ucrtwf
Guest
I know theres been a lot of trip reports out there lately, so Ill try to make this as painless as possible. If you can use one point out of it, it may be worth the read. It was this board that gave us the knowledge to eat, stay, and enjoy with some level of familiarity even though weve never stayed there. Thanks for all who posted. The restaurant list was compiled of the post a week or two ago
every time it was time to eat, I got out the list.
My wife and I returned to Coz after a 3-tank dive (we were stationed in the Maya where we were certified in Jan.). We showed up on Thursday (5/3) and came home late on Tuesday (5/8). We completed 17 dives during this time. We stayed at the Caribe Blu, dove with the Blue Angel dive shop out of convenience. The whole trip was great. Heres some details, meant to be informative, not entertaining (call me a geek engineer .hehehehe many do).
Location/feel-
Our trip down from Chicago took us through Dallas on the way there and Miami on the way back. Ill admit that the airport in Coz was cleaner any of the three stateside airports (with Dallas in a close second place). The atmosphere on the entire island was one of safety and friendliness. Ive been in several places in Mexico where I was not comfortable; this wasnt one of those places. I wouldnt be afraid to take my kids here sometime; it just had a nice feel. The language barrier never caused a problem (I dont speak Spanish-at all). In a couple of the restaurants, what we got wasnt what we ordered, but it was part of the game- nothing to worry about.
Hotel-
I couldnt ask for anything more. We had the shark room (402) on the top floor. The views of the sunsets were breathtaking. The only sounds were those of the ocean, a few boats, and the road out front (read as no obnoxious music, loud parties, etc). Everyone at the hotel was very friendly. We met Jeanie, the very helpful and on the ball reservation taker (as she calls herself, but that is very under-rated). The pool wasnt huge, but I never felt the need to jump in. The beds were fine. It wasnt 18 mattresses with pillow tops, but after a day of diving, it did the job well. There was no beach to speak of, but again, that wasnt what we were there for. Everyone around the Caribe, from the hotel staff, to the dive shop, to the café above the dive shop was full of hard working people. Everyone there busted their rumps day in and day out. I think if you know what to expect, you cant ask for anything more than what the Caribe has to offer. Nice, clean, quiet, and cheap place to stay. After a couple days, the familiar faces are comforting, unlike some of the big resorts out there. When we come back, well definitely be staying here again.
Eats-
The post a couple weeks ago of the restaurants proved to be awesome. Every time we passed by a prospective place to eat, my wife would ask is it on the list? Of course I had a condensed copy in my pocket every time we went out ..funny. Heres a quick re-cap-
Rendez blu- above the dive shop at the Caribe blu. We ate there for all breakfast and most lunches. The divers special (2 eggs, one awesome pancake, potatoes, and coffee for $5) cant be beat for a pre-dive meal. We also had club sandwich, burrito, Quesadas. Good eats cheap, normal bill was around $12-15 including tip; you can charge it to your room if you want.
La Choza- Beef Fajitas, and shrimp chille rellenos, w/2 beers $40 with tip. Very good.
Casa Denis- The Mexican combo was outstanding, green enchiladas were pretty good. Those entrees and 3 beers and a margarita was $40. There was a strange 10% extra charge on the bill said something like Amenitos 10%. It wasnt a big deal, but I thought I remembered from the board that there shouldnt have been any additional charges. They also gave out some tequila shots with the bill, not that I usually veer away from beer but ..what the hey. Very good food, neat atmosphere.
Papa Hogs- we went there for lunch a couple days. Hamburger, Burrito, Papa style Quesadas were very good, chicken tacos were OK. Approx $20 each sitting, usually with 2 beers.
Carlos and Charlies- Better than I expected from being in the middle of tourist-land. We went there late one night after night diving. Free beer upon sitting down (who can argue with that??). The staff was energetic, the food was good. We had the Mexican combo for two, some shrimp- cocktail- salsa-stuff (shrimp chrivaza or something- go ahead and laugh). Not bad at all. It was about $35 with 2 more beers.
El Pique- off of Christis list this place ruled. My wife and I ate tacos until we almost dropped (because they were so good) along with 2 beers for $20 including tip.
Taquiero Diaz- two doors north of El Pique. IMOHO this place was better than the El Pique, we tried to go back to el pique but they werent open yet so we went here. I feel that it should be added to the master list. Again totally awesome tacos. The fresh, hot food served at either of these places was second to none. Next time, want to eat at these places every night. We ate a bunch of tacos then ordered more to take back for after our night dive that night. Still $20 with 2 beers. I would recommend these places to anyone. Very professional and they cook the stuff right there, no reason to worry.
Costa Brava- This place is about a block off of the main road downtown. We went there on the way to the airport. This is the only place we visited that I wouldnt recommend. The pork tacos were mostly grizzle. The beef tacos werent much better. I think we were spoiled by the last two taco places. As to be expected, we ate less and it was more expensive. With 2 beers and tip, $24.
Chedraui- As mentioned by many others- this is like a super Wal-Mart. Groceries and general items. We went there the first day to stock up on fruit, granola bars, SI snacks, Gatorade, and of course beer for our after-dive snack. Most things are about the same price as here in the states. Beer was cheaper, $3.50/ 6 pack.
Taxi/ airport transfer bus- Taxis were pretty cheap. Depending on which day it was (or the drivers mood), a ride into town ranged from $3-5. We walked most of the time; it was about a 30-minute walk down town, and 20-minute walk to the Chedraui (yes, I timed it). The airport transfer was $16 for the both of us to the Caribe. Im thinking next time I may walk the 100 yards to the end of the airport and grab a taxi. If any other reason, just so we dont have to wait so long. They packed the vans FULL of people. The taxis were everywhere, we never had to wait long for one- just start looking around and they pick up on if their needed or not.
