destinations similar to Cozumel?

[Asteve]

I guess I will add a little more as to why I said to skip Puerto Vallarta. PV is a great Vacation place, great city lots to do and see. It is just so hit or miss on the diving. I can believe that the dive master said her “best” / favorite dive she’s ever done in her career was in Puerto Vallarta.
I took a small boat to do some fishing in PV one day and it was the best day fishing I have ever had. I asked the guide how often he had a day like this. He said 2 to 3 times a year. Diving there is a lot like that. Visibility, water temp, weather, wave height, wildlife showing up, it rocky not coral. It just is not as dependable as Cozumel. You will have a least 3 good days of diving if not more in a week in Cozumel, I would not say that about PV.

 

[orange_diver]

I wasn't aware anybody dove in Cabo or PV, nobody with a clue, anyway.

But a "no to Roatan" makes me think you might not have seen the best of Roatan. There's more going on than just the West End... If you like micro/macro.

In re the OP, I thought we might hear a request for drift diving. If you like that kind of thing, Coz might be a good preparation for the real-deal of the Caribbean Current... Tobago Speyside. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

you're right, never dove Cabo because i do have a clue. Dove PV bc I had super cheap lodgings whilst visiting a friend and the diving was sub-par. Wish you had let me know sooner...

But Roatan was a disappointment, especially witnessing the locals literally dumping their trash right into the ocean. i'm sure you've seen much more of the diving than i have but I won't bother going back to see what i may have missed. I also thought the locals were much less friendly than in Coz, they were almost angry to be in a service capacity, and I am friendly to all...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I want to second Kona, especially if you are happy with 2-3 dives day. The water is warm, marine life is fascinating and diverse, and the vis is grand. The topography is beautiful, but its not the bright corals of the Caribbean. COST: Studio condo, car rental, airfare from SFO, and 5 days of diving (traveling solo) usually runs me about $2,100...not including food and incidentals.

I recommend Kona Dive Company but there are several other good shops as well.

I also went with Kona Dive Company. Full disclosure ... one of my former students works there ... but they were wonderful with the newer divers on the boat. I was pretty much universally impressed with the crew ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[mmmbelows]

i also didn’t know the Keys had good diving, and i assumed the dive prices would be a lot higher being in the USA, but i looked at some dive shops and it seems to be a similar rate to other countries.

And not just the keys, the keys is a good first time diving Florida destination, there are two other locations known for great diving in Florida, that's the palm beach area and the Jupiter area, each gets more specialized than the more general diving experience of the keys. If you do decide to dive the keys keep in mind it's really known for wreck diving, just a wreck divers paradise, but lesser known for it's reefs. The wreck diving tends to over shadow the reef diving, but as I said the reef diving in the keys can be more fishy than Cozumel. In the other two places I mentioned you'll have experiences unique to diving such as the grouper aggregation or the shark aggregation, you won't see anything like that in Cozumel. However I did get to witness a similar grouper aggregation on the dive site Texas in Roatan one time, that was incredible, better geograpy/reef than in Florida but with the same grouper concentration.

 

[chillyinCanada]

you're right, never dove Cabo because i do have a clue. Dove PV bc I had super cheap lodgings whilst visiting a friend and the diving was sub-par. Wish you had let me know sooner...

But Roatan was a disappointment, especially witnessing the locals literally dumping their trash right into the ocean. i'm sure you've seen much more of the diving than i have but I won't bother going back to see what i may have missed. I also thought the locals were much less friendly than in Coz, they were almost angry to be in a service capacity, and I am friendly to all...

Where were you on Roatan please?

I've been there numerous times but my experience with staff has not been like yours. Any chance that it was peculiar to the resort you were at?

 

[The Chairman]

i also didn’t know the Keys had good diving, and i assumed the dive prices would be a lot higher being in the USA, but i looked at some dive shops and it seems to be a similar rate to other countries.

This is why we're the...

Dive Capital of the World!!!​

I could run ScubaBoard from anywhere that has decent internet: I choose to live here (and maybe cave country). Lots of dive ops (at least 60 in Monroe County) so there is lots of competition. Most of them provide a DM on every dive and odds are they are an instructor.

Christ of the Abyss

The Coral Nursery ​

 

[Lorenzoid]

Another vote for West End, Roatan, though flights will not be as inexpensive as Cancun. But keep in mind it's a small town--more of a village--not like Cozumel. Ambergris Caye, Belize might also fit, as others have said. There are no doubt many places in the Caribbean that would meet some of your criteria, but I have found that flights are much more expensive than Cancun. Island hoppers in the Bahamas, for example, add cost and time. How economical the trip is, and how easy the flight/travel, carries a lot of weight with me. Flying into Cancun and taking the bus or a van down to the ferry in Playa del Carmen is a comfortable and easy experience.

I like Key Largo a lot, and it is economical to get to, but I think the diving is much better in Cozumel. Also, Key Largo is not that walkable a place, as things are pretty spread out. I think it would be a hardship without a rental car.

All in all, I continue returning to Cozumel for all the reasons you mention in your list. Plus, I love Mexico. Cabo San Lucas diving is okay, but Cozumel still wins me over by a long shot. I have not been diving in the southern Sea of Cortez, but I get the impression it would be more costly since it is off the beaten path.

 

[orange_diver]

Where were you on Roatan please?

I've been there numerous times but my experience with staff has not been like yours. Any chance that it was peculiar to the resort you were at?

it was over 8 years ago and i can't remember the name and had no luck searching my email. it was a boutique hotel with attached restaurant on the main drag there. i don't think the poor attitude was localized to that establishment but it certainly was palpable there. i've had much better experiences pretty much anywhere else in the world - the states, mexico, thailand, asia, the middle east, etc...

 

[radtype]

We did Cozumel and loved it. We also love diving west palm beach FL - very nice drift dives, wrecks, lots of fish, and with right boat then sharks. You can choose boats with guides or boats where they hand you the flag and send you on your way.