LimitedSlip7
Contributor
What a trip! This was my 1st time to Cozumel/Mexico and my 1st what I would consider to be a dive trip. There was originally going to be four of us going but my friend knocked his wife up two weeks before the trip so it ended up just being the non-diving GF and I. I'm not sure if he knows what causes that condition...
Anyways, we flew out of Cleveland to Cozumel with a stop in Houston. Flights were very reasonable at only $400 RT. Had a rough 3AM getup followed by a 2 hr drive to Cleveland but it was nice stepping off the plane at 12:30 and still having most of the day to do stuff.
We stayed at Hotel Cozumel due to the price ($80/night, buddy wanted to do it on the cheap) and location. It was pretty much exactly what I expected due to reviews on here. Decent hotel, clean, good service, nice beach area with plenty of shade/hammocks!, and an okay breakfast buffet. We didn't go with the AI option so breakfast was the only meal we ate here besides getting chicken quesadillas one afternoon which were pretty good. Really my only complaint would be the hard beds. I'm a side sleeper and the first few nights I was waking up every 30-45 minutes due to limbs going numb. I kind of got used to it after the first few nights though. I would definitely recommend the place if they decide to upgrade the beds at some point.
We rented a 4-speed convertible bug ahead of time from ISIS Rentadora for the entire week (and for one day from the PDC branch) due to recommendations from the Tripadvisor forum. Mixed reviews here, on one hand they were very friendly and hassle free on the service side, but the car itself was an adventure in itself. This bug had to have at least a million miles on it. It was the scariest thing I’ve driven in my life due to the brakes, no working seat belts, holes in the floor, 20 degrees of play in the steering, very strong smell of gasoline, and extremely stiff gas pedal. These cars are just plain worn out. It was fun after a few days of getting used to it, until it rained hard and we realized water shoots up through the floorboard holes every time you drove through a puddle. Later in the week the headlights stopped working at night so we had to waste a couple of hours trading it in for a different car. We didn’t want to wait for it to be fixed at the mechanic so we had to settle for the other available car which was a hardtop beetle. For our next trip I would either get a newer car or go to a different rental place. I did get a parking ticket one day on the main road a couple blocks down from the ferry and I’m not sure why. There were no no-parking signs, the curb was yellow, and there were plenty of other cars parked there so why the ticket? Only cost me $23 but still… Other than that driving on the island and mainland was no problem at all. I would recommend taking some time to just drive around and check out all of the murals, graffiti, and wall art! Seems there are some talented artists on the island.
I dove with Tres Pelicanos for 5 days; 2 morning dives each day. I don't have many ops to compare them to but I can see why they come highly recommended! They picked me up promptly at 7:45 out front of the hotel every day and drove us to the marina. Their two boats are very nice, wide, and fast. I really didn't appreciate them until I went out in a 6-pack the last day of diving (I think the other two boats were at capacity that day). The DM's were Steve and Juan who were both fantastic. Steve showed me the ropes (and critters) the 1st day then it was pretty much hands-off dive-your-dive. If Juan wasn't so quick to point out everything underwater, I would have thought he was taking a nap. Pretty sure he could make an aluminum 80 last 80-90 minutes if he wanted to. Steve can get a little cranky if things aren't going to plan but I can relate to that (I have an alter ego named Mr Crankypants). Most surface intervals were at a pier with one or two of them spent floating. Fresh fruit, cake, and cold water were supplied each time, with the highlight being some top notch lionfish ceviche one day. Overall I would give them very high marks and will definitely dive with them again!
