Wow, what a question....SeaHound.
I disagree, Rick. I think Cozumel is a destination that should be on all N. American diver's Bucket List. It is drift diving Mecca for the Caribbean. Fantastic swimthroughs and deeper wall dives. Great fishlife, etc. There are good times to go and bad times, dependant on weather. January is not the best time due to possiblities of diving blown out due to norte winds. Best time, IMHO, is April - July.
Personally, after 7 trips to Cozumel, I am
not so happy with the topside. In the past 10yrs it has gone very commercial, and I can skip it completely. We stayed at Scuba Club the past 2 years and love it, love being behind closed gates and not having to deal with the crowds and pod people. We do venture into town the last day, non-diving, to shop and pick up more carved wooden masks that i collect and a piece of jewelry for daughter who stays home watching our dog.
I do think a trip over to the Cenotes on mainland, and also the Mayan ruins are fantastic, but I think you should stay over there to get the most from them and skip the hassle of the ferry. I have trip reports, photos, and videos on my website of the cenotes, the Scuba Club Cozumel diving both boat and shore, and also a trip to Chichen Itza.
So... my personal opinion, coming from my trips over the years, is go to Cozumel for a week of dive dive dive and stay at SCC, then spend 2-3 days over on mainland and dive the cenotes a day or two, and a full day spent visiting Chichen Itza by rental car.
a sample video:
[vimeo]11934524[/vimeo]
I shot this past April
more of my videos of Cozumel and mainland trips here:
Mexico - Cozumel and the Yucatan Peninsula on Vimeo
robin
