I'm so confused...where to stay n' who to dive with spring / summer 2013

[ccannon707]

All good suggestions here. Mine is to just pick one (BA, SCC, Hotel C) and GO. Then when you get there you will get your dives and also see more of the lay of the land for future trips... because once you've gone, there will be future trips... haha, you'll see

PS: Hotel Cozumel is across the street from the water - there's a tunnel under the street to their dock and small manmade "beach". BA and SCC are ON the water with balcony views. Hotel C and SCC are closer to town than BA, i.e. for walking.

Have a great trip! And let us know how it went.

 

[VicScubaVentures]

Thanks to everyone for their input .... haven't made decision yet, but I'll do a little more homework about the BA and Hotel C.

I've been to Roatan 3x in the last 12 months, wondering what to expect in comparison? A couple people in town here have said "forget Coz, go back to Roatan" .... for ease of diving and opportunity to maximize bottom time.

 

[jrl5549]

Hello,
TSA is super annoying and I have to deal with them every time I fly....
I am still relatively new to diving 4 years diving 50 ish dives. I have gone to Cozumel 2x. I stay at Festia America it is farther south of town, it is all inclusive, The Dive House is on premiss dive shop. Plenty of dot com booking options to get air and dives bundled together.

A lot of people on here want to stay in town to eat and enjoy town. I just want to dive and go to bed early. They have taken really good care of me both times I have been. The food is fine. The help are super friendly. I have had great service from "The Dive House."
I almost always dive alone I have never had an insta buddy forced on me, I have always been told to dive my computer, they use large boats and never fill them. On site dive locker free shore air on boat dive days drift diving in front of the hotel is nice I went on 2 night dives with them and saw so many octopi I still can not stop talking about it.
I have booked through islanddreams.com due to the package including dives but not airfare. Island dreams has also been very good to me.
my 2 cents for what is worth.

If you are traveling alone you should stay one night in Playa Car and dive the Cenotes and then ferry over to Cozumel. I am not a huge fan of the Cenotes but I am super glad I did it once.

 

[fishi]

Thanks to everyone for their input .... haven't made decision yet, but I'll do a little more homework about the BA and Hotel C.

I've been to Roatan 3x in the last 12 months, wondering what to expect in comparison? A couple people in town here have said "forget Coz, go back to Roatan" .... for ease of diving and opportunity to maximize bottom time.

That's because it's a 45 minute boat ride to the good dive sites from BA or HC. Longer when you stop to pick divers up. The way to avoid that is to become one of the divers being picked up. Look into Sabor and a morning and afternoon 2 tank dive with Opal's Dream Dive Shop. I did a solo trip that way and found it to be more convenient than Roatan was. They make it pretty easy by keeping all your gear on the boat, and the dive sites are 5 to 10 minutes away.

 

[cicopo]

A little photo info re Blue Angel

https://picasaweb.google.com/CozumelTimeCapsules/BlueAngelResortFormerlyTheCaribeBlu#

And a bit more for Hotel Coz.

https://picasaweb.google.com/CozumelTimeCapsules/HotelCozumelPhotos

 

[Christi]

That's because it's a 45 minute boat ride to the good dive sites from BA or HC. Longer when you stop to pick divers up. The way to avoid that is to become one of the divers being picked up.

Really? 45 minutes??? Well that obviously depends on what boat you're on. We get from the downtown pier to Palancar in less than 30. Aren't all divers picked up?

Look into Sabor and a morning and afternoon 2 tank dive with Opal's Dream Dive Shop. I did a solo trip that way and found it to be more convenient than Roatan was. They make it pretty easy by keeping all your gear on the boat, and the dive sites are 5 to 10 minutes away.

Really, there are several very high quality shops that can a) pick up at Sabor b) store your gear c) get you to the reefs just as fast or faster

However, this combination does not meet the very clear criteria/preferences that the OP has stated. I could easily promote my shop here, but I know there are better matches for this particular diver. Cheerleading posts like the above are just that and diminish the credibility and usefulness of the board. Rather than cheerleading for your favorite operation, look at what this diver is asking for and steer him in the direction he is asking for.

While BA is not an AI, there is a very good onsite restaurant that is inexpensive and convenient. Depending on hte package you get, you may or may not have some or all meals included. Shore diving is available, it is close enough to walk or take a cheap taxi into town, and I think you'll find the vibe and convenience here very similar to Coco View in Roatan - but MUCH nicer and with far superior diving in Cozumel. You can do a package with their dive shop Blue Angel or you can choose another dive shop that can pick you up there.

