DIR friendly shops on Cozumel

[Bismark]

Looks like a surprise vacation in cozumel for a week or so and since I have never been there before..... anyone suggest a dive op that won't scratch their heads when they see jetfins, a BP/W and a 7' hose?? This is purely recreational so I don't need HE or doubles or anything. I will be traveling with a couple fairly experienced divers and one rookie who I am certifying here in the PNW just before we go. Just want to spend a week in warm water and enjoy. Looks like about 50 dive operators in Cozumel and a lot of them appear to be cattlecar operations. Don't really want that and would pay for a private boat or whatever for 4 or 5 people to stay away from that. Thanks for any input.

Safe dives in 2008

Guy

 

[TSandM]

Guy, we took three and a half DIR divers (Peter counts as a half) down to Cozumel last March. We dove with Aldora, and I couldn't recommend them more highly. As the guide we had, Mateo, was full cave, he was completely familiar with our gear. We dove 32% all week with profiles to fit. Once Mateo realized we knew what we were doing, we were largely left alone, except that he helped find things like toadfish that we wouldn't have known to look for. Mateo also did one of our days of cavern tours on the mainland, and did a very nice job of guiding. Aldora runs 6 packs, and uses steel 100s and 120s.

We stayed at Villa Aldora, too, which worked out beautifully for us.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM or e-mail me.

I would also HIGHLY (that's HIGHLY in caps, bold, italic and red) recommend you contact Zero Grav and arrange to spend at least one day doing cavern dives. To get that close to the cenotes and not get a chance to see how wonderful they are would be tragic. And Danny is a wonderful, wonderful guide.

 

[RTodd]

Aldora is hit and miss. I used to really like them but they tend to be a bit hands on but not quite in the DIR boat way that you would want. It depends on the DM.

What you really want is a small boat all to yourself. I have had a fair amount of luck with Blue Angels but there are plenty of other operators down there. The key is to show the DM on the first day that you know what you are doing and tip well. After that, they generally let you do whatever you want to do. You can also just rent a boat and captain but it is harder to find one that is fast enough and you are then often in charge of logisitcs too so using a dive operator has distinct advantages.

 

[amascuba]

I haven't used them myself, but I've heard that Deep Exposure runs a nice shop.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I was part of Lynne's group and agree with her ... with a couple of caveats.

While I absolutely loved diving with Mateo, the one day we got a different divemaster I didn't enjoy so much. So I agree with RTodd, too, that it can be hit or miss depending on how well the DM fits your expectations.

Aldora has to be one of the most expensive operations on the island ... but the fast boats and steel 120's were really nice.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[mstevens]

Dive Cozumel (sometimes known as Yellow Rose after the name of their boat) is a DIR shop. I think they're still around, but last trip I'd booked a week of diving for 3 people and couldn't find them the entire time we were on the island, so not sure how highly I can recommend them.

Dive Cozumel - The Premiere Scuba Dive Shop in Cozumel

 

[Jasonmh]

Dive Cozumel (sometimes known as Yellow Rose after the name of their boat) is a DIR shop. I think they're still around, but last trip I'd booked a week of diving for 3 people and couldn't find them the entire time we were on the island, so not sure how highly I can recommend them.

Dive Cozumel - The Premiere Scuba Dive Shop in Cozumel

Interesting, have not heard of them before. Thanks for the info...
When you say you couldn't find them, do you mean that you couldn't find their shop anywhere?

 

[redacted]

I've been out with Cozumel Diving: Blue XT SEA Diving, Cozumel Mexico when the majority of the divers on the boat had BP/w and long hoses.

 

[Jasonmh]

I've been out with Cozumel Diving: Blue XT SEA Diving, Cozumel Mexico when the majority of the divers on the boat had BP/w and long hoses.

Yes, the might not be a "DIR" shop or boat, but they had no problems whatsoever with our gear or diving when we used them too.

 

[ae3753]

When we're in Cozumel, we dive with Sea Urchin Dive. Jorge and Pacho have never had issues with our team or gear or profiles. They were more than happy to let us dive.

Regardless of who you choose, I agree with RTodd's recommendation of setting the standard on the first day.