Is Cozumel cheap?

[arew+4]

There were and may still be some locals with extensive local knowledge, and experience far beyond most tourists, possessing an off the charts risk tolerance, that would use DPVs to dive boat only dives from shore. One of the most well know and generally well regarded on SB, disappeared while doing this a few years ago and his body has not been recovered.

Bang for your buck you cannot beat shore diving, but there are better and safer places to do it.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Well, now that Coz is doing night dives, I'm a three-fer.

 

[bvbellomo]

From a U.S.A. starting point, a Cozumel vs. a Red Sea trip with a budget/value perspective? That's a pretty apples-to-oranges destination face off. I've been to Cozumel; from what I've read of the Red Sea diving, it's on the other side of the world, best done via live-aboard, and the diving is likely better than the Caribbean but not on par with some Indonesian sites like Raja Ampat...but you have the option for land tours like seeing the pyramids, if you extend your stay and topside excursions are of interest.

If that's all accurate, here's the mindset I'd approach your comparison with:

1.) I find air travel rather brutal where long flights are concerned. Even if airfare were similar, for one trip to trap me on more flights for a lot more hours would be an example of 'not equal; nowhere close.'

2.) If I did a far distant live-aboard trip, I'd want to arrive a day early to make sure I didn't literally miss the boat. No need for land-based op.s in Cozumel. Travel to/from the Red Sea I'd think would take 2 days, maybe 3...after all, do you want to show up strung out from jet lag and poor sleep on flights to leap right into an 'I'm doing all the dives to get my money's worth' live-aboard trip? Factor in the added costs of airport food and overnight hotels going and coming for what will likely be 2 extra days going (to get there a day early) and 1 extra coming back. For me, $14/day at Nashville airport's parking lot is also a factor - $42.

3.) Cozumel has good Caribbean diving, but it's my understanding the Red Sea is thought to be better? And there's not going to be a Thistlegorm or likely oceanic white-tip sharks in Coz. Just comparing potential trip dive counts doesn't tell the full story.

4.) A solid dive trip can be packed into 7 or 8 days in a Cozumel trip (Tres Pelicanos & Casa Mexicana, Cozumel Sept. 2018 Report - Tres Pelicanos/Casa Mexican Trip Report Sept. 2018 - I got 26 dives in an 8-day trip, no shore diving); for a Red Sea trip, I'd want a 10-day live-aboard to justify all the time and bother to get there and back, and round trip travel time would turn it into a 2-week+ trip. That's without any side-trips to look at pyramids, etc...

I like to apply reductionistic thinking to break it down to total trip cost divided by total # of dives as a value metric, but that's just not adequate here.

If I were comparing these, I'd probably lean toward Cozumel for a simple budget trip for now, and delay your return to the Red Sea until you have a stronger sense of what you want to do when you get there.

Just my 2 cents, and as I said, I haven't been to the Red Sea. Wherever you go, I hope you'll post a trip report about your experience to help the next guy researching. Good diving whatever you decide.

It took me 24 hours to get there and 48 to get home, although this would be faster in a COVID free world. I don't mind, vacation can be stressful and busy, and watching a movie or reading a book is relaxing.

Airport food was free or cheap (you can spend big here, but the quality is still bad), no hotels needed on my journey there or back, airport parking should be the same regardless of where you are going.

Arriving at least a day early for any liveaboard is wise.

I am not considering "value", just budget. I've never been to Cozumel, so it might be unfair, but I'd rather be diving in the Red Sea or Pacific. My cost/dive appears lower in Cozumel (much lower than it looked when I started this thread), so it is a great opportunity to learn to use my new camera (and be certain it doesn't leak), a new BCD, and just general get better at diving so I am better prepared when I do another long and more expensive trip.

 

[ReefHound]

I've been to Red Sea once. Travel time was ~30 hours from Houston to Hurghada, mostly because of a 8 hour layover in Istanbul. The flights generally arrive in Hurghada or Sharm around 4am. So you probably will want to book a room for that night or else lounge in the lobby.

I wouldn't trust arriving on LOB departure day. We went a day before so that if the luggage didn't make it we might get it on the next day's flight before departure time. The luggage made it fine but that was one less worry. The first day on LOB is sailing and a checkout dive so that day and the preceding day are plenty to unwind after the flights. We did a shore dive on our arrival day to do a gear check.

The lure of Egypt is it is so cheap. LOB is better for many reasons - number of dives, quality of dive sites, sheer convenience, and security at a price that is almost half of LOB prices elsewhere. Aggressor right now has LOB specials for Red Sea as low as $999/person. Land-based at Sharm can be even cheaper.

 

[Kimela]

And....from my experience as well as my friends, 2 boat dives a day is usually plenty. Especially if you are doing the longer dives with the steel tanks etc.

