Coz and playa dive op recommendations

[robz]

Can someone recommend some dive shops in Cozumel and Play del carmen (and south down to Puerto Aventuras or Akumal)? My wife and I have just been certified, but our open water dives were in West Palm Beach, so we got a taste of drift diving. Shops that are good for beginners or will allow us to hire an extra DM just for us would be nice. We will be there in next month.
Thanks

 

[JamesK]

In Akumal, use www.akumaldiveadventures.com I was down there last week, and did a 2 tank dive, and a night dive with them. They were very nice dives, and the staff was great.

 

[Roooter]

In Playa del Carmen...check out www.phantomdivers.com. we dove with them this past spring & had a blast. they use '6-packs' & we never had more than 6 divers (& DM) on the boat. VERY safety conscience & let you dive to your abilities.

 

[MgicTwnger]

My first trip to Coz was in July, and I dove for a week with Aqua Safari. Nice, comfy boats, great DM's (you can hire your own for about $50), just an all-around great experience. And they do real well with newbies.

 

[cmay]

I agree with Mgic. Very safety conscious, great divemasters. They are definately my shop of choice.

 

[mchiapetto]

We are planning to stay at the Iberostar Cozumel in the middle of October. I just read the web site for Aqua Safari and e-mailed them for more info. (www.aquasafari.com)

I was wondering if anyone had any experiences with Dressel Divers? They have a shop right at the Iberostar so it would be convenient to use them.

But if Aqua Safari is better we do not mind making the effort to go to them.

 

[Dee]

Dressel hasn't gotten very good reviews in the past. Aqua Safari has also not fared very well although they both have their fans. The dive ops located at the all inclusive resorts normally cater to once a year vacation divers and plan the dive for the lowest experienced. If you are new divers this may be what you want.

But if you want really excellent dive ops, look into any of these away from the resorts...

Cabillito del Caribe

Living Underwater

Papa Hogs

Blue Angel

 

[jeffsterinsf]

Had great experiences with them this summer. Completely professional staff. They actually care that people know how to dive. Small boats, some dives I was on were as small as four (with DM), with six being a "big" dive. The dives were well-briefed, and dropped right on target. I'm going back in December.

http://www.abyssdiveshop.com/

They have one-tank (30-40') and two-tank (60-80' followed by 30-40') dives, and discounts for multi-day.

For dive spots there, I very much enjoyed Tortoga, which usually has lots of turtles and sometimes a school of Tarpin, and Islote for a wonderful deep garden.

 

[MissAmberDiva]

My buddy owns blue bubble divers in Cozumel. They have always been good to deal with.

 

[mchiapetto]

After checking out all the above web sites, Papa Hogs sounds the most interesting. From what they say, it sounds like they really go out of their way to treat you like a customer and accomodate your wishes.

Does anyone have any direct experience with them they could share with us (both good and bad)?