Help! Daytrip to Cozumel

[m lynn marshall]

I want to find a great beach that has scuba diving on site. I hear that San Fransico Beach Club, Paradise Beach Club and Money Bar have great beaches. Does anyone know if any of these places have scuba diving available on site or is there a better place to go for the day? And do I taxi from the ferry and what would the cost be for the taxi.

How is the diving in Playacar? Should I be doing all my dives in Cozumel?

Cheers, Lynn

 

[psychocabbage]

Not sure about shore diving from those locations..

When we arrive, we go straight to Del Mar Aquatics and get signed up for our boat dives which gives us unlimited shore diving air. We then take tanks and drop in off their dock. Not a bazillion things to see but enough to have a good quick dive and we use it to basically get everyone hyped for the boat dives to come.. We shore dive daily when we go and up to 4 boat dives a day..

But we are tad more hard core than others.

 

[ggunn]

I want to find a great beach that has scuba diving on site. I hear that San Fransico Beach Club, Paradise Beach Club and Money Bar have great beaches. Does anyone know if any of these places have scuba diving available on site or is there a better place to go for the day? And do I taxi from the ferry and what would the cost be for the taxi.

There aren't dive shops that I know of at any of those locations, and I'm pretty sure that it's a good rule of thumb that wherever there is a true beach there won't be a scuba site within swimming distance.

 

[DandyDon]

Hi Lynn, and welcome to SB!

Should I be doing all my dives in Cozumel?

Yes, from a boat. Cozumel is a world renown dive location but not for shore diving. For best enjoyment, most will stay on the island, but if you have booked a hotel on the mainland somewhere - day trips are possible with boat dives, depending on some variable.

Care to tell more about your current plans...?

 

[m lynn marshall]

Thanks for the replies...

And thank you for your warm welcome DandyDon!

I am staying at the Viva Wyndam Maya in Playacar and thought that I would kill 2 birds with one stone by trying to find a place to dive in Cozumel that also has a great beach that I can spend the rest of the day.

Here's another question though...Maybe diving is just as good in Playacar that I don't need to come to Cozumel? What are your thoughts? There is a dive company at my resort called Scuba Caribe and I checked out their website and it seems to be okay except they wanted $179.00 to do a 2 tank dive in Cozumel and I know I can do it for a lot less. That is what originally got me looking in Cozumel because I am not paying $179. But maybe I don't need to dive in Cozumel?

I'll be by myself but have been to Cozumel before I was a diver. Don't mind going to Cozumel if the diving is somewhat different. Any excuse to travel!!

Love to hear back from you pros!LOL

Cheers, Lynn

 

[mudhole]

Lynn, you're in the middle of some great diving along the second largest coral reef in the world. Not every spot is equal, but they're all very good. First choice requires travel, check the dive shops in Playa del Carmen for a trip to see the Whale sharks, snorkeling only. . .west of Cancun near the island of Holbox. Some shops leave from Cancun with a longer boat ride, some send you to Holbox island and a shorter boat trip out to the Whale sharks.

Click on the Mexican topic of this thread and search for the good reviews several shops are mentioned frequently, or search for the shop in your hotel.

If you are an early morning person, catch the first ferry from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel to catch the morning dive trip to some of the world's best reefs, with a Cozumel dive operator. You'll want reservations in advance, and most shops leave for the reefs between 8:30 and 9:00 for a two tank dive in the park. Travel from the mainland to dive Cozumel can be difficult to keep the schedule of the people staying on the island.

You're in the middle of fabulous reef's so don't laugh. . . try the fresh water Cenotes! Water flows underground in the Yucutan. . . You'll need a local guide, some education in cavern diving, usually part of a days diving. And some thermal protection to dive the Cenotes. Spectacular visibility, Stalactites and stalagmites, it's addictive. . . some people have turned their back on coral reefs to dive these caverns, and for the better trained, even learned to cave dive. Again look under the "Mexico" threads for past recommendations.

There is enjoyable diving on the mainland, so enjoy it now that you're there. . . Next month when you travel back, stay on the island. . . Follow the path of Calypso, and Jacques Cousteau, while riding the currents past spectacular reefs. Their underwater park is protected by the local divers, and the fish and lobsters are easy to watch because they aren't afraid of divers. It's OK if you wait two months till your next trip. . . Cozumel is addictive and we're all Cozuholics.

 

[jeancmo]

There is a dive company at my resort called Scuba Caribe and I checked out their website and it seems to be okay except they wanted $179.00 to do a 2 tank dive in Cozumel and I know I can do it for a lot less.

Cheers, Lynn

wow! $179 that is expensive!

Blue Angel has an 11:00 am 2-tank dive, they pick up at the Cozumel ferry pier and bring you to their shop for gear etc. After dive you can hang out at the hotel and have a late lunch at the restaurant and snorkel from the shore.
http://www.blueangelresort.com/
webpage doesn't indicate the 11:00 trip but they did have it a couple of weeks ago. just email them and they'll let you know.

Jean in MO

 

[ggunn]

I am staying at the Viva Wyndam Maya in Playacar and thought that I would kill 2 birds with one stone by trying to find a place to dive in Cozumel that also has a great beach that I can spend the rest of the day.

The diving in Cozumel is better than that across the channel. You won't see the towering formations and spectacular walls that Cozumel has if you are diving over next to the mainland. You won't see any of that from a shore dive, either, so finding a beach location is something you can do as a separate activity. It's a small island, though, so that won't be a problem.

 

[DandyDon]

Maybe diving is just as good in Playacar that I don't need to come to Cozumel? What are your thoughts?

Nope!

wow! $179 that is expensive!

Blue Angel has an 11:00 am 2-tank dive, they pick up at the Cozumel ferry pier and bring you to their shop for gear etc. After dive you can hang out at the hotel and have a late lunch at the restaurant and snorkel from the shore.
Blue Angel Resort ( Caribe Blue Hotel & Diving Resort ) - Blue Angel Carribean Diving Resort
webpage doesn't indicate the 11:00 trip but they did have it a couple of weeks ago. just email them and they'll let you know.

Jean in MO

Does sound outrageous, but let's see?

RT Ferry - $22?
2 tank boat trip - $60?
RT taxis on both sides -?
DM to escort -?​

Doesn't add up, does it - but I don't know how much the taxis might be?

Lynn, I stay on Coz because the diving is best there, but if you're hooked on the mainland hotel - ok. Jean and Mud gave good suggestions, altho you may be a little green for Cenote diving. Snorkeling with whales sharks is a blast.

I tried a few dives at Playa del Carmen last year, thinking we might see the turtle flocks I once saw there, but nope - and was underwhelmed at what I did see. Funny thing, laying on a beach never appealed to me.

Wonder how long it takes to get to the PDC ferry from your hotel, and could you be at Blue Angel dive shop by 7am for the 8am boat?

 

[ggunn]

Funny thing, laying on a beach never appealed to me.

Lying on a beach I find kinda boring, but laying... :mooner: