Boat Drinks! Boyz in the Band ordered Boat Drinks!!!

[mohave_steve]

I think I've got cabin fever....

15 degrees outside and my hammock on the back porch is full of snow.... Something fundamentally WRONG with a hammock full of snow......

Here I sit dreaming of exotic dive locations with 80 degree water. That has me contemplating what the best choice would be considering current economic conditions

I was looking at the recent trip report on Coco View on Roatan and got to wondering what the better dive value would be. $4-5k for a trip to Roatan with unlimited shore diving out the front door or $3k + $diving for Cozumel with less frequent dive oportunity. Fantastic diving though. I can see spending $1k on dive trips for two of us for the week in Coz and diving less than we would at Cocoview.

What do you all think?

 

[TSandM]

Well, there's no question.

From Cozumel, you can get to the cenotes

 

[robint]

I think I've got cabin fever....

15 degrees outside and my hammock on the back porch is full of snow.... Something fundamentally WRONG with a hammock full of snow......

Here I sit dreaming of exotic dive locations with 80 degree water. That has me contemplating what the best choice would be considering current economic conditions

I was looking at the recent trip report on Coco View on Roatan and got to wondering what the better dive value would be. $4-5k for a trip to Roatan with unlimited shore diving out the front door or $3k + $diving for Cozumel with less frequent dive oportunity. Fantastic diving though. I can see spending $1k on dive trips for two of us for the week in Coz and diving less than we would at Cocoview.

What do you all think?

you were probably reading my trip report from CCV..... Since I have been to both now, I can say either is great but for very different reasons.
If you are thinking of going to CCV, you need to call them immediately to even see if they have openings. The place only has a few rooms (26, I think) and fills up waaaaay in advance except in the off season when you might get a room open a few months out. This isn't a place you go to on at the last minute because it is so popular with return guests. Most of the people there have been there before, and most of those over and over again. So you must plan ahead if you want to go to CCV, or get very lucky. It can be done though if they have a cancellation and no one on the waiting list (yes, they have a waiting list for rooms!)

Cozumel is a bit different in that there are tons of hotels, tons of dive ops, and you can just show up there and book diving with most of them. We have been to Coz 5 times and seen it change quite a bit over the years, but the diving is always good. You can't do as many dives or shore dive like CCV though. So if you want quantity, I would look elsewhere. I would recommend Scuba Club as what Cozumel has to offer that is similar to CCV - all-inclusive small resort, personalized attention, but not as many dives included in price. Still a bit cheaper than CCV.

Another option for you is to check out Bonaire. It is the shore diving capital of the world and even though the boat dives are great, you don't have to do them. It will be about the same price as CCV as no all-inclusives and food is expensive there.

robin

 

[adjuster-jd]

Remember that there is more to Roatan than CocoView - Fantasy Island shares the same bay and same wreck (Prince Albert) with Cocoview and offers excellent shore diving as well. Fantasy Island may be a little less expensive also and also has a swim beach and a pool. I think that CCV may have a little better boats (and probably better DM's) than FI, FI can give you a good experience as well (and maybe for a couple bucks less. FI has over 100 rooms so may have more availability.

 

[Gregordo]

Why would a sane person live in a place that had weather like that? 15 degrees!

 

[mohave_steve]

Robin,

Great trip report!

My last Mexico trip was to Cabo San Lucas and turned out to be the most expensive trip I have ever taken. Between the cost of meals and diving it got a little expensive and I did not get in near as much diving as I would have liked.

Have you found Cozumel to be more reasonable?

Looking at all inclusives on Cozumel it appears that the cost & flight time are about the same as Roatan but with half the # of dives?

I had looked at Bonaire and would love to go someday but the 18-19 hour flights make it a stretch for one week trips.

 

[mohave_steve]

Why would a sane person live in a place that had weather like that? 15 degrees!

A sane person wouldn't...... But it sure beats someplace that has temps that exceed 130 from time to time......

 

[mohave_steve]

Thanks Adjuster,

I had looked at Fantasy Island and misread the rates on the website thought it was more expensive. When I looked again I saw that I was adding meal cost to what was allready the all-inclusive rate.

With all of the rave reviews of CCV does anyone have firsthand comparison with FI?

 

[mohave_steve]

I have been reading reviews for FI on TripAdvisor. Starting to sound like CCV would be the better choice between the two.

 

[Doc]

.... and got to wondering what the better dive value would be. ...... and diving less than we would at Cocoview.

You do have cabin fever.

You say that your home base is a great part of the equation for you. Washington state is a long ways away from Cozumel or Roatan. It is the cost of airfare? Or is it the time in transit? Either way, that appears to be a big part of your (hard to decipher?) mathematics.

Your vacation time is valuable, and it is a seldom considered part of our considerations.

You have to decide what part the diving plays in your equation.

I see that you reference Cozumel as fantastic diving. It is all personal choice, but I believe that many experienced divers who have tried both may well prefer diving on the South side of Roatan (CCV & FIBR among others~ don't ignore Reef House Resort) better than Coz. It is truly unique in the Caribbean.

You can't beat Cozumel for a good time between dives. Roatan? Better be napping in between your four or five a day... and nightlife? There is a night dive.

FIBR is a much better value over CCV between the two choices if raw diving is the only consideration. They have some issues with overall consistency, boats, and general dive operation, but for the money... it can not be beat. FIBR is easy to get three a day (plus a night dive with a little effort).

CCV is a place where you can get 5 a day with no problem. If you aren't part of their dive equation, you are not on their radar screen. In other words, if you aren't underwater, you might be more entertained at FIBR.

FIBR has tennis courts, two bars, numerous colorful locals, a nice beach and an occasional pool. It is a great place to take a vacation with some diving. It runs off of the European dive guest scheduling system.

Cozumel is a great value. It has innumerable above water activities. It is a great vacation with some ample diving. 4 would be tough, 5x a day aint happening.

It all depends upon your precise definition of the vacation you want.

Air fare to either destination may well be radically different. Air connections from distant Washington state is an issue. But- when it comes down to diving, the apples and oranges are the same for everybody here- you just have to decide what fruit you really want!