We'll be at Playa Azul in mid-January....We haven't picked a dive operator yet, but it appears everyone is currently working out of the Caletta. Are the dive operators providing transportation or are we on our own?
Caletta Location
- Thread starter DiveDad
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richhagelin
Contributor
It varies. Most operators expect you to get to the marina on your own. You need to ask this specific question of the dive ops you are considering and decide if it is important to your decision of which operator to use.
Rich Hagelin
Rich Hagelin
loudives
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I'll be there 1/14-18 diving with Raul at www.bottomtimedivers.net You will be staying north of town so a taxi or rental is in your future. Most operations never did pick up north of town anyway. from you hotel $5 to town including tip and to Calleta probably $10. You can always ask the dive operator to pay but few may. They are not allowed to give you a ride as the taxis union is quite strong and the dive operator can get into trouble if he is turned in.
If your there on Sunday night go to town for dinner then stay and enjoy the concert in the main Plaza from 8-10. It's every Sunday night and very pleasant.
Lou
If your there on Sunday night go to town for dinner then stay and enjoy the concert in the main Plaza from 8-10. It's every Sunday night and very pleasant.
Lou
mamanan
Guest
Ditto what Lou said.
Also a dive shop that keeps your gear for multiple dive days will be a good idea. I also dive with Bottom Time when I was there and Raul was such a nice man, he kept my gear, rinsed it and dried it every night. Diving with him I was so relaxed and felt safe, I had the longest bottom time dives of my life I guess thats why he named it that.
Have a nice time I wish I could go!
Nan
Also a dive shop that keeps your gear for multiple dive days will be a good idea. I also dive with Bottom Time when I was there and Raul was such a nice man, he kept my gear, rinsed it and dried it every night. Diving with him I was so relaxed and felt safe, I had the longest bottom time dives of my life I guess thats why he named it that.
Have a nice time I wish I could go!
Nan
mamanan:
Yes, but does he iron too? haha...just couldn't resist
To answer the original posters question...if staying up north, you will most likely be responsible for your own cab fare.
Just so that everyone understands how it works...every dive shop has their pick-up locations (downtown, hotel piers, caletta) and it is the diver's responsibility to either make sure they are staying in a location where the shop picks up or to get themselves to one of the pick-up locations. The dive shops cannot act as a taxi service nor can they be responsible for transportation based on where each diver decides to stay. If you decide to stay up north or back in town, be prepared to rent a car or pay taxi fares each day...this is no different than providing your own transportation to the actual office/dive shop. If your dive operator does give you a ride every once and awhile, you should understand that this is just an extra courtesy and that it should not be expected all the time.
In the post-Wilma situation, most of the piers are still not operational. Most of us (dive ops) are assisting and/or providing transportation to the Caletta for those staying in locations normally on the pick-up list and for those who do not have rental cars...but for those choosing to stay north or back in town, the same rules apply.
I probably didn't explain that very well...it's a hard one to explain to those unfamiliar with how Coz works and my mind isn't working very clearly today...haha!
I stayed at Playa Azul on my first trip to Coz (nice place). Playa Azul is quite protective of their pier and few ops are even allowed to dock there (usually for a SI when doing some of the more northerly sites). As others have said, you will need to get to the pick-up spot your dive op uses.
Don't know how many of you there are (because several people piling into a taxi, all with wet gear, doesn't sound like much fun to me), but would be inclined to find someone who will keep your gear between dives (At Playa Azul your dive equipment drying/storage will be on your deck, possibly up a couple of flights of stairs).
I think Playa Azul may have bicycles for their clients. I actually like cycling around Cozumel to dive pick-up spots, once I've ditched my gear with the dive op.
Dive ops are pretty careful about driving you around themselves as the taxi union can make things pretty ugly for them.
Don't know how many of you there are (because several people piling into a taxi, all with wet gear, doesn't sound like much fun to me), but would be inclined to find someone who will keep your gear between dives (At Playa Azul your dive equipment drying/storage will be on your deck, possibly up a couple of flights of stairs).
I think Playa Azul may have bicycles for their clients. I actually like cycling around Cozumel to dive pick-up spots, once I've ditched my gear with the dive op.
Dive ops are pretty careful about driving you around themselves as the taxi union can make things pretty ugly for them.
jayjoans:
Keep your head low!
Ronnie
lilycat
Contributor
I don't know if they're doing this still, but our dive shop footed the tab for us to get to the Caletta. (I would understand if they couldn't do this forever.)
It was not a big deal at all boarding the boat at the Caletta. This is not the sort of thing that should stop people from diving - there are much better excuses than this.
It was not a big deal at all boarding the boat at the Caletta. This is not the sort of thing that should stop people from diving - there are much better excuses than this.
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