First time diving cozumel

[Sue Sue]

First time traveling to cozumel and was wondering if anyone has suggestions for dive sites, places to visit, places to eat, etc. I will be there for a week and want to make the best of it.

I realize that researching for a first time trip anywhere can be overwhelming. And, deciding on what is best for Cozumel can be crazy as there are so many choices. BUT...if you can...take some time and look over as many trip reviews and info threads as you can stand. As you do, make a list of the Dive OP’s, Hotels/Lodging, Restaurants and Activities that stand out. Once you get your lists together, start with the Top 3 Dive ops that are of interest to you. Cover with them via email your dive needs and questions and then settle on what you feel is your perfect fit. Do run by your lodging choices with your Dive OP to confirm Pickup or meet up locations. As far as dive site choices..be honest with your Dive OP and DM as to your skill level and then go with the flow. Your DM and Captain will in the end make the best choice for the dive day based on time, water condition, dive skill mix on the boat as well as site requests. Baseline, for the first time Cozumel diver you most likely will be happy with what you end up with. Once your Dive Op is settled then from there choose your hotel and follow up with your restaurant and activities plan.

Do check out the STICKIES at the top of the Cozumel Forum. Christi’s thread has an amazing amount of information and the Arriving and Departing” thread can be helpful as well. With that said...the arriving and departing info, although most likely still accurate enough, may need some updates. Perhaps the author needs to get her dive booty to CZM to remedy that problem. . In the meantime, please PM me if anyone knows of any corrections that should not wait.

Overall, have a fantastic first time Cozumel dive trip. Best wishes !

Double S

 

[Ed Wabals]

These guys are the best that I have dove with in my 25 years of going to Cozumel
https://www.pelagicventuresscuba.com


Food these are some of my favorites
La Cocay
Guido's
Buccanos at Night
Pescaderia San Carlos
El Moro
La Choza
La Perlita
Ernesto's Fajitas

Food and hangouts
Dick's Dive
Woodys
Mezcalitos Restaurant & Beach Bar

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Plus one for La Choza, and don't forget the incredible street tacos at El Pique on Ave 30.

Dave Dillehay
(27 years a Cozumeleno)

 

[Namastaras]

Dive Op- Chili Charters or Tres Pelicanos
Hotel- Casa Mexicana or Hotel Plaza Cozumel (Very Cheap Option)
Date Night Dinner- Kinta or Kondesa, La Perlita or El Moro
Don't Miss- Oatates, El Cielo, The other side of the island- Get Mojitos at 'welcome to miami' bar, Money Bar Friday/Sat for live music and sunset snorkling
Don't be shy- walk back into town off of Melgar, buy cheaper groceries/drinks at the Mega

 

[Namastaras]

+1 El Pique on 30
Las Tortugas on 30 as well!
Chen Dos if you're really a 'local tourist'

 

[slippy_lolo]

A random odd recommendation for a non-diving activity: a few times a week, the Cozumel Observatory holds night sky viewing sessions from 7pm to 9pm. You get to take a peek through their massive telescope, and it's pretty impressive. You can see nebulae, planets, etc. We saw Saturn's rings, it was an amazing experience. It's also not too far from the city center (5-10min drive).

 

[mcohen1021]

These guys are the best that I have dove with in my 25 years of going to Cozumel https://www.pelagicventuresscuba.com

They were until they ran Alex and miguel away...

 

[CameronN]

Hi there, I've done about 20+ trips to Cozumel over the last 10+ years (living in Texas makes it an incredibly close destination). It's a fantastic location for drift dives and really cool coral formations (I love coral swim-throughs that wind around). I've done all my diving with ScubaTony and after diving different locations around the world I've come to realize that their service is certainly unique; small dive boats of 6 divers and amazingly friendly and competent staff make for a great experience every time. It's true, I could try out other dive operators, but it's hard to go elsewhere when I know I'm going to have a solid time with this crew. I've recommended to quite a few folks over the years and the response is always the same as mine (I've also taken people down to do their open water training with ScubaTony). Regarding hotels: I've done the all-inclusive, the small vrbo condo in town, the higher end hotels out of town, and the inexpensive hotels in town. One thing I haven't done is stay at the hotels north of town. ScubaTony picks up at pretty much all hotels south of the marina so I'll grab a taxi when I stay in town (was just under $6 USD one-way two weeks ago; it's mostly standard taxi pricing based upon origin and destination). Mega (grocery store) has just about anything you need (seriously, you can buy a scooter as well as toilet paper on one trip ) with low prices so I always go first thing upon arrival and grab my trip essentials). There are a tremendous number of restaurants, but I tend to frequent the same ones because of my diving schedule and the friends I've made at these locations. The above posts mention combing through this forum for plenty of details but feel free to post additional questions, and I'll do my best to answer. Either way, it's one of my favorite places to go, chill, have great dives with excellent crew, and just enjoy a getaway that's relaxing.

 

[Addicted2H2O]

Surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet, but if you're staying for a week, do yourself a favor and take a day to go across to the mainland and dive some of the cenotes. Plenty of good dive operators there and even some reefs to dive on that side, but I'd suggest giving Cenote Xperience (CenoteXperience - Cavern, Cave and Ocean Diving in Playa del Carmen Yucatan Mexico - Home) a call and setting something up with them. Nico and Martin are excellent guides and have even discovered a couple of cenotes around the area. There are of course many other good cenote operations to go with but I can only advise on them because it's who I've gone out with. I don't think you'd be at all disappointed though!

As for dive sites around the island......
Palancar Reef (if it's open)
Palancar Caves (if it's open)
Santa Rosa Wall
San Francisco Wall
Paradise (shallow 40-45ft dive and great at night)
Felipe Xicotencatl (C-53 Wreck in about 75 fsw)

Really there aren't any bad sites along the island to dive. These are just some of the ones I've enjoyed.

 

[mcohen1021]

go across to the mainland and dive some of the cenotes.

What if you had to choose between that and the bull sharks...?

And do you need more than a full 3 mil for the cenotes?