1 tank scuba dive?

[h20skinuts]

Does anyone have any suggestions for companies that do good 1 tank scuba dives? My friend and I are coming just for the day on a cruise and are planning on doing the dolphin swim in the morning but were hoping to have time to squeeze in a 1 tank dive also before we have to be back at the ship. Any ideas or information? Thanks!

 

[mstevens]

"Squeezing in" can be sort of a challenge with many of the smaller boutique operators that many here on the board favor since they tend to be oriented toward maximizing bottom time and safety rather than adhering to a rigid schedule. It probably all depends on when you need to be back on board.

 

[h20skinuts]

thanks for your response...our dolphin swim ends at 12:30pm and our ship departs at 6pm, so I was thinking with the travel time a dive around 2-5 would work well. Any suggestions?

 

[Diver Kat]

Most of the ops I know have a 1:00 PM afternoon boat go out - do 2 tanks ... gets back around 5:00. Because of the ride down south to the reefs, it's not cost effective for them to do a 1 tank. But maybe someone will pop up with an Op recommendation - you never know - there are so many Ops in Coz. You could do a shore dive at Blue Angel, but I think it would be a sad disappointment in comparison to a boat dive out on any of the reefs ...

 

[Harro10]

You might have to a private charter to make it work in your timeframe. Contact some of the companies with small fast boats to see if they can accommodate you. Blue Angel, Scuba With Alison, Dive Paradise, Bottomtime are a few you can contact but there are many others.
You can ask Aqua Safari or Dive Paradise about their scheduled afternoon dives but they ususally get back in the 5:00 to 5:30 range and that is cutting it too close to your ship's depature.

P.S.
This is on the Aqua Safari website:
[FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial Black,COZUMEL,scuba,diving,cozumel]ONE TANK AFTERNOON DIVE $35.00 US
2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. One tank shallow dive (Paradise Reef), includes tank and weights, divemaster and sodas and purified water. Usually done from one of the large boats.[/FONT]

The price maybe out of date and you still might want to check out private charters to lessen the chance of problems.

 

[okiraku_diver]

thanks for your response...our dolphin swim ends at 12:30pm and our ship departs at 6pm, so I was thinking with the travel time a dive around 2-5 would work well. Any suggestions?

Please ask AquaSafari regarding 1 boat afternoon trip. Depart downtown pier at 2:30 ,will be back at 4:30. Have fun

 

[georoc01]

Another alternative to consider would be a shore dive off of Del Mar Aquatics, across from Casa Del Mar. That would give you the flexiblity timewise, and while not as nice as say Paradise reef (and the 4 seahorses we saw there a couple of weeks ago), there are certainly plenty of fish.

If you are parked at the international pier, this is right up the street.

 

[bdklein]

Another alternative to consider would be a shore dive off of Del Mar Aquatics, across from Casa Del Mar. That would give you the flexiblity timewise, and while not as nice as say Paradise reef (and the 4 seahorses we saw there a couple of weeks ago), there are certainly plenty of fish.

If you are parked at the international pier, this is right up the street.

Is it worth snorkeling here? I am doing a 2 tank dive with Aldora in the AM, but if I have time to kill before our ship leaves is it worth the effort? Any other suggested shore snorkeling sites?

 

[driftin' by]

You could do a shore dive at Blue Angel, but I think it would be a sad disappointment in comparison to a boat dive out on any of the reefs ...

...and an extreme disappointment following that captive dolphin experience!

 

[don Francisco]

I second the recommendation of Aqua Safari's 1 tank afternoon dive on Paradise reef. I've done at least 50 dives at paradise and always see interesting life there.

There are a few others with similar offerings, and you might let convenience be the deciding factor. Aqua Safari departs from their pier in town, and others might depart from farther south, so where your cruise boat docks is a consideration.