Another Choice - Feb in Cozumel or Roatan

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nldunn

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Location
New York
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Hi all,
Still pretty new, my husband and I are going to get to our 10th dive after being certified in 1989 (we didn't dive for over 30 years and we did take refresher courses and we have been diving in the last year.) My husband isn't nervous at all but he really doesn't like to go deep and I'm not keen on it either, (I'm still very nervous) so deep means past about 45 feet for us. We were supposed to go to Florida with a local dive shop to get our AOW in February (I do not think we will be advanced after this training but I wanted more practice) but the trip may be postponed) and I will need to get out of far upstate NY by February!!!
Loved Cozumel, loved the food, stayed at Playa Azul and would love to stay there again even if we have to drive to dive shops further south but worried about the weather in Feb. I'm going to Roatan with my daughter in August but I'm open to it with my husband for Feb. I looked at hotel prices and they seemed super high for Roatan so that made me pause, also.
I'd love your experiences, thoughts, advice. I'm open to it all!!
Thank you,
Nancy
 
February is one of my favorite months for Coz. Surface temps are pleasant for walking around and the sea temps are 79-80, ranging 79-84 year round. There's always a chance of norte closing the port (and diving) but unlikely to be more than one or two days. You can ask ops to put you on shallow trips and also can book guided shore dives that will max out at 25'. There is an annual festival called Carnival that could make hotels a bit more expensive that week. Pay it and enjoy the festivities or book outside those dates.

Not sure where you're looking in Roatan but there are several budget options in West End, like Seagrape or Splash. Roatan is one of the cheapest places to go after Mexico. For AI look at Turquoise Bay.
 
Hi @nldunn

Can't speak to Cozumel, but on the Roatan side by February the worst of Roatan's rainy season is over, especially if you go mid to late month. And yes, most hotels etc consider that to be high season so prices are higher then, taking advantage of those trying to get away from the northern latitude winters... but as just mentioned there are a range of options from budget to more expensive if you look around a bit.

One advantage to Roatan is that if there is a "norther" many ops have arrangements to dive on what is then the sheltered south side of the island so you don't necessarily lose full dive days if adverse weather is affecting the north/west side. Water temps in February are about the same as mentioned above for Cozumel - 78-80F which for me is 🥶 but I live in the tropics where the surface temp runs 88-90 almost year round...

40-50 feet is one of my personal favorite depth ranges around Roatan's reef. Lots to see, gas lasts longer for us inexperienced divers, etc. You'll have no trouble requesting that from pretty much any shop on the island and having it respected.
 
Check the rates at Sea Grape in the West end. They include lunch and breakfast and 2 dives a day at something like $880 for a week plus 19 %tax,,including airport pickup per person. I can't vouch for it, but the reviews looked great and I booked for 11 nights in April as they had a reasonable single supplement. I can't tell you anything about diving there either as I have never dove in Honduras. But that is slot less than what I have been paying in Costume and it has better accommodations.
 
February is one of my favorite months for Coz. Surface temps are pleasant for walking around and the sea temps are 79-80, ranging 79-84 year round. There's always a chance of norte closing the port (and diving) but unlikely to be more than one or two days. You can ask ops to put you on shallow trips and also can book guided shore dives that will max out at 25'. There is an annual festival called Carnival that could make hotels a bit more expensive that week. Pay it and enjoy the festivities or book outside those dates.

Not sure where you're looking in Roatan but there are several budget options in West End, like Seagrape or Splash. Roatan is one of the cheapest places to go after Mexico. For AI look at Turquoise Bay.
Thank you so much! Do you have any idea where I would be able to book shallow guided shore dives? And I appreciate you sharing your information,
Best,
Nancy
 
Check the rates at Sea Grape in the West end. They include lunch and breakfast and 2 dives a day at something like $880 for a week plus 19 %tax,,including airport pickup per person. I can't vouch for it, but the reviews looked great and I booked for 11 nights in April as they had a reasonable single supplement. I can't tell you anything about diving there either as I have never dove in Honduras. But that is slot less than what I have been paying in Costume and it has better accommodations.

I can. Our dive club sent 12 people there in Nov 2024 and had a great time. Yes that's peak rainy season and it lived up to it, pouring down most of the trip. There were days we felt like the dive started when we boarded the boat and ended when we returned to dock. But we didn't miss any dives. It's not raining at 60'.

The food and service was quick and good. It's a short walk to town for dinners.

Here is a crazy excellent trip report on our club site. West End Roatan Trip Report
 
Hi @nldunn

Can't speak to Cozumel, but on the Roatan side by February the worst of Roatan's rainy season is over, especially if you go mid to late month. And yes, most hotels etc consider that to be high season so prices are higher then, taking advantage of those trying to get away from the northern latitude winters... but as just mentioned there are a range of options from budget to more expensive if you look around a bit.

One advantage to Roatan is that if there is a "norther" many ops have arrangements to dive on what is then the sheltered south side of the island so you don't necessarily lose full dive days if adverse weather is affecting the north/west side. Water temps in February are about the same as mentioned above for Cozumel - 78-80F which for me is 🥶 but I live in the tropics where the surface temp runs 88-90 almost year round...

40-50 feet is one of my personal favorite depth ranges around Roatan's reef. Lots to see, gas lasts longer for us inexperienced divers, etc. You'll have no trouble requesting that from pretty much any shop on the island and having it respected.
Thank you for all of that info. Definitely looking into it! And I'm with you - my husband says that everything gets darker the deeper you go, so why bother!!!???!!
Nancy
 
Thank you so much! Do you have any idea where I would be able to book shallow guided shore dives? And I appreciate you sharing your information,
Best,
Nancy

Probably any dive op can set you up with one of their DMs. One freelancer that I've heard good accounts with is Mario Ceh. Here is his FB page. Mario Ceh
 
Check the rates at Sea Grape in the West end. They include lunch and breakfast and 2 dives a day at something like $880 for a week plus 19 %tax,,including airport pickup per person. I can't vouch for it, but the reviews looked great and I booked for 11 nights in April as they had a reasonable single supplement. I can't tell you anything about diving there either as I have never dove in Honduras. But that is slot less than what I have been paying in Costume and it has better accommodations.
Thank you! Just checked out Sea Grape and they are booked most of February and March. Bummer. I'll have to try earlier next year! Thank you,
Nancy
 

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