I was there, besides I was in the water a lot. Logged in 85 dives in 6 weeks. I spent $2500 for a 6 week vacation, seeing the town, my DM course, and one heck of a lot of dives and more.

Below picture taken off Tiki Taquila with a GoPro 3.

View attachment 669423

Any more information on Tiki Taquila? Other than "Did you mean: Tiki Tequila" Google's given me nothing.

 

[cozcharlie]

Any more information on Tiki Taquila? Other than "Did you mean: Tiki Tequila" Google's given me nothing.

The are talking about Tikila Beach Bar aka Tikila Bar. One of better shore diving spots, probably 2-3 miles south of the town plaza. It is across the the street from Paprika Restaurant. There is parking behind Paprika that people generally use when going to Tikila. Parking on Melgar directly has been a mess since the put in the bike lane.

[TIKILA BEACH BAR, Cozumel - Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone Number - Tripadvisor]

[Tikila Beach Bar - Fotos | Facebook]

 

[bvbellomo]

The are talking about Tikila Beach Bar aka Tikila Bar. One of better shore diving spots, probably 2-3 miles south of the town plaza. It is across the the street from Paprika Restaurant. There is parking behind Paprika that people generally use when going to Tikila. Parking on Melgar directly has been a mess since the put in the bike lane.

[TIKILA BEACH BAR, Cozumel - Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone Number - Tripadvisor]

[Tikila Beach Bar - Fotos | Facebook]

Thanks! But how does that work? Do I go up to the bar and order a quesadilla, chips and a dive? Or is it completely unorganized and for people who rent tanks and find buddies elsewhere?

 

[cozcharlie]

Thanks! But how does that work? Do I go up to the bar and order a quesadilla, chips and a dive? Or is it completely unorganized and for people who rent tanks and find buddies elsewhere?

Hopefully someone else will chime in on this. I have dove there with tanks delivered but I asked one time at the dive shop below the bar and they said they rent tanks for $10. Not sure about the buddy situation. You definitely need a float btw, too many boats in the general area to dive without one. Someone also said Sunset Bar (or the shop there) rents tanks even cheaper. I have dove there but a friend brought the tanks. Once again not sure of buddy situation.

I am not on Facebook but there is a Cozumel Dive Club (or something to that effect) that started up a year or two ago. I recall some of the people there may be shore divers.

 

[Big Tank 58]

Cheap is not the right word. For us Cozumel is very affordable and for us a great place to get away from winter. Probably not the worlds best diving or topside activities. But a very nice place for us, with non-stop flights from Minneapolis. (note we are from northern Iowa 3 hours from the airport) We enjoy the locally owned restaurants and the local people are fantastic and very friendly. We always feel safe on the island. Cheap NO, Great Value YES!

 

[ReefHound]

Hopefully someone else will chime in on this. I have dove there with tanks delivered but I asked one time at the dive shop below the bar and they said they rent tanks for $10. Not sure about the buddy situation. You definitely need a float btw, too many boats in the general area to dive without one. Someone also said Sunset Bar (or the shop there) rents tanks even cheaper. I have dove there but a friend brought the tanks. Once again not sure of buddy situation.

I consider the float a hazard. It adds to task loading and can get snagged on something, like the floating lines that mark off swim areas. The boats aren't going to dip down to 20' to get you so as long as you don't surface you are safe. And if you need to surface, deploy a sausage. Not that I've ever needed to surface in over 100 shore dives there.

 

[ggunn]

I consider the float a hazard. It adds to task loading and can get snagged on something, like the floating lines that mark off swim areas. The boats aren't going to dip down to 20' to get you so as long as you don't surface you are safe. And if you need to surface, deploy a sausage. Not that I've ever needed to surface in over 100 shore dives there.

I never have seen the point of towing around a float during a dive. Unless you are diving in 6' of water when you are at depth a boat can't hit you, and as you say it could get snagged on some coral, or worse, a passing boat. If/when you are coming up where there might be boats, then yes, release an SMB to show where you are, but otherwise, I do not see the point.