Good Dive Op/Accommodations Close to Palancar?

[NeesiePie]

Looking to plan my first trip to Coz sometime in January. As my new dive buddy struggles with seasickness I'm trying to find a place closer to the reef for a shorter boat ride (rather than the 60 min ride from the main pier). I know Occidental is an option, though the recent negative reviews and apparent issues with norovirus makes me inclined to give it a pass. We don't have to have a dive-and-stay resort package - a condo/apartment/AirBnB + quality dive operator would be fine as long as there are food options nearby.

Thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions.

 

[turtlegurl]

Iberostar is super close. We have enjoyed staying there a couple of times when we wanted a "lazy" vacation with everything on site.

 

[NeesiePie]

Iberostar is super close. We have enjoyed staying there a couple of times when we wanted a "lazy" vacation with everything on site.

Thank you. Did you use their on-site dive operator? Were you pleased with them?

 

[ReefHound]

First, it need not be a 60 minute ride from pier if you use one of the smaller faster boats. Second, Coz seas are not usually that rough. That said, Iberostar would be a great location for short boat rides.

 

[DeltaWardog]

Thank you. Did you use their on-site dive operator? Were you pleased with them?

Never stayed there but I would caution you to research Dressel Divers (Iberostar dive op) and make your own choice. They don't have the best reputation.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Looking to plan my first trip to Coz sometime in January. As my new dive buddy struggles with seasickness I'm trying to find a place closer to the reef for a shorter boat ride (rather than the 60 min ride from the main pier).

I struggle with seasickness too, so one of my first questions is where does the dive operator do their surface intervals?

Many ops in Coz go to shore, but this may not always be the case. Getting really sick and having to sit on the boat for an hour in choppy conditions is usually not a fun experience.

 

[ggunn]

I struggle with seasickness too, so one of my first questions is where does the dive operator do their surface intervals?

Many ops in Coz go to shore, but this may not always be the case. Getting really sick and having to sit on the boat for an hour in choppy conditions is usually not a fun experience.

Usually things are calm close to shore where most ops that do not go ashore during SIT spend that time.

 

[northerndivermike]

Looking to plan my first trip to Coz sometime in January. As my new dive buddy struggles with seasickness I'm trying to find a place closer to the reef for a shorter boat ride (rather than the 60 min ride from the main pier). I know Occidental is an option, though the recent negative reviews and apparent issues with norovirus makes me inclined to give it a pass. We don't have to have a dive-and-stay resort package - a condo/apartment/AirBnB + quality dive operator would be fine as long as there are food options nearby.

Thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions.

Iberostar and Occidental are the 2 closest resorts. Both nice A/I with food a bit better at Iberostar IMO.

You could stay in town at several great options and taxi to Iberostar daily to dive. Current rate is $260 mxn
each way ($13us). I did this a few years ago when Dressel covered the $$. Dressel does have some good DMs (Flo and Rodrigo have been there 3 plus years) and a couple now work for Aldora. Dressel includes nitrox and larger tanks for n/c on request. 4 or 5 dives per day everyday and goes back to the resort between every dive. Dive sites are scheduled so you know where you will be each day weather permitting.

Easy for an unwell diver to sit out a tank or several during the week. The negative with Dressel is they limit dives to 50 min am or 45min pm I recall. And you may get mixed in with some less experienced divers.

Or you could stay at Iberostar and use a different operator. I think many will p/u from there.

Good thing you have started planning early.

 

[turtlegurl]

Thank you. Did you use their on-site dive operator? Were you pleased with them?

We have used Dressel a couple of times. We were much happier the second time we used them (in August of this year as opposed to August of 2019) and pleasantly surprised. We had no more than 7 with one dive master, our dives were an hour, and folks who needed earlier were buddied up and sent up with an SMB so we didn't have to go up as a group. The 7 day was frankly because we had a lot of family members (ours) together. Usually we had no more than 6. They were safe, and we had good dive briefings of each site. Frankly, they were better than some others frequently recommended that we have used in the past. I would say in they have taken to heart some of the criticisms people had and made changes. I also love the free nitrox. It adds up with 3 or so dives a day for two weeks.

 

[cozcharlie]

I wouldn’t be married to getting absolutely the closest resort to Palancar since you probably will not dive there every day. They may or may not have altered the names , but I am assuming old Sunscape/Sabor locations that were bought by Hyatt and renovated over last year would work also if you have concerns about Iberostar and Occidental. The newly Hyatt -affiliated properties are near San Clemente and Tunich reefs and probably only 15-20 minutes by boat to Palancar depending upon conditions