First time going to Cozumel (February) Could use Tips!

[8Trackid]

Hey Everyone.

I am finally getting my butt to Cozumel and would like recommendations. Sites, Companies etc. I am sure they exist here already but do not have time to page through the 600+ posts. Perhaps someone that has posted in/on one can give me a link to that one? Thanks in advance!

{general info... My wife is a newbie so I will stick with her for most dive which knowing what to expect will be amazing regardless. However, I am advanced and experienced so I would like to do some deeper dives myself on at least one day. Wrecks, Drift, etc.}

Stay wet!

 

[Darol]

Well first off a serious warning..... You will become addicted to Cozumel and won"t be able to wait till you get back. I did one trip
seven years ago and have now been there 24 times, due back Feb 7. There are so many great dive opps and dive sites, you will get plenty of feedback. Scuba-Du, BlueXTsea, Liquid Blue all awesome and user friendly...... Have a Ball and Enjoy, maybe I will see you there......

 

[ColoDale]

See http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/search.php?searchid=27464443. This is a search result I did but I don't know if it will work for you or not. Depends on if the application saves the results or the search criteria and only for me or general viewing. It shows six posts with similar questions.

If you cannot see any results, use the procedure below

Advanced search - Upper right link

Search In section
Search types boxes - I left all unchecked

Search For section
Keywords for my search = cozumel first time. You could try cozumel advice or cozumel dive site advice though the these may give you too many results. If you use cozumel recommended dive op for keywords and any date you will get about 50 results.
Select Search titles only in drop down list. You can set to Search Entire Post but the search takes longer.
All other fields blank

Additional options section
Find posts Date drop down = A year ago
Leave second drop down set to "and newer". Can set to any for all dates.

Sort results by Date (first drop down) and second drop down to " in Descending order"

Good luck

---------- Post added January 8th, 2015 at 05:05 PM ----------

Or if you are not comfortable with Scubaboard's search try Google search on www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel: cozumel first time. (copy/paste this text) then in one of the top posts click more results from Scubaboard

 

[cicopo]

Things to know
No bus system, the taxi union controls how tourists get around OR you rent a car if staying out of town.
If a beach is needed at your resort you will likely want to stay in the southern hotel zone. The resorts there are all inclusives because there isn't much else nearby. It's roughly a $35-40 round trip by taxi to visit town (San Miguel).
If you stay in town you rarely need to use a taxi.
No shore diving in the marine park because you'd need a guide & there's little to see.
Lots of good restaurants in town & it's safe to wander around exploring town & even the back streets but don't flaunt a big purse or camera bag that could be stolen by someone passing by on a motorcycle. There have been several reports of that happening.
Most hotels / resorts have an in house dive op if they are located along the water.
Many smaller dive ops pick up at hotel piers south of town & a few will pick up in town but very few pick up north of town.

Grounds tours of several resorts, island map with hotel locations & reef guides along with lots of other island & dive photos can be found here.

Picasa Web Albums - Larry

 

[driftwood]

Lots of good places to eat in San Miguel. Even if you stay at an AI, take to time to try some of them. One place that really impressed me was Pescaderia San Carlos.

 

[mstevens]

No bus system

But there is! There's a system of collectivos that run regularly.

No shore diving in the marine park

But there is! Lots of people shore dive within the marine park.

 

[tomhooper]

Best nachos on the island- Woody's on the square. They also play some pretty good music too.

 

[gopbroek]

I would recommend staying in the downtown area of San Miguel. There are decent hotels from $40 and up and lots of real good restaurants (from $ to $$$) within walking distance. Personally I believe that A/I’s are really nothing more than a land based cruise ship, as such there are pluses and minuses but it is an artificial bubble from the actual island culture. I can understand it in some of the more high crime areas of the Caribbean but with the low crime rate in Cozumel it is not really worth it. Regardless of where you stay you can use any dive Op. I like Tres Pelicanos , they are a valet op that handles beginners to advanced divers and will allow you to ‘dive your tank’. They do not force an up and out as group model and they provide transport to and from the Caleta or pick up at the southern hotels.

 

[cicopo]

OK lots of people shore dive within the Marine Park area. Are they with guides or breaking the rules? Lots of people drive drunk too. I for 1 tend to follow the rules & ask other to do the same.

 

[tomhooper]

You can shore dive from Tikila Bar without a guide and that is in the park also.

Playa Corona offers shore dives too.

There are other places to shore dive within the park.