Belize and/or Cozumel+Tulum

[profmason]

Crazy cheap flights on TUI from London direct to Cancun. Would catch that. Take the ADO to Playa del carmen and do some cenote dives. Take the ferry across to cozumel for several days of great diving and food. Take the ferry back to PDC and then the ADO down to the border (a day stop in Bacalar is nice before crossing the boarder and taking the bus down to belize city to pick up the liveaboard. On the way back, bus from belize city to cancun to return. (I think there is a 7 pm bus that gets you there the next day)

 

[Jay_Remi]

I did some of my first dives in Placencia about thirteen years ago. Even being a new diver, I thought it was crappy diving. I went to San Pedro this spring and was not much more impressed (except for the lack of lionfish). I swore I wouldn't return to Coz after diving in 2019, but it was about the only place I could go in 2020. The reef had really turned itself around in that time with no cruise ships or the southern hotels pumping their sewage into the ground (and out into the reef). I was there last fall, and it was still a lot better than Belize.

Personally, I like drift diving. I rarely try to fight the current unless the DM really wants to show me something. Being a bigger guy, I tend to catch more of the current than others. I just hide behind a ledge or a barrel sponge and let the others catch up to me.

I agree. Diving out of San Pedro was nothing special really. That's why the LOB option is the best option for those wanting to dive in Belize.

 

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

I agree. Diving out of San Pedro was nothing special really. That's why the LOB option is the best option for those wanting to dive in Belize.

Would you say the diving from a LOB is better than Cozumel then?

 

[LeggoDiveyDivey]

Crazy cheap flights on TUI from London direct to Cancun. Would catch that. Take the ADO to Playa del carmen and do some cenote dives. Take the ferry across to cozumel for several days of great diving and food. Take the ferry back to PDC and then the ADO down to the border (a day stop in Bacalar is nice before crossing the boarder and taking the bus down to belize city to pick up the liveaboard. On the way back, bus from belize city to cancun to return. (I think there is a 7 pm bus that gets you there the next day)

I did see those but thats a lot of travelling and waiting about. The amount of moving parts would add quite a few nights of travelling in a trip that already involves 2 long haul flights. It does open up the possibility of doing Yucatan in the future

 

[profmason]

I did see those but thats a lot of travelling and waiting about. The amount of moving parts would add quite a few nights of travelling in a trip that already involves 2 long haul flights. It does open up the possibility of doing Yucatan in the future

Then with a two week trip would do the TUI to Cancun, spend a few days in PDC or tulum for cenotes and the rest in cozumel. There is a time vs money thing here. It is pretty easy to 2 dives / day with airbnb and great food in cozumel for ~150 quid/day. PDC cenotes will be more like ~200 / day. Take a trip to a mayan pyramid etc and 10 days diving for a 2 week vacation for ~3000 pounds is not red sea cheap but close. I get to cozumel 3-4 times a year as many of us US based folks do. Agree that San Pedro diving is not as nice as cozumel.

 

[Edward3c]

I did see those but thats a lot of travelling and waiting about. The amount of moving parts would add quite a few nights of travelling in a trip that already involves 2 long haul flights. It does open up the possibility of doing Yucatan in the future

As an alternative to moving between Mexico and Belize have you thought of 1 week in the Florida Keys than a week in Belize. That’s what I’m doing for the SB Invasion next month.

Glasgow - Heathrow - Miami - week’s diving - Belize - week’s diving - Miami - Heathrow - Glasgow.

 

[Jay_Remi]

Would you say the diving from a LOB is better than Cozumel then?

I have never dived in Cozumel, so I can't compare.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

Would you say the diving from a LOB is better than Cozumel then?

Yes, most definitely!
I just returned from Cozumel 2 weeks ago, the last visit was 14 years ago and probably won't go back. The diving was good but not wow. The dive sites are over run with divers and dive boats. I counted at least 20 dive boats at some dive sites. I'm in the minority, but it isn't the best diving in the Caribbean.

 

[Cornbread O'Malley]

Would you say the diving from a LOB is better than Cozumel then?

In my experience, yes, the diving via LOB in Belize is better than Cozumel. Belize has a good chunk of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef along its coast (and probably the healthiest parts of the reef compared to Mexico and Roatan, Honduras).

 

[John Trecker]

IMO the dives in Belize are a few degrees better than Cozumel especially if you take a liveaboard and head east. The reefs are very healthy with a good mix of both soft and hard corals when I visited in July 2023. I saw numerous Caribbean reef sharks and nurse sharks swimming amongst the reefs. The density of fish on the reefs in Belize is a bit more compared to Cozumel (but nothing like Thailand where the schools of fish swarm around you like The Blob). The night dives off a liveaboard in Belize are quite spectacular (except for the bloodworms).

The diving in Cozumel offers great opportunities too. Fortunately, the reefs in Cozumel are recovering nicely from the 2023 bleaching from heat stress. Some of the coral formations towards the south end of the island are amazing. They look like mountains rising out of the sand. Sharks tend to hang out at dive sites at the southern tip of Cozumel.

With your level of diving experience, I suggest you look into diving with Aldora Divers on Cozumel. They offer a wider choice of dives different from the normal ones in the marine park. Aldora is famous for their adventure dives, blackwater dives, and charters to the east side of the island when conditions permit. When you dive with Aldora, the staff assesses your diving and then groups you with divers of similar skill level. You might find yourself on the first day diving with a bunch of less-skilled people, but bear with it as Aldora DMs will get you on the boat with more experienced divers. You will have to go through this "assessment" if you want to sign up for the adventure dives as the staff want to see your buoyancy control, gas consumption, comfort in the water, etc.

I really enjoy the 3-tank adventure dive because the boat goes north of the island. Very few dive operators on Cozumel go north. The dive starts with a lionfish hunt, then a dive to the cavern of sleeping sharks (I have visited twice and never seen them there), then a shallow dive. During the surface interval between dives 2 and 3, the boat captain serves lunch of ceviche made from the lionfish harvested. My friends and I did a trip to Cozumel in November/December 2024, and I offer you my trip report: Cornbread's November/December 2024 Cozumel trip report. I wrote about Cozumel diving and cenote diving.

If you're into blackwater diving and the photography, world-famous Robert Stansfield offers charters on Cozumel. You can check him out and coordinate with him through his Facebook page under the name "Blackwater Cozumel."

On Cozumel, I suggest that you do not book a stay with the all-inclusive resorts. Instead, book a stay in the town of San Miguel or close enough to walk into town. You will enjoy the variety of restaurants, bars, eateries and the vibrant activity the town has to offer. The town is quite safe to walk around in. For comparison, when I was in Belize City a few days before my liveaboard departure, the locals warned me against walking around after dark.

Look at landmark across from moneybar for airbnb