Coz in Dec 03 for the New Year 04

[sylvester]

I am working on trying to plan a trip for my wife and I. We are both still new divers, in Dec 03 we will only have 1 yr of diving experance.

I can use, and plan to use my frequent flier miles to get in to Cancun, and home from Cancun to St Louis.

Those of you that have been there a time or two can you share with me how to get from Cancun to Coz, (AA doesnt fly there) I know the plane/ferry is available, and I am leaning towards the ferry. But I do not know how hard it is to get from the airport to the ferry and ferry to hotel once on the island. Also what hotel / dive operation would be a recommended for 2 newer divers. I will probley just purchase a dive/hotel package.

I would like to be close enough to town we can walk.

Your opinions will be appricated. Thanks

 

[scubanurse]

Sylvester,
My husband and I are both new divers and just came back from Coz. We stayed at Scub Club Cozumel. The accomadations were OK no TV no Phones. That might bother some folks. Our package included all meals, and 2tank boat dive each day. The food was very good and plentiful. The dive shop is on site. There are lockers right at the dock for gear storage. You get unlimited air tanks for shore diving. The shore diving at the hotel is very easy they even have a shallow salt water pool for checking weighting. After you obtain neutral bouancy you do a swimthru right out in front of the hotel the water is only about 20-25ft deep here and there was plenty of fish to see. Even saw a seahorse at the pier. The crew on the dive boat was wonderful. This was my first ocean diving and I was very nervous I let the DM know this and he was very helpful to me the rest of the week. His name is Jose if you stay there try to get him for a DM. He showed us 3 seahorses on our very first dive. He is great to watch out for you and makes a point of finding things for you to see. The diving was awsome. From the resort is is only about 8 blocks into town an easy 15 min walk. Also 2 blocks from the hotel is a store called Cedraui is is the mexican version of a super Wal-Mart. They have everthing from tequila to clothes. Great place to stock up on things for the fridge in your room. The only thing bad about the trip was the hidden costs that we were not told about. All drinks at the hotel except for water and juice at breakfast cost extra. You are expected to tip housekeepers, waiters, kitchen staff and all boat crew members at the end of the week. It was not that big of a deal just wish I had known about it up front. Sorry this is so long just wanted to let you know about our stay.

 

[DocVikingo]

Wonderful thing our board archives.

In this thread ----> http://www.scubaboard.com/showthrea...en+ferry+cancun , you'll find something like this (updated below):

"1. Flying from Cancun to Cozumel: approximately 20 minutes flying time.

Aerocaribe and Aerocozumel with Mexicana Airlines flies directly from the Cancun (domestic airport) to Cozumel. Current cost one-way is $60 US, cheaper r/t. You can book directly online or with your travel agent. Schedules and fares are available online: http://www.aerocaribe.com .

2. OR take a "collectivo"/minivan direct from Cancun airport to Playa Del Carmen (approximately 45 minutes traveling time), then ferry to Cozumel (approximately 40 minutes total traveling time). Current cost is ~$16 US per person if they fill it with 5 persons, as is customary.

After baggage pick-up, as you walk towards the exit, there will be booths for transportation and taxis. At the booth, ask for a collectivo to Playa Del Carmen. You pay at the booth, receive a ticket and then proceed outside to where the minivans are. They will take your ticket and load your luggage. As soon as one van is filled, the van departs. The vans are readily available all day long.

3. OR express bus from Cancun Airport or downtowm Coz bus station to Playa Del Carmen Bus Terminal (traveling time is the same as in #2)

As soon as you pass immigration (green/red button) just after the transportation pavillions and just before the outdoors, there is a stand that says Express Bus to Playa Del Carmen. ~$15 US r/t pp. Purchase a ticket and there will be Greyhound-like buses outside. They are scheduled:

From Cancun

10:30am 11:30am 12:30pm 1:30pm 2:30pm 4:30pm 5:30pm 6:30pm 7:30pm 8:30pm 9:30pm

From Playa Del Carmen

7:00am 8:00am 9:00am 10:30am 11:45am 1:00pm 3:00pm 4:00pm 5:00pm 6:15pm 7:30pm

Playa Del Carmen to Cozumel (40-45 minutes traveling time)

4. Then from Playa Del Carmen take the ferry to Coz. Ride is about 40 minutes on the large jet boats and about 50 minutes on the smaller, occasional local ferry. Cost is the same for tourists. It docks right at the heart of the city, San Miguel in Cozumel. Current cost is ~$US18 r/t pp. Foot traffic only. Car ferry leaves from Puerto Morelos north of Playa del Carmen.

Daily Ferry Schedule (Central Standard Time) (changes occasionally, but this is the generel plan)

Coz to Playa Del Carmen: 5 am 7 am 8 am 9 am 10 am 12 pm 2 pm 4 pm 5 pm 6 pm 8 pm 10pm 11 pm 12 pm 1 am

Playa Del Carmen to Coz: 6am 8am 9 am 10 am 11 am 12pm 1 pm 3 pm 5 pm 6 pm 7 pm 9 pm 11 pm 12 pm

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[sylvester]

Folks thanks for the information. I would not have known about the hidden costs either and am glad to know about those things up front. The same with bus and taxi info to get to the ferry. That is what I was looking for some detail about the transportation options.

Is it common for the hotel rooms to not have TV? Guess it wouldnt matter im sure it would be in spanish anyway .

 

[scubanurse]

Don't know about the tv at other places as we have only been once. There are a couple of resorts in Coz that are all inclusive to include alcohol and tips to dive operators. One is the allegro resort and a cheaper one is Reef Club Cozumel. They both have web-sites and you can check out rates for when you want to go. I think we will probably go this route next time we go. I loved the dive operators at scuba club but wasn't happy about hidden cost at the end.

 

[DocVikingo]

Except for the budget hotels, e.g., the "small, white, downtown hotels," it is common for MX resort area accommodations to have TVs.

BTW, there are plenty of English language stations.

Happy New Year.

DocVikingo

 

[Valwood1]

you've received so much good advice that the following might be superfluous but...here goes anyway.

You might check into a tour operator (I believe that ours was Adventure Tours) for a direct flight; ours included a Champion Air charter direct from Dallas to Coz. I'd never flown a charter before, but found it to be as good as coach with only a bit less room, since since the plane was a 727.

The Iberostar is a very nice, all-inclusive resort that is only 5-10 minutes from Palancar Reef, which shortens the boat time considerably. We did not use the hotel's dive facility (and don't have any opinion on it), but hired "Scuba With Alison" (see her website of the same name, so spaces) -- yes, it sounds hokey, but she's quite pleasant, very flexible and accommodating, and only takes 4-6 people; she probably is a bit more expensive than some of the other dive operations.

On an earlier trip, we stayed at Hotel Barracuda. The room was okay, but there was a sign saying not to throw paper -- including the usual necessity -- in the toilet; that is a bit primitive for me. The hotel is only a short way from town, though.

Just about everyplace in Cozumel takes US dollars as well as pesos, though I found the exchange rate (ie, so many dollars or so many pesos) at most restaurants and stores to be pretty onerous, so that I wished that I had pesos.

Cozumel is very very nice, and I am sure you will enjoy it very much.