Looking for input on family/dive trip end of May'22

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diversmith

Contributor
Messages
122
Reaction score
51
Location
Henderson, Nevada
# of dives
500 - 999
Hello all...

I'm starting to research a family style dive trip for my wife's 40th B-day and we will have our two younger boys and possibly my Mom along as well. This will be for the very end of May after school lets out. My wife and I were in Coz about 12 years ago as a couple and had a fantastic trip once we bailed on the terrible Park Royal and got to Occidental for the second week of our trip. Occidental was just what we were looking for and had a great experience with Pro Dive and we were totally content. 12 years is a lot of time, but the reviews on the Occidental seem to still be good but the only issue is it sounds like the beach has been pretty hammered by hurricanes and isn't what it used to be.

To set this up a bit more, we want all inclusive to make things easy as a family. If my Mom comes along, both my wife and I will plan on diving as we will have the kids covered, but I will probably dive a bit more than her. We like all the spots we hit that were close to the Occidental. Sounds like ProDive are still there and would go with them more than likely. We would like to have shorter boat rides preferably.
MOST IMPORTANTLY...we do not want to be in or near town...we want to be away from city things and noise.

My questions are these:

Has anyone here had any recent experiences with Occidental and diving out of there?

Any other AI resorts that are kid/family friendly that you would recommend in the southern area?

Are there any places north of town that you would recommend and how would the diving be in that area? (I don't recall how the northern diving is regarded)

Thanks for any insight and help you can offer!
 
Are there any places north of town that you would recommend and how would the diving be in that area? (I don't recall how the northern diving is regarded)
There are very few dive sites north of town and they tend to be more advanced due to depth and current.
 
Hello all...

I'm starting to research a family style dive trip for my wife's 40th B-day and we will have our two younger boys and possibly my Mom along as well. This will be for the very end of May after school lets out. My wife and I were in Coz about 12 years ago as a couple and had a fantastic trip once we bailed on the terrible Park Royal and got to Occidental for the second week of our trip. Occidental was just what we were looking for and had a great experience with Pro Dive and we were totally content. 12 years is a lot of time, but the reviews on the Occidental seem to still be good but the only issue is it sounds like the beach has been pretty hammered by hurricanes and isn't what it used to be.

To set this up a bit more, we want all inclusive to make things easy as a family. If my Mom comes along, both my wife and I will plan on diving as we will have the kids covered, but I will probably dive a bit more than her. We like all the spots we hit that were close to the Occidental. Sounds like ProDive are still there and would go with them more than likely. We would like to have shorter boat rides preferably.
MOST IMPORTANTLY...we do not want to be in or near town...we want to be away from city things and noise.

My questions are these:

Has anyone here had any recent experiences with Occidental and diving out of there?

Any other AI resorts that are kid/family friendly that you would recommend in the southern area?

Are there any places north of town that you would recommend and how would the diving be in that area? (I don't recall how the northern diving is regarded)

Thanks for any insight and help you can offer!
I can't answer your first two questions, but Playa Azul is nice, although I don't think there is a ton of stuff for kids to do like some other places. And there is a dive shop on the premises. Diving in the north is outside the marine park. So you'll find lots of fishing line and not a lot of fish. Generally speaking (but not always or in all sites) current is faster...much faster. There aren't the towering coral heads in the north like there are in the south. When I have dived in the north, it is nearly always to look for eagle rays during the period they congregate there (Dec-January). There ARE some more shallow sites up north if the guide knows the area. One other safety precaution you should think about...there are a LOT fewer boats up north and if you get separated from your group, you could be drifting by yourself for a long time while they look for you. The dive op I use has a policy that, when diving up north, everybody needs to stick close together and ascend together once the first diver is low on air. So we don't generally go unless everyone is a pretty decent diver and good on air. I don't know what the policy of the dive op is at that hotel. And you won't get many other options as virtually no other ops will go that far north to pick up a diver...you will likely have to arrange a pickup somewhere further south. So all in all, not that convenient for most divers.
 
Alegro still has the best beach on the south end especially for kids. ( good sand not as rocky) They also have on site dive op and kids activities.
 
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Iberostar has likely the best kids club of any of the resorts BUT the rooms (not counting the suites) are too small for 4. Beach areas are similar but Iberostar may be a bit rockier at the entry. It's been many years since I stayed at either but I preferred the Iberostar for the food & service as well as the grounds.
 
Iberostar on Coz is quite nice. We ended up with 2 rooms. One for my wife and I and one for our 18 and 14 year old sons (was a few years ago). Food was good, other than the steak house which kind of sucked. Dressed right on site is nice too.

Next weekend my wife and I will be at the Iberostar in Rivera Maya and I’ll do some diving with Dressel there, but not the Coz reef most likely. Diving along Puerto Morelos to Playa is Ok, but not as good as it is further east. But we’re on a vacation that will include diving, not a diving vacation.

Last winter we rented a really nice condo that was about 200 yards from the Dive House location right next to the Money Bar on Coz. Loved the place, but the out of town location was a bit of a hassle for my kids who were 18 and 22 and wanted to be in town each evening at Woody’s!

I don’t think that you can really go wrong on Coz as long as yo can get to or picked up by your dive Op. Don’t know if that was helpful at all, but it was fun reminiscing about the trips while writing!

JW
 
Iberostar on Coz is quite nice. We ended up with 2 rooms. One for my wife and I and one for our 18 and 14 year old sons (was a few years ago). Food was good, other than the steak house which kind of sucked.
FWIW, I have never ordered a steak on Cozumel. Steak is one of those things I can get all I want of at home, and what I grill at mi casa is better than just about any I can get even at a Texas steakhouse. For me, Cozumel cuisine is all about the seafood.
 
I wouldn’t either but one of the Iberostar Al’s carts restaurants is themed as a steak house. The rest of the aka carte choices are good, just not that one. Same for the Iberostar Paraiso in RM.

Hate to see someone waste one of their ala carte choices in it!
 
To set this up a bit more, we want all inclusive to make things easy as a family. If my Mom comes along, both my wife and I will plan on diving as we will have the kids covered, but I will probably dive a bit more than her. We like all the spots we hit that were close to the Occidental. Sounds like ProDive are still there and would go with them more than likely. We would like to have shorter boat rides preferably.
MOST IMPORTANTLY...we do not want to be in or near town...we want to be away from city things and noise.
Occidental was just what we were looking for and had a great experience with Pro Dive and we were totally content.
Sounds like you found your place!! Wish I had first hand knowledge of the beach - from the water looking in, it still looked pretty nice. @ReefHound (as I recall) stayed at either Allegro or Occidental recently - maybe he can give you a current update.

Are there any places north of town that you would recommend and how would the diving be in that area? (I don't recall how the northern diving is regarded)
Have seen a few of the beaches in the north. Definitely not as nice as in the south, nor is the water as clear/pretty. I would still stay in the north (Pro Dive has little huts at a few places, but they get a taxi for you to the Allegro) and, from my last visit, know who I would dive with from up there, but that is not what you're looking for.

Occidental and Allegro are 2 of our timeshare options, but we haven't stayed at either yet - only dove out of Allegro with Pro Dive. Still hoping one day.
 
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