Good Dive Op/Accommodations Close to Palancar?

[cicopo]

Dressel uses Paso De Cedral for it's night dives, quick & convenient & at one time I found that reef boring but over time that changed for me. Now I'm always happy to visit it. Way back on a dive with Dressel right there we saw a total of 7 nurse sharks during a dive. I can't say whether they were different sharks or a few re circulating around the reef some were alone while others were in pairs but not real close to each other.

 

[ReefHound]

That would be a bit much but basically I agree. My last Coz trip we dove Cedral three (or was it four?) times and it was a different dive every time. But still, on a two week trip I would want to go to some different sites that are not all in a small area.

Of course, I was just taking it to an extreme to emphasize a point but I can't imagine a scenario where you would be so limited in dive sites in Coz. I don't think the DM wants to dive the same spot every day either so I'll leave it to divemaster's choice. He can pick a good site that doesn't have five boatloads of divers already on it.

 

[inquis]

I've stayed at Iberostar and used Dressel -- good operator IMO. SI back at the dock is nice. Some rides are so short, by the time your gear is setup, tank analyzed, and wetsuit donned, it's time to splash.

One difference from many operators: their destinations are pre-planned rather than diver consensus that morning (weather allowing, of course). Your call if that's good or bad or neither.

 

[Charred]

Dressel is ok and they are quite cheap since they include Nitrox.

Your experience will be highly dependent on your DM. One day you can get one of their cave diver DMs and have a great time. The next time you can end up with a micromanager who wants you to be within 10 feet of them the whole time. I personally gave up on them and just dive with an op that caters to experienced divers. I pay slightly more and wade out from the beach because I simply end up enjoying my vacation more.

I think they would be a great option for people with less experience and less confidence. The less you want or need a DM underwater, the less you will like them.

 

[deepsea21]

There are top quality sea sickness pills and patches and such that can be had over the counter or via a prescription. I'd get those and not worry about it.

As I've said many times, go to any in-town pharmacy and buy some cheap Cinarizina (MX) pills known as Cinnarizine (Elsewhere). Available in MX and Canada and elsewhere but not the USA for some reason. It's the sea sickness pill of the Royal Navy so if it's good enough for them it's good enough for us. We get a bottle of 75mg pills and cut them in 1/2 and keep them for several years. We'll take a 1/2 pill about an hour before diving if it looks really rough. No sleepiness, no problems and it's dirt cheap in MX. But the various patches that cost much more by prescription in the states are highly effective to and could be even better but I can't say as I've never been seasick and never needed a patch or something.

I've also noticed that people tend to get seasick on the slower, larger cattle boats with far more frequency than the smaller and faster 6-10 packs. It seems counter intuitive but it's true. For some reason those bigger boats that tend to pitch and roll more combined with the stench of diesel exhaust in the air make some people sick quickly. On a small boat you can see all around, know what's coming, no stinky exhaust getting pulled back into the back of the boat and see the horizon all around.

Sea Sickness is the result of the fluid in your inner ears that gives you balance being out of whack with what you are seeing so if you're on a bigger boat looking around everything seems relatively stationary and you can't see all around so what you see doesn't match the signals your inner ear is sending your brain causing a conflict that causes seasickness. This is why the absolute worst place one can go if they feel sick is into a cabin on a boat. Getting to the front of the running boat with face into the wind, see what's coming and keeping your eyes on the horizon is much better.

Was on a cruise ship years ago in some swelled up seas with the ship gently pitching pretty far to port and then to starboard and back and people were seasick everywhere. On a ship that size if you're in the interior anywhere it's like the whole little world you see isn't changing but the whole little world is pitching back and forth. That's a recipe for disaster for some people.

If someone is highly prone to seasickness, I wouldn't get on a larger cattle boat without a prescription patch or Cinarizina and would stick with the smaller, faster 6-10 packs.

 

[DeltaWardog]

All of the good dive Ops willl pick you up at the Sabor pier

Another tip if you are staying at Residencias Reef is that the smaller boats can pick you up on the beach to the left of the resort. Obviously check with your dive op to verify.

It's a very short, pleasant walk and you don't have to get ripped off by Secrets, which are charging $5 a day for the pier use as of last fall. And they will hassle you when you get dropped off if you aren't wearing the wristband you had in the morning. I paid their extortion on my first and last day just to make it easier to load and unload gear, but the rest of my two weeks I just walked south to the beach club and hopped on the boat there.

 

[Kimela]

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.

Which ops do their SIs on shore? I've never heard of that. Might be interesting. The closest I've seen is going to the 'pee pee pier' for a quick bio-break!

 

[Kimela]

I wonder if your buddy is taking the sea sickness meds the night before and morning of the dive? That makes a BIG difference.

Once you find a place down near Palancar you might dive with Scuba with Allison. They've got a nice boat (the Maximus) that is fast and comfortable. Fun diving with them too.

Occidental is a sister resort to Allegro. Allegro just had that fire that destroyed two guests rooms and they have, so far (as far as I know) refused to compensate them for their losses. They had not made changes recommended by the fire department on previous inspections. For those reasons, I'd stay away.

 

[NDL_Diver]

Which ops do their SIs on shore? I've never heard of that. Might be interesting. The closest I've seen is going to the 'pee pee pier' for a quick bio-break!

Aldora does the SI at Palancar. We grab a snack and a drink on the beach table and people watch. We get an hour on the beach and our total SI is about 1.5 hrs. The extra time is great to offgass those long dives with there 120cf tanks.

We see living underwater there often as well.

 

[ggunn]

There is a strong psychological component to seasickness. I used to get seasick but I went out on boats a lot without any medication and I eventually got acclimated; I don't get sick any more. I don't know that it works that way for everyone but if it does for you acclimation is by far the best cure, IMO.

Here's a point of advice, though: if you are out with someone who gets seasick it may seem to you that you are showing them that you care about them by asking them how they are feeling. Don't do that. They may have just got to the point where they are thinking about something besides the way their guts feel.