A First Timers View of Cozumel- The Good and the Bad

[Wristshot]

Herman,

Thanks for sharing. Everyone's experience is a little different, and everyone's expectations are different.

I have been to Cozumel twice. Both times I stayed at an inexpensive hotel (only) towards the north end of town. (not north of town; on Calle 6) I walked to most places, only using taxis when we had luggage; to and from hotel, and first and last to-from dive shop with full gear. The rest of the time I walked to and from the dive shop with selected items, and walked around town unencumbered.

During one of very few taxi rides I (re)learned that you make sure that you get the price agreed to before you start. Okay to start loading, but don't get in the cab until a price is agreed to. But I digress.

What I wanted to say was that the only place that I saw agressive vendors was in the heart of town. Once I got a couple blocks from the center square, everything was casual and there was no pressure. Of course I did not walk south past A R Salas very often, and not very far. I am sure that the vendors are thick wherever the pod people tend to tread.

On Avenida 5 near the square, almost every shop wants to drag you into their wonderful place. The cigar store was usually the most agressive. The second most agressive was Casa Denis restaurant. Still, it was not really much worse than the big flea markets here in San Jose. They are easy to deal with if you have the right mindset.
On Melgar at the waterfront, many of the stores are high end, so the pressure comes from someone dressed a lot nicer, but the pitches are similar. Such is the way of business in a tourist destination. Sometimes just getting away from the main roads and the main square will ease the pressure significantly.

However, on Sunday, you have GOT to get to the main square in town. Lots of locals hang out there, many dressed up, listening to music and hanging out. The spectacle of the painters and all the people is a great experience, even if there are people trying to sell you things.

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I am very sorry that you didn't find restaurants that you liked. I have found a bunch that I really liked. I really enjoyed lunches at a couple of the "economicas" with authentic food (of course) at extremely reasonable prices. As I have said elsewhere, ask the employees at your dive op where they eat. They can't afford La Mission all the time, and they usually can recommend some good places. My buddy is not nearly as adventurous as I am, and he doesn't enjoy Mexican food as much as I do, so we had to hit MacDonald's one night for him. (I chose not to eat).

For dinners, we ate at the Hotel Flamingo a couple times, and we hit some of the pricey high end joints. Hey, why scrimp on vacation? Some are rather expensive, especially when compared to the lunches, but we had some real good meals at a few places. I love Guido's, but it is not cheap. Prima's was good, but not great and not for the budget-minded. To each his/her own.

Again, my buddy thought that La Mission was the best, but I kept thinking about how much it cost. Not to be too cheap, but I know of other places that were 1/2 the cost and just as good (or better). So we ended up being economical for lunches, and splurging a bit on dinners.

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Glad to hear that you really liked the diving. After all, that is most of what it is about.

I hear you about the drift diving. I wrote a big list to help people with what to expect with drift diving in Cozumel. There are times where I would love to hang out in one small area and really get up close and personal with the reefs, but you can't always do that. I try to hang back so that I don't miss stuff, but you can't get it all. I was amused by your "run and gun" comment, and I hear ya brother! Sometimes you want to hang back and take your time getting the shot, but sometimes it just isn't prudent.

Your pictures look very good. I also have a Oly 5050 PT-015 and I have an INON D180 that I haven't tried out yet. I hope to get better results with more practice.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Hopefully others will learn from it.

Later,


Wristshot

 

[CALI68]

Given our avoidance of the few places like the Presidente, etc. this is one area where I'm CERTAIN we would have been disappointed if it weren't for Scubaboard.

You lost me on this part, what did you mean?

-Chris

 

[WarmGoingCold]

Alot of these poor folks sit outside their stores all day trying to get people to come in just to scrape by. I am definatly not entertained by the street vendors bugging me every few feet walking down the street, but at the same time, I understand why they are doing it.

As for everything else about Coz, I love the place, and appreciate the laid back attitude. The food does get a little old after a few days, and we had a bad experience with the salad bar at Pepe's grill while we were there, but there is always a subway and burger king in town if you need a fix.

For the most part, the people are very friendly, the diving is great, and it is warm and sunny. For me, that beats the hell out of Seattle during the winter and spring when we have short days, and alot of rain.

 

[fonfon5]

Alot of these poor folks sit outside their stores all day trying to get people to come in just to scrape by. I am definatly not entertained by the street vendors bugging me every few feet walking down the street, but at the same time, I understand why they are doing it.

As for everything else about Coz, I love the place, and appreciate the laid back attitude. The food does get a little old after a few days, and we had a bad experience with the salad bar at Pepe's grill while we were there, but there is always a subway and burger king in town if you need a fix.

For the most part, the people are very friendly, the diving is great, and it is warm and sunny. For me, that beats the hell out of Seattle during the winter and spring when we have short days, and alot of rain.

Is there any particular diving centers you would or wouldn't recommend in Cozumel? I am planning a trip there this summer and would greatly appreciate your feedback. Thanks.

 

[aa777888]

Quote:
Originally Posted by aa777888
Given our avoidance of the few places like the Presidente, etc. this is one area where I'm CERTAIN we would have been disappointed if it weren't for Scubaboard.



You lost me on this part, what did you mean?

-Chris

What I meant was, we didn't want to stay at an AI, and we didn't want to stay at a ritzier, more expensive "safe" choice. By safe I mean of sufficient quality that it would of been almost guaranteed that the room and facilities would have made us happy and comfortable.

Instead we wanted a non-AI property that put us closer to town, capable of dock pick-up, and less expensive. This put us into the mid-to-low end hotel category. Places in this category are of more highly variable quality. Studying the contents of Scubaboard and Christi's help allowed us to do a better job of separating the wheat from the chaff and we wound up at Caribe Blu. Not perfect but a darn good trade-off overall. It's unlikely we would have made as good a choice without that information and help.

We were intrigued by Playa Azul and probably should have gone to look at it when we were there, but it's north of town and thus fell out of the dock pick-up zone. We were also intrigued by some of the villas in town, but they also required a trip to the dock.

We'll probably do the Caribe Blu again, but next time we'll try to arrange for something on the 2nd floor and bring a bigger cooler

 

[redrover]

Gee, from reading this; ‘Coz’ sunk off the possibly interesting places to go list.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Gee, from reading this; ‘Coz’ sunk off the possibly interesting places to go list.

Go for yourself and draw your own conclusions. Look at all the people who love the place and return again and again vs. the very few who have a bad experience and vow never to return. Actually. . .don't go. . .there will be more room for the rest of us!

As to vendors on the main drag. . .walk on the ocean side of the street! No vendors, no hassles! Better yet stay off the cruisero strip altogether.

 

[RICHinNC]

It bugs me the route Scubaboard is taking. We used be able to get on here and tell our reactions to locations we have dove without being lambasted because we didnt think we had visited heaven itself.

I have met and dove with Herman and find him a pretty decent guy who is very laid back and tolerable to a lot of stuff I would go nuts over.

He indicated the hotel was fine....just the restuarant was below par.....and if I ever catch a waiter forging a tip....come to the police station to get my butt because I will taking that person behind the barn.

I dont want just a rosey, it was all great review when it wasnt. Im not so naieve as to think that those that write glowing remarks about a trip didnt experience bumps along the way....but there are bumps and there are bumps. I want to know the significant ones. A restuarant in a hotel that could make me late for a dive.....and a waiter that forges tips....I like to know that.

As far as vendors and quality of restuarants around town goes.... that is all personal taste and tolerance. But if someones tolerance is lower than mine, I dont feel the need to bang them over the head. I have eaten at places that were fantastic, then taken a friend there and the food sucked even by my standards. I always consider restuarant recommendations "iffy" at best.

So, I expect now the way the board is going for a few to come back and bang me for this post. I can live with it. I just look at the source and take it in stride. But if you dont like hearing how an experience went on a trip....DONT READ MY TRIP REPORTS... because I dont hold back and they arent for the weak of heart.

