Question How does Cozumel compare to other dive destinations?

[danzn16]

Cozumel has pretty colors, healthier reefs than many places in Caribbean, swim throughs that are fun, drift diving, seahorse possibilities, turtles and eagle ray possibilities. It is a good place to go, although still Caribbean. Saw one reef shark in the blue on Santa Rosa wall so if you love big animals it’s not the place for that. Can just do two tank dives or could stay at a place like iberostar and dive with dressel and dive 4-5 times a day. The food in Cozumel has been better than anywhere else we’ve been in Caribbean. Also I was nervous about going to Mexico mostly with the corruption you hear about in airports like Cabo, but Cozumel felt very safe to us. We rented a car and went to local restaurants were we were the only non locals and felt just fine. It is on the upper tier of Caribbean destination spots for me. Also the dives are half the price as most locations which makes it that much greater. I’d highly recommend it.

 

[waldoannie]

My wife and I have been to Cozumel almost annually for about 20 years. The diving is fantastic. Some trips the wildlife is more abundant than others. For example, on one week long trip we saw at least one eagle ray on every dive. No exaggerating, every dive even on reefs I had never seen them before. Other trips we see 4-5 in a week.

That being said, we like the consistency of diving in Cozumel. The water temps fall into the same very comfortable 5-7 deg Fahrenheit range all year round. The reefs are in very good shape with minimal beaching, especially compared to other Caribbean destinations. The port rarely closes to small craft and when it does, in our experience it has been a one day closure. The macro is good, but with the current, it can be difficult to muck around and spy for super small critters. Although we have seen plenty of pipehorses, blennies, and nudibranchs. The current and drift diving is one of the appeals.

A key to Cozumel diving is the dive op that suits you. There are many to choose from and it all comes down to finding ones that fit your style and needs. There is no "best op in Cozumel." It's essentially, "the best op for me in Cozumel."

Traveling in Mexico has it's quirks, but staying safe takes just basic travel awareness. Considering all of the places you have been, Cozumel should be on that list.

Considering trip in December. I’m AI, husband DM, Soawn 21 is beginner diver. Looking for the best operator, not the fanciest. Suggestions? TY

 

[ChuckP]

Considering trip in December. I’m AI, husband DM, Soawn 21 is beginner diver. Looking for the best operator, not the fanciest. Suggestions? TY

You really can't go wrong with any valet company, For casual diving, three family divers - I personally like Blue Project but there's Scuba Life, Scuba with Tony etc...

I would suggest or lean towards a smaller 6-10 pax boat to get with smaller groups, it's just more personal.

Some other valet shops do great but just seem sometimes too big or maybe geared more towards experienced divers, not taking anything away from anyone, just an opinion.

 

[ggunn]

Considering trip in December. I’m AI, husband DM, Soawn 21 is beginner diver. Looking for the best operator, not the fanciest. Suggestions? TY

There is no best dive operator on Cozumel but there are scads of excellent ones. Which of them would work well for you would depend on what sorts of experiences you are looking for and where you are staying.

Have you looked at this thread: Finding a (Best) Dive Op in Cozumel ? It might help you with your decision.

 

[Dan G]

Considering trip in December. I’m AI, husband DM, Soawn 21 is beginner diver. Looking for the best operator, not the fanciest. Suggestions? TY

I am going to agree with the two above posts that there is no "best operator." We've had excellent experiences with several different ops and thread Gordon linked above is a good resource for seeing the differences and similarities. An op that has almost exclusively small (6-10 person boats) boats is good advice. Decide if you want steel tanks or aluminum tanks, because that will narrow things down, as well as where different ops pick up. Have a great trip!

 

[J&M Blowing Bubbles]

What does "over promote" even mean? Some of us prefer to stay in town, some of us prefer to stay at the southern resorts, and some of us, myself included, prefer something in between. We all have our reasons.

 

[waldoannie]

We love Coz for all the reasons stated above. I love drift diving, the visibility, the topography and the nice cross section of Caribbean marine life (although fish density is low compared to say Bonaire). Turtles, rays, nurse shark and a great selection of reef critters is almost always available. We have been going for years so it's also a very familiar and comfy place for us and we have friends all over the island to dive and dine and chill with which makes it feel like a home away from home. The food is amazing and I've never one single time felt unsafe even walking at night back in the neighborhoods. Don't go looking for trouble and you probably won't find it. It's way easier to get to from LAX than say Bonaire or other Caribbean spots but not as easy as Hawaii. I am headed to Fiji in two weeks so I'll let you know but I'm hoping to be impressed (which is why we are headed someplace else vs another trip to Coz). I dove in Tahiti when I was first certified 30 years ago and remember a lot more vast reef coverage of hard plate corals and a very strong 'south pacific' coral atoll feel with larger life and way more sharks. I have dove a ton in Maui and Kona and although the lava tubes and turtles and mantas are amazing, I miss the variety of hard and soft corals/sponges and general reef decoration that you'll get in Coz. After a week in Bonaire even though we love the freedom I missed the variety of sites and certainly the FOOD that is available in Coz. Have not done any Indo pacific but I'd expect that the harder to get to a location is and the less people diving the better the health of the reef...Coz is very popular. It's also had issues with coral disease and bleaching recently which have left some of the areas in less than ideal condition however this is true for much of the Caribbean from what I gather. Many people I know say "wow you're going to mexico is that safe?" and then we have a fatal gang shooting less than 20 miles from my "ultra safe so cal neighborhood" so safety is just a bubble you build around yourself here in the good ole USA. Stay off the scooters, manage your dive profiles and don't drink too much and Coz is probably as safe or safer than your home town. Have Fun!!!

Quick question, and thanks for a great write-up! First trip in December having dove from Palau to Red Sea...any big dive gear shops in Cancun? We are coming from Portugal and don't have access to a good selection.

 

[ChuckP]

Quick question, and thanks for a great write-up! First trip in December having dove from Palau to Red Sea...any big dive gear shops in Cancun? We are coming from Portugal and don't have access to a good selection.

Diverite and at least Tusa are on the mainland. In Cozumel, there are a few shops that sell different items, Scuba Price is a Scubapro dealer, Humarine sells Xdeep stuff, Aldora or Liang sells Shearwater stuff but beware the choices are small and prices at least compared to the US can be higher.

 

[ggunn]

Quick question, and thanks for a great write-up! First trip in December having dove from Palau to Red Sea...any big dive gear shops in Cancun? We are coming from Portugal and don't have access to a good selection.

There are a few shops that have a bit of inventory but they are pretty small; what specifically are you looking for? FWIW, most dive operations have rental gear.

 

[Shawn C]

And a few dive ops have free gear available - Dive with Martin and Sharky's come to mind.