I got back from my stay at Blue Angel Resort just two days ago, spending eight full days there with half days on either end for travel. I had the Liveaboard Package, which included my stay, all my meals, eight two-tank dive boat trips, one night dive (I upgraded this to a two-tank evening dive boat trip), and unlimited shore diving. I got in 31 dives over eight days (would’ve been 32, but I had to fly). 18 of those were guided by Blue Angel’s top-notch, experienced divemasters, and 13 were shore dives (12 solo, 1 w/ buddy). I use a DIN setup, which was no problem for them.
Now that the basics are out of the way, let me get down to the point: my stay at Blue Angel was nothing short of amazing.
DIVING
Over the course of my trip, we hit most every site on the guided boat dives. I managed to only get booked on the Jibara, their small boat, which is apparently quite a bit faster than the No Problem, allowing you to get to further away dive sites in a reasonable amount of time. Captain Chango knows his stuff and was always right there to pick us up, following our bubbles.
Andy, Julio, and Mateo were my DMs over the course of the week. Each one is a character, consummate professional, and highly experienced and knowledgeable guide. Our groups were small. Dive briefings were thorough and useful. I was constantly impressed, but highlights included perfectly tailoring dives for groups with a big difference in experience levels and the dive when we picked up a lost buddy pair our DM was able to calm down, assist in surfacing, and get back to their boat without disrupting our own schedule in any way. Watching the DMs work with their instructor interns only confirmed their levels of knowledge and experience. It’s a pleasure to dive with these folks.
There’s a full valet service available at no charge, though I like to be a bit more hands-on with my own gear, so I didn’t really take advantage of this service. The divers who used it were very pleased, so if it’s your thing, they’ve got you covered. There are permanent fresh water dunk tanks and a shower right next to the dive shop area for easy rinsing of gear. Rows of full cylinders (air and nitrox) are lined up next to the dive shop, which makes shore diving to your heart’s content incredibly easy.
I won’t go into the dive sites around Cozumel, which are great but something better researched elsewhere. We hit nearly all of them in the eight days I was there. I will, however, go into the shore dive at Blue Angel. It’s awesome. You can giant stride off the dock or walk in through a beach-ish area. Either way, you drop into an abundance of life, mostly small to medium stuff, but I did see an Eagle Ray and a Caribbean Whiptail Stingray, each with about a four foot wingspan. It’s a great area for eels, of which I spotted five species. Directly south of Blue Angel is Stingray Beach, which includes large fenced-in pens. This was closed when I was there, and you could easily swim over a lowered section of fence to go into the main pen, which has artificial reef structures attracting a bunch of life (including adorable juvenile Yellow Stingrays and Caribbean Spiny Lobsters). In addition to attracting life, the pens make a perfect landmark to guide you back to Blue Angel, day and night. Speaking of which, the shore dive makes for a great night dive, too. It stays around 20 feet deep and can get a whipping current, which the pens reduce considerably (when you’re on the down-current side, of course).
The staff are always watching out for you and your gear, too. When I almost walked away from the dunk tanks with my computer and compass sitting on the side, a staff member almost immediately got my attention and pointed them out. Made for great peace of mind.
STAYING
Every room has a giant sliding glass door that looks out at the ocean. Hard to beat. The floors are concrete, which is nice because you don’t have to worry about setting down wet gear. My room had a cool octopus design cut into the floor. I was in a single bed room, which had an AC unit, small table with chairs, sizable dresser, mini fridge, a futon couch, and I’m guessing a king size bed. The balconies even have drying racks for hanging your gear outside!
Because I had the liveaboard package, I ate every meal at the restaurant. This worked perfectly for me because I was on a solo dive vacation and not looking to do anything besides eat, sleep, and dive. The restaurant is fantastic. I’m a vegetarian, and the menu had numerous options for me. I was also told by the staff that they were building out a full vegan menu for some folks arriving in the near future, which should tell you how committed they are to getting things right for their guests. I also love spicy food, and they made special habanero sauces for me above and beyond their usual fare. Happy hour is two for one on drinks and apps.
One of the nights I stayed (two actually, but I was out on an evening dive boat trip), we were treated to the musical talents of the girlfriend of one of the DMs. She has an amazing voice and was backed up by a killer local guitarist. With a post-dive beer in my hand, this was downright spectacular.
There’s an Oxxo convenience store right across the street. Downtown is a 30 minute walk. There’s a grocery store closer than that, and taxis are going by all the time.
COVID
I pushed this trip twice due to COVID concerns before deciding to just do it. On the island, every local is wearing a mask, even on bicycles and scooters. The easiest way to spot tourists, usually fellow Americans, from a distance is that they’re the only ones not wearing masks in public.
At Blue Angel, the staff is all masked up. Guests who aren’t eating or drinking usually are, too. Your temperature is taken before you can enter the restaurant. Hand sanitizer bottles are all over the place. At the front desk, you can schedule someone to come to the hotel to administer your test for any day of the week during business hours, which means you don’t have to miss out on any diving or spend any time in a clinic. I scheduled mine for 3 p.m. on a Sunday, when I had to stop diving so I could fly anyway. I had the results and documentation I needed the same day.
OVERALL
I met several guests who have been coming back to Blue Angel for years, even decades for some, and it’s clear why. Blue Angel is a special place. The location alone is incredible, but the friendliness, helpfulness, professionalism, knowledge, and experience of all the staff members put Blue Angel over the top. I know I’ll be back, hopefully sooner rather than later.
