Question Cozumel Atmosphere

[PapaRod]

Just finished 4 days of diving with Dive House, we stayed at Secrets Aura which is adults only. It was very chill, food wasn’t bad, but the proximity to the pier and getting on the boat in the mornings was definitely a plus. I did notice multiple boats on the water, but never any crowds underwater. Boats we were on were not full, at most 8 people, group of 6 Rec diving and my wife and I working with an instructor.

 

[DandyDon]

Typically, we rent an airbnb a little back from centro but within walking distance.

If you do that, ensure that it has an electronic safe big enough for your valuables. Burglaries are so common. I stay in a cheap hotel with electronic room safes and 24 hour security.

 

[Blues Runner]

Did anyone mention the diving.....

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

oh yeah, the diving. right.

 

[scrane]

Cozumel is cheap and easy and the diving's OK.

 

[Redfoot]

I went for my first trip to Coz in November 2021. Stayed at Casa Mexicana and dove with Tres Pelicanos.

I loved it and cannot wait to go back-to me, the diving was very good with diverse animals. Food in town was great, I enjoyed walking around and taking in the sights. I would recommend any diver to make the trip at least once. There are many reasons it is so popular, and so many return visitors year after year.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Perhaps I just picked a couple of bad threads, but need I be worried about mobs of spring breakers and cruise passengers? Are there parts of town that are more low key? Is the island packed this time of year? Are the dive sites crowded? Should we just go back to Roatan or Turneffe? There are clearly lots of fans of Cozumel here and I'd appreciate your perspective.

I think your mental image may be skewed. I don't visit as often as many of the people who have replied to your post, so I can only speak from memory. But I have never seen what looked like a "mob" or "packed" to me, even with a half dozen cruise ships docked. As others have pointed out, the cruise shippers don't stray far from the main drag, which the rest of us can avoid for the most part. If you want to find a hole-in-the-wall place to eat, there are plenty back there. But for some of us, the fact that the diving is centered in a decent-sized Mexican town is a positive rather than a negative. I suspect very few of the Coz fans on SB party or stay out late, but we love our Mexican food, the opportunity to practice our Spanish, and the Mexican cultural vibe in general. Sure, it's a tourist town, but it's still Mexico. If you're not into Mexican food, and you find the generic buffet food they serve at dive resorts around the world just fine, maybe that's not a major draw for you in Coz.

As for dive sites, Coz sites don't feel crowded to me. There's plenty of space. I contrast that with the Red Sea trip I took, where the famous sites always had another boat or two on them. Dive quality-wise, sure, I'd rate Turneffe Atoll and just about everywhere in the tropical Pacific higher than Coz, but those are more expensive trips, and require more travel time. Coz offers good value--a good balance between trip cost and quality of diving. What @scrane said.

 

[scrane]

Cozumel is nice because you can walk anywhere in town and not get the stink eye. The island is somewhat isolated from the mainland and there's enough money coming in that most everyone gets a piece of the pie. Cozumel is a dive factory. They take the raw products from the ferry and the airport and stamp a smile on their faces before sending them home.

Compared to Roatan, the reefs and sea life are very similar. The real difference is consistent current and drift diving in Cozumel. I pretty much alternate between Coz and Roatan. I've been to Roatan twice within a year and am looking forward to returning to Cozumel in March. I love to jump off the boat, empty the BC, and go for a ride.

 

[ggunn]

My two pesos:

My first trip to Cozumel was in 1978. I went there sporadically until 1987; since then I have gone there at least once every year except (ptooey!) 2020. While I have seen many changes to the island, most notably (and to the detriment of the island IMO) the exploitation by the cruise ship industry (again ptooey!), Cozumel remains one of my favorite places on the planet.

I love the diving, the fishing, the food, the people, the climate, the little beach bars over on the "wild side", and just staring at that gorgeous water. I love the way that friends there that I have made over the years greet me with open arms every time I return to the island. I love the funky little hotel where my group and I always stay (now named Blue Angel). I love the way my mom looks every morning when she comes out to greet the day; she is 93 and has not missed a trip to Cozumel every year since 1977, 2020 notwithstanding.

We have our plane tix and hotel reservations for our next Cozumel trip this Spring. I cannot wait!

 

[TOMWIEDEMAN]

The wonderful thing about this forum is that there is so much information; the difficult thing is finding what you're looking for. I appreciate all the effort everyone puts into the forum and apologize if the information I'm looking for has already been posted somewhere.

My wife and I each have 200+ dives, mostly in the Red Sea and Caribbean, and some in the Pacific. Most of our dive destinations have been small and off the beaten path. Cozumel seems like an entirely different sort of place. We have found the diving better in the western Caribbean than, say, in the ABC islands, and the diving in Cozumel must be great or this forum wouldn't be so huge. So we are interested in trying Mexico, but Cozumel seems overwhelming. Of course, lots of divers look for other distractions after the diving is done - beaches, restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. - but that's not really our thing. Perhaps I just picked a couple of bad threads, but need I be worried about mobs of spring breakers and cruise passengers? Are there parts of town that are more low key? Is the island packed this time of year? Are the dive sites crowded? Should we just go back to Roatan or Turneffe? There are clearly lots of fans of Cozumel here and I'd appreciate your perspective.

We were there in November and it was pretty mellow. Few cruise shippers left the ships or the confines, Not as many restaurants as pre epidemic. Diving was good. Everyone was vaccinated. rented bikes one to ride around island. Archeological sites are well done. Planning another trip.