Booking in Puerto e prices... oddities.

[ReefHound]

I took a group of 13 there last month and we stayed at Angelyn's and dived with Frontier. I can't compare to anyone else but can say we were all pleased with both hotel and dive op. Being a decent sized group, our experience may not be typical. We have a bit more economic clout but also present more logistical challenges. However, all went pretty smooth. Our DMs and the shop workers were great, busting their behinds all day to get tanks refilled and analyzed (all of us on nitrox).

I had almost selected El Galleon in putting the trip together. The room and diving cost was ok (we ended up about 20% cheaper at Angelyn's/Frontier) but what made me not go with them is their food options were pricy. Reviews seemed to say their restaurant was a bit over-priced and not that great. It's really not a long walk into town but I didn't want to herd cats any further than necessary.

As for booking, I've generally found it more expensive to book direct (except for group travel) than through a booking site. It's counter-intuitive as they are paying Expedia a pretty steep fee (I've heard 25-40%). But I think it might have to do with contractual agreements where these giant agencies like Expedia and Agoda send them a ton of business but prohibit them from undercutting their prices. I can see the logic there, if I'm Expedia I don't want people using me to do their research on a destination then going to the hotel direct.

The exception is airlines. I've found it always as cheap or cheaper to book direct with airline.

 

[Luky]

I found when I contacted El galleon that they offered better pricing and significant "cash discounts" if I would pay cash for the room and diving when I arrived there vs booking it through a service. Also more discounts for booking "packages" of dives (min 6 dives) and paying cash, plus I think it was only $66 to add nitrox for the week (and if you plan to dive 25+ dives in a week it is a good savings). I was all set for El Galleon for my trip in May, but decided to go with OOTB as I could get a nicer room with a king bed and jacuzzi for just a little more as I am travelling solo this time (no need to listen to my dive buddy snore). They are also supposed to have one of the best restaurants in Sabang/lalaguna area (the verandah). I may still dive with Asia divers as it is only a few doors down from OOTB, but I figured I would play it by ear when I get there and see how full their boats are. Action divers is the in-house dive shop for OOTB and everyone has given really good feedback for them as well. I think dive pricing was about the same (with the discounts at Asia divers) and not sure that I really need to dive nitrox the whole time (although I always feel less tired from diving after using nitrox). Typically in Cozumel we only paid for nitrox when we were doing 4 and 5 dives a day.