Mexico help

[hutchinson12]

My husband and I will be travelling from England to join a Liveaboard in Socorro late December.... this is our first time to dive Mexico.
We have a week after this where we are hoping to dive somewhere else.
so far we have been researching Isla Mujera, Cozumel & Sea of Cortez.
Considering the season being early January any advice would be appreciated including what kind of diving we can expect in these places... coral reefs, pelagic?
Distance/ flight time isn't an issue
Many Thanks!

 

[lthomas132]

Bonaire

 

[tursiops]

The M/V Valentina, run by Fun Baja out of La Paz, was one of the best trips I've been on. Sea lions in your face, huge jawfish, whales, endemic Sea of Cortez animals, great fun. Cozumel is always fun, but you better like drift diving; I don't go there anymore because I find photography difficult in those conditions. For something REALLY different, look at the cenotes near Tulum, and do a cavern course if you haven't had one.

 

[elgoog]

Sea of Cortez conditions start to get questionable after November, there's a possibility the trip might get blown out. I think Cozumel would also be that way with the "nortes" starting to blow. Caverns in Tulum look amazing and would be the least affected by weather that time of the year - I'm planning a trip next year or so.

Fun Baja is a great op and I loved La Paz itself. I would check their schedule but I'm pretty sure the Valentina only does the Sea of Cortez route in summer/fall and heads to the Socorros for a few months around Novemberish.
Having said that, La Paz (Sea of Cortez, in general) diving was a lot of fun. There's a couple of ways to do it (non liveaboard) - stay in La Paz and do day trips (with 2hr boat rides each way to the island dive sites) or camp on the islands and dive from there. We did the former last year and are going back to camp out and dive next year.
You can also do a day or two at Cabo Pulmo which is not that far away.

 

[DjDiverDan]

For late December, early January, I'd definitely go Cozumel. Sea of Cortez is going to be cold (Brrrr!), while Cozumel water temps will be about 80 F. - warm enough so that you can do several dives a day with just a 3 mm wetsuit and stay toasty warm. You won't see a lot of big pelagic life in Cozumel, just the occassional Nurse Shark, maybe a few Black Tip Reef Sharks if you are lucky, but you'll see plenty of sea turtles, Morays, green and spotted, barracudas, some larger Groupers, French and Queen Angels, Parrotfish, tons of other fish species, and some amazing coral formations, all in crystal clear water. And I LOVE drift diving. Yes, it does make it more difficult if you are really into macro photography - hovering in one place against a constant current waiting to take a shot of something small can take a lot of effort (and eat up a lot of air), but if you just want to relax, let the current carry you along, and enjoy the view, it's great. And Cozumel is a great place to stay - very safe, very friendly people, and a wealth of very good restaurants. My very favorite dive destination.

BTW, I wouldn't waste any time worrying about the Nortes killing your dive plans. Sure, it might happen, but Nortes are relatively rare, even in the high season, and can happen any time of year. Just depends on wind speed and direction. And, even if one hits, it just might be a perfect day to dive the Wild East Side with Aldora, the only Cozumel Dive Op to dive that side (and usually only when the Leeward side is closed by a Norte - the East Side is usually too rough to dive, but when the wind comes in just right, while the West side of Cozumel is closed to diving, the East side can be calm as a lake - weird). Yes, you might lose a day to diving, but odds are that you won't, and odds are much higher that you won't lose two days in a row. No one can guarantee the weather.

 

[mmmbelows]

My husband and I will be travelling from England to join a Liveaboard in Socorro late December.... this is our first time to dive Mexico.
We have a week after this where we are hoping to dive somewhere else.
so far we have been researching Isla Mujera, Cozumel & Sea of Cortez.
Considering the season being early January any advice would be appreciated including what kind of diving we can expect in these places... coral reefs, pelagic?
Distance/ flight time isn't an issue
Many Thanks!

Can't say anything for Sea of Cortez, everything I hear is great, but most is in relation to live-a-board diving it.

Cozumel is the number 1 dive location for Mexico, Isla Mujeres barely makes the list for diving. People go to Cozumel to dive, people go to Isla to chill out. But there is diving there and it will be similar to Cancun diving as they share many overlapping dive sites between them. If you want to concentrate on diving between the two it's Cozumel. If you want a vacation with some diving it's Isla Mujeres. Being there in Dec-Jan means you are there during the sail fish season in Isla Mujeres, there is snorkeling with the sail fish you can google it. Staying in Cozumel would put you about directly in the middle across from the Yucatan so you have a lot of options if you want to go to the main land by the ferry and see ruins, go into cenotes, do major park/adventure excursions. Isla Mujeres puts you at the northern tip of the Yucatan, you can still take a ferry across to the mainland but you're further north from the action unless you want to go to Cancun which is right across the bay.

It's easier to help if you follow up with some specifics on what you want. For instance if you want beaches, Cozumel is very lacking in that department.

 

[illusionistDG]

The bull sharks should still be in Playa del Carmen during that time.

 

[Walt H]

This posting isn't so much of a recomendation of what you should do, but more like supplemental information to help you with your decision.

The £ to Mex Ps is about 18:1. The € is about 20:1. The $ is 17:1. (Approximately)

Cab fare from Cancun Airport to Playa del Carmen is about 900 Mx Ps one way. If you pay in another currency, the taxi cab drivers exchange rate is like 12:1.

Holiday season pricing runs from Dec 15 to Jan 4. This is the highest price you'll pay for a room with the least availability. Jan 5, the prices drop a little.

Cancun is more of a younger party atmosphere. Playa del Carmen is a little more mature. I can't comment on Cozumel. I haven't been there yet.

There are ferry boats from PDC to Cozumel. I don't know the price. They seem to run fairly often. The boats queue up to disembarque passengers and take new ones. It looks like there are several companies that provide this service.

If you choose to stay in PDC, I would recommend something in the Playacar area. Its a walled,secured, safer community within PDC. There are a number of hotels that have agreements with local dive operators to provide SCUBA trips. There are also a number of other dive shops within PDC that can take you out. Prices are around 65-80 per person/trip. SCUBA Caribe has a multi dive package that averages 45 per dive if you stay at the Rui hotel.

A 30 min drive south of PDC and you can dive cenotes. Dos Ojos seems to be the big one in the area. I did not try this, yet. It is on my list.

If you choose to rent a car and drive, be advised, adherance to traffic laws are more of a strong suggestion rather than a mandate. If you rent, get full coverage. Police are known to impound a vehicle that has been in an accident and doesn't have insurance.

There are numerous bus companies that provide daily transportation to every major attraction in the area. Local dive shops can provide transportation to the cenotes and Cozumel as part of their dive package as well.

Most dive shops and operations are closed on Sundays.

Good luck with whatever you choose.