Has anyone stayed at Sabor Cozumel/dived with Dive Palancar?

[gorock]

I am travelling to Cozumel in August with my girlfriend (a non-diver) and we will be staying at Sabor Resort. So I have two questions for you all:

1. Has anyone stayed at Sabor? What are your thoughts of the resort?

2. According to Sabor website they have Dive Palancar that operates on site, has a dive shop at the resort, has anyone gone diving with them before?

Thank you,


Jason

 

[DandyDon]

It kind of depends on what you want from an Operator exactly, and how experienced you are. Coz forums fans here are oft quick to suggest their favorite Ops, and most can pick you up there - but there is a lot of convenience in using the house Op. I dived with Dive Palancar only a couple days, so 10 years ago - and they were good, but my views are very dated. I'm sure they are good now tho.

 

[ben_wilson3301]

They are fine. Dove with them in April. But they are based at Occidental Grand and would pick you up. Some divemasters are better than others. Id steer clear of Osvoldo. Definitely not a safety first kind of diver.

 

[DandyDon]

They are fine. Dove with them in April. But they are based at Occidental Grand and would pick you up. Some divemasters are better than others. Id steer clear of Osvoldo. Definitely not a safety first kind of diver.

They don't have a shop actually at the Sabor?! If they are just going to do pick-ups, then maybe consider another shop. Does Sabor charge a dock few for divers of other Ops...?

 

[gorock]

They say there is a shop at the resort, the dive palancar says that they have locations at occidental, sabor and aura.

I am a pretty experienced diver, I have never gone on a vacation and not had someone/group of people that I know to dive with. My only other dive vacation was with my LDS to Roatan last year that was amazing, but other than that all of my diving can be classified in any combination of deep, dark, and cold in the North East.

I am hoping to get a few dives in, we will be there for 5 days, I figure I can break away a few times while she sits on the beach.

 

[DandyDon]

Ok, so you will need to rent all your gear? It'd be nice if they had a physical shop with BCs to try on & test, regs to test, suits & fins to try own, etc. - but I guess they deal with that enough. If they bring your gear on the boat, be sure to test it well and turn the boat if it's not up to par. Do bring your own signal sausage, mirror, Storm whistle - small, easy to include in luggage, but they won't have those. You'll want your own mask and booties.

Are you renting a car?

Ben, how far is the Occi from the Sabor?

 

[gorock]

Even though I only plan on diving a few times I will probably bring my gear as I did in Roatan. Maybe a little hassle for 3-6 dives as opposed to the 18 done the week in Roatan, but I am definitely more comfortable knowing the quality and service of my equipment.

I will call them prior to going to see how to set things up, just wanted to get some opinions from here.

 

[DandyDon]

Yep, it's best to dive your own gear. I dive a skin or 1 mil jumpsuit in August as the water is so warm. Everyone has different cold tolerances, but if you dive up there - I doubt you'd get chilled in a swim suit. Coz channel has some floating stingers tho, so I like to cover up well.

I'm sure there will be others posting over the next week about the resort and Op. Add yourself to the August thread here if you'd like. Have a great trip. ilot:

 

[cobra269]

1. I have stayed at the Sabor twice in 2010. name changed to Sabor exclusive and now the adult only section. Not sure if this is the one you will stay at. Set off from the beach. No beach view room, but enjoyed my stay. I stayed at the Residencias Reef Condos next door to the Aura last May

2. There is a wooden pier in front of the Aura and thats where the Dive Palancar dive shop is located. I never dove with them. It's just a small building/shack on the beach. Normally manned around 8 am. I did do 25 dives last trip with another op and used this pier for pick up. Everyone has their favorite dive op. Few things to consider.

A. Do you want to dive early or sleep in?

B. You want an op that does afternoon dives?

C. Large boats or fast 6 pacs.

D. Price and rental charge for gear if any. I didn't mention safety because I believe all the ops are safe with some having better DMs.

3. There are loads of dive ops and fishing ops that will pick you up at the pier. There is no longer a $3 fee for pier usage.

Have fun.

 

[spector39]

I dove with them last year for 2 days while we stayed at the Occidental Grand. They limit your bottom times to 45 minutes. One DM was really good, and the other was not as good (sorry, can't remember their names.) The boats are big and slow. It wasn't a horrible experience, but I think with so many to choose from on the island I'd go with someone else next time.