Cozumel planning for a group of newbies

[crabbyfiddler]

I only have two masks, both determined by how they fit my face. Then I had to put "old eyes" lenses in them. I switched once with a friend so she could try my ground bifocal lens. Hers was not as good a fit by after trying the strap in a few different positions I found one that worked for the dive. Was really happy to get mine back. As long as it fits, I'm good.

 

[driftwood]

thx Stevens~
i do always recommend my buddies to get their own set of masks n snorkel, just trying to let them know renting a mask is not a wise way in terms of money.
how long dose it takes to get to Tulum/Coba from Cozumel? ferry plus taxi?

The least expensive way to get to either Tulum or Coba is to take the bus. Easy walk across the plaza to the bus station. For my time and money, I would take a small group tour from either Yucatreks or
Tours and Excursions Riviera Maya | Alltournative Tours Riviera Maya We have used both of them and it is a great way to spend a vacation day. Well worth the expense.

If you like Mayan rock piles, go with Coba. If you like drop dead beautiful photos, go to Tulum.

Since this is your first trip to the area, the LAST thing I would consider is renting a car. You don't know the local "rules of the road", all the little scams designed to separate you from your money and tax what should be an enjoyable day.

 

[mstevens]

all the little scams designed to separate you from your money

Isis Playa del Carmen is run by Edgar Dzul, the nephew of Margarita of Rentadora Isis in Cozumel. Newer, shinier cars, but the same scrupulously honest, no-hidden-fees rental policies. I've rented from him lots of times. They're easy walking distance from the ferry.

Getting to Tulum from the rental agency takes, literally, 6 turns including exiting the parking area in Playa del Carmen and entering the parking lot in Tulum. It'd be 7 for Coba.

If someone is even a little nervous about driving, it might make more sense to book a tour, but for someone willing to take risks smaller than attempting to drive in, say, Boston, renting a car on the mainland shouldn't be a source of terror. It also lets one go at one's own pace and stop for tacos at Taqueria el Arbolito in Puerto Aventuras, which is a wonderful thing to do.

 

[DandyDon]

I've been using the same snorkel with a dry valve from time to time for over 10 years, then one day at a family reunion - I sucked a lot of water into my throat. Laryngospasms are no fun! I thought I was going to drown before I was able to standup in the shallow end of the pool, and was severely embarrassed. :blush:

The valve piston had wrinkled. The company had merged, but I tracked the new one down and they sent me a new one. Now I know to check & test.

thx Stevens~
i do always recommend my buddies to get their own set of masks n snorkel, just trying to let them know renting a mask is not a wise way in terms of money.
how long dose it takes to get to Tulum/Coba from Cozumel? ferry plus taxi?

When my daughter, her mom, and two kids planned to snorkel on a cruise stop in Coz, I talked them into getting their own snorkeling gear, then took them to the pool to learn the basics before getting into the ocean. Do teach them about using baby shampoo to prevent fogging?

i dont mind to do both, will do some search on both attraction n share with my buddies, ur comments definitely help!
i think we will rent a car, any recommendation?

We did Coba as early as possible, then Tulum on the way back. We took an early ferry ride, rented from Easyway (cheap with good insurance package), drove to the town of Tulum, stopped at the San Francisco grocery there at the intersection with the Coba road, bought a styrofoam cooler, ice, bottle water, etc. I'd warned my bud that it was going to be hot bicycling back to the end of the trail to see the biggest pyramid, and we both took 2 quart vacuum bottles - but then he only carried 1 in his backpack. There were vendors on the trail selling ice water for $2/pint. If you don't want to drive your own bike, there are tricycle operators who will push you around for a fee.

Consider getting the Mayan Adventure map/guide from

www.cancunmap.com

Good idea.

 

[robint]

yes.... buy the MAP for Cozumel and the Mayan Adventure: cancunmap.com-Maps and travel guides.Your information source to Cancun,Cozumel,Isla Mujeres & Riviera Maya
they are great for understanding the island and mainland, where the hotels are located, etc. Prices for taxis are on there too. If you stay at one of the southern resorts (sounds like the best plan for your group), then it is not cheap to get back to town for ferry.

