Cozumel- All-inclusive, dive resort (or both), or hotel (with no meal plan)???

[crispos]

Goofy girl, as much as I love Cozumel, I wouldn't go there in October unless it was on a last minute basis after eyeballing the NOAA storm early warning reports. http://www.nws.noaa.gov/

That's prime Hurricane season in the North Caribbean, which doesn't officially end until Nov 1. Alot of people just don't take it seriously, to their detriment. At the very least you might get a tropical storm which will cause wave action and spoil the diving.

If you think that is being paranoid, my sister was evacuated from Cancun into the jungle on her "romantic" trip there, several years ago. And I had a dive student insisted that I take her down to Cuba in late September of 2002 (because it was cheap then - go figure why. She went alone, and I saw a Hurricane hit while she was there. She never mentioned that trip. Better to find another month, or another island.

 

[ggunn]

Goofy girl, as much as I love Cozumel, I wouldn't go there in October unless it was on a last minute basis after eyeballing the NOAA storm early warning reports. http://www.nws.noaa.gov/

Well, a couple of things...

The highest probability of hurricanes is actually in September
(http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/when-where-hit.htm)
and, in general, the probability of a hurricane hitting where you are, when you are there, even in the Caribbean, even at the peak of the season, is really pretty low. Yes, it does happen, but statistically not that often and not to many people. It's managed risk, much like diving. Cozumel receives a hit by a hurricane only once every 8.31 years and a "brush" or more only every 2.89 years.
(http://www.hurricanecity.com/city/cozumel.htm)
Consider that a hurricane usually only affects an area for a couple of days.. Well, do the math; it's a pretty low risk.

That said, however, the conditions that favor hurricane development during the June-October time frame also favor raininess in general, so you are more likely to get wet on shore during those months than at other times.

 

[5615mike]

Thank you all for your input and advice! I looked into all the suggestions that you all made, and after much research both on this board and others (tripadvisor.com is great!) I'm pretty sure we've decided on Fiesta Americana without the AI plan.

There are other hotels that I probably would have liked better, but for the $$ FA looks like the best choice for us. Can't wait to start researching Dive Ops and restaurants!!! Oy!!!

Thank you all again!

GG

you will certainly enjoy FA. Several reasons why we favor this location but they all have to do with diving and not proximaty to town. There are so many great places to eat that we can't make all our favorites in a 9 day trip. If you want to PM I have a great list of rest with locations. There are so many threads on Rest and DO in Coz that you won't be able to read them all. Have a great time. We'll be at FA May 12-23

 

[diverlady]

I don't find I really get my money's worth on AIs. They usually include alcohol and I don't drink very much when on a diving vacation.

Just something else to consider.

I agree that there are plenty of great inexpensive restaurants in Coz. I just got back from there.

Diverlady

 

[goofygirl]

Crispos- Thanks for the warning, definitely taken into consideration as well as gguns response

Well, a couple of things...
The highest probability of hurricanes is actually in September...
and, in general, the probability of a hurricane hitting where you are, when you are there, even in the Caribbean, even at the peak of the season, is really pretty low. Yes, it does happen, but statistically not that often and not to many people. It's managed risk, much like diving. Cozumel receives a hit by a hurricane only once every 8.31 years and a "brush" or more only every 2.89 years....Consider that a hurricane usually only affects an area for a couple of days.. Well, do the math; it's a pretty low risk.

That said, however, the conditions that favor hurricane development during the June-October time frame also favor raininess in general, so you are more likely to get wet on shore during those months than at other times.

ggunn-That was kinda where my thinking was when we started planning this. Not sure when we will actually end up going, but the original plan was for Oct. Well take everyone's experience and advice into consideration before we actually book anything.

Mike-I'd love to see your list and I will PM you later! Thanks!

Open question- Has anyone actually been to Coz in October? How were the conditions? How much (if at all) did it rain? Did you get hit by a hurricaine? rofile:

 

[5615mike]

GG

Have been to Coz 5 times in the last 3 years. May, Sept, Oct are our months as we prefer smaller crowds. Only once has there been a close call on Hurricane. We left the day before it hit.

 

[mcrae]

I have not been to Coz in October but I have been to Babrabos, Cuba and Jamacia and Nov-Dec and you definately take your chances on the Weather. You do not need a hurricane to mess things up. Plain old high winds and heavy rain can do it for you.

Spring early summer is much more reliable.

Good Luck
Gary

 

[crispos]

GG, don't you have any last minute packages to the Caribbean in NYC? Just book a few days before you want to leave. It's romantice, like a suitcase party. You can choose a destination with good weather and that's it, you have at least the first few days of your trip guaranteed good dive conditions.

My favorite alternative to a Caribbean booking is Puerta Vallarta or Cabo in the Baja. Chances are you won't have bad weather on both coasts at once.
As someone may have mentioned too, you can take the ferry to Playa Del Carmen, and go do some cenote cavern tours if it blows alot in Cozumel.

 

[ggunn]

GG, don't you have any last minute packages to the Caribbean in NYC? Just book a few days before you want to leave. It's romantic, like a suitcase party. You can choose a destination with good weather and that's it, you have at least the first few days of your trip guaranteed good dive conditions.

New Yawk City? I'm a Louisiana transplant to Austin, Texas.

My trips to the Caribbean tend to be family reunions of sorts, usually involving 10 or more folks from 4 different places. It's real hard to do that without planning.

 

[Warren_L]

The all-inclusive that I was at in Cozumel (http://www.hotelcozumel.us/) was fairly decent. I think it would have been a couple of hundred dollars less without the all-inclusive. So, if you think you'll spend a bit on booze anyway, then it's probably worth it. That way, you can eat at the hotel if you wish or have your choice of going to restaurants outside of the hotel.