Choosing hotel & dive operator for 5 day trip

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

lala_atlas

Registered
Messages
7
Reaction score
1
Location
New York, NY
# of dives
Hi!

My husband and I are going to Cozumel in mid-May for 5 days, and I'm trying to find the best combination of dive and hotel for us. We're leaning toward Blue Angel because we like the idea of having a good dive shop on site and it seems like a nice place to stay. Have also considered Scuba Club and Aldora Village. We're both certified, though I have a bit more experience because I have gone diving several times per year over the past 6 years and did my Advanced Open Water last summer in Roatan.

Our most important consideration is safety and professionalism of dive company... We went with a rushed operation in the Keys in December, and had a big mishap because of it that left my husband a bit scarred, so I want to make sure that the next time we go, we don't feel rushed and can feel secure with enough time to do buddy checks, have good pre-dive briefing, etc. Do the ops we're considering differ at all in terms of dive masters, fit for novice divers, safety, etc?

And I was excited about shore dives, because in Bonaire I found that a nice way to refamiliarize myself with skills etc, but it seems like shore dives are trickier in Cozumel because of current - is that the case for all 3 hotels above? We also want to do a night dive (I really want to see octopus)... Finally, we got married in November but haven't done a honeymoon, so I think that I do want the hotel to be closer to romantic than barebones, which is why Blue Angel stood out...

So is BA a decent op in terms of safety if we're feeling a bit cautious?

Thanks!
lala
 
I think all of those would be good choices and are very professional. You may want to hire a private divemaster for a day or two if you feel the need to really ease into it but if you let your operator know of your concerns they will likely accommodate you and make you both comfortable. This is pretty normal for a lot of divers I think so they are used to that.

The shore diving at BA and Scuba Club are nice and easy, and although I have no experience at Aldora I believe it is too. If you have not been diving in a while it's a great way to check your gear and yourself before heading out on the boats. The currents probably won't bother you too much as you are shallow (under 25') the whole time and you can swim just until you get tired or low on air, then surface without worry of a safety stop unless you want to, so you really won't drift. At BA we usually just walk in below the restaurant and head slightly against the current toward the sting ray pen where most of the life is, sometimes fight the current around to the other side of the pen, then drift back. You have the pier as a point of reference the whole time, usually even at night. Night dives are great there also and highly recommended.

Romantic vs. Barebones, hmm. BA and SCC are both nice enough for me but overall pretty basic so I'm not sure about the standout. I guess it's pretty subjective.:)
 
It seems that paying for a private Divemaster for your little group might be a good alternative. That way you could do things at your own speed without holding up the other people on the boat and get some personal attention.
 
If you do choose BA, which it sounds like to me that you are leaning that way, you wont be disappointed. Don't let the Keys turn you off. The Keys are, well, the Keys. We have dived with recommended ops in the keys and still not been satisfied. We have used two different ops in Cozumel with BA being one of them and have had nothing but good experiences.
 
I'll throw my 2 cents into this hat as my wife and I were married on Coz 15? years ago and have been diving Coz annually ever since. It all depends on the experience you want. Blue Angel is waterfront, has a good following but it is more than a walk to town and back and when the heat is cranking up (or cranked up by gringo standards) in May, no thanks. We prefer to stay in town where we have the best bars, restaurants and walkabouts right outside our door and an easy walk to and fro. You can stay at BA and have the boats right there or you can stay in town and hop on dive boats at a town dock or take the courtesy transport from in-town to their boats your dive op may offer.

Cozumel is a unique place where one's choice of accommodations and the location of those accommodations all come at a hidden price that is only understood once one is there. For us, we'll sacrifice true "waterfront" to stay at in-town "waterfront" accommodations. After spending the AM's diving we like to enjoy topside adventures in-town in the afternoons and evenings. We've changed dive ops over the years but once my wife found the Casa Mexicana in town we never looked anywhere else. Once we found Tres Pelicanos dive op located right around the corner of the Casa with their dive-and-stay Casa Mexicana packages I can say we found pure book-it-and-forget-about-it paradise (For what we want of course). As a matter of fact, today we just booked our 5th, 2-week December dive trip with Jeanie at 3P's for 2018.

We fly in, check into the Casa, drop all of our gear off (I mean all of it) at 3P's that afternoon and never touch it again until we are leaving. We enjoy the Casa's huge, legendary breakfast buffet that opens at 7AM sharp. We get 35 minutes to enjoy breakfast and then stroll around the corner to 3P's shop for their courtesy 7:40AM transport to their boats and back. We are back at the shop between Noon and 1PM and have the other half of our "topside" vacation to enjoy as we see fit. We can relax by the little pool or on our balcony, take a needed nap after multiple dive days, or head out and about. It is a no-brainer in my opinion and a combo that many here enjoy... It gives you the best experience underwater and top-side at a price that can't be beat. There are cheaper accommodations to be had in-town that are great but for us, I want to stay at the best (for us) in-town and that is the Casa Mexicana. I say contact Jeanie and see what she can put together for a "Honeymoon dive vaca" at the Casa. The Casa will give you their best rooms as it is no stranger to delivering honeymoon quality accommodations and experiences. Whatever you want to plan the Casa can deliver. Champagne on ice waiting every day with fresh flowers in your room to come back to every day after diving? Done. You can make it as extravagant or as simple as ya want. I say keep it simple, relax, get out and about, make new memories and chalk up new experiences. As ya get older, ya won't remember the flowers and champagne as much as ya will that great time and dinner you had venturing off the beaten path where ya experienced the new, the unexpected, and met really cool people be they locals or other divergent gringos.

With your hubby being a bit nervous, hire a private DM for his 1st day in Coz or all days you are there. Play it by ear. Heck it's only $55 or something. If I had the $ I'd hire a private DM for EVERY DIVE. A private DM isn't just training wheels, it is a luxury to have a pro DM who knows the reefs of the area you are diving and can spot all the great sea life that most of us fin over without ever knowing it was there. I'm personally guilty of watching the couples from afar who hire a private DM as I know he's going to point out critters I could never spot. I just fin over after he and his clients have left a sighting and check that critter out for free.
 
Last edited:
3Ps, Casa Mexicana and private DM is our magical combo. So much so that when I suggested to my husband that we could save some money by not hiring a private DM, he flatly said “no” and he’s the cheapskate in the family. And he keeps comparing all diving experiences in other places with our Coz diving experience. So it has become our benchmark to which all other dive experiences are compared.
 
You will probably enjoy being in town and getting all the exposure of it than if you stay at BA. BA is fine, however it is a good walk/taxi ride to anywhere. And 3P's is the other op we have used. You will like them.
 
Hiring a private DM is a bargain. You are spending a lot on airfare .... Why cheap out on the reason for the vacation. I have north of 1000 hours underwater and can show you some pretty cool things in my pond. Coz isn't my pond and I am hiring a local pro on our trip in June.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom