Oh, a couple of other things....Cozumel is not expensive compared to many other places you could jump to from Florida and the dollar gets you a lot of pesos now, at or near historic levels. I wouldn't pass up this opportunity.
Cozumel or Freeport?
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Thanks for all the info. I think the program is going to be something like this (we fly from Finland).
Sun 4 Arrive and airport hotel (we are ~21:00 in Miami)
Mon 5 Flight to Cancun, Taxi to Playa del Carmen, Ferry to Cozumel. Get to hotel. Eat and rest.
Tue 6 First dive
Wed 7 Second dive
Thu 8 Third dive
Fri 9 Something else? Maya ruins?
Sat 10 Fourth dive
Sun 11 Fifth dive
Mon 12 Move to Cancun / Mujeres (Afternoon dive?)
Tue 13 Whale shark snorkelling (No dive day)
Wed 14 Fly to Miami and move to Palm Beach / Afternoon dive?
Thu 15 Blue Heron Bridge diving Palm Beach
Fri 16 Shopping
Sat 17 No dive day - Keys sight seeing?
Sun 18 Flight back at evening / shopping.
First - fifth dive = Day reserved mainly for diving and eating.
Any comments?
We have a flight to Miami and we are wondering the cheapest route to Cozumel. If we book from American Airlines straight, it gives me $600-700 rate PER PERSON. That is steep. To Cancun its ~350$ / person. Also flying to Cancun might allow us to take the snorkelling with the whale sharks to the trip and be near the airport for return to Miami.
BTW: Does anyone know if you really can DIVE with whalesharks or is it only snorkelling? And how long you are usually in the water?
How about Blue Heron? Is it worth it if we are doing 1 or 2 dives in Palm Beach?
Anything else you recommend on Miami? Under or top of sea level.
Sun 4 Arrive and airport hotel (we are ~21:00 in Miami)
Mon 5 Flight to Cancun, Taxi to Playa del Carmen, Ferry to Cozumel. Get to hotel. Eat and rest.
Tue 6 First dive
Wed 7 Second dive
Thu 8 Third dive
Fri 9 Something else? Maya ruins?
Sat 10 Fourth dive
Sun 11 Fifth dive
Mon 12 Move to Cancun / Mujeres (Afternoon dive?)
Tue 13 Whale shark snorkelling (No dive day)
Wed 14 Fly to Miami and move to Palm Beach / Afternoon dive?
Thu 15 Blue Heron Bridge diving Palm Beach
Fri 16 Shopping
Sat 17 No dive day - Keys sight seeing?
Sun 18 Flight back at evening / shopping.
First - fifth dive = Day reserved mainly for diving and eating.
Any comments?
We have a flight to Miami and we are wondering the cheapest route to Cozumel. If we book from American Airlines straight, it gives me $600-700 rate PER PERSON. That is steep. To Cancun its ~350$ / person. Also flying to Cancun might allow us to take the snorkelling with the whale sharks to the trip and be near the airport for return to Miami.
BTW: Does anyone know if you really can DIVE with whalesharks or is it only snorkelling? And how long you are usually in the water?
How about Blue Heron? Is it worth it if we are doing 1 or 2 dives in Palm Beach?
Anything else you recommend on Miami? Under or top of sea level.
Consider low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines from Fort Lauderdale to Cancun. Southwest Airlines is another option from Fort Lauderdale and, in my opinion, a somewhat better airline.
Whalesharks: snorkel only. I only did it once on Isla Mujeres. As I recall, it was a fun trip.
Whalesharks: snorkel only. I only did it once on Isla Mujeres. As I recall, it was a fun trip.
Go to Coconuts if you bring your girl to Coz, pay the taxi to stick around and get you to the restaurant with the tequila factory. The margaritas are mostly tequila at Coconuts, but you can't really tell. Beaches on Coz are picture frame worthy. I saw a brown sting ray and a yellow one nearly every time in the water. The brown rays were huge, 5-6' across with a 5' tail, half hidden in the sand, and not shy if you move slowly.
Playa is a 30min ferry. No idea where to get tickets, I bought mine on the Playa side. Aldea is a restaurant down in a Cenote right off of the main 5th street run, go at sunset to see the bats come and go. Across from Aldea is a good place up stairs. Both are at least 30% cheaper than perfect restaurants in the US or Keys.
The bar and grill on the beach just north of El Faro condo's, say hi to the girl with the red hair, and laugh at the oddest dive op you'll ever see. (it's amazing how many divers wade out to the boats and think that the anchor line is their friend, then that boat gets nailed by a wave, the line goes tight, smacks the diver in the chest and sends them flying. Happens to a diver, every other boat.Funny as heck.)
We stayed at El Faro. It was nice enough. Never did figure out the TV, but TV's have no purpose in the Caribbean.
Further north, Indigo beach has good cheap breakfast until 1230. Mel's has 5 star American steaks for 5 star american prices. Go there at least once. La Barbocoa has an excellent real quesidilla with Oxaxo cheese or something. Get the Barbocoa meat, not chicken.
Got a dive free day? I did a private half day with Melon (Apple), or Mela?, from Myan Exporers (I think that' the right company) and snorkeled a cenote:
Mayans' Explorers » Tulum Half-A-Day
The Cenote across from Tulum has clean bathrooms for changing, and bats in the cavern. Bring a mask and snorkel, leave your heavy fins at your hotel.
Food is excellent in Playa and Coz. Bring Imodium AD.
Don't waste time in Cancun. And don't plan a day to shop. The shops are open late, you'll get sick of shopping quick.
If you get sick of people trying to drag you into the stores or trying to sell you stuff you don't want, especially around the ferry peer, swing into one of the larger general trinket stores, get a luchador wresting mask and two maracas. Noone will bug a crazy guy wearing a mask, rattling maracas, and singing Mexican music that makes no sense. You'll fit right in. Extra point if you buy a soccer jersey that says "BIMBO" on it. Those are real popular.
Go during the carnaval. (It's mostly Myan guys pounding a drum while a pretty girl does a happy dance, but still a good time)
Freeport vs Coz???? That's a joke, right? No contest.
If you want sharks, but not the baited feed dives, go to the Keys.
Playa is a 30min ferry. No idea where to get tickets, I bought mine on the Playa side. Aldea is a restaurant down in a Cenote right off of the main 5th street run, go at sunset to see the bats come and go. Across from Aldea is a good place up stairs. Both are at least 30% cheaper than perfect restaurants in the US or Keys.
The bar and grill on the beach just north of El Faro condo's, say hi to the girl with the red hair, and laugh at the oddest dive op you'll ever see. (it's amazing how many divers wade out to the boats and think that the anchor line is their friend, then that boat gets nailed by a wave, the line goes tight, smacks the diver in the chest and sends them flying. Happens to a diver, every other boat.Funny as heck.)
We stayed at El Faro. It was nice enough. Never did figure out the TV, but TV's have no purpose in the Caribbean.
Further north, Indigo beach has good cheap breakfast until 1230. Mel's has 5 star American steaks for 5 star american prices. Go there at least once. La Barbocoa has an excellent real quesidilla with Oxaxo cheese or something. Get the Barbocoa meat, not chicken.
Got a dive free day? I did a private half day with Melon (Apple), or Mela?, from Myan Exporers (I think that' the right company) and snorkeled a cenote:
Mayans' Explorers » Tulum Half-A-Day
The Cenote across from Tulum has clean bathrooms for changing, and bats in the cavern. Bring a mask and snorkel, leave your heavy fins at your hotel.
Food is excellent in Playa and Coz. Bring Imodium AD.
Don't waste time in Cancun. And don't plan a day to shop. The shops are open late, you'll get sick of shopping quick.
If you get sick of people trying to drag you into the stores or trying to sell you stuff you don't want, especially around the ferry peer, swing into one of the larger general trinket stores, get a luchador wresting mask and two maracas. Noone will bug a crazy guy wearing a mask, rattling maracas, and singing Mexican music that makes no sense. You'll fit right in. Extra point if you buy a soccer jersey that says "BIMBO" on it. Those are real popular.
Go during the carnaval. (It's mostly Myan guys pounding a drum while a pretty girl does a happy dance, but still a good time)
Freeport vs Coz???? That's a joke, right? No contest.
If you want sharks, but not the baited feed dives, go to the Keys.
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If you want to DIVE with whalesharks on our side of the world, you'll need to go to Belize instead. March to June is the timeframe - late April/May is optimal. It also involves a 2nd flight to South Belize where you can base at one of the resorts nearby. A downside is on the non-whaleshark dives, there's still typically an hour boat ride out to the reef which limits the dives/day you can do vs. Cozumel where at some resorts you step off their dock onto a dive boat and go dive nearby. Or even shore dive locally, there's none of that in Belize.
If you are interested, Splash Dive in Placencia can help with the arrangements, accommodations, flights, even local transport to their shop.
As you've seen you can save a lot of money typically (not always) by flying to Cancun and doing the bag drag to Cozumel. I've never done it but here's a 5 yr. old video on options between the two cities - there's more current info in this forum also - search "bag drag".
Price all the add-ons for Spirit - they charge for just about everything except the seat you paid for vs. Southwest which might still have 2 free checked bags included - not sure since that's an Int'l flight. There's options for a inter-airport shuttle between MIA and FLL - Just don't take a cab, that will be expensive...currently around $90 one way.
If you are interested, Splash Dive in Placencia can help with the arrangements, accommodations, flights, even local transport to their shop.
As you've seen you can save a lot of money typically (not always) by flying to Cancun and doing the bag drag to Cozumel. I've never done it but here's a 5 yr. old video on options between the two cities - there's more current info in this forum also - search "bag drag".
