Looking for operator who does advanced night diving trips in Cozumel.

[Dr. Jeff Hester]

I've been diving Cozumel regularly for 30 years, so know the area and the reefs well. While nothing would tear me away from Dive With Cristina during the day, I would also like to spend a few nights doing 2-tank night dives on more interesting parts of the reef than Paraiso and Chankana'ab. Can anyone recommend an operator? I'll be there first week in October.

 

[SaltyFrog]

Let me broaden the question. Several people chimed in saying they'd love to do the same thing. We make an annual trek to Cozumel. Any interest in getting a group together with an eye toward arranging some more serious night diving?

Count me in.

For most ~1 wk trip that I do, I’d be lucky to get onto 1 night dive, due to minimal group size limit.
Most shop want 3 or 4 people minimum to run night dive trips.

 

[jonhall]

We are at El Cid

Not that it is anything like getting out to the reefs, but since you are there, have you done any night dives from the El Cid pier or up at Tikila Beach?

 

[ChuckP]

So how many is enough, 4, 5 or more?

Four would be fine, honestly, three is probably doable if they were normal diving customers.

 

[ColoDale]

I'm very interested. How do we start the conversation for real? Contact info for Raul? We are at El Cid, but I am perfectly happy to find my way south on land if that makes it easier on you. My pockets aren't "just rent the boat" deep, but I can certainly be flexible when forming a group. I love twilight dives, and wouldn't be averse. But the blue flurodiving light is burning a hole in my pocket... ;-)

See Scuba Diving Cozumel | Bottom Time Divers Cozumel. Send an email from the contact page. He'll get back to you. Let him know what you want to do. If you want to talk with him, ask for his cell number. He speaks English well. I think this will come down to how many divers are willing to go (as with any other dive op). His operation is what is called boutique/full service. Raul is his name, he is the owner/DM and I have known him since 1998. He is friendly and likes diving.

 

[L13]

Let me broaden the question. Several people chimed in saying they'd love to do the same thing. We make an annual trek to Cozumel. Any interest in getting a group together with an eye toward arranging some more serious night diving?

I would be interested!

 

[waterone]

I've gone out with many operators over the years. Dive with Cristina is special. We found her looking around at operators about 20 years ago. In the interest of full disclosure, after we got there we realized that we knew each other from the dark ages. She was the girlfriend of a good friend of mine in graduate school back in the early 80's. Small world, but that is not the point.

Things we like:
- A leisurely day. There is no rush to anything. Including a civilized 9:00 AM departure out of Marina Caleta.
- Small groups, mostly composed of people who, like us, found Cristina and have been diving with her ever since.
- She is good about understanding her divers and grouping them according to ability. That remains true even when it means splitting half a dozen people into two groups. It's unusual for a dive not to last at least an hour. If you are a big guy and ask, she'll happily arrange 100 cf tanks. I've seen her share her own air to avoid having to end a dive early.
- She does all she can to make the experience a pleasure all around. Last year we took our 12 year old with us. Cristina said that she would be happy to snorkel with her before we came down. After working with her for a day, Cristina said, "I think I'll do a dive experience with Christina (our daughter)." By the end of the week the "dive experience" had become Cristina and Christina more or less diving with the group. Our young one is excited about our upcoming visit, and will certainly have a leg up on her classmates when she gets certified later this year. (Clearly don't count on that. As I said, we have a very well established relationship. But it gives you a flavor.)
- Great and stable crew, so familiar and friendly faces all around.
- Lunches are homemade, fresh, and good. (That's especially true when her brother is on the boat; he's a chef.) They are also fun, at least if you enjoy snorkeling and doing cannonballs off of the top deck.
- Cristina is extremely knowledgeable about and respectful of the reef and happy to share.
- And so on. It's just a different kind of experience.

I mean to take nothing away from other operators on the island. Many are excellent. As per this post, we sometimes go out with someone else if there is a particular reason. She is not for everyone, especially if you want to get out and back as quickly as possible. But if you are in Cozumel for the diving and looking for something about as far removed from a cattle boat as can be imagined, you won't regret giving her a try. I don't know what else to say but that at this point she and the crew of La Nena are family.

My wife is an elementary school principal. For anyone interested, here is a video I put together pre-pandemic for her to share with her school:

Thank you for the info. Nice video as well. Looks like she got the BCD leak fixed quickly!

I am looking for smaller boats that are friendly, organize divers by experience, safety minded and offers kind of a valet for my gear at the end of the day. Next year I will probably take my kids on at least one trip. I'm never in a hurry and usually plan for 4 dives a day, sometimes 5. I am trying to make Cozumel at the very least an annual event. This year will be two trips. It would be very nice to get settled in with a great operator and have an expected flow of things for each time I go down.

Let me broaden the question. Several people chimed in saying they'd love to do the same thing. We make an annual trek to Cozumel. Any interest in getting a group together with an eye toward arranging some more serious night diving?

I'm always up for more night dives and depending on interest of others, would be up for anywhere from a couple nights or two every night for my entire trip. Last time we did two boat night dives and one shore night at Tikila and that wasn't near enough and its not something I will ever get tired of. I dive a reasonable amount (100-200 dives a year) and going to Cozumel will be my 5th or 6th dive trip this year depending on what happens between now and then

Four would be fine, honestly, three is probably doable if they were normal diving customers.

So, if they are diving daily even more doable....Sounds good to me! In a couple months I will have two other divers that like to dive as much as me and a couple of others that dive about 50% of the time.

 

[Stingrayvilla]

We just finished a blog on this. Tell us what you think - The Secret Dark World! Cozumel Blackwater Diving Experience

 

[lionfish-eater]

We just finished a blog on this. Tell us what you think - The Secret Dark World! Cozumel Blackwater Diving ExperienceView attachment 806706

I think you should give Robert the acknowledgement and credit he deserves.

 

[ggunn]

I think you should give Robert the acknowledgement and credit he deserves.

Who is Robert? Does he go by a different name in here?

 

[lionfish-eater]

Who is Robert? Does he go by a different name in here?

Robert Stansfield

Marelux

www.marelux.co

And someone I consider as a decent fellow and a friend