Bahamas or Cozumel?

[FishDiver]

I have been to Coz a few times and loved it. I am intrested in diving the Bahamas with Blackbeard's but I am getting mixed reports on Bahamas diving conditions. I'm not worried about the "camping at Sea" aspect of Blackbeard's, just the relative quality of diving in both countries.

 

[farsidefan1]

I've been to both. I love the clarity of the water in Cozand the easy drift diving. Coz has much more varied structure swimthroughs etc. Bahamas have more sharks and generally larger fish althuogh that will vary dive from dive. I love them both. I do think dive operations are generally better on Coz simply because of Darwins "survival of the fittest". To survive in Coz you have to be outstanding. If you like photography I would go with the Bahamas. Drift dives make taking good photos a bit problamatic. You can get them on drift dives but it takes a lot more work. Both offer very good Caribbean diving (Yes, I know tha Bahamas are actually in the south Atlantic). Better food choices in Coz but since you are looking at Blackbeards that won't be a factor. Have fun. No bad choices on your menu.

 

[ROXANNE]

You should join other scubaboard members invading Cozumel, you would not want to miss this event!!!!!

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/in...61018-scubaboard-invades-cozumel-package.html

 

[CaptRam]

I found Coz to be such a plastic , unreal place it turned me off, nothing Mexican there- its 100% tourist trap nothing real about it at all, I was there for about 2 weeks and have to say it was the worst place I’ve ever been , and I’ve been all over the world-- the reefs are nice, but can be crowded -I never once had a good Mexican dish during my 2 week stay-all was a disappointment-the local Mexican restaurant in W.Palm Beach is way better-It was hard for me to understand what the attraction there was- It was once a great and beautiful place but not anymore there is not one square foot of what made the place special to begin with left- its all hotels and fast food restaurants crammed as close as possible to each other ugggg

The Bahamas on the other is much more real and natural- the reefs are just as nice ,more marine life with an authentic culture much less tourist = Go on the Blackbeard thing –Stay away from Freeport and Nassua if your able and you will love it-

 

[sawyersdad]

I don't think, no wait I am certain, I have never heard that before about Coz. To each his own....

 

[FishDiver]

I found Coz to be such a plastic , unreal place it turned me off, nothing Mexican there- its 100% tourist trap nothing real about it at all, I was there for about 2 weeks and have to say it was the worst place I’ve ever been , and I’ve been all over the world-- the reefs are nice, but can be crowded -I never once had a good Mexican dish during my 2 week stay-all was a disappointment-the local Mexican restaurant in W.Palm Beach is way better-It was hard for me to understand what the attraction there was- It was once a great and beautiful place but not anymore there is not one square foot of what made the place special to begin with left- its all hotels and fast food restaurants crammed as close as possible to each other ugggg

The Bahamas on the other is much more real and natural- the reefs are just as nice ,more marine life with an authentic culture much less tourist = Go on the Blackbeard thing –Stay away from Freeport and Nassua if your able and you will love it-

I don't think, no wait I am certain, I have never heard that before about Coz. To each his own....

I must admit, i have never heard or experienced that about Coz either. I still appreciate the perspective, though.

 

[Karibelle]

I found Coz to be such a plastic , unreal place it turned me off, nothing Mexican there- its 100% tourist trap nothing real about it at all, I was there for about 2 weeks and have to say it was the worst place I’ve ever been , and I’ve been all over the world-- the reefs are nice, but can be crowded -I never once had a good Mexican dish during my 2 week stay-all was a disappointment-the local Mexican restaurant in W.Palm Beach is way better-It was hard for me to understand what the attraction there was- It was once a great and beautiful place but not anymore there is not one square foot of what made the place special to begin with left- its all hotels and fast food restaurants crammed as close as possible to each other ugggg

The Bahamas on the other is much more real and natural- the reefs are just as nice ,more marine life with an authentic culture much less tourist = Go on the Blackbeard thing –Stay away from Freeport and Nassua if your able and you will love it-

Out of curiousity, where did you stay, and where did you eat? In my neighbourhood, it's all Mexican, all the time. Did you get back into town? Or did you stay near the waterfront?

-kari

 

[annlaur]

I found Coz to be such a plastic , unreal place it turned me off, nothing Mexican there- its 100% tourist trap nothing real about it at all, I was there for about 2 weeks and have to say it was the worst place I’ve ever been , and I’ve been all over the world-- the reefs are nice, but can be crowded -I never once had a good Mexican dish during my 2 week stay-all was a disappointment-the local Mexican restaurant in W.Palm Beach is way better-It was hard for me to understand what the attraction there was- It was once a great and beautiful place but not anymore there is not one square foot of what made the place special to begin with left- its all hotels and fast food restaurants crammed as close as possible to each other ugggg

Very surprised by your post. I stayed two months on the island a year ago (December, then February), had previously lived and traveled in other areas of Mexico, and really loved Cozumel. Yes, the waterfront in town and the plaza are a nightmare (by my standards) when the cruise ship tourists are in town, but there are many authentic, local neighborhoods a few blocks inland.
I rented an apartment 3 blocks from the ocean and the days I didn't dive I barely saw any gringo unless I wanted to. Mostly ate in cheap local joints and enjoyed some awesome meals.

Don't know what op you used, personally out of 40 dives I only saw another group of divers underwater twice (they were from our boat and the encounter lasted a minute at most, as we took different paths both times).

I could understand someone getting off a cruise ship for a day and only seeing the waterfront circus and diving off a cattleboat having that impression of the island.
But staying 2 weeks… that baffles me. Maybe you stayed in a AI down South, where there are only resorts, and didn't venture into town beyond the tourist area ?

You say "it was once a great and beautiful place"… Maybe you've been there before and now all you see is what's missing and not what's still there ?
I've had that happen to me when I went back to Isla Mujeres after 10 years. I had such fond memories that I was deeply disappointed by the change and couldn't quite get over it.

To the OP : Sorry about the hijack.
Can't offer feedback as I've never been to the Bahamas.

 

[oldmaninthesea]

I'm somewhat in agreement with CaptRam about Coz. I stayed there last year for 2 weeks and compared to other parts of Mexico it felt like a theme park for cruise ship passengers. The locals earn their living from the thousands of cruise passengers who pour off the ships every morning. Many of them pre-book tours and go straight from the ship to the van or taxi or whatever that takes them around the island. Those who don't run the gauntlet of taxi drivers, tour operators, jewelry shop owners, restaurant owners, etc who have a short period of time to make their sales pitch. This a place where taxi drivers only deal in American dollars. They can't make change in pesos because they rarely have Mexican passengers. There are no public buses which is unheard of in the rest of Mexico. Only in the last couple of years have collectivos begun to operate.

I really enjoyed the dives i did but would never stay in Coz again. Much rather stay in Playa del Carmen and go to Coz for the day.

 

[sawyersdad]

I have only stayed at AI's three times in the numerous times I have visited Cozumel and that was the first 3 times I went. Ever since then I have opted to stay at Boutiques and "In-Town" Condos. I rarely see "Cruisies" in town and occassionally at the restaurants that aren't located off Melgar. I do have to go to Guido's a few times each trip after diving, those pizzas hit the spot after a dive. That is typically when I run into the masses. But, watching the "Crusies" hustle about is pretty comical if you just sit, drink a cold one and watch em. That in itself is a sport.