My wife and I returned to Coz after a 3-tank dive (we were stationed in the Maya where we were certified in Jan.). We showed up on Thursday (5/3) and came home late on Tuesday (5/8). We completed 17 dives during this time. We stayed at the Caribe Blu, dove with the Blue Angel dive shop out of convenience. The whole trip was great. Heres some details, meant to be informative, not entertaining (call me a geek engineer .hehehehe many do).
Location/feel-
Our trip down from Chicago took us through Dallas on the way there and Miami on the way back. Ill admit that the airport in Coz was cleaner any of the three stateside airports (with Dallas in a close second place). The atmosphere on the entire island was one of safety and friendliness. Ive been in several places in Mexico where I was not comfortable; this wasnt one of those places. I wouldnt be afraid to take my kids here sometime; it just had a nice feel. The language barrier never caused a problem (I dont speak Spanish-at all). In a couple of the restaurants, what we got wasnt what we ordered, but it was part of the game- nothing to worry about.
Hotel-
I couldnt ask for anything more. We had the shark room (402) on the top floor. The views of the sunsets were breathtaking. The only sounds were those of the ocean, a few boats, and the road out front (read as no obnoxious music, loud parties, etc). Everyone at the hotel was very friendly. We met Jeanie, the very helpful and on the ball reservation taker (as she calls herself, but that is very under-rated). The pool wasnt huge, but I never felt the need to jump in. The beds were fine. It wasnt 18 mattresses with pillow tops, but after a day of diving, it did the job well. There was no beach to speak of, but again, that wasnt what we were there for. Everyone around the Caribe, from the hotel staff, to the dive shop, to the café above the dive shop was full of hard working people. Everyone there busted their rumps day in and day out. I think if you know what to expect, you cant ask for anything more than what the Caribe has to offer. Nice, clean, quiet, and cheap place to stay. After a couple days, the familiar faces are comforting, unlike some of the big resorts out there. When we come back, well definitely be staying here again.
Eats-
The post a couple weeks ago of the restaurants proved to be awesome. Every time we passed by a prospective place to eat, my wife would ask is it on the list? Of course I had a condensed copy in my pocket every time we went out ..funny. Heres a quick re-cap-
Rendez blu- above the dive shop at the Caribe blu. We ate there for all breakfast and most lunches. The divers special (2 eggs, one awesome pancake, potatoes, and coffee for $5) cant be beat for a pre-dive meal. We also had club sandwich, burrito, Quesadas. Good eats cheap, normal bill was around $12-15 including tip; you can charge it to your room if you want.
La Choza- Beef Fajitas, and shrimp chille rellenos, w/2 beers $40 with tip. Very good.
Casa Denis- The Mexican combo was outstanding, green enchiladas were pretty good. Those entrees and 3 beers and a margarita was $40. There was a strange 10% extra charge on the bill said something like Amenitos 10%. It wasnt a big deal, but I thought I remembered from the board that there shouldnt have been any additional charges. They also gave out some tequila shots with the bill, not that I usually veer away from beer but ..what the hey. Very good food, neat atmosphere.
Papa Hogs- we went there for lunch a couple days. Hamburger, Burrito, Papa style Quesadas were very good, chicken tacos were OK. Approx $20 each sitting, usually with 2 beers.
Carlos and Charlies- Better than I expected from being in the middle of tourist-land. We went there late one night after night diving. Free beer upon sitting down (who can argue with that??). The staff was energetic, the food was good. We had the Mexican combo for two, some shrimp- cocktail- salsa-stuff (shrimp chrivaza or something- go ahead and laugh). Not bad at all. It was about $35 with 2 more beers.
El Pique- off of Christis list this place ruled. My wife and I ate tacos until we almost dropped (because they were so good) along with 2 beers for $20 including tip.
Taquiero Diaz- two doors north of El Pique. IMOHO this place was better than the El Pique, we tried to go back to el pique but they werent open yet so we went here. I feel that it should be added to the master list. Again totally awesome tacos. The fresh, hot food served at either of these places was second to none. Next time, want to eat at these places every night. We ate a bunch of tacos then ordered more to take back for after our night dive that night. Still $20 with 2 beers. I would recommend these places to anyone. Very professional and they cook the stuff right there, no reason to worry.
Costa Brava- This place is about a block off of the main road downtown. We went there on the way to the airport. This is the only place we visited that I wouldnt recommend. The pork tacos were mostly grizzle. The beef tacos werent much better. I think we were spoiled by the last two taco places. As to be expected, we ate less and it was more expensive. With 2 beers and tip, $24.
Chedraui- As mentioned by many others- this is like a super Wal-Mart. Groceries and general items. We went there the first day to stock up on fruit, granola bars, SI snacks, Gatorade, and of course beer for our after-dive snack. Most things are about the same price as here in the states. Beer was cheaper, $3.50/ 6 pack.
Taxi/ airport transfer bus- Taxis were pretty cheap. Depending on which day it was (or the drivers mood), a ride into town ranged from $3-5. We walked most of the time; it was about a 30-minute walk down town, and 20-minute walk to the Chedraui (yes, I timed it). The airport transfer was $16 for the both of us to the Caribe. Im thinking next time I may walk the 100 yards to the end of the airport and grab a taxi. If any other reason, just so we dont have to wait so long. They packed the vans FULL of people. The taxis were everywhere, we never had to wait long for one- just start looking around and they pick up on if their needed or not.