The diving itself was incredible! Sharks, turtles, eels, lobsters, everything. Great coral/sponge formations, swims throughs, walls, etc. Saw two BIG loggerheads mating on surface towards the end of our surface interval, then splashed in and filmed some turtle porn! First time I've seen loggerheads. Much bigger than the greens/hawksbills. The last dive on my last dive day we were on Cedral and I was a little disappointed that I hadn't seen a Splendid Toadfish when Juan points one out under a small outcropping! I caught a quick look at it then hovered just above the coral head while others were taking pics when I see a baby toadfish about 2" long on top! I was scrambling to get my camera set up for the shot when a friggen MANTIS SHRIMP jumps out of the coral and attacks the baby toadfish!!! At least I think it was a mantis, it was brownish, a couple inches long, and looked kind of like a wide centipede. Everyone else was looking at the bigger one under the coral head so I'm flailing around like I'm having a seizure trying to get their attention but it was over too quickly. The little toadfish got away! Looked a little banged up but I think it was alright. I would have had it on my Gopro but I had just turned it off to conserve battery. I did get a few crappy pics of the little toadfish... Really wish I could have dove a few more days. If the GF wasn't with me I probably would have been doing 4-5 dives a day. I started the week sucking down a tank in 40-45 min but was averaging around 60 min the last few days. About halfway through the week I started sending up my own SMB for the first time to get some practice. I learned not to wait until your safety stop to send it up and be sure to unhook it from your reel BEFORE inflating! Also tried to get a night dive set up but Paradise and 3P didn't have any on the list when I checked, so maybe next time.
Spent a day with Cenote Xperience as well for dives in Dos Ojos (bat cave) and El Pit. Seemed to be a well run operation and my DM Isabelle was very knowledgeable, helpful, and very enthusiastic about cenote diving. Both cenotes were very cool but El Pit really stood out due to the size and dramatic views of the entry! Really wish my pics would have turned out better. Overall a cool experience but I prefer diving reefs more. Definitely worth trying at least once.
El Moro - Hands down the best margaritas and pina coladas I’ve ever had. The owner and wait staff were exceptionally friendly. The seafood platter for two was good but I would probably get something different next time. Even if you can’t eat another bite, you must try their homemade coconut ice cream. I can’t stress that enough.
Guidos - The back alley seating was very neat but we weren’t that impressed with the food. Service was a little odd too. They asked if I wanted desert but wouldn’t let me get something to go!
La Choza - Good food and service. I had the chicken mole.
Wet Wendy’s - Peanut butter margarita! Definitely a unique spin on it. We went in here around 10:30PM due to getting back late from PDC. Decent food but service was verrrry slow despite them not being busy.
Del Sur Argentina Grill - Nope, didn’t like this place at all. Steak was thin and poor quality, didn’t get my side salad that was supposed to come with it, everything was very mediocre. Wouldn’t eat here again.
Buccanos - Everything here was great! Had the filet, lobster burger, Mahi sashimi, and a few cocktails. It was the most expensive meal we had but I don’t mind paying if the quality and service are good, which it was. Probably the best meal we had.
Cielito Lindo - Good food, I really liked the drinks and four mole appetizer.
La Cocay - Definitely one of our favorite places we tried. Everything was good.
Coconuts - Unique! Food was decent, pico was HOT, and if you like your margaritas STRONG (too strong!) this is the place to go. Seriously you’ll be drunk off two of those. Very unique setting on a bluff overlooking the East side with some very chill dogs and some not so chill parrots! The notebooks are a must see of course, except for the ones that aren’t.
I wasn’t able to talk the GF into trying diving this vacation but we did go snorkeling almost every day after I came back from diving. We snorkeled from shore only. My overall impression at the end of the week was to just stick with iron shore snorkeling on the upper half of the island. The lower half wasn’t worth the bother unless we seriously missed something.
Playa Corona - Swam all over the place including out past the buoy line and down Sky Reef. Wasn’t much to see except for a couple of small coral heads. However, we did see an Eagle ray cruising past us in the deeper channel out past the buoys. Only one I saw all week including while diving so I was definitely excited about that.
Money Bar - Again, very disappointed in this snorkel after all the reviews I read. Swam all over but didn’t see much. Nachos and beer were good though!
Coral Princess - This was the best snorkel we had I think. Saw many critters along the wall including two of the biggest puffers I’ve ever seen in a small cave South of the hotel.
Punta Sur - Ehhh kind of underwhelmed with this place. The beach was nice but the drinks were expensive and weak IMO. We swam out to the white buoy then down the reef to the red flag where the reef ended. The reef was pretty barren until about ¾ of the way down when you hit the purple sea fan forest. That was definitely neat and we saw the biggest starfish I’ve ever seen on the swim between the red flag and the beach. I was surprised we didn’t see anything in the grass beds between shore and the reef. Usually those are a hot spot for rays, turtles, and conch from my experiences elsewhere. Not a bad place if you are just looking for a nice beach to chill on. The lighthouse is a neat climb and we missed the boat ride. Worth checking out once but wouldn’t go back on a return trip. We drove up the East side after we left here but the whole coast was inundated with sargassum. Water was all brown by the shoreline and the smell was potent. I can see it being worth the trip if the seaweed wasn’t as bad.
Hotel Cozumel - This was actually a pretty decent shore snorkel, 2nd only to the Coral Princess. Snorkeled it 2-3 times in the day and once at night. Not much in the way of coral except on the wall but there were always neat critters out and about. Saw morays, sharptails, stingrays, nudibranch, starfish, octopus, reef squid, crabs, highhats, and more. Also did a shore dive here with the GF snorkeling above. I really wish I hadn’t waited until our last day there to snorkel at night! I probably would have done that damn near every night after seeing what I saw in just that one snorkel!
Also rented a car one day and drove to the Coba ruins one day. There were quite a few people here but it was cool riding a bike from ruin to ruin then climbing the tall one at the end. Great views and breeze on the top! Went swimming in each of the three nearby cenotes afterwords which are definitely worth checking out! Choo-ha was probably my favorite with the dramatic lighting and formations but the dive platforms in Tamcach-ha were cool too. Definitely worth a trip if you haven’t done it before.
The trip home was kind of rough. Got to the airport an hour or two too early but breezed through check-in/security once they were open. I would say show up 1-1.5 hours before your flight, tops. A reaallly loud/annoying family on the first flight (I think we heard the entire back half of the plane talking about them after we got off), then a 4 hour layover in Houston, followed by a crying baby the last leg home. Not too bad with headphones in and the volume cranked. Had a very hard time keeping my eyes open on the 2 hour drive home at 12:30am so maybe next time I’ll try to get an earlier flight.
Think that about covers it but I can’t wait to go back! Going to try and get the GF diving before a return trip so I can dive more or try to get in on a trip with divers only.
Anyways, we flew out of Cleveland to Cozumel with a stop in Houston. Flights were very reasonable at only $400 RT. Had a rough 3AM getup followed by a 2 hr drive to Cleveland but it was nice stepping off the plane at 12:30 and still having most of the day to do stuff.
We stayed at Hotel Cozumel due to the price ($80/night, buddy wanted to do it on the cheap) and location. It was pretty much exactly what I expected due to reviews on here. Decent hotel, clean, good service, nice beach area with plenty of shade/hammocks!, and an okay breakfast buffet. We didn't go with the AI option so breakfast was the only meal we ate here besides getting chicken quesadillas one afternoon which were pretty good. Really my only complaint would be the hard beds. I'm a side sleeper and the first few nights I was waking up every 30-45 minutes due to limbs going numb. I kind of got used to it after the first few nights though. I would definitely recommend the place if they decide to upgrade the beds at some point.
We rented a 4-speed convertible bug ahead of time from ISIS Rentadora for the entire week (and for one day from the PDC branch) due to recommendations from the Tripadvisor forum. Mixed reviews here, on one hand they were very friendly and hassle free on the service side, but the car itself was an adventure in itself. This bug had to have at least a million miles on it. It was the scariest thing I’ve driven in my life due to the brakes, no working seat belts, holes in the floor, 20 degrees of play in the steering, very strong smell of gasoline, and extremely stiff gas pedal. These cars are just plain worn out. It was fun after a few days of getting used to it, until it rained hard and we realized water shoots up through the floorboard holes every time you drove through a puddle. Later in the week the headlights stopped working at night so we had to waste a couple of hours trading it in for a different car. We didn’t want to wait for it to be fixed at the mechanic so we had to settle for the other available car which was a hardtop beetle. For our next trip I would either get a newer car or go to a different rental place. I did get a parking ticket one day on the main road a couple blocks down from the ferry and I’m not sure why. There were no no-parking signs, the curb was yellow, and there were plenty of other cars parked there so why the ticket? Only cost me $23 but still… Other than that driving on the island and mainland was no problem at all. I would recommend taking some time to just drive around and check out all of the murals, graffiti, and wall art! Seems there are some talented artists on the island.
