AOW, Stay and General Advice for Cozumel/Cancun?

[Joaz Banbeck]

Many years ago, we were beginners like you, and we were in Akumal, on the western side of the strait,
Read this: Beginners in Cozumel

Some dives have slow current, some have fast. A good DM will know which ones are for you. If they mention the Devil's Throat, go with someone else.

Make sure you learn the hand signals for "boat traffic overhead".

 

[DandyDon]

Since this is your first trip: Suggestions for Cozumel newbies...

> DAN dive insurance is essential. Explanation available.
> Do not ever rent scooters.
> Do not leave anything unsecured anywhere ever.
> Get trip insurance with at least $100K medical unless you are totally sure that your home medical insurance will cover you well in Mexico. No one expects issues, but they happen. DAN offers a pretty good deal, but Generali has better rates. Repatriation is included in DAN membership, but also included in most plans.
> Hire private DMs for each newbie or couple the first day, and remind them to explain escaping down currents.
> Everyone buy and carry SMBs and Storm whistles even if using rental gear.

I guess you know to not drink the water and to negotiate cab fares before boarding. Use your debit card at BANK OWNED ATMs (not free standing cash machines that are dangerous) to get Pesos as most things are cheaper in the local currency, but decline the first rate if offered as it's poor.

 

[GameChanger]

Not necessarily. I have been diving Cozumel for more than 25 years on an OW cert, and I have never been asked to show an AOW card in order to dive anywhere I want to go. The ops on Cozumel know that there are lots of AOW card holders who are not experienced divers and lots of OW card holders who are. If they don't know you they typically will take you on easy dives at first to see how you handle yourself in the water.

I honestly cannot remember the last time I was asked for a Cert card...

 

[rick00001967]

I completely agree with skipping the cancun stay. Not worth it especially on a 10 day trip.

We like splitting time between coz and playa. So that should be great.

We always recommend contacting matt at tank ha in playa for any diving there.

Our shop usually uses marine world on coz but i have never dine any training there.

Fwiw....unless you need the aow to achieve a specific goal with padi i would rather do a deep course maybe along side a nitrox course.

Let us know if you need help picking a condo or hotel in playa. We know many of the buildings there.

 

[sefuchs]

Not necessarily. I have been diving Cozumel for more than 25 years on an OW cert, and I have never been asked to show an AOW card in order to dive anywhere I want to go. The ops on Cozumel know that there are lots of AOW card holders who are not experienced divers and lots of OW card holders who are. If they don't know you they typically will take you on easy dives at first to see how you handle yourself in the water.

AOW is probably not needed in Coz because the Dive OP will assess your abilities on your 1st dive. They generally don't enforce the depth limitations of OW verses AOW. As others have suggested, get more dive experience before getting AOW certified so that you can fine tune your skills (or break the bad habits) during your AOL training.

Some areas abide to the rules a more than others. Just got back from Indonesia and they would not mix OW & AOW divers on the same boat even though everybody was fairly experienced. Didn't specifically ask the OW divers if they limited the depth of their dive. I'd suggest getting an AOW (& Rescue) if you plan on doing much dive travel, sticking to Coz it won't be an issue.

Physically checking a card dosn't happen much anymore with everything being on-line. I would hope and expect any respectable dive op would verify your cert level.

My question is - IF an accident happens at an uncertified depth what liability is there to the Dive Op and/or with Insurance (DAN)?

 

[JustinJRL]

In other parts of the world they most certainly group divers based on certification level, so I wouldn't bank on dive ops not caring OW vs AOW, including liveaboards that simply won't let you book in some cases without the advanced cert.

So in other words, I disagree with some others, support the idea of getting your AOW while you're on the island, even if it's towards the end of your trip.... But I agree with leaving Cancun asap, get as much diving in Cozumel as you can and perhaps a day or two in PDC at the end of your trip.

I was at Casa Mexicana mid October, it was quiet, nothing too fancy but it is a great location for "eat,sleep,dive".... safe, many great restaurants within a few blocks. Just avoid the one restaurant right on the corner "Chile Tequila", as it is a scam joint.

