Leaving the US for the first time!

[Paddles]

Hi all...

In July, I'm taking my first vacation outside of the US. The kids and I are going to Cancun;we're staying at the Moon Palace. I'm a newbie diver, recently certified in Monterey; the kids are warm water divers and have traveled all over the world with their dad (you should see my T-shirt collection!)

I'm nervous about traveling to another country alone, but since the kids are so experienced, they are giving me a hard time. I assumed we would dive in Cancun but after speaking to a few great DMs I've met, I've been told to hook up with Dive With Martin in Coz.

I am also assuming we should take our own masks, snorkels and fins, but what about the rest? Should we bring our own BCs and Regs or rent them? What about protection? Don't think I need my 7mil!

Being a single mom is nerve racking enough...traveling to a new country for the first time doubles that...oh and for grins and giggles, lets go diving with the kids!

Wanna have a good time...I need the R and R...wanna keep it low key and S L O W...

Any suggestions y'all may have are welcomed!

Paddles

 

[CuriousMe]

Hi all...

In July, I'm taking my first vacation outside of the US. The kids and I are going to Cancun;we're staying at the Moon Palace. I'm a newbie diver, recently certified in Monterey; the kids are warm water divers and have traveled all over the world with their dad (you should see my T-shirt collection!)

I'm nervous about traveling to another country alone, but since the kids are so experienced, they are giving me a hard time. I assumed we would dive in Cancun but after speaking to a few great DMs I've met, I've been told to hook up with Dive With Martin in Coz.

I am also assuming we should take our own masks, snorkels and fins, but what about the rest? Should we bring our own BCs and Regs or rent them? What about protection? Don't think I need my 7mil!

Being a single mom is nerve racking enough...traveling to a new country for the first time doubles that...oh and for grins and giggles, lets go diving with the kids!

Wanna have a good time...I need the R and R...wanna keep it low key and S L O W...

Any suggestions y'all may have are welcomed!

Paddles

Hi Paddles,

Your last statements are very true ones, just take a deep breath and take it slow. You'll do great!

Now, about the travel....language can often be a challenge when traveling outside the US...but have no fears, I think you'll find more folks that speak English in Cancun and Coz then in Miami <smile> The other thing about getting to travel outside the US is don't expect things to be just as you'd have it at home....there will be all sorts of little discoveries about how folks approach mundane everyday things. Try the local way...it's part of what makes travel fun and challenging. <smile>

I would go ahead and take all your own gear....you'll have a lot that's different, why not make your gear something you know already. It will be one less thing to stress about.

You probably won't need your 7mil <smile>....but I've heard of folks wearing them in Coz. As far as what thermal protection you'll need, it depends on you really. How fast do you get cold? If I'm just doing two tanks a day, I just wear my swimsuit and a pair of swim shorts. If I'm doing more diving than that a day I'll go ahead and wear my full 3 mil.

Just relax and go with the flow.....you'll have a great time!

Peace,
Cathie

 

[jlyle]

Ditto to what CuriousMe said! Cancun/Cozumel is a lose dosage introduction to foreign travel; nearly everyone speaks English and takes US dollars, but it is Mexico so don't drink the tap water! You will find everyone to be friendly and courteous and the diving to be wonderful. Take a lycra dive skin, a 3 mm suit and throw in your hood for insurance; you probably won't need the thermal protection but it's not that heavy to pack. The alternative is to take a skin and , if necessary, you can rent a shorty. I prefer to use all my own gear and think you should take yours.

Have a wonderful time and report back when you get home.

DSAO.

 

[catbrown]

Hola - don't worry it's very easy here, so easy the place is full of people from all over the world who have decided to make it their home. Bring your own gear if you have room, people always feel more comfortable, you'll only need 3mm shorties. There is also excellent gear available for hire, our company includes it in the dive price (not wetsuits). Don't over pack, you only need minimal clothing and all casual - cotton (maybe one dressup for that special night out) . If you leave something behind you can get most things here that you need. Try and bring biodegradeable sunscreen and insect repellant to be kind to our Reef. Learn a few little words of Spanish if you can - to show you are making an effort and to be able to say good morning, thankyou and how are you today will make you feel good too. Have a look at the area while you are here, too many people just stay inside the walls of Moon Palace and all they know of Mexico is what time you have to get to which restaurant to be able to get a seat and how early you have to put your towel out by the pool!