I dove with Tres Pelicanos for 5 days; 2 morning dives each day. I don't have many ops to compare them to but I can see why they come highly recommended! They picked me up promptly at 7:45 out front of the hotel every day and drove us to the marina. Their two boats are very nice, wide, and fast. I really didn't appreciate them until I went out in a 6-pack the last day of diving (I think the other two boats were at capacity that day). The DM's were Steve and Juan who were both fantastic. Steve showed me the ropes (and critters) the 1st day then it was pretty much hands-off dive-your-dive. If Juan wasn't so quick to point out everything underwater, I would have thought he was taking a nap. Pretty sure he could make an aluminum 80 last 80-90 minutes if he wanted to. Steve can get a little cranky if things aren't going to plan but I can relate to that (I have an alter ego named Mr Crankypants). Most surface intervals were at a pier with one or two of them spent floating. Fresh fruit, cake, and cold water were supplied each time, with the highlight being some top notch lionfish ceviche one day. Overall I would give them very high marks and will definitely dive with them again!
The diving itself was incredible! Sharks, turtles, eels, lobsters, everything. Great coral/sponge formations, swims throughs, walls, etc. Saw two BIG loggerheads mating on surface towards the end of our surface interval, then splashed in and filmed some turtle porn! First time I've seen loggerheads. Much bigger than the greens/hawksbills. The last dive on my last dive day we were on Cedral and I was a little disappointed that I hadn't seen a Splendid Toadfish when Juan points one out under a small outcropping! I caught a quick look at it then hovered just above the coral head while others were taking pics when I see a baby toadfish about 2" long on top! I was scrambling to get my camera set up for the shot when a friggen MANTIS SHRIMP jumps out of the coral and attacks the baby toadfish!!! At least I think it was a mantis, it was brownish, a couple inches long, and looked kind of like a wide centipede. Everyone else was looking at the bigger one under the coral head so I'm flailing around like I'm having a seizure trying to get their attention but it was over too quickly. The little toadfish got away! Looked a little banged up but I think it was alright. I would have had it on my Gopro but I had just turned it off to conserve battery. I did get a few crappy pics of the little toadfish... Really wish I could have dove a few more days. If the GF wasn't with me I probably would have been doing 4-5 dives a day. I started the week sucking down a tank in 40-45 min but was averaging around 60 min the last few days. About halfway through the week I started sending up my own SMB for the first time to get some practice. I learned not to wait until your safety stop to send it up and be sure to unhook it from your reel BEFORE inflating! Also tried to get a night dive set up but Paradise and 3P didn't have any on the list when I checked, so maybe next time.
Spent a day with Cenote Xperience as well for dives in Dos Ojos (bat cave) and El Pit. Seemed to be a well run operation and my DM Isabelle was very knowledgeable, helpful, and very enthusiastic about cenote diving. Both cenotes were very cool but El Pit really stood out due to the size and dramatic views of the entry! Really wish my pics would have turned out better. Overall a cool experience but I prefer diving reefs more. Definitely worth trying at least once.
El Moro - Hands down the best margaritas and pina coladas I’ve ever had. The owner and wait staff were exceptionally friendly. The seafood platter for two was good but I would probably get something different next time. Even if you can’t eat another bite, you must try their homemade coconut ice cream. I can’t stress that enough.
Guidos - The back alley seating was very neat but we weren’t that impressed with the food. Service was a little odd too. They asked if I wanted desert but wouldn’t let me get something to go!
La Choza - Good food and service. I had the chicken mole.
Wet Wendy’s - Peanut butter margarita! Definitely a unique spin on it. We went in here around 10:30PM due to getting back late from PDC. Decent food but service was verrrry slow despite them not being busy.
Del Sur Argentina Grill - Nope, didn’t like this place at all. Steak was thin and poor quality, didn’t get my side salad that was supposed to come with it, everything was very mediocre. Wouldn’t eat here again.
