Must Do Dives in Cozumel

[Mattjcurry]

My uncle and I are going to Cozumel in early August. We are staying at El Cantil. I was wondering what everyone had on their Must Do dive list. We are both pretty advanced divers and will be diving Nitrox the whole week. We will be with a dive guide for the week, but wanted to see if there is anything we should request to see.

If anyone has other awesome recommendations for things to do in the evening or great restaurants, I am interested in that as well.

Thank you for the help!
Matt

 

[Tunaman68]

For me (who loves a swimthrough) anything with the name Palancar (gardens, caves, horseshoe, bricks) are great. Love Columbia deep but it's a longer boat ride. Punta Sur Cathedral is amazing but deep at I think 120' +/- Favorite 2nd dives are Yucab, Tormentos, and the long swimthrough at Delilah. I used to love a 70 minute dive at Columbia Shallows, but I've heard it's had a lot of damage and coral loss recently so I've not been there in several visits. Santa Rosa wall is a great spot with awesome features, but can be crowded with other divers, and if there is a fast current you can sometimes run out of reef after :50 mins.

Other divers on the boat will have suggestions/desires and the DM and captain will discuss what sites are open (there are rotating closures depending on time of year, and also sometimes weather causes the closure of southern sites). They also consider what will have better conditions for current and how many boats are at the site once you get there. It's a big ocean and there is a lot of great diving EVERYWHERE so I'd always prefer a site that is a little further up or down the reef from 100 other boats.

Food favs include taco places on 30th in town (El Pique, Diaz, Los Seras only take pesos/cash). El Pescazon for ceviche and fish dishes (local favorite back in the neighborhood and cash only). Casa Denis on the back of the square is solid for traditional mexican food done well at a decent price. Also a great place to people watch. Guidos in town for very good fish specials, pasta and pizza, a bit upscale and more expensive. Blue Angel hotel is a bit south of town and has a good food, a nice happy hour and live music Tues - Sat at sunset. It's a great spot to watch the sun disappear for the day. Across the street from the Blue Angel is a couple of newer places that are good, Noventa e Tres is EXCELLENT and not too expensive for tacos and fresh cooked enchiladas and torta. Ohana in town is owned by a veteran dive master from Chicago and serves excellent food and features a deep dish pizza and also some coconut shrimp that are both devine. Finish with a shot of peanut butter tequila and you will thank me later.

 

[Doc Harry]

The Paradise Reef night dive is the BEST night dive I have done anywhere in the world.

 

[ggunn]

Just so you know, most of the ops that run small boats choose sites by consensus among the divers aboard; you can cast your vote but it isn't a taxi service where you can order up a destination. That said, most of the divers I meet when I am diving Cozumel are an amiable lot; if there's a particular site you really want to see you'll probably be able to go there, especially if you are diving multiple days.

 

[bassplayer]

maracaibo and devil's throat are very impressive dives.

i like the north sites as well, sherief at humarine leads some special routes near barracuda and san juan that are pretty amazing.

cantarel is incredible if the eagle rays are on parade but it's seasonal.

the aldora adventures trip to the cozumel cave of the sleeping sharks (not the same thing as the famous one near isla mujeres) is a fun day.

 

[ggunn]

The Paradise Reef night dive is the BEST night dive I have done anywhere in the world.

It depends. Sometimes it can get very crowded at night. Last year we did a night dive on San Clemente and we had the reef to ourselves.

 

[NDL_Diver]

What is your find op? Some dive ops have a fixed schedule. Some dive ops don't do far south dive ops or charge extra.

Devils Throat requires all divers to be on nitrox as the exit is at about 115'+-.

 

[Mattjcurry]

What is your find op? Some dive ops have a fixed schedule. Some dive ops don't do far south dive ops or charge extra.

We are using a small operator. Allen’s Scuba - https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083542683990

 

[gopbroek]

maracaibo and devil's throat are very impressive dives.

i like the north sites as well, sherief at humarine leads some special routes near barracuda and san juan that are pretty amazing.

cantarel is incredible if the eagle rays are on parade but it's seasonal.

the aldora adventures trip to the cozumel cave of the sleeping sharks (not the same thing as the famous one near isla mujeres) is a fun day.

Never been a real fan of devils throat, pretty beat up and typically folks are in a hurry due to depth. Now the coral head containing the throat has some beautiful swim throughs a little higher up that can be explored at leisure and can be breathtaking, same can be said for the Cathedral coral head a little furthur south. The Maracaibo wall can be beautiful also but your depth down on the wall is about 105' +. Another beautiful wall dive that is often overlooked is Yucab especially the overhanging section and the beauty

 

[DeltaWardog]

What is your find op? Some dive ops have a fixed schedule. Some dive ops don't do far south dive ops or charge extra.

Devils Throat requires all divers to be on nitrox as the exit is at about 115'+-.

Did you mean NOT be on nitrox? Max depth for Nitrox 32 is 112 feet. When I did Devil's Throat I used the only air tank of my trip for just that reason, because you can easily end up around 120ft while milling around the exit as everyone finishes the swimthrough.