Distance to dive sites and surface interval

[scoopscallahan]

Diving 3/25/23 - 4/1/23. I take all the precautions to avoid motion sickness but the best prevention I've found so far is spend as little time on the water as possible. Yes, it sucks.

My short number of dives in Cozumel so far have been with Dressel at the Iberostar. It's always been on a large boat, with short trips to the dive sites and back to the resort for intervals BUT it's all the way at the south end of the island and we usually stay at Palmar further north. The experience with Dressel has been great but I'd like to mix it up and try another op. Are there ops that also have shorter distances to the dive sites and also have surface intervals back on the island?

 

[Shawn C]

Nothing is going to be closer to the main reefs than Iberostar for boat short rides. When we stay at there, we do not use Dressel. Way too many people on the boats, predetermined dive sites (rather than polling the divers on the boat) and we want to dive our tanks and surface on our own.

You can use a dive op that runs 6 or 8 packs on smaller, much faster boats. There are a plethora to choose from. Dive with Martin is good if you need to borrow gear (it's free with them). If you have your own gear, Tres Pelicanos and Sharkies have fast boats and usually tie up to the abandoned pier near the southern reefs rather than bob in the shallows on the SI. You can meet many of the boats at the Marina Fonatur (goggle it to see the location). I'm sure others will chime in on other great dive ops that will get you there and back quickly. Not many divers want to spend their vacation time on the boat.

 

[boulderjohn]

Consider an alternative to Cozumel. Stay on the mainland at Akumal. There you will find a gentle bay with the dive boats anchored within. The schedule is 4 dives per day. When the time comes, you clamber into one of the boats and put your gear on. The boat heads out and suddenly the engine quits. You think they had a malfunction, but, no, they're on the reef already. Do your dive, get back in the boat, and a few minutes later you are back on the beach.

When I say "gentle bay," I mean that when we have stayed there, we have dragged the lounge chairs into the water and laid back, looking at the stars and moon above us while we sipped tequila and the waves rolled under the chairs and lapped on the shore.

 

[Saboteur]

Consider an alternative to Cozumel. Stay on the mainland at Akumal. There you will find a gentle bay with the dive boats anchored within. The schedule is 4 dives per day. When the time comes, you clamber into one of the boats and put your gear on. The boat heads out and suddenly the engine quits. You think they had a malfunction, but, no, they're on the reef already. Do your dive, get back in the boat, and a few minutes later you are back on the beach.

When I say "gentle bay," I mean that when we have stayed there, we have dragged the lounge chairs into the water and laid back, looking at the stars and moon above us while we sipped tequila and the waves rolled under the chairs and lapped on the shore.

As I have not been to Cozumel, I was under the assumption that the mainland diving was “not good”. And since I’ve had to accommodate a non diving spouse, all of my trips have been to TCI or GC for the spectacular long beaches. Good info, I’m going to have to check this out. I think there is far more for a non diver on the mainland?

 

[Charred]

I routinely stay at Iberostar when traveling with my family BUT I never dive with Dressel.

Many ops will pick you up at either the dock or from the beach. You simply walk in from the beach or use the stairs off the docks. This avoids large fees Iberostar charges OPs to use their dock.

There are several advantages starting with you are still down South and now you are on a crazy fast boat so the rides are lightning quick. The OP will store your gear overnight so you don't need to bother with that at all. The best part is how quick the dive trip is. I usually get picked up at 8:20 and I am back at the resort by 11:45-12:00. I am usually in the pool <10 mins after the last dive ends. Bonus if you have family waiting for you in the pool and they have a magarita in hand for you

 

[ggunn]

As I have not been to Cozumel, I was under the assumption that the mainland diving was “not good”. And since I’ve had to accommodate a non diving spouse, all of my trips have been to TCI or GC for the spectacular long beaches. Good info, I’m going to have to check this out. I think there is far more for a non diver on the mainland?

I would not necessarily classify the diving from the mainland as "not good", but I would say that it is not as good as it is from Cozumel. You won't see the majestic towers and walls of coral over there that are all along the western coast of Cozumel.

 

[Big Dan K]

As I have not been to Cozumel, I was under the assumption that the mainland diving was “not good”. And since I’ve had to accommodate a non diving spouse, all of my trips have been to TCI or GC for the spectacular long beaches. Good info, I’m going to have to check this out. I think there is far more for a non diver on the mainland?

Akumal is worth a look. The diving is good, boat rides are short, and the Secrets is a very plush AI with a really nice beach. It is also 50 yards down the beach from the dive shop

 

[boulderjohn]

I started staying in Akumal rather than Cozumel because of the cave diving--there are oodles of caves nearby. No, the ocean diving is not as good as on Cozumel, but it isn't bad.

 

[ReefHound]

As I have not been to Cozumel, I was under the assumption that the mainland diving was “not good”.

I consider it "good" just not great. I've dived there on split trips where we stayed in PDC for several days and during times when Coz port was closed for several days. You won't get the mountains of coral but you'll get lots of fish and soft corals. Here's an example clip:

 

[Shawn C]

We use to stay in Akumal, starting in the nineties. If you've never been, you're likely to enjoy it. There are a plethora of restaurants, bars, cafes, bakeries, convenience stores, etc etc . There are several bays to choose from. Lovely beaches (outside of the worst of the sargassum season!), gentle swells. The diving is easy and you'll see some critters but it does not compare favorably to Cozumel.

For us, "our" sleepy little getaway from reality exploded and became overrun with bus loads of tourists coming to "swim with the turtles". Once the traffic jams started and guides started insisting we couldn't snorkel on our own and had to pay someone... we were done.