Cozumel questions

[smartcar8]

My wife and I are thinking of going to Cozumel in late February for a week. I have my Open Water certification and would like to do some diving and my wife would like to do her Open Water Referral. We have a few questions that we would love to get some feedback on. Thanks in advance.

1. Is Cozumel a good location to do the Referral course. I have read different opinions about this. Maybe the diving is a bit advanced for a novice?
2. We are looking for an all inclusive. We stayed at the Sabor years ago and were thinking about the Fiesta Americana, the Occidental or the Allegro. We would like a beach if possible.Does one of these stand out?
3. Would it be best to go with the in-house dive shops at these hotels? If you decide to go with a shop other than the in-house - how does that work if you are taking a course? Do they pick you up and take you to their location? I have heard that there are some excellent independent dive shops.
4. We have some flexibility on when we travel (Feb/Mar/April) - is it better to wait until later in the year in terms of the diving conditions?

Thanks again!

 

[ggunn]

My wife and I are thinking of going to Cozumel in late February for a week. I have my Open Water certification and would like to do some diving and my wife would like to do her Open Water Referral. We have a few questions that we would love to get some feedback on. Thanks in advance.

1. Is Cozumel a good location to do the Referral course. I have read different opinions about this. Maybe the diving is a bit advanced for a novice?
2. We are looking for an all inclusive. We stayed at the Sabor years ago and were thinking about the Fiesta Americana, the Occidental or the Allegro. We would like a beach if possible.Does one of these stand out?
3. Would it be best to go with the in-house dive shops at these hotels? If you decide to go with a shop other than the in-house - how does that work if you are taking a course? Do they pick you up and take you to their location? I have heard that there are some excellent independent dive shops.
4. We have some flexibility on when we travel (Feb/Mar/April) - is it better to wait until later in the year in terms of the diving conditions?

Thanks again!

There is no bad time to go to Cozumel. During the winter there is a small chance that wind will close the port for a day or two, but I wouldn't let that decide when to go. I'd go right now.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

April is a better choice, especially if it is late April. Little chance of port closers, warmer water and not too many crowds. And yes, the warm clear water of Cozumel is maybe the best place for referral dives, with so many options for quality and safe dive operations.

Dave Dillehay

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

If you use a non resort operator, you will either meet at their shop or at the marina they run their boats out of. Lots of dive shops operate out of Caleta marina which is South of downtown. There are dozens of top notch dive operations in Coz. My daughters had their first "real" dives in Coz after being openwater certified in October. No issues and they are hooked for life. Since it was their first real dive after certification, we booked our own boat with Dive With Martin and Walter took excellent care to make their dives safe and fun. My youngest was 13 so we were limited to 60 feet. DWM operates out of the international pier by the malls south of downtown and has their own dock in front of the shop. The private boat for 4 divers was only $40 more than the regular rate.

We just got back from 4 days of diving with Blue Magic and had a blast. My wife had only a few dives and they matched the dives to her ability. We were on 6 pack boats with others and all had fun. coz can do any thing from shallow diving to as deep as you want to go., no current to 5 knots, swim throughs to flat bottom. Anything and everything is available dive wise and the dive shops will know where to go depending on skill level and conditions. By the way, DO A NIGHT DIVE!! It's like your first dive experience all over again and the colors at Dusk are amazing.

All inclusive in Coz will be missing out on the great food available. Lots and lots of great food. Guidos in particular (get the scallops) Ceviche at The Thirsty Cougar, burritos at Burritos Gordito, pastries at the little bakery just west? of Blue Magic....I can go on and on.

Blue Magic had the best deals we found on their Sleep and Dive Packages. We stayed at Casa Mexicana and the hotel was spotless and very nice, included a breakfast buffet that was fantastic, and was in the middle of everything. They had an All Inclusive option at another hotel but I'm glad we didn't go that route. 3 blocks South was the Mega (their version of WalMart) 2 blocks North was the Ferry Pier if you wanted to go to the Mainland and your are in the middle of downtown for restaurants, shopping, bars, etc. Casa Mexican did not have a beach, but there are several a cab ride away. Cabs are cheap wherever you need to go.

i have heard good good things about Aldora, Blue XTSea, and Blue Angel dive operations as well. Blue XTSea frequents this forum and provided excellent local advice. Email several operators and check on prices, equipment, and any concerns regarding your wife's ability.

Safe Travels,
Jay

 

[tomhooper]

"Ceviche at The Thirsty Cougar,"

They have food there? I thought they only served cold Dos Equis. At least that's what I always get.

 

[Skittl1321]

"Ceviche at The Thirsty Cougar,"

They have food there? I thought they only served cold Dos Equis. At least that's what I always get.

Their guacamole was a bit expensive, but tasty. And enough to feed like 6 people- we had a hard time finishing it!

 

[PlaneDoc]

2. We are looking for an all inclusive. We stayed at the Sabor years ago and were thinking about the Fiesta Americana, the Occidental or the Allegro. We would like a beach if possible.Does one of these stand out?

We are currently at Fiesta Americana. As an all inclusive it's nice. It does not have a beach that you can walk into the water from. It does have a beach area with steps down to the water. The other all inclusives we've been to are Secrets and Iberostar.
Of the 3, Secrets (I believe was Sabor) would be your best bet. Good food with a beach.
Iberostar has a beach, but the food didn't knock my socks off when we were there in 2011.

 

[sharky60]

1. yes. 100's of people do their referral dive down here every year. There are plenty of dive sites for the novice diver. but you will most likely be doing shore dives for your "check out dives"

2. Don't do AI. But if you MUST, the Occidental Grand is very nice. Big rooms, good food, nice beach. I THINK Dive Paradise is the on-site dive op, have heard ok reviews out of this shop, but have also heard overall good reviews on DP. We used Dive with Martin when we stayed at the OG.

3. Ah yes, the ol' dive op question. There are many great dive ops on the island, both large and small. Most dive ops will pick you up at your hotel pier, but not all.
It depends on who you stay with as if it would be ok to dive with the on-site dive op. Blue Angel, Aldora, Scuba Club (AI), yes, for sure I'd dive with these on-site dive ops. Some of the larger AI's, maybe not so much.

My personal recommendation for a Dive Instructor is Matt (Mateo) Moran at Blue Angel Resort.

4. We usually are there anywhere from Mid-April to Late May, very good time of year.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

It's a fine place to dive. Period.
As far as AI places go, we like the Hotel Cozumel for budget. The Sabor for a nicer place with more restaurants and a nice beach. The Cozumel Palace for a super nice place with great restaurants but no beach.
Our favorite dive op is Aldora. We've never seen a guide there that we wouldn't recommend. Julio is our favorite instructor there, but Liang, Pepe and Ricardo are also great.


Sent from an old fashioned 300 baud acoustic modem by whistling into the handset. Really.

 

[ColoDale]

If you stay south of town and are diving at sites south of town, then non resort dive ops can pick you up at your hotel pier. I think Iberostar and, at least last November, the in house op at Sunscape (north of Secrets) for the northern concrete pier use (not the southern wood one) wanted a fee.

If you want to dive northern sites and you are staying at a southern hotel, you will have to drive or take a taxi to the Caleta marina or town.

We've dived there many times in Feb/Mar/April. We used to go all the time in Jan and then in March or April. Now it's Feb and May. We like Feb for the Eagle Rays up north though Feb 2014 they were not there when we were - no guarantees. Years ago I recall more thimble jellyfish and jellyfish larvae in the water in March or April. Since we stopped going then I don't recall exactly.

We try to avoid Carnival, Easter and any spring breakers as I go on vacation to get away from crowds and airfare seems to go up then as well. If I had to recommend, I would say early Feb or late April for cost, crowds and temps. Anytime is good for diving IMO.