Best Coz dives for novices?

[ECPaul]

As novice divers, OW certified, but with only 10 dives under our belt, we're looking for recommendations for the best sites to dive in Cozumel. We will be there for a week over Spring Break this March. Or, should we just rely on the recomendations of the local dive ops (currently planning to use Blue Angel)? BTW, its snowing like crazy in Baltimore.

 

[Jim Baldwin]

My advise would be to tell the dive shop when you're booking your dives that you have no experience in Cozumel or with drift diving and would prefer to go on some less challenging dive sites for the first day or two in order to get you use to your equipment, drift diving and allow you to get your buoyancy, breathing and weighting down.

This is normally not a problem even with a large boat and 20 people on board. If you're diving a wall one group may go deep while another will do the same wall just in the 60 foot range.

If you're looking for some places that you can't fall off a ledge try Paradise Reef, Tormentos, and Chankanaub just to name three off the top of my head. These will all allow you to build your experience while enjoying the reefs of Cozumel.

Since you're diving for a week you can progress to sites like Palancar Bricks, Horeshore, Gardens or Caves. Santa Rosa is an excellent dive site with a sheer vertical wall that drops into several thousand feet of water.

Stay away from the deep sites as this is your first trip. You can always do them on your next trip down. Build you experience. By all means try a night dive. Great confidence builder and you will see lots of things you can't find in the daytime.

My wife and I will also be down during Spring Break April 2-10.

Good luck on your trip.

Jim

 

[diveborg]

I agree with Jim. Make sure the OP of your choice knows exactly your experience level and any concerns you have before you go.

Las Palmas is another good site. Maybe even see a seahorse there.

 

[bcaderunr]

My daughter and I dove with Blue Angel 2 weeks ago. She was a novice diver with 18 logged dives. We were on their fast (8-pack) boat and dove 3 days of (2-tank) morning dives. As the previous posters suggested, Blue Angel will determine your level and dive you appropriately. Even on the deeper dives, there's a hard bottom or wall top that puts a floor under you. They are a top notch operation for divers of all abilities. Relax, and know that you are in good hands. By the way, my daughter did splendidly on all the dives and can't wait to return to Coz.

 

[SterlingDiver]

As novice divers, OW certified, but with only 10 dives under our belt, we're looking for recommendations for the best sites to dive in Cozumel. We will be there for a week over Spring Break this March. Or, should we just rely on the recomendations of the local dive ops (currently planning to use Blue Angel)? BTW, its snowing like crazy in Baltimore.

....which is typically the second dive of the day and you should be fine. If your bounacy and confidence is good try something a little deeper later in the week. wall diving is a wondorful experiance but make sure your have some semblence of bouancy control before you do any. Others have advised to let your dive operator know of your lack of experiance, very very good advice. Let them help you know when you are ready for the next level, but only when you feel you are ready.

Drift diving has an element of additional risk but the operators on Coz. do it so well it seems easy and very safe.

Dalia, Tormentos, and Columbia Gardens are few of our favorite Cozumel shallow dives.

Best of luck and good diving.

Dave

 

[ECPaul]

Everyone-

Thanks for all of the great advice, we surely will keep it in mind. We will post our trip report when we get back. :bfish:

 

[Charlie99]

My recommendation is to be very open with your dive operator as to your experience level. Many operators have multiple boats and attempt to group together divers of similar experience levels.

Also look into taking the afternoon trips for the first couple of days. Many dive ops run both morning and afternoon 2 tank trips, with the afternoon dives both being shallow spots such as Paradise, because some divers will have just done two deeper dives that morning.

 

[jawfish]

And always remember, if you don't feel comfortable with something, speak up or don't do it. Everyone is right, most OPS will be very understanding if you have concerns. I would avoid places like Devils Throat on your first trip and stick with the less advanced sites.

 

[jeancmo]

As novice divers, OW certified, but with only 10 dives under our belt, we're looking for recommendations for the best sites to dive in Cozumel. We will be there for a week over Spring Break this March. Or, should we just rely on the recomendations of the local dive ops (currently planning to use Blue Angel)? BTW, its snowing like crazy in Baltimore.

My son and I went to Cozumel last May with limited diving experience-we stayed at Caribe Blu and dove with Blue Angel. After a week of diving with them I really feel comfortable diving.Jorge was our dive master everyday and he really helped me with my bouyancy and I knew he was watching us all the time. (Although my son was born a fish I didn't worry too much about him!HaHa) We went again in November and had a different Blue Angel divemaster and he was just as attentive. I really enjoy diving with them. Just let them know ahead what your experience is as they will help you. I tipped extra and was well worth it. They gave me the confidence I needed to relax and enjoy the scenery!!

Jean

 

[berick]

My wife and I did our first post-cert dives in Coz over Labour Day. The dives we did were (in order of dives):

1. Refresher/Shore Dive
2. Paradise Reef
3. Santa Rosa Wall
4. Tormentos
5. Palancar Caves
6. Villa Blanca
7. Paradise Reef

Paradise Reef is a very easy, relaxing 40' dive with a sandy ocean floor under you. The only 2 dives of the above list which caused any anxiety for me were 3. Santa Rosa and 6. Villa Blanca (Both due to inexperience and not knowing what to expect).

Santa Rosa isn't a hard dive -- I just didn't have much experience at the time. I'll never forget the first time I looked over the wall and it just dropped with no floor! Whoa! No big deal, you just need to get used to hangin suspended with no ocean floor visibile below you. Its a beautiful dive with a couple of swim thrus. My air consumption was a little high on this dive, though. Just be prepared to stare into the abyss for the first time!

Villa Blanca was fairly shallow (40-60') but had a very fast current the day we did it. My wife and I had a tough time staying back with the rest of the group. We weren't familiar with techniques for staying stationary in strong currents. I called my dive (and my wife's) after about 38 minutes of fighting the current. I just wasn't enjoying fighting the current and was getting a little warm in a full wet suit finning (84 F water temp). The rest of the group stayed down another 15-20 minutes.