Is Cozumel cheap?

[DeltaWardog]

Having done shore diving in Bonaire and Cozumel I have to say... Cozumel just isn't the place for it. That said, my shore diving wasn't far from the marina and I haven't dived the 'house reefs' at the various shops and hotels, so maybe those are better. But I doubt it compares to Bonaire where it was just amazing and super easy. I also had a pretty bad experience during a shore dive in Coz that certainly colors my perception - while swimming from shore to the reef at about 15-20 feet, with my dive buoy up, two (yes two!) snorkeling boats decided to park over our heads and instantly dump their entire customer base on our heads. Try threading a dive buoy through a crowd of 50 snorkelers while they are all trying to look at the cool scuba divers right underneath them. Ugh. That was the last shore dive I ever did in Cozumel. I've always had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't an accident and the snorkel boat drivers did it on purpose.

 

[BRT]

Having done shore diving in Bonaire and Cozumel I have to say... Cozumel just isn't the place for it. That said, my shore diving wasn't far from the marina and I haven't dived the 'house reefs' at the various shops and hotels, so maybe those are better. But I doubt it compares to Bonaire where it was just amazing and super easy. I also had a pretty bad experience during a shore dive in Coz that certainly colors my perception - while swimming from shore to the reef at about 15-20 feet, with my dive buoy up, two (yes two!) snorkeling boats decided to park over our heads and instantly dump their entire customer base on our heads. Try threading a dive buoy through a crowd of 50 snorkelers while they are all trying to look at the cool scuba divers right underneath them. Ugh. That was the last shore dive I ever did in Cozumel. I've always had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't an accident and the snorkel boat drivers did it on purpose.

The last thing I'm gonna do while shore diving Coz is pull a buoy. Often we are right under the boat traffic and I don't want them to even suspect we are there. But yes, we end up with the snorkelers staring at us.

 

[ReefHound]

The last thing I'm gonna do while shore diving Coz is pull a buoy. Often we are right under the boat traffic and I don't want them to even suspect we are there. But yes, we end up with the snorkelers staring at us.

Agree. The buoy is a hazard. It adds to your task loading and it could get run over and taken away. Even if you don't have it clipped off - and you never should - it could get hung up on you and drag you. Of course, in the highly unlikely event I need to ascend away from shore, I'll deploy my smb.

 

[DeltaWardog]

The buoy is a hazard.

In hindsight I agree, it was not helpful or necessary and in fact caused me some trouble. I didn't know any better at the time since I was still a pretty new diver with maybe 50 dives and most of my shore dives were in Bonaire which just doesn't have boat traffic. But I thought it was the safe thing to do since I was diving within a couple hundred yards of the marina, plus I saw it as a great opportunity to practice deploying my SMB! I didn't realize it would be basically ignored.

 

[ReefHound]

In hindsight I agree, it was not helpful or necessary and in fact caused me some trouble. I didn't know any better at the time since I was still a pretty new diver with maybe 50 dives and most of my shore dives were in Bonaire which just doesn't have boat traffic. But I thought it was the safe thing to do since I was diving within a couple hundred yards of the marina, plus I saw it as a great opportunity to practice deploying my SMB! I didn't realize it would be basically ignored.

You should try towing one somewhere like Florida where the water traffic is heavy with weekend boaters and jetskiers who think your buoy is something cool to do figure-eights around. Or that they "found" someone's beach toy that got away.

 

[BRT]

Agree. The buoy is a hazard. It adds to your task loading and it could get run over and taken away. Even if you don't have it clipped off - and you never should - it could get hung up on you and drag you. Of course, in the highly unlikely event I need to ascend away from shore, I'll deploy my smb.

Always in the dive plan!

 

[didls]

We did Village Tan Kah and Robertas Dive Shack convenient and cost effective. Diving in CZM works for a quickie.

 

[tursiops]

I long ago stopped looking for the cheapest anything. Best value, maybe, cheapest, no.

 

[rick00001967]

I long ago stopped looking for the cheapest anything. Best value, maybe, cheapest, no.

some people do not have that option. sometimes there is a strict budget and you have to do what works or not go at all. that is one thing noce about mexico, there are sooooo many options for all price points.

 

[MAGELLAN]

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?

Easy, Longer dives. It's a hassle getting to the point where you jump in, why would you want to do more dives, if you could just stay down longer instead? My wife and I easily get 70-90 minute dives (80 cuft for me 60 cuft for her), I don't know why any experienced diver would want to come up at 45 mins and 1500 psi.