1st timer to Cozumel

[Jayfarmlaw]

We dive with Aldora and stay at Casa Mexicana. Very happy with the combination. It works great for us.

Safe travels,
Jay

 

[uncfnp]

For solo or couples wanting to stay in town I recommend...

Villa Escondida Cozumel Bed and Breakfast is located right in downtown Cozumel, and it is ideal for travelers who want local attractions at their doorsteps: great dining, the main pier, the central park, local shops and more are all at a short walk from this charming villa. A delicious, complete breakfast consisting of fresh brewed mexican coffee, selection of teas, fresh orange juice, pastries or homemade baking, hot main dish /mexican dishes are our specialty!) and fresh fruit and yogurt is served in the terrace every morning.

Just a short walk to Tres Pelicanos and the best breakfast on the island. Very private.

 

[hilljo88]

You’re flying CUN-COZ? You should reconsider taking bus/car service CUN to playa del Carmen and the ferry to COZ. (Search for “bag drag” foR details). Isla Mujeres is a very cool little island to visit, but Diving there doesn Tcompare at all to COZ.

 

[ggunn]

FWIW you might check windguru before you schedule a whale shark expedition. Some friends of mine went out a few days ago but the seas were very rough and they didn't see a single shark.

 

[Ghosty]

<Mods can delete, mis-post>

 

[Ghosty]

Here is my experience with hotels in Coz. Keep in mind there is a 19% tax on rates. There are more "budget" hotels I have not had the opportunity to try yet, but I will eventually. It is one of the things that makes Cozumel a great destination.

Awesome tips, thanks Strey! Most of those were on my list, and I'm probably picking one of the nicer ($100) ones. Definitely no A.I.

I haven't done the wale shark tour yet but before I was certified I spent a few days on Isa Mujerers. I stayed at Hotel Kinish. It is not on the water but a small hotel that was clean, economical, and an easy walk to anywhere you would need to go.

K, will add to my I.M. list, I haven't booked those last 3 days yet.

We dive with Aldora and stay at Casa Mexicana. Very happy with the combination. It works great for us. Safe travels, Jay

Thanks!

For solo or couples wanting to stay in town I recommend Villa Escondida Cozumel Bed and Breakfast is located right in downtown Cozumel, and it is ideal for travelers who want local attractions at their doorsteps... Just a short walk to Tres Pelicanos and the best breakfast on the island. Very private.

Already read about it, and definitely on the list, thx.

You’re flying CUN-COZ? You should reconsider taking bus/car service CUN to playa del Carmen and the ferry to COZ. (Search for “bag drag” foR details). Isla Mujeres is a very cool little island to visit, but Diving there doesn Tcompare at all to COZ.

Because of cost, or other reasons? It's $125 r/t, so seemed like a no-brainer. In Belize I also did three Maya Air local small planes between the big airport (Goldson), San Pedro, and Placencia. All the flights were $60 or so, definitely worth it.

FWIW you might check windguru before you schedule a whale shark expedition. Some friends of mine went out a few days ago but the seas were very rough and they didn't see a single shark.

Will do, let's hope early September still has some around.

 

[DjDiverDan]

FYI, I did the Whale Shark trip out of a marina north of Cancun (Puerto Juarez, I think), but there are also tours that depart from Isla Mujeres. I went in the early part of July, and the water was thick with whale sharks - hundreds of them, as far as the eye could see. And there were a ton of boats out there, 20, 30, maybe more, but the boats didn’t crowd each other. I don’t remember just what the season is - til mid-September, IIRC. Best to check with one of the whale shark tour operators.

 

[Ghosty]

Here is my experience with hotels in Coz...

I don't do lodging but I know of many people who use Tres Pelicanos for their packages and are very happy with what Jeanie has done for them on each end of the price scale.

First, I would not skip the Whale Shark snorkeling trip. It is a once in a lifetime experience, well worth it. There are a lot of us here on the Coz forum who will NOT do All-Inclusive on Cozumel. Cozumel has a real wealth of very good restaurants, in all budget categories, and personally I have more favorites than I can hit in one 7-day trip. But you will miss out on a big draw for Cozumel if you don’t explore some of the local eateries. As to where to stay, it is a trade off in Cozumel -stay downtown and be close to most of the restaurants - favorites for staying downtown are Casa Mexicana, Suites Bahia, Hotel Plaza Cozumel

A ton of useful real info Strey, Mike, and Dan, thank you. Not skipping WhaleSharks, doing three days in Isla Mujeres on the tail end of my trip. For six days in Coz, I've narrowed it down to:

Casa Mexicana ($99/ocean-balc or $92/basic)
Suites Bahia ($71/balc or $55/basic)
Hotel Cozumel & Resort w/ big pool, shore diving. ($82/balc or $92/balc+A.I. meals.)

Tempted to pay extra for an ocean view balc, why not. Waiting on a callback from Tres Pelicanos about their hotel/dive packages to see if there's any deals to be had there instead.

 

[CajunDiva]

Waiting on a callback from Tres Pelicanos about their hotel/dive packages to see if there's any deals to be had there instead.

You get a HUGE favorable recommendation for Tres Pelicanos from me. I booked a group of 11 in May and just returned from an anniversary trip for hubby and I at the end of July. Was VERY happy with all aspects of both trips. So happy that I'm booking another group in February!

Remember that Casa Mexicana offers a daily breakfast buffet. And there are tons of good restaurants around the area. I'm usually an all-inclusive type, but now I'm hooked on exploring all of the fun restaurants of downtown Cozumel

 

[JamesBon92007]

Will be spending 5 days in Coz and 3 days on Isla Mujeres (for the Whale Shark snorkeling). Most importantly, SHOULD I SKIP ISLA MUJERES, and just spend the entire 10 days on Coz? Then for the last two days do a Mujeres Whale Shark snorkel trip right out of Coz, before flying home?

Have spent days on TripAdvisor, Travelocity reviews, etc. Some quick questions for now. I'm probably staying closer to the main town just to be close to shops/food. Not renting a car. Have been diving in Belize ("official English" country), but never been to Mexico at all and don't speak ANY Spanish.

Blue Angel, El Cid La Ceiba, Grand Park Royal, Casa Mexicana, anyone stay at these? Mi Casa en Cozumel on the cheap end. Other favorite hotels in the $80 to $120 max range? I'm solo this trip and don't drink/party, so an all-inclusive is probably a waste.

I see Dive Paradise has a package with the big Hotel Cozumel Resort. 4 nights and 9 dives for $800. Scuba Club Cozumel has a package too, under $600. But I hate getting stuck with one Dive Op. What if I don't like them after the first day? One review in particular had me concerned that they are a kinda "mass production" operation:

https://goo.gl/maps/yebcsyCmYDo

I see a lot of members diving with Blue XTSea (5 stars) and Tres Pelicanos, that's where I'm leaning, but I'm still reading on the other outfits. I've read Christi's FAQ here, and the three other "Coz 1st Timer" threads. About to read LimitedSlip7's huge April trip report. Are there any highly recommended dive sites specifically with the best chances of seeing Sharks, big wildlife, Pelagics, etc.? Or that's all really just random luck?...

I'm PADI Adv.-OW and have all my own gear except weights. Most of my 40+ dives are off Key Largo, Pompano Beach, and Belize. Reading the many Coz "Favorite/Top-10" dive site webpages now...

My girlfriend and I did the Cozumel/Isla Mujeres combo last November and our opinion of IM was that it is not nearly as nice as Cozumel, overall, but has some good points. We like the diving from IM but thought it was too touristy and not so clean. The prices for souvenirs were outrageous. We stayed at an AirBnB which was OK but not great. We found some good restaurants but did some cooking too. Chedraui was not too far from where we were staying. We did not rent a car and often shared a taxi for very few pesos. Other times it seemed that the ride was "on the gringos." Most of the people on IM appeared to be refugees from Cancun, out for a day trip away from their AI resort.
We stayed at Scuba Club a couple of times and the main gripes are: the boats are big and slow, and the dinner menu is very sparse. I don't mind the boat rides but sometimes you have to wait for your turn to photograph the moray eel etc. Much better to walk a few blocks to town for dinner.

We may return to IM to see the whale sharks but mainly I wanted to see MUSA. They have whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez so we might go there instead but I think it's great that Mexico created the whale shark sanctuary near IM.