SCC, is an AI in the respect that it includes room, diving and 3 meals a day, but not as much flexibility, larger slower boats, but also good shore diving and a land based live aboard feel. Also close enough to walk to town for more divng options and other activities.

Hotel Cozumel, can choose the AI option or not, Hinestly, you couldn't pay me to eat the food there, and the AI here would be a waste of money IMO - but to each is own. You can choose any dive op of your choice to pick you up here. The onsite, Dive Paradise runs larger slower boats unless you upgrade to the 6 pack boats which are uncovered if that matters to you. They will not keep your gear for you, but there are lockers to store your gear in. Shore diving here is not as good as BA or SCC. Close enough to town to walk.

Hope that gives a little more objective and non biased info for you to digest and help with your decision.

 

[cvchief]

That's because it's a 45 minute boat ride to the good dive sites from BA or HC. Longer when you stop to pick divers up. The way to avoid that is to become one of the divers being picked up. Look into Sabor and a morning and afternoon 2 tank dive with Opal's Dream Dive Shop. I did a solo trip that way and found it to be more convenient than Roatan was. They make it pretty easy by keeping all your gear on the boat, and the dive sites are 5 to 10 minutes away.

You need a faster boat.

 

[fishi]

However, this combination does not meet the very clear criteria/preferences that the OP has stated. I could easily promote my shop here, but I know there are better matches for this particular diver. Cheer leading posts like the above are just that and diminish the credibility and usefulness of the board. Rather than cheer leading for your favorite operation, look at what this diver is asking for

This combination does meet his criteria! other than the shore diving. Shore diving in Cozumel is nothing like shore diving in Roatan so I'm suggesting you skip the shore diving and do both morning and afternoon boat trips. 4 dives a day. to do this I wouldn't want to travel 30 minuets each way 5 to 10 is much better. You would need a dive op that does both morning and afternoon dives and keeps the gear. That eliminates alot of dive ops. Opal's Dream worked very well for me when I was doing 4 dives a day. Thats why I suggested them.

As far as cheer leading I'm going to be down there in a few weeks and I'm not diving with Opal's Dream. I sent you 2 emails ( 1 to info@bbluextseadiving.com and the other to your Gmail) and never heard back. I sent the first one a week ago and the Gmail a few days ago.
Mark

 

[cicopo]

Last trip i made a shore dive from Hotel Coz most of the way up to the Palace, and with SCC & Hotel Coz being side by side at the waters edge I really didn't see any real differences in what the rubble looked like to make either a better or worse place for a shore dive.

 

[Christi]

However, this combination does not meet the very clear criteria/preferences that the OP has stated. I could easily promote my shop here, but I know there are better matches for this particular diver. Cheer leading posts like the above are just that and diminish the credibility and usefulness of the board. Rather than cheer leading for your favorite operation, look at what this diver is asking for

This combination does meet his criteria! other than the shore diving. Shore diving in Cozumel is nothing like shore diving in Roatan so I'm suggesting you skip the shore diving and do both morning and afternoon boat trips. 4 dives a day. to do this I wouldn't want to travel 30 minuets each way 5 to 10 is much better. You would need a dive op that does both morning and afternoon dives and keeps the gear. That eliminates alot of dive ops. Opal's Dream worked very well for me when I was doing 4 dives a day. Thats why I suggested them.

As far as cheer leading I'm going to be down there in a few weeks and I'm not diving with Opal's Dream. I sent you 2 emails ( 1 to info@bbluextseadiving.com and the other to your Gmail) and never heard back. I sent the first one a week ago and the Gmail a few days ago.
Mark

If you are Mark that will be here from 12/2 - 12/14 - I received an e-mail from you this past Tuesday via gmail and replied on Wednesday. I don't see an earlier one from a previous date in the other account.

Just to offer some information on how afternoon dives work here. Most ops will offer afternoon dives based on demand, this is not exclusive to Opal's Dream. Anyone will do them with a minimum of three or four people, but no one has them scheduled as a guaranteed daily option, including Opal's Dream. You may have been lucky enough to be here at a time when there were enough people to do afternoon dives, but it really just depends on the other divers. We are doing afternoon dives almost everyday this week - but last week ran only morning dives. Every week and every day is different.