Cozumel/Aldora Divers Trip Report 10/4/03 – 10/8/03

[flyguy]

What are the rental rates like down there?

I'll be staying at the Fiesta Americana on the 25th for a week. My travel agent suggested the Reef club because it had such a "Fabulous Price". After I did lots of research, I won't be going there. Brisas seems a little loud for what I'm looking for and FA seems just right.

Glad to hear you had a great trip

 

[Rwhiting]

Which rental rates do you mean?
Rental for suba gear: ~$10.00 US/day
Rental for car/moped: car $60/day moped $30 (negotiable in off season)
Room rates: I got my deal at FA on Orbitz for $69/night + tax - how did you do?
I hope one of these covers what you need.
BTW - things are so slow there right now that the noise level at the hotels is not really an issue no matter where you go. The rooms at Brisas looked just about as nice as FA, and it is much closer to town, if you'll be eating dinners in town. I didn't eat the hotel food, so I can't compare if you're looking for AI. I looked at the rooms in several other hotels and spoke to them about how full they were, as well as walk up rates. All were only at most 25% full. Here's what they quoted me per night for a double:
Villa Blanca - $60
Brisas - $120
Plaza Las Glorias - $120
Fiesta Americana - $120
Obviously ypou can do much better booking online or with an agency.
Hope this helps
Rich

 

[Scubagal]

Great trip report, thanks for posting! We're going to Coz for the 1st time in Feb., staying at FA. I will be doing my AOW certification. Can't wait!

 

[flyguy]

Thanks for the info Rwhiting

I was enquiring specifically about gear rental.

I'll be there solo and was $1500 CAD (the single suppliment is a killer, but makes sense). That's AI and flight from Canada. The Bisas would be a couple hundred bucks cheaper but figured I'd spend the money for something a little nicer.

Maybe since they're not very full, I'll see if they'd be kind enough to upgrade me to one of the nicer rooms if available. I won't hold my breath though.

 

[Rwhiting]

Flyguy - Gear rental itself is between $10 and $20 US per day, depending on the DO.
If Brisas will give you an oceanfront room for the same price or better as FA, it really comes down to the AI food and whether you want to go into town much. The rooms at Brisas are just as nice as the FA, and a lot closer to town. I've seen numerous posts here talking about the poor quality of Brisas food, but I don't think the meals at FA are anything to write home about either (even though I didn't eat at FA much). If you're going to hang out at the "beach", FA is nicer (not a real beach, but sand, palapas and lounge chairs right on the ocean), Brisas has a bigger pool if that's your thing. Since the season is so slow right now, it should be pretty easy to get an upgrade if you ask. For example - at FA rooms on the 5th floor and up were going for $25 or $30 more per night when I made the reservation. I called FA directly to confirm a week before I went down and asked for a room on one of the higher floors, and got #503 at the same rate quoted for the lower floors. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

 

[BrettM]

Rich,

Nice trip report. I just got back from diving with Aldora in Coz and reading your trip report makes me want to go back already. Of course the 40 degree weather in Chicago has something to do with that too...

I got to dive with both Peter Maerz and Ronrosa and his sister & brother in law on different days last week. Great folks and good divers. It was a pleasure meeting and diving with you.

I wanted to chime in on the earlier posts about Aldora not being the best dive Op for newbie divers. My girlfriend was certified about 10 years ago and has dove very little since her certification. She did a few dives in April but remained hesitant and did not want to push her comfort level on our trip. Aldora was great to her and really went the extra mile to keep a close eye on her and make her feel comfortable. She would typically meet up with our dive group at Playa Sol after the first dive of the day (and typically the deepest, most challenging dive of the day) and she would hop on the boat for the second dive of the day. With Aldora's high capacity tanks she still got as much if not more bottom time per day as she would have using aluminum 80's on two dives with another operator.

With all the favorable posts Aldora gets for experienced divers, I really came to appreciate them that much more for the friendly and professional manner they had with my girlfriend Kellie. By the end of the week she was a far more confident diver with memories of seeing a nurse shark, swimming through some open and beautiful swim throughs and even doing her first night dive. At no point was she pushed beyond her abilities and I don't believe the rest of the folks on our boat needed to compromise enjoyment of their second dives to accomodate her relative lack of experience.

Aldora typically runs two or three boats per day so there is plenty of room for newer divers to join in on both the first and second dives that are within their skill levels without being shuttled off to more difficult sites before they are ready for or comfortable with those sites. The dive masters and owner Dave really take care to determine divers skill levels and be sure they are comfortable, welcome and safe.

 

[scubacoz22]

Aldora is good for any divers, just make sure you tell them you are a newbie. We are taking my grandson (age 10) in November for his first real dive since certification last month. They are a dive operation that caters to your wants and needs. We have been diving with them for years and they are a great operation. Kathy in Texas