Advice on cozumel dive for beginners

[ccanfield]

Hi!

I was just informed about this board from a friend of mine. I have browsed the boards for a few days and have found lots of great advice on a number of issues and I was hoping to get some advice.

I am taking a trip to the riviera maya coast July 22-29 with my wife and her sister and brother in law. I have been certified for a few years but have not had an opportunity to do many dives. I have heard great things about the diving in Cozumel so I made it a priority to do at least one dive while we are there. My wife and in-laws just completed their certification this week in preparation for our trip.

I was hoping to hear from any of you that might have some advice for their first post-certification dive in Cozumel. Is their a particular dive company that you would reccomend for first time divers? Which of the Cozumel reefs would be your reccomendation if we can only do one? I REALLY want their first experience to be a positive one and I know that they are fairly nervous about doing an ocean dive for the first time. Any advice is greatly appreciated and I am sure I might have even overlooked some important questions that you might have some insight on. THANKS!

 

[scubawife]

I think you will get more replies by posting on the Cozumel sub-forum here http://scubaboard.com/forumdisplay.php?f=208

 

[ccanfield]

Thank you. I resubmitted my post in that forum http://scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=149749

 

[jwilmot]

You can also dive on the Playa side. We did our ow certification dives from Playa in 2003. Though I will say Cozumel diving is much nicer, Playa was not bad at all. The visibility was good and they were still drift and boat dives. You may be able to get a few more dives in if you do some from Playa seeing as that is where you are staying.

 

[teamheatwave]

You might want to check out Chankanaab National Park in Cozumel. It's a great shore dive - especially for beginners. While it may not offer everything Cozumel is famous for, there's still a lot to look at. They have small Mayan statues, reefs and critters, a small swim-through and a statue of Jesus. It's only about 30' in that area so you get a lot of bottom time and lots of light for photographers. Plus there's no real current to speak of. There are several small dive operators there that can assist you.