Cozumel versus Roatan or Bonaire

[robint]

Some of us don't live in a hub. We have to fly to Dallas or Houston to get anywhere in Caribbean. I am not complaining, just stating the fact. Airfare currently for us to Cozumel is around $600-700pp, to Bonaire and Roatan it is $800-1000.

 

[Thomthumb]

Been to all 3 also. Bonaire good but I don't like carrying/floating gear in because of a bad back. Roatan is the only destination that I have gone to when I left the resort everywhere else, the city,seemed in such bad shape and I had to bug bomb my suitcases when I got back home. So to Cozumel I go.
Thom

 

[morecowbells]

I have been to all three islands. I will start with a comparison between Cozumel and Bonaire first. I agree with the other posters about Cozumel offering the best variety in lodging and food. Of all three places, my experience has been that Cozumel boat diving is more $$, but not enough of a difference to be a deal breaker. Comparing Cozumel and Bonaire is comparing apples and oranges. Completely different types of diving. Cozumel offers more intense diving with currents, swim throughs, and more abundant large marine life. Bonaire or Curacao are my preferences during the winter months. It seems every time I visit Cozumel in the winter, I lose a day or two of diving due to nortes. I like warm water and weather. Bonaire diving is very relaxed. Minimal currents, numerous shore dives, out of the hurricane belt with consistent water and land temps. Groceries and restaurants are definitely more pricey than Cozumel, but manageable(unlike Grand Cayman-OMG!). I would be thrilled if more American based airlines would fly into Bonaire. Something, anything to drive the airfare prices down would be welcome.

Roatan. Recently AA expanded it's service to the island and the airfares have dropped significantly. Lodging and diving were more affordable. We used Octopus Dive School and they were one of the best dive ops we have every used. No more than 6 divers, and no, we did not swim back to shore. As echoed above, I also felt the need to ask WTF(where's the fish)? Lionfish were far more prevalent there than any other place that I have visited. I would return to Roatan, but it is not on my short list. The shark dive is a must do. An amazing experience.

Now to make things more confusing. Have you looked into Curacao? I found the diving(at least on the west end) similar to Bonaire. Airfare is far less cost prohibitive with more choices. Between all three places you listed above, I think Curacao is consistent, affordable and easy to get to.

 

[ronscuba]

Well if you really want to add confusion, live aboards should be brought into the discussion. Especially since the thread is focused on costs per dive.

 

[Ron Lee]

Bonaire or Curacao are my preferences during the winter months. It seems every time I visit Cozumel in the winter, I lose a day or two of diving due to nortes.

There is a dive op on Cozumel that dives the east side during suitably wind oriented nortes.

 

[tracydr]

Some of us don't live in a hub. We have to fly to Dallas or Houston to get anywhere in Caribbean. I am not complaining, just stating the fact. Airfare currently for us to Cozumel is around $600-700pp, to Bonaire and Roatan it is $800-1000.

I think airfare has been really high anywhere this year from what I've seen. I've checked a few places recently and it doesn't look like there are any good deals from Phoenix, either.
I need to go to Denver for surgery and that wasn't exactly cheap,either.

 

[Mike]

I do like your sense of humor....when you say

I hate to see threads like this go on and on....robin

... and then write a 1000 word reply to contribute to make the thread go on and on...

Fish on reefs --- the ONLY reason that Bonaire reefs get in those Top 25 best reefs ratings is that they hand out those ReefID cards and ask people to turn them in after diving. The headquarters for this is right AT Bari Reef!!! Of course it makes the top of the list as "fishiest" reef, thousands of people do those surveys. It is easy diving, very little current, so you can count fish for hours underwater there, anyone from beginners to advanced divers. Think about it.... How easy is it to count fish on a Cozumel drift dive? Not very!robin

You're a bit confused. It's not about counting fish as in there are 10,000 fish I counted and getting 1000 people to count fish and add up a total.

It's about fish species. The amount of different fish species, as in there are almost 400 different marine species on Bari reef and 8 out of the reefs with the riches marine life are on Bonaire meaning -Marine life, not there are 10,000 damsel fish. The amount of people who count and the location of somebody handing out reefID cards doesn't increase or decrease the diversity of life on a reef, they are there or they aren't. It's not about collecting 100 reefids and saying we counted 5000 blue tangs because 100 people counted the same 50 blue tangs.

To be honest, isn't you getting so upset about comparing Cozumel, Roatan and Bonaire kind of like a midget getting into upset with 2 other midgets about who's taller? Cozumel, Roatan and Bonaire are really kind of just midgets in the world of diving when you actually compare them to the rest of the world, one visit to Indonesia, French Polynesia or the red sea and...

It's after all really just a comparison of which is the least mediocre in the over all mediocre Caribbean eco system isn't it? I mean North Americans dive the Caribbean because it's close and economical, not because it offers the best diving available, we're just making the best of a mediocre situation right?

 

[Craig66]

I do not have the energy to read each and every reply in this thread and so apologies if this is a repeat. Suffice it to say that I have dived Cozumel about eight times and Bonaire twice and enjoy them both.

What follows is my experience and my opinion only. They are both great however I definitely do prefer Cozumel.

Cost wise I have found the two to be relatively equal. Diving is more expensive in Cozumel but accommodation and food is significantly cheaper.

In Bonaire the diving is almost free but accommodation and food was definitely more expensive.

When diving with my dive buddy we spent approximately the same at both locations.

The flexibility of diving when ever you want cannot be beaten in Bonaire. I did find however find shore entries tiring and occasionally difficult and although there is some variability along the shore many of the dive sites look very similar.

Diving in Cozumel is not as flexible and if you are looking for 5 to 6 dives per day you will not easily get that in Cozumel. As far as variability and quality of the dives I definitely find Cozumel dives to be more interesting and exciting.

When it comes to food Cozumel absolutely has Bonaire beat and I feel the same for the general friendliness of the island.

The simple solution is to dive Cozumel this year and Bonaire the following or vice versa.

Try not to perseverate too much on your choice. You will love it no matter where you go. You are choosing a vacation not a career. Have fun !!!!!!


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[robbcayman]

Someone is complaining about the cost of Cozumel? You mean the same place with super cheap all-inclusives? If you are ultra cheap, get a lower end all-inclusive and price it aggressively. Then you can spend extra money on diving. Try going to Turks and Caicos.... that place can be a sticker shock. Cozumel has always been a draw for me, because it's easy to get to and is very affordable. Then again, you're on vacation, so why not splurge some?

I really enjoy the diving, because there are plenty of smaller things, but the bigger things are there, too. Seeing eagle rays, nurse sharks, huge turtles, big angel fish etc.. it's just hard to beat. If you stay on the Southern part of the island you can be on the reef in a matter of mere minutes. Not slamming Bonaire, but from what I have seen there aren't many big pelagics. I think the small stuff would be neat for a day or two, but I enjoy seeing the bigger stuff as well. Vote with your wallet; if you think somewhere else is better for the money then go there. Good luck, man.

 

[divingpyrate]

have no desire to travel that far to dive in with COZ in my backyard


Why is the rum always gone