Is the El Cozumeleno too far north?

[DSR-3]

It looks like the El Cozumeleno may be a good fit for our family vacation. I'm the only diver, so I'm willing to give a little, but it IS vacation after all... I would like to know what options I would have from there. I recall reading that divers would take a cab south to meet the boat, etc. Where does the in-house shop, or those willing to pick-up there go? I know it would be a long boat ride to the far-south spots, but I don't want to limit my site choices. I like to do 2-3 dives a day, and the odd night dive.
Thanks!

 

[jjwdiver]

catch a cab to one of the many operastors talked about on this board.

 

[judydivescoz]

I sayed at El Coz for few days last year. We dive with Albatros Charters who keeps their boats in the marina north of town. We rent a car and meet them at the marina which is less tha 1 mile away. At breakfast, we did see many divers get picked up by Scuba Du, no one seemed to be unhappy about their situation. From El Coz it is a quick trip to dive Barracuda and San Juan reefs. The ride south is about 45 minutes. We have always found it to be relaxing, we could chat enjoy the view before putting on our dive gear. Enjoy your trip.

 

[tedgarner]

I always meet my dive boat at the marina south of the last cruise ship dock. If you are renting a car the drive is no big deal. Taxi is another way to go. The nice thing about the north hotels is it is closer to town. In the end the island is small . Enjoy your trip

 

[MMM]

Heh. How far is too far is a bit subjective. The first time we went to Coz we stayed at Playa Azul, which is north of you. Great beaches, decent snorkelling, a good arrangement with the adjacent golf course. So good for non-divers. However, it is pretty far north of the dive sites and few (if any) ops will pick you up there. Yes, there are some northerly dive sites like Barracuda and San Juan but no op will take you there before they have assessed your abilities at southern sites. (The northern sites have more current and ARE NOT dived on a day to day basis.) My advice would be to rent a car and head to the caleta (south of town) where you can meet up with one of the hundreds of Coz dive ops. You could try to make your way into town and hook up with a dive op there, but I think you'd be limiting your choices and if you have a rental car, parking would be a bi**ch.

If you drive a rental to the caleta, you'd be driving in a straight line and would avoid most traffic hurdles. You could take a cab also but for the cost of going from where you are to where you need to go, a rental is probably cost-effective.

FWIW...my 2 cents

 

[deborahdelamar]

The El Coz is a good choice for a family trip and, IMO, the northern hotel zone is great -- quiet and secluded yet a short hop to town. The in-house op is Oceantours-Scuba Du which, depending on the number of divers, will either take you by fast boat from the El Coz pier or send you down to their El Presidente pier by cab. You're a few minutes and a $5 cab ride from town if you prefer to use one of the ops that leave from there -- Aqua Safari has its own pier; Aldora, BlueXTSea, Deep Blue, and several others use Aldora's pier.

 

[charlesml3]

Well.... yes. It is too far North. I stayed there once and the $10 taxi trips got expensive by the end of the week.

I just like being closer to town. I love walking around the square at night. I like the boat picking me up at the dock instead of me finding a cab.

I also didn't like the all-inclusive at El Cozumeleno. The best food is in town anyway.

-Charles

 

[johnnc]

I stayed at the coral princess and dove with alison at caletta. The cab to the marina was 9.00 each way for 6 people we just split up the cost. Taxi to town was 4.00 loved up north,this was our 1st time up there and will return. Usally stay at the fiesta but wanted to try something different

 

[DSR-3]

Thanks for the response.
I have to admit that I'm (lazy) not a big fan of taxiing back and forth daily- done it before, and the PITA and $$ add-up after a week. It sounds like options from the hotel pier are pretty limited, though.
We do the AI's since it's so convenient with the family, and regular trips to town too much effort for vacation. The kids enjoy the kids clubs, so we get some breaks. Plus, they're all too picky.
Come to think of it, taxiing would give me the chance to get some good meals on my own...

 

[Windspirit]

Good plan....I stayed at the El Coz over Thanksgiving 2007. It worked great for our families. Family hung-out and did their thing at the AI resort. They also rented a car a few days and had a blast running around the island (ruins, punta sur lighthouse, east side beech's). I just got up, caught a cab, hit the coffee shop around the corner from Aqua Safari, then hopped on the boat for the morning dives (2 dives). Returned from the morning dives with about 45 min - hour before the boat for the afternoon dive left (1 afternoon dive). Gave me a chance to get a quick lunch in town....all for $69 per day (great deal for 3 tanks - IMHO).

I hear that rates are going up in 2009 to $82 per day, but still a great deal. Such a good deal doing it again in February 2009.

I am sure the same goes for many of the other dive-ops in town...

Bubbles-up....