I popped down to Cozumel for some diving with friends. We were a group of 9 from California, Florida, Arizona and Washington.
We did all of our diving with Tres Pelicanos since their boats can accommodate that number of divers exactly and we were able to dive together each day. We did 2 tank dives each day (some days in the morning and some days in the afternoon and 1 night dive).
Water temp was a consistent 83 degrees the entire time. Visibility was always 100+ feet and clear blue water. Dived nearly all the reefs with the exception of Santa Rosa and San Francisco Walls as they are on the closure and rest schedule for October and November.
Diving was typical Cozumel with the occasional large nurse sharks, green morays, a couple of small black tip reef sharks on the last day and a couple of nice seahorses thrown in. Lots of Octo’s on the night dive and the largest green moray out hunting that I have ever seen and I have seen a lot.
Highlight was a new dive site for me. With Santa Rosa and San Francisco closed, we did a drop on the Yucab Wall. Also known to some as Virgin Wall, since hardly anyone dives it. It was a spectacular wall with overhangs between 100-120 feet, nice and vertical in spots. We ran out of wall 30 minutes into the dive and then began a 6 minute (I timed it) traverse across the sand in a NE direction until we hit the beginning of Tormentos and then spent the rest of the dive on Tormentos. Currents were extremely absent most of the time on all dives with just a couple of exceptions where we had some mild current. So, lots of finning about.
I would like to draw attention to the place I stayed on this trip. I have stayed at a number of places on Cozumel. Most often, I stay at one of the Casa Mexicana family of hotels, with a preference for Suites Colonial down near the plaza. On the recommendation of a friend, I stayed this time at Quinta Suites. It is on the corner of 5th Avenida and 5th Calle Sur. Diagonally across the street from the Tres Pelicanos dive shop and a ½ block from the International Hospital and Aldora dive shop.
I can highly endorse Quinta Suites. Price point is $60-$75 a night depending on the room type. They have Standard Studios, Standard 1 bedrooms, Deluxe Studios and Deluxe 1 bedrooms and one 2 bedroom suite. All rooms are suites with kitchen and living areas. The deluxe rooms have a bit better equipped and larger kitchen and the beds are King Size instead of Full Size. A simple continental breakfast is included. Two 5 gallon jugs of drinking water are in the kitchen.
The WIFI is excellent, the TV situation is the best I have ever seen with 750 channels from all over the world, the NFL ticket in order to be able to watch any NFL game, the NFL Red Zone, any NBA game desired, etc. All of the streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, etc. are also available. There is a rooftop swimming pool and a place to rinse and dry gear, adjacent to the pool. A large Palapa to provide shade next to the pool with plenty of chairs and tables and a hammock and a BBQ. Extremely hot water coming out of the shower that needs to be tempered with the cold knob to get the desired temp and more than adequate water pressure, which can be a challenge in Cozumel. Bed and pillows were comfortable.
The entire property is maintained immaculate and spotless. There is daily maid service to clean rooms and make sure you have clean towels, TP, etc.
The owner, Carlos, is super responsive and speaks impeccable English as well as 3 other languages.
I will definitely stay there in the future, as it meets my needs for location, customer service, cleanliness, reliable internet and price point. I will be back down next month for another 10 days of morning dives and then afternoons and evenings with my mom and her husband. We will be staying at El Cantil Condominiums (which will be a new experience for me) and I will be diving with a new, to me, dive operator (Ambient Diver)—So, I will do another trip report for those experiences next month.
I almost forgot. There are three newer Vegan restaurants on the island in the downtown area, for those interested. They have formed a bit of a relationship with one another and support and promote one another. One is called Sol de Maple, another is the Nutty Treesome (both of these are on 5th Avenida south of the plaza) the 3rd is called Coral Restaurant. All 3 can be found on the app Happy Cow. I ate at all three and liked them all and they all do something different. Everything is made fresh, so allow a bit of time for certain meals to arrive. The Mole dish at Sol de Maple might be the best Mole sauce I have ever had. Mole with mushroom or with garbanzos (chickpeas) + rice and beans and tortillas. Excellent dish, as are the Tacos.
