Question Cozumel diving - which diving center

[TrickyNiky]

Hello,

I'd really like to ask your advice. My husband and I are going diving in Cozumel for 5 days in April and we want to get our Advance Open Water certification.

I have checked out several places and in the end Cozumel Dive School and Roberta's Scuba Shack came out as the best value for money. It was important for us that they offer accommodation as well, as it will make our stay much easier if the hotel is right next to the dive shop.
With Roberta's I like the accommodation better and the fact that it seems to be a dive center with a long tradition, but with Cozumel Dive School again the location is good right in the center. However, when I looked at Google maps, the town doesn't seem that friendly, we've never been to Cozumel.

What would you recommend? Thank you very much!

Tricky

 

[ggunn]

Hello,

...when I looked at Google maps, the town doesn't seem that friendly, we've never been to Cozumel.

What do you mean by "friendly"?

 

[mcohen1021]

What would you recommend? Thank you very much!

I've heard great things about Roberta's scuba shack…

I will say I've walked by village tan kah a few times and i find the place weird to be honest. I might be completely wrong and a lot of people may really like it there, but I just find it a weird place and I would prefer to stay at Casa Del Mar or at a condo at palmar.

 

[jonhall]

Would have recommended looking at the link that @MMM posted, but you have it narrowed down to 2 ops, so that should make it easier for you. Have stayed near Roberta’s (a 5 minute walk from where I stayed) and dove with them. It is well run as far as diving, but can’t comment regarding taking AOW. Don’t know what their accommodations are, but El Cid and Grand Park Royal are right there. Can’t ofer anything about Cozumel Dive School other than to say if you’re diving during the day, whether CDS or any other op, you shouldn’t be concerned with the location as it is pretty safe in Cozumel.

If you wind up still searching for an op after getting recommendations from everyone else, I would say check out Dressel Divers located at the Iberostar, an all-inclusive, only because you list as a factor “value for the money.” Staying there may not be money saving (I don’t know) but you don’t have to stay there to dive with the op. They are farther south (5-10 minute boat ride to dive sites in the marine park) so you would have to take a taxi if you stayed elsewhere - they are always available. Dressel will not be recommended often, but that is not because of bad service or bad instructors - it’s more about the boat size/larger number of divers and length of dives. Since you would be taking the AOW course, those things shouldn’t make a difference. The price is right - AOW is free as the dives you complete are tied in to the package of dives you pay for ahead of time - and it is pretty cheap.The only thing is you need to plan ahead as you will get the package ahead of time on their website. Just an FYI.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Hello,

I'd really like to ask your advice. My husband and I are going diving in Cozumel for 5 days in April and we want to get our Advance Open Water certification.

I have checked out several places and in the end Cozumel Dive School and Roberta's Scuba Shack came out as the best value for money. It was important for us that they offer accommodation as well, as it will make our stay much easier if the hotel is right next to the dive shop.
With Roberta's I like the accommodation better and the fact that it seems to be a dive center with a long tradition, but with Cozumel Dive School again the location is good right in the center. However, when I looked at Google maps, the town doesn't seem that friendly, we've never been to Cozumel.

What would you recommend? Thank you very much!

Tricky

Aldora Divers are arguably one of the best dive operators on the island and are affiliated with their own dedicated accommodation facility literally right on the water in a quieter area just north of town. Pretty much a one-stop shop for just about everything diving related. Liang Chen is the PADI course director.

I would recommend giving them a call and inquire about putting together a package that best meets your needs, they are usually very accommodating and pretty good about discounts when you bundle and/or pay with cash. Overall, this may not be the "budget" option, but you get what you pay for and would probably be more logistically friendly for you:

• Aldora Divers
• Aldora Villa

Hope this is helpful!

 

[mcohen1021]

when I looked at Google maps, the town doesn't seem that friendly, we've never been to Cozumel.

Cozumel is the friendliest island in the Caribbean, JMO

 

[ggunn]

Someone else mentioned Blue Angel Home | Blue Angel Resort ; I believe it checks all your boxes. Great small hotel on the water (all rooms ocean view), excellent dive op on site, good shore dive, nice pool, excellent restaurant, far enough from town to avoid crowds but close enough to walk in about 20 minutes or get a cheap cab ride, great staff. I'll be there myself in a few weeks.

 

[nodakdive]

There are a couple more dining options close to Roberta's. Ernesto's Fajita Factory is right across the street from Village Tan Kah and right next to Scuba Shack. Paprika/Tikila is about 100 meters from Casa del Mar, maybe less. Paprika used to serve the food at Tikila, but that may have changed and they could be two separate restaurants. Tikila is a bar and a popular place for shore diving. Last time I looked, it appeared to me that they have their own menu now and serve their own food.

Village Tan Kah has always looked out of place to me too, like a little oasis or something. Very convenient for diving with Scuba Shack. It's basically a level walk from your room, across the street and then an almost level step onto the boat, curbs notwithstanding. AOW would be no problem there. A taxi to town from there is about 5-6 US dollars, each way.

An advantage to Blue Angel would be that they're right on the ocean, so there is no very short walk across a street, though you might wind up a flight or two of stairs. All of their rooms might be ocean view too? (All rooms. Didn't read the ggunn post closely enough.) It might be the same taxi fare to town, but it's closer to town than Village Tan Kah. At Village Tan Kah you're closer to a cruise ship pier than you would be at Blue Angel. The proximity to the cruise ship pier has never bothered me, but for some it's an eyesore.

Have a great trip!

 

[BrewingDiver]

I can't speak about Roberta's, but here's another endorsement for Blue Angel. ggun sums it up well, and it's hard to beat the convenience for what you are going for. We've enjoyed night and sometimes afternoon shore dives there (after the day's morning dives/lunch), Happy Hours, nice views, pool and ability to walk to town. Heck, you could just stay on the property the whole time when not on the boat.

 

[Chrisan]

I stayed at the Iberostar a few weeks back. All inclusive really a nice place. Top notch. On site dive center with boat access. It's at the south tip so a short boat ride to a lot of the popular dive sites. Al a cart dive schedule, that is to say if you only want to go on the second morning dive and the first afternoon dive you can do it. Highly recommend. My room is on the right of the pic - room 1103. Gotta book a year in advance to get it. The building to the left is the dive center.

 

[DandyDon]

I stayed at the Iberostar a few weeks back. All inclusive really a nice place. Top notch.

At $200/night, it had better be nice. That's more than twice as much as they seem to have budgeted.

I have checked out several places and in the end Cozumel Dive School and Roberta's Scuba Shack came out as the best value for money.