Puerto Morelos has great places to visit for diving on the reef and in the jungle and you will be only 10 minutes from our little fishing village with handicrafts, bookshop, jewellry stores and the Great Mayan Reef just out the front, there are also dive trips into the jungle where you learn about the area and history as well as diving in the amazing freshwater cenotes. The diving is different to Cozumel, there are only a few dive operators here so hardly any boats and 90% of the time you will have a dive site to yourself. There is only one company here that does cattle boats, the rest of us rarely have more than 4 divers per boat and so the personal attention is high . The reef has been a National Park for 4 years now and because we have no cruise ships and only light boat traffic the reef is very healthy with abundant fish life. Our main dive master is from California originally if that helps and if you need any more info on the area and other things to do, I am more than happy to help.
Most of all just relax, don't plan too much, and remember to smile - see you when you get here.

 

[Paddles]

So whom should I contact to set up some dives for the kids and me? Is it something I need to do before leaving home? I was trying to put together a simple itinerary of what we're going to do, but have decided to not really "plan" cuz I might find something else (or the kids will) that we'd rather do...The only thing I really want to schedule is what days to dive and where. We're arriving on a Saturday and leaving the following Saturday.

 

[Paddles]

Received some advice on another post that I might want to hire a personal DM to dive with me and the kids...

Suggestions? Cancun or Coz?

Help!

 

[gregpsych]

So whom should I contact to set up some dives for the kids and me? Is it something I need to do before leaving home? I was trying to put together a simple itinerary of what we're going to do, but have decided to not really "plan" cuz I might find something else (or the kids will) that we'd rather do...The only thing I really want to schedule is what days to dive and where. We're arriving on a Saturday and leaving the following Saturday.

We were there in December--we used Scuba Cancun -- friendly and reasonable. You can get in touch with them at http://www.scubacancun.com.mx/DivePackage.htm
They take you to some nice reefs. Be sure and do the Cenotes (the caves) Totally safe. Surealistic experience. They can also take you over to Cozumel to dive the wall and some nice reefs.

Greg

 

[gregpsych]

Received some advice on another post that I might want to hire a personal DM to dive with me and the kids...

Suggestions? Cancun or Coz?

Help!

I wouldn't go tot expense of a persoanl DM--they folks at Scuba Cancun are very helpful. Another suggestion, cabs can be a bit expensive. They have a very good and reasonable bus company to get you around the hotel zone--will save you a bunch. I have heard Manta Divers are OK--more expensive than Scuba Cancun--I really liked Scuba Cancun. My son and I are planning to go back to get cave cerrtification throuhg them.

 

[donacheson]

Hi all...

In July, I'm taking my first vacation outside of the US. The kids and I are going to Cancun;we're staying at the Moon Palace. I'm a newbie diver, recently certified in Monterey; the kids are warm water divers and have traveled all over the world with their dad (you should see my T-shirt collection!)

I'm nervous about traveling to another country alone, but since the kids are so experienced, they are giving me a hard time. I assumed we would dive in Cancun but after speaking to a few great DMs I've met, I've been told to hook up with Dive With Martin in Coz.

I am also assuming we should take our own masks, snorkels and fins, but what about the rest? Should we bring our own BCs and Regs or rent them? What about protection? Don't think I need my 7mil!

Being a single mom is nerve racking enough...traveling to a new country for the first time doubles that...oh and for grins and giggles, lets go diving with the kids!

Wanna have a good time...I need the R and R...wanna keep it low key and S L O W...

Any suggestions y'all may have are welcomed!

Paddles

Get yourself a passport - it's good for 10 years and, hopefully, this will be only the first of many trips to warm, clear, blue tropical waters.

 

[ggunn]

Hi all...

I'm nervous about traveling to another country alone, but since the kids are so experienced, they are giving me a hard time. I assumed we would dive in Cancun but after speaking to a few great DMs I've met, I've been told to hook up with Dive With Martin in Coz.

Any suggestions y'all may have are welcomed!

Paddles

Well, I don't want to throw any cold water on your plans, but staying in Cancun and diving Cozumel is probably not going to work for you. Even though they are only 30-40 miles apart, you'll need to figure 2 to 3 hours travel time each way, and that's if you hit the bus and ferry schedules just right. You'd end up spending the whole rest of the day in transit - so much for the keeping it "low key and S L O W". My advice is to either move your accomodations to Cozumel or to content yourself with diving the mainland side of the channel.