Best Cozumel diving center for newbies

[brsnow]

You literally walk to a pier get on a boat, get off boat to a line of waiting taxis.

 

[ggunn]

You literally walk to a pier get on a boat, get off boat to a line of waiting taxis.

I agree that if you know what you are doing and where everything is that you need to access, it is fairly simple, but from the perspective of someone who has never been to that part of the world I'll wager that it's a different situation. I would advise someone in that position to go to Cozumel the evening before and maybe stay on the island for a couple of days rather than have to figure it all out between the time the ferry lands and the dive boat departs.

 

[Guille G]

Going over in the ferry to dive with a Cozumel shop and back to Playa is doable but it makes for a LONG day. It is much better to at least stay one night or more - there’s plenty of diving in Coz for days and days (and weeks).

If just want to do a dip to check it out but would rather spend all your nights here on the main land, then it is much more comfortable to take one of the fast boats that do the crossing. Most shops in Playa can book a spot in one of the two boats that do it every day, just make sure you book a couple of days in advance. You’ll start early and be back in Playa in time for tacos.

 

[ConfusedTrout]

Yep.

Is that flexible? You're from Scandinavia? I wish I was there. Would enjoy meeting you. How long are you in the country? You should try to be some time on the island.

I am originally from Spain, but my spouse is Norwegian. I have been living in Norway for around a decade now

While Cozumel definitely has better ocean diving, you might try to do a refresher in Playa del Carmen one or two days and then dive the next few days in Cozumel. If you are commuting daily by ferry doing a refresher and a two tank ocean dive in Cozumel on the same day would be a lot. As someone noted , hiring a private divemaster is a good idea in Cozumel if you haven’t really gotten in the groove in Playa first.

The dive operations doing ocean dives in Cozumel are generally better than the shops from Playa that run Cozumel day trips , but for your beginner purposes it might be best to dive shop in Playa that can do a refresher for you over there , followed by an ocean dive or two in Playa del carmen then a day or two coming to Cozumel. I know Playa shops do Cozumel dives , just not certain if they do them every day.

The reason I have noted “ocean” dives is that Playa del Carmen and much of the Yucatán Peninsula is home to what is probably the largest diveable cave/cavern system in the world. It isn’t really meant for newbies like yourself (though they have some experiences that can be fun for people with 20-30 dives),. However I didn’t want to say mainland shops are bad and Cozumel are good when many of the mainland shops are doing expert level diving in the caverns/caves. Cozumel shops tend do our reefs all the time so they are more familiar with the reefs and our issues , Playa tends to be either beginner vacationers doing basic ocean dives or experts doing cavern/cave dives in the cenotes over there.

I am certainly not looking for anything "expert", I am way too coward to even try being caving certified. I am just want to make sure I don't end up going with a diving center that "dumps" you in the sea along with too many other divers, and only one DM who cannot possibly attend to all of them. Maybe I have heard too many scary stories out of YouTube, but I am sure that like everywhere, you have good centers that put the focus in experience and security, and those who put the focus in making as many bucks as possible.

Why not just dive from Playa del Carmen?

We will do that too, and cenotes as well. We plan to do quite a lot of diving. I hate dry suits with all my heart and I don't want to dive here in Scandinavia, so I need to use this chance to the fullest

 

[ConfusedTrout]

I agree that if you know what you are doing and where everything is that you need to access, it is fairly simple, but from the perspective of someone who has never been to that part of the world I'll wager that it's a different situation. I would advise someone in that position to go to Cozumel the evening before and maybe stay on the island for a couple of days rather than have to figure it all out between the time the ferry lands and the dive boat departs.

I can see your point, but the area is very touristic and I am a native Spanish speaker, so I think I'd be a bit easier for me to move around.

 

[ggunn]

I am certainly not looking for anything "expert", I am way too coward to even try being caving certified. I am just want to make sure I don't end up going with a diving center that "dumps" you in the sea along with too many other divers, and only one DM who cannot possibly attend to all of them. Maybe I have heard too many scary stories out of YouTube, but I am sure that like everywhere, you have good centers that put the focus in experience and security, and those who put the focus in making as many bucks as possible.

Not to worry. Cozumel is so popular a diving destination that the competition among ops is such that any op with bad customer service will not survive for long.

 

[MMM]

If you are diving within the Marine park in Cozumel, there are prescribed ratios of DMs to customers. So that shouldn't be a concern. I would be more concerned with ensuring that your dive OP will adjust site drop off if there are a zillion other boats in the area. Because that is how inexperienced divers get mixed up and head off with the wrong group during a dive. There is a really excellent thread in this forum (sorry, I don't have the link) comparing different dive ops. Worth looking at

 

[DandyDon]

I can see your point, but the area is very touristic and I am a native Spanish speaker, so I think I'd be a bit easier for me to move around.

It is easy enough, true. I hope that you can spend a few days on the island, but if not, you can work out the logistics with your chosen dive op, and there are many good ones. Just don't rent any scooters as those are the biggest risks on the island. Discuss prices before boarding a taxi as you would on the mainland.