how to compare COZ vs. HAWAII?

[tangfish]

hmmmm.....although I had experiences with coz DMs being more laid back in attitude, they seemed to have a higher aptitude when it came to diving in general. The HI dive ops were assh#les on several occaisions and they didn't seem that notably knowledgeable in terms of safety compared to other places around the world, i guess its all who you dive with. some of the best diveops I've ever gone with were in the Philippines, a place that people usually consider lacking in the safety category. go figure

While it may once have been true that dive ops on Cozumel largely didn't care if one was cert'ed to dive, such is not the case anymore. Safety concerns have increased greatly over the past 10-15 years as divers have flocked to Coz and brought a lot more scrutiny to bear.

I have no idea if there is any validity to your "3 divers a month" assertion, but I would ask how many dives are done around Maui per month in comparison to many are done around Cozumel.

Furthermore and fundamentally, the responsibilty for safety ultimately rests upon the diver himself; merely having a cert card doesn't make one a safe diver and a dive op cannot make a safe diver out of an unsafe one.

 

[deputydan1]

great advice!

thanks!

-dan

 

[elease]

we will be there oct 6-13th and plan on doing morning boat dives and afternoon shore dives. any suggestions?

 

[rricks90254]

My wife and I have been to both Coz and Hawaii. The costs for the flights were comparable in fact Hawaii has been higher at times. Our Cozumel trip will always be memorable for us. Mainly because I proposed on one of the dives, even have it on video. The wedding was 3 weeks ago on Oahu with the honeymoon in Fiji. The corl and sea life was fantastic as everyone as so readily pointed out. We'll be going back in the next year or so.

All our diving has been on Oahu and we can't wait to go to the other islands. We are planning a trip back for Christmas (son is a Marine stationed on Oahu, SEMPER FI) and are either going to the Big Island or Maui so we can dive some more areas. I'd also like to add that if you get a chance to dive on the Corsair off Oahu you should do it. While it is not an overly exciting dive from the scenery standpoint, it is high on my list of surreal dives I've had. Something about being at 40 feet and seeing the fuselage appear as you head down was just incredibly memorable to me.