I would recommend a trip over to Coba/Tulum that you can book through your resort. They will have the price include everything, transportation, parking, guide, etc. We did that our first trip over, back in 2000, and it was very helpful. Since then we have done Mainland trips on our own since we now know the ropes. It can be very confusing your first time over.

look at hotels and see what works best for your budget and goals.
Hotel Cozumel is located nearer to town, has diving and snorkeling, might be a good budget choice.
A little farther from town is Park Royal.
When you get down south to the bigger fancier resorts, you get more activities but $$ ride to town. It is all up to what YOU want and need.

check out some packages here: Island Dreams Travel scuba diving vacations, cozumel scuba diving, dive travel, dive resorts, diving trips
should get you started to see what is available.

robin

 

[Ron Lee]

Here is how I went to Coba using the bus. Taxi and colectivo back.

Coba ruins via ADO bus, walking, taxi and colectivo - Playa del Carmen Forum - TripAdvisor

You can modify it to stop at a cenote like Gran on the way back and even go to Tulum.

 

[Sue Sue]

Hi everyone, I’m new to this forum, gonna visit the fascinated Cozumel island in august, this’s my first caribbean trip, got a few questions on my planning:
1/ group of 4, I’m the only one who has diver license, others may do discovery diving, any dive shop recommend?
2/ any suggestion on snorkeling sites
3/ we will do snorkeling most the time, how much does it cost for mask rental? Would it be a good idea to purchase the whole set of mask snorkel n fins beforehand?
4/ we all want to spend one day on Maya cultural stuff like pyramid, shld we stay in Cozumel, isla mujeres or cancun?
5/ our trip will be after mid aug, hows the weather by then? Hows the water temp n current condition?

any suggestion is welcome n grateful:kiss2:

First of all on99, Welcome to Scubaboard and especially to the Cozumel Forum ! In reading your wishlist questions, I have some ideas for you to consider..

1/There are many Dive Ops that would do a wonderful service to you and your group. My suggestion is to research the Dive Op's mentioned then contact them directly with your information and questions. ie: Dates, number of party, snorkel/scuba discovery/diving inquiries. Once you decide on the Dive Op, then choose your lodging.

2/There is some very nice snorkeling to be found on Cozumel. However, close to shore, we aware that you most likely will not find beautiful corals. Mostly, you will find critters among the stone and muck and sand, which, as it turns out, can be awesome. What a surprise to find an octopus, green moray or infant drum fish among the crevices of an old pier or common rock formation ! Some spots that have always been a good snorkel adventure is in front of the Blue Angel Resort, Hotel Cozumel, Chankanaab Park and in front of the El Cantil Condos. Just be aware at there can be boat traffic in front of the hotels and resorts. Other than shore snorkeling, a boat snorkel trip would be wonderful as well. However, if your friends are new to being in blue water, they may need to adjust to the feeling of being in deep clear swimming environment.

3/My vote is to purchase a snorkel set before going. If your friends are serious about continuing with a dive certification and will need a mask, snorkel and fins anyway, then perhaps they will want to invest a little bit in their purchase. check out www.leisurepro.com or www.scubatoys.com for some good deals. Although, you are in NYC, so you could go directly to the Leisure Pro store. (42 West 18th Street..upstairs from Adorama)

4/If you want a Maya History/Culture experience on a grand scale then you will have to travel to the mainland at least for one day. As mentioned, there are travel tours that will take you there. Coba or Tulum is easy enough to do, with Chichen Itza being a longer trip. However, if an introduction to Mayan/History Culture would do well for you, then do not overlook staying on Cozumel for this. There are some ruins on the island such as San Gervasio as well as a small site in El Cedral, the oldest Mayan Ruins on Cozumel Island, dating back to 800 A.D. The town of El Cedral itself is a very nice place to visit for a couple of hours. Also, do visit the museum in town, Melgar (Main oceanfront street) and Calle 6. There you will find a very good presentation of Mayan and Cozumel History. Regardless, for a one day trip to the mainland pyramids, I would recommend to stay on Cozumel and perhaps order up a tour. If you feel you would be satisfied with the island ruins, then you could perhaps just hire up a taxi for the day and do the tour on your own. Although, there are several on island tours that will take you as well. However, if you are interested in a more in depth Mayan History/Culture trip to the mainland pyramids, then perhaps you may want to consider an open jaw trip. Fly into Cozumel and Fly out of Cancun.

5/The weather has been covered

In addition, my two cents for lodging... as robint mentioned, the further South you stay, the more it does cost in taxi fare to get to and from town. The resorts in the south are very nice, and the All Inclusive options work well for many folks, however, be aware that in doing so you can be isolated from the "Town" experience due to the distance and taxi cost. Of course, if you rent a car, then your transportation is covered. However, you may want to research the discussions here on Scubaboard/Cozumel in regard to driving and parking on Cozumel to make that decision. With all of this in mind, I suggest for consideration Hotel Cozumel, Blue Angel Resort, Park Royal or El Cid la Cieba. I would not go any further south than El Cid. These lodgings are of moderate cost, however, there are other options for more budget or higher price. TIP: (Check out the orbitz or expedia packages)

Regardless, Best Wishes to you and your group for a wonderful Cozumel Holiday !

Double S

 

[on99]

A taxi is a very expensive way to get to Tulum, let alone Coba. We rent a car. You can also take a bus or a tour.
The Playa del Carmen ferry is about 45 minutes. Tulum is about an hour from Playa del Carmen. Coba is about 2 hours.

thx Steven, shld we give up coba if we only schedule 1day for those attractions, or we might save some time for driving on our own?

I have 3 different masks that I use. One is primary day mask, another is primary night mask (since the day one has a filter coating which somewhat darkens things at night) and the third is for when I get a bit bored of the other ones.
Some people have more shoes than anyone needs. Others have more tools than anyone needs. There's nothing particularly wrong with having more scuba gear than anyone needs.

agree with that.
i also think that keep switching masks is a gd way to find out the best fit, i found mine, the cressi big eyes.

---------- Post added June 24th, 2014 at 02:32 PM ----------

Consider getting the Mayan Adventure map/guide from
www.cancunmap.com

this is very useful, thx Ron!
i will get the mayan adventure, does it worth for cozumel?

---------- Post added June 24th, 2014 at 02:42 PM ----------

The least expensive way to get to either Tulum or Coba is to take the bus. Easy walk across the plaza to the bus station. For my time and money, I would take a small group tour from either Yucatreks or
Tours and Excursions Riviera Maya | Alltournative Tours Riviera Maya We have used both of them and it is a great way to spend a vacation day. Well worth the expense.
If you like Mayan rock piles, go with Coba. If you like drop dead beautiful photos, go to Tulum.
Since this is your first trip to the area, the LAST thing I would consider is renting a car. You don't know the local "rules of the road", all the little scams designed to separate you from your money and tax what should be an enjoyable day.

ur suggestion is very valuable to me, much thx driftwood!

---------- Post added June 24th, 2014 at 02:51 PM ----------

Isis Playa del Carmen is run by Edgar Dzul, the nephew of Margarita of Rentadora Isis in Cozumel. Newer, shinier cars, but the same scrupulously honest, no-hidden-fees rental policies. I've rented from him lots of times. They're easy walking distance from the ferry.
Getting to Tulum from the rental agency takes, literally, 6 turns including exiting the parking area in Playa del Carmen and entering the parking lot in Tulum. It'd be 7 for Coba.
If someone is even a little nervous about driving, it might make more sense to book a tour, but for someone willing to take risks smaller than attempting to drive in, say, Boston, renting a car on the mainland shouldn't be a source of terror. It also lets one go at one's own pace and stop for tacos at Taqueria el Arbolito in Puerto Aventuras, which is a wonderful thing to do.

thx Steven, this seems to be my style, i can also stop by to take a pic if i find something funny or hv a sip of tequila somewhere i think it's cool

---------- Post added June 24th, 2014 at 03:50 PM ----------

I've been using the same snorkel with a dry valve from time to time for over 10 years, then one day at a family reunion - I sucked a lot of water into my throat. Laryngospasms are no fun! I thought I was going to drown before I was able to standup in the shallow end of the pool, and was severely embarrassed. :blush:
The valve piston had wrinkled.

glad that it was happened in the pool

---------- Post added June 24th, 2014 at 04:26 PM ----------

yes.... buy the MAP for Cozumel and the Mayan Adventure: cancunmap.com-Maps and travel guides.Your information source to Cancun,Cozumel,Isla Mujeres & Riviera Maya
they are great for understanding the island and mainland, where the hotels are located, etc. Prices for taxis are on there too. If you stay at one of the southern resorts (sounds like the best plan for your group), then it is not cheap to get back to town for ferry.

I would recommend a trip over to Coba/Tulum that you can book through your resort. They will have the price include everything, transportation, parking, guide, etc. We did that our first trip over, back in 2000, and it was very helpful. Since then we have done Mainland trips on our own since we now know the ropes. It can be very confusing your first time over.

look at hotels and see what works best for your budget and goals.
Hotel Cozumel is located nearer to town, has diving and snorkeling, might be a good budget choice.
A little farther from town is Park Royal.
When you get down south to the bigger fancier resorts, you get more activities but $$ ride to town. It is all up to what YOU want and need.

check out some packages here: Island Dreams Travel scuba diving vacations, cozumel scuba diving, dive travel, dive resorts, diving trips
should get you started to see what is available.

robin

thx so much Robin!
my ideal hotel would be close to ferry station n airport in order to shorten our traveling time for day tour n the way back to airport, correct me if i'm wrong.

here's wht my options so far:
[FONT=Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]1/ Hotel Cozumel <--- v good feedback from diver
2/ Villablanca Garden Beach Hotel Cozumel <--- not much comment from trip advisor
3/ Cozumel Palace[/FONT] [FONT=Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]<--- everything seems pretty decent [/FONT]

Park Royal looks pretty good, will add to my list for consideration.

divetrip.com is very informative, thx again Robin~

 

[Ripple in still water]

If you are considering an AI, my vote is for the Palace. If you stay for a week, they give you $1500 in resort credits per room. You can use that to dive with Aqua Safari, at $79 per two tank dive. We did that last year (and are doing it again in a week and a half). I found them to be an excellent operator. Their boats are bigger and slower than many Cozumel dive ops, but I like the ride out to the reefs, so that's a feature rather than a bug for me.

You can also use the resort credits for Discover Scuba for non-divers.

Finally, they have trips to both Tulum and Coba which you can pay for in resort credits.

The Palace is probably the most expensive AI in Cozumel -- on the front end. If you use most or all of your resort credits for diving and tours you would otherwise have paid full freight for, the Palace ends up cheaper than many AI's that are, IMO, not as nice.

 

[mstevens]

tshld we give up coba if we only schedule 1day for those attractions, or we might save some time for driving on our own?

You can certainly go to Coba and the Tulum ruins in a single day - we've done just that. You can probably do it by bus if you keep an eye on your schedule. We've only done it by renting a car and driving ourselves.

i found mine, the cressi big eyes.

That's one of my go-to masks.

i will get the mayan adventure, does it worth for cozumel?

Cozumel isn't included, but the maps are so good and so inexpensive that it's a great idea to get both.

my ideal hotel would be close to ferry station n airport in order to shorten our traveling time for day tour n the way back to airport, correct me if i'm wrong.

Unless you end up quite far south or north, time from your hotel to the ferry pier isn't going to be a huge factor.

Hotel Cozumel <--- v good feedback from diver

This is our favorite budget hotel (of the 3 we've tried). It's just a few minutes from the ferry pier by car.

Villablanca Garden Beach Hotel Cozumel <--- not much comment from trip advisor

We've stayed there a couple of times. I can't say it's bad, but I won't say it's great. We wouldn't return. It does have some proponents here. Maybe 10 minutes from the ferry pier.