Buccanos - Everything here was great! Had the filet, lobster burger, Mahi sashimi, and a few cocktails. It was the most expensive meal we had but I don’t mind paying if the quality and service are good, which it was. Probably the best meal we had.
Cielito Lindo - Good food, I really liked the drinks and four mole appetizer.
La Cocay - Definitely one of our favorite places we tried. Everything was good.
Coconuts - Unique! Food was decent, pico was HOT, and if you like your margaritas STRONG (too strong!) this is the place to go. Seriously you’ll be drunk off two of those. Very unique setting on a bluff overlooking the East side with some very chill dogs and some not so chill parrots! The notebooks are a must see of course, except for the ones that aren’t.
I wasn’t able to talk the GF into trying diving this vacation but we did go snorkeling almost every day after I came back from diving. We snorkeled from shore only. My overall impression at the end of the week was to just stick with iron shore snorkeling on the upper half of the island. The lower half wasn’t worth the bother unless we seriously missed something.
Playa Corona - Swam all over the place including out past the buoy line and down Sky Reef. Wasn’t much to see except for a couple of small coral heads. However, we did see an Eagle ray cruising past us in the deeper channel out past the buoys. Only one I saw all week including while diving so I was definitely excited about that.
Money Bar - Again, very disappointed in this snorkel after all the reviews I read. Swam all over but didn’t see much. Nachos and beer were good though!
Coral Princess - This was the best snorkel we had I think. Saw many critters along the wall including two of the biggest puffers I’ve ever seen in a small cave South of the hotel.
Punta Sur - Ehhh kind of underwhelmed with this place. The beach was nice but the drinks were expensive and weak IMO. We swam out to the white buoy then down the reef to the red flag where the reef ended. The reef was pretty barren until about ¾ of the way down when you hit the purple sea fan forest. That was definitely neat and we saw the biggest starfish I’ve ever seen on the swim between the red flag and the beach. I was surprised we didn’t see anything in the grass beds between shore and the reef. Usually those are a hot spot for rays, turtles, and conch from my experiences elsewhere. Not a bad place if you are just looking for a nice beach to chill on. The lighthouse is a neat climb and we missed the boat ride. Worth checking out once but wouldn’t go back on a return trip. We drove up the East side after we left here but the whole coast was inundated with sargassum. Water was all brown by the shoreline and the smell was potent. I can see it being worth the trip if the seaweed wasn’t as bad.
Hotel Cozumel - This was actually a pretty decent shore snorkel, 2nd only to the Coral Princess. Snorkeled it 2-3 times in the day and once at night. Not much in the way of coral except on the wall but there were always neat critters out and about. Saw morays, sharptails, stingrays, nudibranch, starfish, octopus, reef squid, crabs, highhats, and more. Also did a shore dive here with the GF snorkeling above. I really wish I hadn’t waited until our last day there to snorkel at night! I probably would have done that damn near every night after seeing what I saw in just that one snorkel!
Also rented a car one day and drove to the Coba ruins one day. There were quite a few people here but it was cool riding a bike from ruin to ruin then climbing the tall one at the end. Great views and breeze on the top! Went swimming in each of the three nearby cenotes afterwords which are definitely worth checking out! Choo-ha was probably my favorite with the dramatic lighting and formations but the dive platforms in Tamcach-ha were cool too. Definitely worth a trip if you haven’t done it before.
The trip home was kind of rough. Got to the airport an hour or two too early but breezed through check-in/security once they were open. I would say show up 1-1.5 hours before your flight, tops. A reaallly loud/annoying family on the first flight (I think we heard the entire back half of the plane talking about them after we got off), then a 4 hour layover in Houston, followed by a crying baby the last leg home. Not too bad with headphones in and the volume cranked. Had a very hard time keeping my eyes open on the 2 hour drive home at 12:30am so maybe next time I’ll try to get an earlier flight.
Think that about covers it but I can’t wait to go back! Going to try and get the GF diving before a return trip so I can dive more or try to get in on a trip with divers only.
Last edited by a moderator:
Continued safe trips and diving to you. Welcome to the Cozumel addiction!!!