JMHO.
rich

 

[herman]

Lets see, where to start....

I did not hate Coz,far from it. With the excpetion of the one waiter most of my experiences were good and it's far from being on my "never go back list". Everyone deals with things differently, has different taste and dislikes. I repsect that. What I attempted to do was to describe my experiences as I saw them- good and bad. I have a big dislike for pushy people in general and I can care less if they are super rich or very poor- pushy is pushy and wealth or lack of it is no excuse. I am sure there are others that feel the same way and would like to know before arriving on the island. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever discussed it in a post before on this board and I go way back on this board.
I realize food taste vary and to be honest, Mexican food is not my favorite. I also realize that many times the up front, bigger places are not always the best, frankly, I much prefer the small hole in the wall joints and seek them out. Being my first time in Coz, I did stick to the more touristy places and am sure there are some really good local places I missed. Compaired to other island I have been on, the restaurants I did eat at were average at best. The quality, quantity, service and price did not compair favorably to other island I have dove on. The one small pizza place being a notable exception. The "being on a island" excuse does not cut it, Bonaire and the Bahammas are islands too. One of best beef places I know of is on Bonaire and some of the best fish I have eaten was on Grand Bahama Island. Both of these islands depend on cargo ships for supplies, Coz has the great ferry service to the mainland. That said, I do expect reasonable service no matter where I go. I am well aware of island time, as Rich can tell you, I am usually on island time at home and even more so on vacation. I don't expect a waiter to hover over me constantly but returning once every 5 to 10 minutes is not an unreasonable expectation. Having to chase down a waiter to get a cup of coffee and then having to wait 5 minutes for it when 4 or 5 waiters are milling around is unreasonable -island time or not. And then to be harrassed for an undeserved tip... Again, the small pizza place had great service...and he got the tip to go with the service. I do think the cruise ships have alot to do with the attitude I was seeing.
Cozumel is far from a hell hole or a place to avoid. I will most likely return some day and I am glad to have made the trip . On the other hand, I don't see any real reason to return when I can get to the Keys in less time, with less trouble and the diving better suits my diving style.

 

[ggunn]

It bugs me the route Scubaboard is taking. We used be able to get on here and tell our reactions to locations we have dove without being lambasted because we didnt think we had visited heaven itself.

I have met and dove with Herman and find him a pretty decent guy who is very laid back and tolerable to a lot of stuff I would go nuts over.

He indicated the hotel was fine....just the restuarant was below par.....and if I ever catch a waiter forging a tip....come to the police station to get my butt because I will taking that person behind the barn.

I dont want just a rosey, it was all great review when it wasnt. Im not so naieve as to think that those that write glowing remarks about a trip didnt experience bumps along the way....but there are bumps and there are bumps. I want to know the significant ones. A restuarant in a hotel that could make me late for a dive.....and a waiter that forges tips....I like to know that.

As far as vendors and quality of restuarants around town goes.... that is all personal taste and tolerance. But if someones tolerance is lower than mine, I dont feel the need to bang them over the head. I have eaten at places that were fantastic, then taken a friend there and the food sucked even by my standards. I always consider restuarant recommendations "iffy" at best.

So, I expect now the way the board is going for a few to come back and bang me for this post. I can live with it. I just look at the source and take it in stride. But if you dont like hearing how an experience went on a trip....DONT READ MY TRIP REPORTS... because I dont hold back and they arent for the weak of heart.

JMHO.
rich

What in the world are you talking about? I've read every article in this thread, and I never saw any banging or lambasting of anyone. Some people posted an opinion, some other folks posted their counters to that opinion, just like it's supposed to go on a forum. It all came across as very civil to me; did I miss something?

What is pretty near heaven to me is not necessarily so for everyone. That's the way of the world, and it's a good thing; if everyone in the world felt the same way about Cozumel as I do, I'd have to book my flights three years in advance.

If anything I've said came across as a personal attack on anyone, I heartily apologize; such was certainly never my intention. To each his own, and live and let live.

Peace,