parrotheaddiver
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CompuDude:
Try Travelnotes for booking land/dive pkgs Jidan has always been very helpful with good prices http://travelnotes.cc/cozumel/tours/divepackages.php
Coz for week for $1k with food, flight and scuba?
- Thread starter CompuDude
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Try Travelnotes for booking land/dive pkgs Jidan has always been very helpful with good prices http://travelnotes.cc/cozumel/tours/divepackages.php
OP
I feel for you! For once, I'm soo glad my wife doesn't dive yet, else there's no way I'd be able to swing this!DiverMo:Must be nice. With two sons that dive, I spend north of $250/day for my diving when in Coz. And to think that I'm trying to get my wife and daughter to dive. I must be crazy.
OP
Are there any liveaboard options down in Coz that may be a cheaper way to maximize my diving time? Night life in town is fun and all, but all I really care about is being underwater as much as possible down there...
CompuDude:
Livaboards do not exist here.
marcus8
Contributor
I'll chime in as a fellow Californian who's ALWAYS looking to get back to Coz. As others have mentioned, much will depend on the flight. I'm usually happy to find something under $500 from the SF Bay Area. Much depends on the timing as well. If you have miles with Alaska, that could help out quite a bit. Two options there....fly Alaska from LAX direct to Cancun and then do the bus/ferry to Cozumel. There's lots of info on this board about the bus/ferry portion of the trip, or contact me if you need help. I've done this before and it only adds a few hours to the trip each way. It is often a considerably cheaper flight to fly into Cancun. Or you could take Alaska (which doesn't fly to Coz directly) to a hub city like Miami or Dallas, then take American into Coz directly.
I'll second the recommendation of Bay Adventures as they've helped me with many Coz trips and have some very affordable options. Their cheaper packages often include using Dive Paradise as the dive op. They are a VERY large operation and do a fairly professional job in my experience....no major complaints. But I will suggest you stay off their larger boats as they can be your classic cattle call boat. Their small fast boats only take 6 divers max and are the better choice for sure.
Good Luck
Mark
I'll second the recommendation of Bay Adventures as they've helped me with many Coz trips and have some very affordable options. Their cheaper packages often include using Dive Paradise as the dive op. They are a VERY large operation and do a fairly professional job in my experience....no major complaints. But I will suggest you stay off their larger boats as they can be your classic cattle call boat. Their small fast boats only take 6 divers max and are the better choice for sure.
Good Luck
Mark
Christi:
Another way to look at it: Cozumel IS a liveaboard. ;^)
OP
Looks I'm looking at a July timeframe, and it's looking like I may be able to have a buddy along as well, which makes it easier. While I really like the look of Blue XT Sea, I see some good all-inclusive deals at both Hotel Cozumel and Fiesta Americana. Hotel Coz offers 2-tank a.m. dives + 1 tank p.m. dive, so 3 dives a day, which is great, while Fiesta Americana offers just the two morning dives but unlimited shore diving. Is the F.A. shore diving much to speak of, or would the third boat dive be a better deal, strictly in terms of diving?
(My buddy is a huge fan of the open bar, so all-inclusive is a powerful incentive for him to come along for the party)
(My buddy is a huge fan of the open bar, so all-inclusive is a powerful incentive for him to come along for the party)
CompuDude:
Having stayed at both those locations one-time each, the all-inclusive drinks wouldn't make me run back. You stock up on cold beer daily pretty cheaply off-site, and their mixed drinks were just nasty. (At least to my taste). If affordable with decent diving is your goal, check out the Caribe Blu/Blue Angel packages either direct with the hotel/dive shop or through Travelnotes. Jidan also has some really good priced summer packages at other affordable places.
There are lots of places to eat and drink affordably. If I had to do a Cozumel trip on a set budget, I would stay and eat cheap and spend the bulk of the budget on a quality dive operation.
parrotheaddiver
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My guess would be if you go with Hotel Cozumel...which is where we stay BTW...the dive pkg would put you on one of the large boats with a bunch of divers...I know you are trying to save money but don't scrimp on the dive op...that is what you are going to Coz for is the diving....you can always shore dive at Hotel Cozumel's beach club just rent a tank from Dive Paradise...my 2 cents
Onecabernetnut
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I stayed at Fiesta Americana in February. The major issue with shore diving in COZ is the current. Makes it very difficult to do your entry and exit from the same point. If it were me, I'd opt for the afternoon 3rd tank boat dive. The shore diving in front of FA is nothing like diving on the reefs. Dive House is the house op at FA. They sometimes get a bad rap as they use bigger boats, but I thought they were great.
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