Hello, I was just curious if anyone has advice on a dive shop to work with down in Cozumel? I have never been diving there before and am planning a trip in January, so I would like to have an opinion from someone who has experienced it. Also, are there any beginner to intermediate dive sites that you would recommend? Thanks!
Cozumel, where to go????
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halocline
Contributor
Lots of people have recommendations, as this is one of the most often asked questons on this forum. Do a search and you'll have enough reading to keep you occupied until your departure! Some names will come up repeatedly and those are the ones you might start with. Basically people will recommend the shop they use, unless there's been a problem. There are lots of high quality dive ops in cozumel; you're going to have a great time!
You'll need to go back at least 4 or more pages to get to the pre-wilma posts. Those are where you will find more general information.
To help you select a dive OP, you'll need to ask yourself some questions.
Big boat or small boat?
Big operator with several boats or a small op with only one boat?
On-site dive op or someone else?
You can find dive shop reviews at www.travelnotes.cc in the cozumel section.
If you are traveling solo, you might want to look as Scuba Club. Staying there will take care of most of you planning for you.
To help you select a dive OP, you'll need to ask yourself some questions.
Big boat or small boat?
Big operator with several boats or a small op with only one boat?
On-site dive op or someone else?
You can find dive shop reviews at www.travelnotes.cc in the cozumel section.
If you are traveling solo, you might want to look as Scuba Club. Staying there will take care of most of you planning for you.
loudives
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I also will be there Jan 14-18 and use www.bottomtimedivers.net. Raul is an owner/divemaster with a small 6 diver boat. He works out of his house and is a very patient and safety minded divemaster. He also usualy leaves alittle latter than most operators about 8:30 am. A 2 tank dive which is the standard is about $70 and he will have water and snacks on board. Raul will not rush you thru a dive, he stops and finds things that others miss and the slow pace allows for max bottom times since you don't excert alot of energy. He also is a great friend and nice guy. With five kids he can always use any buisness he can get.
Other operators that are similar but have downtown stores and give great service are,
www.liquidbluedivers.com
www.bluextseadivers.com
It may be hard to get reservations with these 2 at this late date as they book well in advance and have a large repeat buisness. They often will contract Raul for overflow so I would not wait to long. Jan is high season and although Wilma did damage the small dive shops will be at capacity and what may be left are the shops that go on timed dives. There is nothing worse than doing 35-40 min. dive and have to come up with 1500-2000psi left in your tank. These 3 operators will dive your computer and air consumption and give you nice long bottomtimes.
Lou
Other operators that are similar but have downtown stores and give great service are,
www.liquidbluedivers.com
www.bluextseadivers.com
It may be hard to get reservations with these 2 at this late date as they book well in advance and have a large repeat buisness. They often will contract Raul for overflow so I would not wait to long. Jan is high season and although Wilma did damage the small dive shops will be at capacity and what may be left are the shops that go on timed dives. There is nothing worse than doing 35-40 min. dive and have to come up with 1500-2000psi left in your tank. These 3 operators will dive your computer and air consumption and give you nice long bottomtimes.
Lou
scubacoz22
Contributor
check out www.Aldora.com they are great. I have been diving with them for over 10 eyars now. I know their boats are all ready for divers and they also have a villa that you can stay at. They will pick you up at the Villa for all your dives. Ii's fantastic. They also offer free long distance into the states, have dvd players and tv's in every room. And one thing we really like is they offer a $5. beakfast and will have it to your door before you go diving if you are interested. The Villa is right on the water and got very little damage from the storm. The waterfront yard did get messed up but it has been fixed since the storm. All dives are computer dives and usually average over an hour, some are even 90 minutes. And they only take out 6 divers at a time. when we were there in August we dove with the 5 of us. Kathy in Texassnow6556:
No one answered you on the beginner to intermediate dive sites.
The answer depends hugely upon a major variable--the currents. I have been in Cozumel with perfectly bland currents that made almost any dive site a reasonable site for a novice diver. I have been on these dives with people who had just completed their OW certification, and they did just fine.
I have also been there when the currents were ripping. Sadly, on one of those occasions, I was with a newly certified relative who had a very difficult time because of the currents--anyone would have. He did not enjoy himself, and I can't blame him.
What really makes the difference is the skill of the divemaster and the rest of the divers on your boat. In Cozumel, dives are led by a DM in the water. If you are with a group of relatively inexperienced divers and you are diving, say, Palancar Caves, your divemaster will lead you on a pleasant wall dive with some moderate weaving in and out of spectacular coral formations. You will all love it. Meanwhile, not far from you might be a group of experienced divers, and that DM is leading them through a series of tight and winding tunnels. With good DM's, both groups will have excellent experiences at the same site, and each group's experience would have been different.
