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thanks--that helps!

In addition to the hostel, there are quite a few small, family-run budget hotels in town. It was maybe two years ago that we spent a couple of days at the Hotel Mary Carmen about half a block off the main square. I think it was about $30-35 a night (rates posted outside the hotel), ac, wi-fi...

Cicopo--thanks for that. From the maps, it looked like Columbia Shallows might be accessible from shore, and I know we've had dives there where snorkelers were above us. I just assumed. It's among my favorite dives too--and maybe it's best it's too far to snorkel from shore! I remember going to...

Yeah, I've looked at the official Punta Sur website, TripAdvisor reviews, etc. And I'm sure I won't recognize it. When we were there in the early '90s, we did the same as DJDiverDan, a slow drive in a jeep, and I think there were maybe one or two Navy guys just sort of hanging out, and, of...

1. We've been to Cozumel in the fall, in the winter, in the summer--many times. I'm not sure we've ever been in early April, which is our next scheduled trip. FAQs and various sites lead me to think the water temp should be 80-82F. Generally, specifically true? Trying to decide/justify whether I...

Is Cozumel Rent a Bike new? I didn't run across them when I was doing my bike-rental searches last year. And if they're new, are their bikes new? Skittl, we rode the path/road/cyclopista you're referring to. It exists north of town and south of the cruise-ship piers--the stretch in between...

We rented bikes for 10 days or so last August, so not all that lately, but we used Sombrero. We picked the bikes up at the Tuk Tuk place. We got the Scott MTBs, and the guy in the office was very nice to deal with (the owner, Rogelio, we emailed with--he was out of town but on top of his...

It's been a long time since we used DWM (our story is much like Sharky's--we moved hotels, and the dive op switch just kind of went with it), but we were usually pretty happy with them. The late Martin himself was great to dive with, and I remember several others I liked quite a bit as well...

I think you'll be happy at the Blue Angel.

I believe it's the Suites Bahia that lets you breakfast at Casa Mexicana. Vista del Mar brings you coffee and pastries to your room at a time of your choosing (though we always went out to breakfast so didn't partake). Vista del Mar has a pool, but it kind of resembles a concrete dunk tank out...

we've stayed at Vista del Mar but not Casa Mexicana. I'm sure CM wins for breakfast and pool. I liked the rooms and balconies at the VdM. Again, I'm not really a fan of Hotel Cozumel, but in their defense, it was quiet enough at night. The organized poolside activities never went late when we...

Hotel Cozumel is optional AI. We opted not to eat there. Maybe that's part of the reason why we found it pretty impersonal and didn't meet a soul--that and it's kind of huge. You've possibly read that the closer-to-town southern hotels tend to have man-made beaches. To its credit, Hotel...

I'm just going to address the "where people congregate" part. We've found Blue Angel to be very social over the years. Villablanca, Hotel Cozumel and a few others less so. We stopped by Villa Aldora one afternoon and chatted with a couple of people--they seemed set up well for mingling, but...

Lots of people do dive with onsite operations as well, and some of those onsite operators are good. I'm thinking that most hotels with dive operations will probably let you use their lockers, and definitely their rinse tanks/outside gear racks (assuming they have them), even if you're not diving...

As long as you're staying with Blue Angel, you might want to ask about their big boats that go out mid-day. I think at least one of them is designed around mainlanders and/or cruise ship people with a mix of snorkeler and divers. I've never been on one of those-- there's no reason for us to want...

I don't think it's generally a big-deal danger dive either, and it's kind of pretty and serene inside the throat/swim-through (assuming you're a relaxed, reasonably skilled diver), if no one has kicked it the heck up. And it's got a great name. I think that's 80% of why people want to dive it...

Wondering how it's going--you must be there by now. We used to stay at El Cid/La Ceiba years ago (it was nice then and looks even nicer now) but moved to Blue Angel because we didn't being so close to the cruise ships. We've really enjoyed staying at the Blue Angel for the past few years, but...

We've done our share of tropical Pacific dive trips, and sure, I hope to do more. I'm not even completely sure Cozumel is always hugely cheaper, if you factor in that in some places, like Indonesia, you can find perfectly nice rooms for $25/night and some very decent shore diving cheap. And you...

I hope I'm not picking up the stick here. The thing I like best about Aldora is that they've created a culture of long dives. I could do without Mr. Sancho's, and I prefer the model of letting divers go up as individuals or pairs, but ultimately, if you can make a tank last a long time, and long...

Since you're traveling solo (which, btw, I did to Fiji a couple of years ago on a budget 11-day dive trip, and it was great--you could manage those 9 days easy), I'm thinking some hotels are more conducive to meeting people than others. Since most people who stay at both Blue Angel and Villa...