Family-oriented hotel recommendations

[Mike Newman]

Hotel Cozumel, from personal experience, should give you everything you need. It's a little walk into the Centre of town, but not a hike..

 

[Cozoholic]

El Coz is 3.5 miles north of town, a cab is 45 pesos for 2 (cabbies charge 5 dollars) or 65 pesos for 4 (cabbies charge 7 dollars). Margaritaville is on the south end of the downtown area.

I know dive boats dont go up that far. how far is the closest pier pick up?

 

[CozumelAntonio]

I know dive boats dont go up that far. how far is the closest pier pick up?

As I mentioned previously, I manage the dive shop there, our Scuba Du boats pick up at El Coz daily, or include r/t taxi fare to El Presidente.

Most dive shops pick up in town (10 dlls r/t) or Caleta (20 dlls r/t) by taxi for 2 people, from El Cozumeleño. No other dive boats come up north for divers on a regular basis. Sporadically other shops pick up at El Coz, but only for larger groups that dive several days and charter their own boat.

 

[Foo]

We stayed at El Coz and used Scuba Du once, and it was a great experience. The dives were on a small boat, with just our group of 5. One of the best values was the after-care given to our gear by Carlos- he loaded everything up, rinsed and stored it, and loaded it all back on the boat in the morning- made things very easy for us. We had to change our schedules due to a sick diver, and Antonio was very accomodating and helpful, with an extensive knowledge of the reefs/conditions. El Coz is great for families, as there are lots of poolside activities- your teens would be very happy there. (lots of other teens...) Hard bed warning, however!

(BTW, we had 17 family members on this trip, and El Coz managed to keep all of us happy- that's a miracle in itself!)

 

[jondavies]

Sorry to resurrect this long-dormant thread but my family - our kids are 5, 9 and 13 - is planning to travel to Cozumel next month. We're looking at Coral Princess, Hotel Cozumel or Fiesta Americana (not AI). Coral Princess looks best but may be a bit far north for diving?

My son (13) and I are the divers though my eldest daughter is an avid snorkeler.

Dive ops I'm looking at include Aldora, Blue XT Sea and Living Underwater -- will they all pick up from Hotel Cozumel or Fiesta Americana?

Lastly, do Hotel Cozumel or Fiesta Americana have good snorkeling/beach diving adjacent? That would be a big plus.

Any other tips would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Jon

 

[pinotscubajack]

I'd also check at Blue Magic Scuba. I've been diving with them twice this year and they have small fast boats that would be ideal for your family. I know they pick up at all resorts south of town. Their instructor Gabriel is great with kids and new divers and their divemasters, Pumba and Sandro are some of the best on the island. Give Joyce a shout at joyce@bluemagicscuba.com to see what she can do for you. I'm diving with them again in July -they're great

 

[driftin' by]

Sorry to resurrect this long-dormant thread but my family - our kids are 5, 9 and 13 - is planning to travel to Cozumel next month. We're looking at Coral Princess, Hotel Cozumel or Fiesta Americana (not AI). Coral Princess looks best but may be a bit far north for diving?

My son (13) and I are the divers though my eldest daughter is an avid snorkeler.

Dive ops I'm looking at include Aldora, Blue XT Sea and Living Underwater -- will they all pick up from Hotel Cozumel or Fiesta Americana?

Lastly, do Hotel Cozumel or Fiesta Americana have good snorkeling/beach diving adjacent? That would be a big plus.

Any other tips would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Jon

Perhaps a new thread stating your specific questions would generate more responses?

In the meantime, I've never stayed at HC but will be at FA for the 5th time in 3 weeks. It's best to check with a specific dive op about pickups and whatnot however, anyone is allowed to pickup at FA without charge or hassle. I've been able to use the lockers at the resort while diving with an offsite op, Blue Angel. Just bring your own lock... one with a narrow shank our you'll have to rent on from the house op, Dive House. I wouldn't say snorkeling is good at FA, however, shore diving is pretty decent north of the resort especially if you like poking around small coral heads and really appreciate the small stuff. If using an offsite op, tanks and weights will run $5 each for shore dives. If you plan on doing several, you might investigate going with Dive House... People staying at the resort seem to love them and I've heard very few bad things about Dive House and the only things bad I've witnessed/experienced first-hand is that they won't commit to night dives unless they fill a boat and they do have some large cattle boats. Other than that, they seen okay.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other specific questions about Fiesta Americana.

 

[driftin' by]

I know they pick up at all resorts south of town.

Sure about that? They may pickup but depending on where the guest is staying, the guest or op my incur a pier usage fee.

 

[Scubabuni]

We stayed at the Iberostar a few years ago and Deep Blue picked us up with no problem.....

 

[LetsDive]

I think your 9 yr old will be happy snorkling at El Coz or Fiesta Americana, as Josh mentioned it's not spectacular, but for a 9 yr old it should be heaven with the crystal clear warm blue water and lots of small fish to see