 

[ggunn]

AOW is probably not needed in Coz because the Dive OP will assess your abilities on your 1st dive. They generally don't enforce the depth limitations of OW verses AOW.

FWIW, I was never informed of any depth limitation on my OW certification. I have been to 155 fsw, but I will likely never do that again. Um, strike the "likely".

I have been diving for more than 25 years on my OW cert; I have excellent buoyancy control and air consumption, I can navigate with a compass, I have been on many night dives, and as I said I have dived to 155 fsw. Virtually all my diving is at Cozumel, so I can't think of a reason why I should take an AOW course. If there were a way to test out to get the card, I might do that.

 

[sefuchs]

I have been diving for more than 25 years on my OW cert; I have excellent buoyancy control and air consumption, I can navigate with a compass, I have been on many night dives, and as I said I have dived to 155 fsw. Virtually all my diving is at Cozumel, so I can't think of a reason why I should take an AOW course. If there were a way to test out to get the card, I might do that.

Fine and good - in Cozumel.

You will still be limited to OW restrictions in many parts of the world. I am not saying just having an AOW makes you a better diver but not having an AOW will have limitation.

 

[cozcharlie]

If you want an AOW, definitely get the AOW. An instructor friend calls it supervised experience. It definitely will NOT make you an “advanced” diver , but will give you a little more variety of experiences than you would get just diving every day for a week doing standard 2-tank tourist dives. It should also reinforce skills you had in your OW course just by being around an instructor who is focused helping you improve your diving skills. As I believe someone else mentioned , just the task loading experience alone is useful.

I would also recommend you consider getting your Nitrox course if time and budget allow. It is very easy unless you are genuinely awful at elementary school math . Mostly online these days(a couple of hours ) . Think you meet instructor at end to show you how to use analyzer and fill out log (can combine with two ocean dives for a fee I am sure ) . Nitrox isn’t really necessary for a younger healthier person doing 2 basic dives a day in Cozumel using standard 80 cubic foot tanks , but if you ever plan to go anywhere doing more than two dives a day (or use big tanks for extended bottom time) they can be done much more safely with Nitrox (especially a liveaboard doing 4-5 dives a day ). A fair number of older (50+) experienced divers will also use Nitrox for the second dive in Cozumel as a safety buffer against DCS (air for first dive, Nitrox for second). This group includes me—I know way too many serious divers who have been hit while diving their computers hard (without actually exceeding computer limits ).

And while I don’t get asked for my c-card in Cozumel because I have been diving with same people for decades , when I travel around the world I am usually asked to provide my c card number electronically long before I arrive at a given resort/liveaboard. Most don’t seem to care what certification I have , just that I have something (though some subset of locations do like for people to have the AOW, I think it varies by region). Shops usually also ask your total number of dives and most recent dive , which honestly are better predictor of skill level than certification.

 

[Rob9876]

I agree with the others and would suggest skipping MUSA/Cancun. And with you only having 10 dives so far, I'd suggest leaving the cenotes for a future trip -- I just think it's better to have your buoyancy dialed-in, and some experience with open water dark (night) dives before you get in an overhead environment.

I keep hearing of more and more dive ops wanting to see AOW (especially in Florida), so I think AOW in Cozumel makes sense. I'd talk with any potential instructor to make sure they will do a night dive as one of your 5 AOW dives (it is definitely an option). We always love night dives in Cozumel, and diving in the dark will be part of preparation for cenotes in the future.

For dive ops we have liked Tres Pelicanos and Jungle Divers a lot, but have not taken a class from them. Another option for class and/or lodging is ScubaJuan at Hotel Barracuda. The hotel itself is *very* old, dated and no-frills, but it is clean and has a great location on the water and a pretty easy walk to the main part of town, decent swim-up pool bar/grill to relax in, and shore diving on-site. ScubaJuan is in the bottom of the hotel, are very friendly, teaches classes and they do boat dives and shore dives (day and night). I believe ScubaJuan has some diving & lodging packages with the hotel. And while the shore dives at Hotel Barracuda don't have all of the big coral features of the boat dives, there is still a lot of good stuff to see -- and much cheaper than boat dives.