Yes, and in Cozumel, choose your dive op wisely. If you go with a bigger op you probably won't get the same amount of bottom time as a small, fast-boat who promises to let you dive til you're truly at 500 psi. If you're looking for bottom time, work on your buoyancy so you can get every last sip out of your bottle and go with a small boat.

I guess that's another thing to consider - is it more important to get more dives or more dive time? I.e., a hundred 45 minute dives is 4500 minutes, while seventy-five 60 minute dives is 4500 minutes. More dives? More dive time?

 

[Janie88]

Yes, and in Cozumel, choose your dive op wisely. If you go with a bigger op you probably won't get the same amount of bottom time as a small, fast-boat who promises to let you dive til you're truly at 500 psi. If you're looking for bottom time, work on your buoyancy so you can get every last sip out of your bottle and go with a small boat.

I guess that's another thing to consider - is it more important to get more dives or more dive time? I.e., a hundred 45 minute dives is 4500 minutes, while seventy-five 60 minute dives is 4500 minutes. More dives? More dive time?

Yes! Typically I'd rather have more dives than time. I tend to be ready to come up after an hour. That's good for me, unless there is something really super duper incredible down there!

 

[jonhall]

is it more important to get more dives or more dive time? I.e., a hundred 45 minute dives is 4500 minutes, while seventy-five 60 minute dives is 4500 minutes. More dives? More dive time?

I think if I were diving in only one place (let's just say I lived in Cozumel) it wouldn't make any difference, but since I travel from place to place, I would be okay with more dives to different sites.

 

[Kimela]

I think if I were diving in only one place (let's just say I lived in Cozumel) it wouldn't make any difference, but since I travel from place to place, I would be okay with more dives to different sites.

These are great examples of different folks, different strokes. The first dive of a 2 tank dive is almost always a deep dive. When we first started diving we (my husband and I) were so excited to register the deepest dive (of the two of us). Now, if the whole boat wants to do two shallow dives we're happy! Double dip on Paradise? You bet! No lengthy surface interval and long dives - time to hunt for the seahorses and small stuff. But other people really want to see the structures of the big coral heads on the deep dives, and do the swim-throughs. And then there are the folks who love the wrecks.

I guess we each have to put together a dive trip that checks our own individual boxes - diving, food, lodging, other activities. I also don't want to be so exhausted that I can't enjoy the location we're visiting. So 2 or 3 dives a day and I'm done (but I'm also not a young adult).

 

[AdivingBel]

Not sure I would call Coz "cheap" anymore...it's definitely reasonable, easy, friendly, and for the most part safe.

Four dives a day are doable if that's what you want. You just need a minimum number of divers for the boat to go out. For my preferred op it's three divers, so if you're traveling with another couple you're good to go. If you're solo or just a couple then you're "depending on the kindness of strangers." In Coz I'm generally a two dive diver 'cause more than that gets in the way of lunch, pool, & dinner rezzies, but I've been known on occasion to fill out a "short" afternoon boat.

LOL ...don't ever want to do two tanks on Paradise. Don't even really want to do more than one tank a week @ Columbia Shallows (nice one off dive). I love the topography (pinnacles & walls) of the deep, southern sites and the wildlife & structure of the still deepish (watch your NDLs) 2nd tank reefs with a bit of current. My op lets me dive my tank and I'm fortunate to be NDL not gas limited. Nitrox is a must (otherwise screaming computer) and big tanks are just big/heavy tanks. I haven't been able to convince my op to give me a rebate on unused gas. Be careful, once you get the hang of Coz drift diving, your tank might start lasting longer than you're used to...have fun, lot's of ways to do Coz. All IMHO, YMMV.

 

[rick00001967]

Anyone who goes to Cozumel with the intention of primarily shore diving needs to fire their travel agent.

i tried to convince the wife to do unguided shore dives with me for a very long time. after she finally tried it, she loved it. she rarely wants to even do boat dives anymore.
we can go when we want, stay down as long as we want, don't have to worry about where the guide is or where the group is, and last time i was there it was $6 a tank. we can usually do two dives on one tank (obviously depending on depth).
so for anyone on a budget, $12usd per day is pretty attractive when a day on the boat would probably be $160 to $200usd plus any tip. over a week or two that adds up. any night dives would be an extra cost on top of that.
i try to do a bit of both now when her and i are together. mostly shore dives, then i do some boat dives without her.
i see just as much on a shallow shore dive at night than most deep reef dives. sometimes more because we are not following a group and can sit on one little rock and look for every creature that is hiding there.
coz is not known for the shore diving. and i would rather do it in cayman or curacao (never been to bonaire) but the wife and i really enjoy it.