Make sure you let people know your experience level when you sign up. If you go with one of the bigger companies that have a number of boats, they will try to put you in a group that matches your experience. If you go with a one boat company, they do not have that kind of flexibility. Some of the smaller companies especially tend to be sought out by highly experienced divers, and you may have trouble getting a good fit.
The answer depends hugely upon a major variable--the currents. I have been in Cozumel with perfectly bland currents that made almost any dive site a reasonable site for a novice diver. I have been on these dives with people who had just completed their OW certification, and they did just fine.
I have also been there when the currents were ripping. Sadly, on one of those occasions, I was with a newly certified relative who had a very difficult time because of the currents--anyone would have. He did not enjoy himself, and I can't blame him.
What really makes the difference is the skill of the divemaster and the rest of the divers on your boat. In Cozumel, dives are led by a DM in the water. If you are with a group of relatively inexperienced divers and you are diving, say, Palancar Caves, your divemaster will lead you on a pleasant wall dive with some moderate weaving in and out of spectacular coral formations. You will all love it. Meanwhile, not far from you might be a group of experienced divers, and that DM is leading them through a series of tight and winding tunnels. With good DM's, both groups will have excellent experiences at the same site, and each group's experience would have been different.
Make sure you let people know your experience level when you sign up. If you go with one of the bigger companies that have a number of boats, they will try to put you in a group that matches your experience. If you go with a one boat company, they do not have that kind of flexibility. Some of the smaller companies especially tend to be sought out by highly experienced divers, and you may have trouble getting a good fit.
scubacoz22
Contributor
our lst dive with Aldora 2 of us were very experienced where the other 3 were not but we were willing to do their level of diving since they are our friends Aldora will accommodate any level of divers. All you have to do is tell them you have beginners or advanced divers and they will accommodate you. They did for us. Kathyboulderjohn:
sharky60
Contributor
Here's the my top 3 pics for dive ops in Coz, no particular order:
Dive with Martin, www.divewithmartin.com I've been using Martin and his crew for several years now and have been very happy with the service in every way.
Christi's Blue XT Sea, www.bluextseadivers.com Christi runs a top nitch dive operation you can't go wrong with them, exellent service!
Raul Plates at Bottom Time Divers, www.bottomtimedivers.net Raul is an excellent dive master, very safety mined and very good at finding those elusive small critters. I have dove with him many times and have always been very impressed.
Like others have said there are many very good dive ops on the island, just make sure whoever you pick knows your exerience level and what you are comfortable with or not, ie: swim throughs, caves, deep dives, wrecks (only one on Coz) ect. Don't be embaressed to express your opinion if you don't feel comfortable doing a certain dive, the dive op should put you on a boat with folks of similar experience, that's why it's important to let them know up front where you stand.
Dive with Martin, www.divewithmartin.com I've been using Martin and his crew for several years now and have been very happy with the service in every way.
Christi's Blue XT Sea, www.bluextseadivers.com Christi runs a top nitch dive operation you can't go wrong with them, exellent service!
Raul Plates at Bottom Time Divers, www.bottomtimedivers.net Raul is an excellent dive master, very safety mined and very good at finding those elusive small critters. I have dove with him many times and have always been very impressed.
Like others have said there are many very good dive ops on the island, just make sure whoever you pick knows your exerience level and what you are comfortable with or not, ie: swim throughs, caves, deep dives, wrecks (only one on Coz) ect. Don't be embaressed to express your opinion if you don't feel comfortable doing a certain dive, the dive op should put you on a boat with folks of similar experience, that's why it's important to let them know up front where you stand.
gratefuljames
Contributor
As a novice, I would probably elect to dive with Dive Paradise. I have a long relationship with DP and am friends with the owner, but that is not what is driving my answer. With DP, you could go big boat, lots of divemasters, and when you tell them in advance about your experience level, they will definitely have something for you with other divers of your experience level because they are the largest and most well-known on the island, and they will make sure to focus on you.
If someone has five divers in a boat, they aren't going to split the group to your skill level, especially if they have more advanced customers. If you contact other, smaller dive ops in advance with your skill level, ask them specifically what they intend to do to keep you with divers of your same skill level. All of the operations mentioned in this thread are good people and good operations (some better than others), but you need to focus on staying with a group that is diving at your own skill level (have I said that enough?), especially in Cozumel.
So, have fun, dive safe and whatever you do, make sure you have a great old time!
James
If someone has five divers in a boat, they aren't going to split the group to your skill level, especially if they have more advanced customers. If you contact other, smaller dive ops in advance with your skill level, ask them specifically what they intend to do to keep you with divers of your same skill level. All of the operations mentioned in this thread are good people and good operations (some better than others), but you need to focus on staying with a group that is diving at your own skill level (have I said that enough?), especially in Cozumel.
So, have fun, dive safe and whatever you do, make sure you have a great old time!
James
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