Price all the add-ons for Spirit - they charge for just about everything except the seat you paid for vs. Southwest which might still have 2 free checked bags included - not sure since that's an Int'l flight. There's options for a inter-airport shuttle between MIA and FLL - Just don't take a cab, that will be expensive...currently around $90 one way.
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nwflyboy
Contributor
Yes, Southwest Airlines still gives you free checked bags - very handy for schlepping dive gear.
Nothing to see/do in Cancun IMHO, just use the airport and stay away.
If you have any interest in Mayan ruins, then you need to modify your plans. Some of the greatest ruins in all the Americas are within a few hours drive of Playa del Carmen. There's a tiny ruin on Cozumel, but you won't be impressed. Chichen Itza is impressive. The problem with Chichen Itza is that it's overrun with crowds of idiots during the mid-day...because it's within driving distance of mega-resorts in Cancun and all along the coast. You do not want to be there from 11 am to 3 pm when the crowds are at their peak (coincidentally, when the day's heat and sun are at their peak, too). Fix that by arriving near the ruins late afternoon - go for a couple hours before sunset (after all the crowds have gone back to their cruise ships and mega-hotels). Spend the night at one of the hotels right by the ruins. Wake up early and go in when they open. Enjoy a few more hours with no crowds. Then when all the buses roll up, leave.
By the way, on Coz, you should dive more than once a day (most dive ops do two dives in the morning, you get back to your hotel around 1 pm, so you have the whole afternoon to relax).
Be careful wandering around southern Florida - lots of crime, foreign tourists are often targeted. Use common sense and stay out of sketchy neighborhoods and you will be fine.
Nothing to see/do in Cancun IMHO, just use the airport and stay away.
If you have any interest in Mayan ruins, then you need to modify your plans. Some of the greatest ruins in all the Americas are within a few hours drive of Playa del Carmen. There's a tiny ruin on Cozumel, but you won't be impressed. Chichen Itza is impressive. The problem with Chichen Itza is that it's overrun with crowds of idiots during the mid-day...because it's within driving distance of mega-resorts in Cancun and all along the coast. You do not want to be there from 11 am to 3 pm when the crowds are at their peak (coincidentally, when the day's heat and sun are at their peak, too). Fix that by arriving near the ruins late afternoon - go for a couple hours before sunset (after all the crowds have gone back to their cruise ships and mega-hotels). Spend the night at one of the hotels right by the ruins. Wake up early and go in when they open. Enjoy a few more hours with no crowds. Then when all the buses roll up, leave.
By the way, on Coz, you should dive more than once a day (most dive ops do two dives in the morning, you get back to your hotel around 1 pm, so you have the whole afternoon to relax).
Be careful wandering around southern Florida - lots of crime, foreign tourists are often targeted. Use common sense and stay out of sketchy neighborhoods and you will be fine.
maj2
Contributor
When I did Chichen Itza, we took a tour by air. Left Playa del Carmen early in the morning in a small airplane, and landed at Chichen Itza shortly thereafter after a brief fly-over tour. We got our full tour and were leaving just as the tour buses were arriving from all over the Yucatan. It was also a much cooler temperature seeing it before the crowds arrive, and better photos of the ruins without the sunburnt masses in the way. We flew back and were at our resort near Playa del Carmen shortly after lunch. Not sure if these air tours are still around, or their cost. It was definitely not a cheap way to see Chichen Itza, but it was worth it for the cooler temperatures, no crowds and short duration! The extra flying day would also eat into dive time... That tour was before my diving days, so that was not an issue for me at the time.
Edit-- Just saw the prices for this charged by FlyCozumel... Way too expensive... Still better to see it early, but not worth the cost of the air tours!
I have been diving in both Freeport and Cozumel. There is no comparison. I would take Cozumel in a heartbeat. Freeport reefs were not as nice, and the reef sharks seemed so conditioned to feeding dives, they would all move in at the sound of divers splashing in. Then they swim off if a diver in chain mail with a bucket of chum did not show up. It was interesting to watch from the surface, until you realized just how much they had been conditioned. Once the shark show is over, the reefs and other fish life were better in Cozumel, in my opinion.
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maj2
Contributor
I did it at a time when you could still climb the pyramid... Easy climb up, somewhat terrifying descent due to the short tread of the steps.
Our tour was just the 6 or 8 of us that were on the plane. It was a small plane... It was a guided tour, and it was extremely educational. Of any resort excursions that we have done over the years in Mexico or the Caribbean, that one still stands out.
It was a bit pricey at the time, but not unreasonable given the small group, guided tour, cooler time of day, crowd avoidance, etc. Today, AeroSaab charges US$487 for the tour out of Playa del Carmen according to their website, or $618 from Cozumel. Fly Cozumel is charging a ridiculous $1250-$3300 for the tour out of Coz (also per their website). I seem to recall that we paid about half the current Playa price way back then. I'd be hard pressed to cough up a grand to do the same excursion now.
If you go to Ft. Lauderdale you can take an inexpensive flight to Cancun on JetBlue. Non-stop. Easy.
