Completely new to SCUBA and going to Cozumel

[jared w]

Hi,
I know nothing about SCUBA diving whatsoever, I live in Colorado and spend most of my time climbing. I recently got back from a trip to a friend's house in Florida and he got me thinking that a SCUBA vacation might be a good way to celebrate my fifth wedding anniversary.


I've just booked a 5 day trip to Playa Del Carmen and a 4 day trip to Cozumel. I will be doing my pool and classroom certification in Colorado. I'm planning on going with one of the local DMs in Cozumel for my open water referral and then one or two boat dives after finishing my PADI certification.

Right now I am thinking of Dive with Martin or Aqua Safari. I'd appreciate any suggestions about these or other good shops. My wife is a bit afraid of the water so I'd prefer more safety conscious and more personal attention. I do not want to go with a cattle train provider.

I'll be staying here as it scored very high on tripadvisor.com but would also appreciate any suggestions for things to do on the island or specific dive spots to go to.

As an aside, we are interested in the best bird/wildlife watching places near Playa Del Carmen. We are thinking of doing a kayak tour of Sian Kaan one day and maybe a horse back ride through Punta Venando.

Thanks in advance,
Jared

 

[Mandarin Goby]

Also try Blue XT Sea. I've been corresponding with Christi, and when we go to Coz, I think we're going to go with her.

 

[still new]

I did my open water with Mateao at Blue Angel Divers in Cozumel, had a great time he was easy to learn from.I highly reccommend him. Turn right after the ferry dock. Recommend a taxi. I walked and it is about 4 km. Just a nice walk.
Check them out at blueangel-scuba.com.

 

[still new]

One place I recommend is a visit to Xel Ha (Shawl Ha), it is an eco park with a huge area for snorkeling tons of fish, swim with dolphins (expensive). Birds, monkeys lizards etc. Be prepared to spend the day there.

 

[daniel f aleman]

Another gringo... heh, heh, it's all too easy.

 

[fisherdvm]

I would suggest making sure your dive operator will guarantee that they will cater to shallow dives for beginners. Your tank will not last long to the depth of 90 plus feet with new diver skills. One man I met said he went to 100 ft and ran out of air on the way to the surface soon after his certification dive in cozumel. They sometime like to please the folks on the boat, but you have to be loud and vocal about the fact that you want to stay shallow, and if possible, sites with minimal current. Most advanced diver will prefer the deeper reefs as they are more pristine and protected from Wilma. If the sea is rough, and you might run out of air before the rest, signal to the DM once you are down to 700 psi or so and stay at safety stop level about the group to conserve air. If you can, buy an SMB (surface marker buoy) and inflate it at the surface if the DM will not send one up for you. This will keep your own boat and other boats on the surface from hitting you.

Some cozumel resort will allow shore dives. There are not much to see after Wilma, but it is nice and relaxing to do a 60 minute plus dive from the shore just poking around in the rubbles etc. The shore dives are also very interesting at night, if you can find a buddy.

If you didn't know, cozumel does not have anchored diving sites, and boats must drift and motor to follow their divers. It is not unsusual to have 3 or 4 boats motoring over an area at one time with divers bobbing up all over the place, and even boarding the wrong boat.

 

[editmojo]

Check out the Cozumel forum here on Scubaboard. Lots of great info there. Most of the dive sites are well south of where you are staying, so plan on 90 min. boat rides. I loved Palancar caves and bricks, Paseo del Cedral reef, Santa Rosa wall. You'll have a blast.

We've been disappointed with the bird watching on Coz and South of Cancun. But we haven't gotten away from the resort areas very far.

 

[Mayor]

Try Aldora with fast boats and great staff. You will find they will go above and beyond for you.

 

[jared w]

Thanks for the responses. My biggest concern with Aqua safari is that all four of their open water dives are beach dives and a friend said boat dives would be more interesting. As I know nothing I'm stuck with relying on other people's opinions. Will I really miss out if I do 4 beach dives as opposed to 2 beach dives and two boat dives or will it all be so new that it doesn't matter?

 

[diver 85]

A 2nd for Aldora here......Should be able to accomodate new divers, although they are geared up for ones 'further' along.......If you do consider them, you might to look @ Dora Villas(you can preview it from their website aldora.com), great place to stay---good snokling/shore diving from their wall........