Trip Report Cozumel - Presidente and Scuba Du May 2021

[dflaher]

Great report and pics! The only odd thing I found in your report was the buffet. Didn't think restaurants were back to doing them; I am pretty sure that Casa Mexicana is not.

 

[arew+4]

Thanks for the report, 38 and days and counting.

 

[loady]

No white plague,
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease?

 

[Blues Runner]

No white plague,
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease?

No where close to what I was expecting......

 

[drrich2]

The Presidente's hospitality is first class class and feels genuine. Breakfast was included in our package and is a varied and full buffet including an omelette and egg station. There are four restaurants on site including a very good Italian offering. There are three pools (infinity, adults only and large jacuzzi pool) along with a swimmable beach on site. The location is close enough to San Miguel to make an easy cab ride for meals and exploration.

Thanks for the info. on The Presidente. It's good to see reports include content on the topside accommodations, especially people at a range of them often dive much the same places with various op.s.

I'm surprised I don't see more reports get into the 'family' offerings at these places (e.g.: such as a kids' club). My reasoning:

1.) Cozumel is a very popular Caribbean dive destination - judging by Scuba Board discussion prevalence, I suspect #1. It's a good budget destination but more upscale experiences can be had, and the southern A.I. resorts (and some places north of San Miguel, IIRC) have sandy beaches. As a high volume cruise port it's not topside excursions. San Miguel is a neat place and caters to tourists. Plenty of good food at a good price.

2.) A lot of divers have a non-diving spouse and one or more kids. Some have good scarfing teens they want to feed cheap, at least at an A.I. so it's already paid.

Maybe the demographic I'm thinking of is simply more likely to hit nearby Cancun or Playa del Carmen.

 

[jonhall]

I'm surprised I don't see more reports get into the 'family' offerings at these places

It makes me wonder how many ScubaBoard members travel, with diving as the main activity, with vs without kids. Although I've read some threads where people ask about places to travel to that would be good for their kids to dive or learn to dive and have read several trip reports where family members were involved, the majority of divers that ask and report on SB, both young and old, seem to be for adult trips (young couples on first dives, solo divers, divers on a budget, etc. Having said that, I don't have any numbers to back it up, but it might be an interesting survey question for someone to ask in a new thread - how many SB members dive travel with kids vs how many travel, adults only - of course, some probably do both.

 

[arew+4]

For my wife and I it was family travel with an occasional dive snuck in when the kids were small, since 2016 when the kids got certified it's been family dive travel, with a focus on affordability (read shore diving) Bonaire, Curacao, Grand and Cayman Brac, and relative value spots like Roatan, Cozumel.

 

[nwflyboy]

Sounds like a great time. We LOVE the El President there, not cheap but it's soooooo nice (and we are spoiled) that we have a hard time looking elsewhere. One of our favorite places we've ever stayed anywhere. Glad to hear it's still good.

 

[Catito]

Awesome week at the InterContinental Presidente diving with Scuba Du. Nothing has changed on the inbound side at Cozumel Airport except the requirement to wear a mask. A beautiful weather week. Temperatures ranged from the upper 70's at night to daytime highs in the upper 80's. Only one day with a little rain late in the week.

The Presidente's hospitality is first class class and feels genuine. Breakfast was included in our package and is a varied and full buffet including an omelette and egg station. There are four restaurants on site including a very good Italian offering. There are three pools (infinity, adults only and large jacuzzi pool) along with a swimmable beach on site. The location is close enough to San Miguel to make an easy cab ride for meals and exploration.

The absence of cruise ships creates a quiet vibe in San Miguel. Not good for the locally economy and they will begin to return in June.

The on site dive operator is Scuba Du. True valet diving and very convenient setup. The dive shop and dock are located adjacent to one of the restaurants. Drop your gear off when you arrive and it greets you at the dock every morning to be loaded onto one of Scuba Du's multiple boats. Long time Scuba Du employee Victor cleans you gear daily and returns it fully washed and ready for storage when you leave.

This was my first time in Cozumel since 2018. From what I have read the last couple of years, I expected the reefs to show a high degree of stress with browned out hurricane rubble and large patches of bleaching. That simply is not the case. I was ecstatic to find that not to be the reality. The marine park continues to temporarily close reef sections to reduce the stress.

Visibility all week was easily 100 feet. The water temperature was at 82 degrees. I was very comfortable in a three mil.

My dives included Maracaibo, Punta Sur (including "Devils Throat"), Palancar Bricks, Palancar Gardens, Santa Rosa Wall, Yucab and Chankanaab.

Covid testing was performed at the hotel and the results emailed later in the afternoon. Easy outbound at the Airport provided you have your Covid Test results. A little more paperwork but not unexpected in the current environment.

A few of my favorite pictures below.

David
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Thanks for the report. I realize it is a year old…but we are considering this resort for our Cozumel trip. A few questions:

Does the dive op allow you at least 60 mins under?

I assume most sites are short boat trips, correct?

Shore diving at the resort?

The place looks big. How was the noise level?

Thanks

 

[Blues Runner]

Catito,

Scuba Du keeps the dives at 50-60 minutes. The reefs are to the south and require a 30 minute or so boat ride. Typical for any operators who is based in the north and close to the city. There is shore diving at the resort. Typical for what you would expect in Cozumel. No issues with the noise level. There are a variety of room options available. This is our go to place in Cozumel. Very happy with the environment. The same employees are at the resort visit after visit. That tells me a lot.....