Ana
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Florida is full anyways.
Last thing you want is to experience any of this from 5 minutes ago
Last thing you want is to experience any of this from 5 minutes ago
Need help deciding between Cozumel of FL for diving this year...
- Thread starter BlueTuna
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BrackaFish
Contributor
As a Floridian it pains me to say that you will have more fun in Cozumel and in this Covid filled world we need all the fun that we can safely get. Wherever you end up, enjoy and post a report for the enjoyment and education of those of us stuck at home. Be safe.
[QUOTE="Are you saying I should make my own trip to Cozumel vs going with the Vacation package?? How much was your total trip costs? That food sounds delicious, but I can't imagine it keeping your costs under 2k.[/QUOTE]
It depends on your flight costs. The Expedia rate is a great rate for flight plus hotel. We dive with Aldora for the steel 120 tanks and 80-90 minute dive times but if you went with Dive With Martin, they do a 7 day package for $63 a day, but you may have to figure in a cab ride daily to get to the marina. DWM is one of the oldest dive ops on the island and they include equipment rental in their price. They are a great operator and David and Walter are as good of DM's as you will find.
You can also find cheaper places to stay. Suites Bahia is nice enough and usually $40 a night ish. There are several hotels in that $40 a night range on Hotels.com.
You will be there over Day of the Dead so flights were a little higher, we had to book for the 27th to the 4th to get the $300 airfare on SW. I have no idea what Covid will do to the Day of the Dead festivities, but if it is not canceled, it is definately worth walking to the square and enjoying to celebrations. It's my favorite holiday.
Soooooooo, if you stayed in a cheaper hotel and dove with DWM, your diving and lodging would be around $750, food could easily be $30 a day, (breakfast is free and I usually don't eat lunch)
It looks like American can get you there for $350, add a bag so call it 400. SW can get you to Cancun for 400 with 2 free bags (and they actually get you there with no travel drama) The bus and ferry would take another $25 combined, each way.
Going with what we do, it would be 700 diving, 430 hotel, 400 flight. Shaving some costs with DWM and Suites Bahia would be 450 diving, 280 hotel, 400 flight. 1530 vs 1130. Food is up to you. You can pick up lunch stuff, coconut waters, and snacks at Mega and save some money there.
You can also call or email DWM and Aldora and see if they have sleep and dive packages. I have seen Aldora get insanely cheap rates at CM or Villa Aldora.
Also, a week of diving every day straight is hard (for me). If you took a day off to go to Punta Sur and spend a day in a hammock, then hit the East side of the island for Coconuts bar and those beaches probably wouldn't save you any money, but would be a fun day to rest up.
Don't forget a couple of night dives. All the fun stuff comes out at night.
My prices don't include tips, and we walk most everywhere but I could do one person easily for 1750, less if I cut some costs. If your buddy can come along and split hotel and cab costs, that's even cheaper.
Good luck, safe travels.
Jay
It depends on your flight costs. The Expedia rate is a great rate for flight plus hotel. We dive with Aldora for the steel 120 tanks and 80-90 minute dive times but if you went with Dive With Martin, they do a 7 day package for $63 a day, but you may have to figure in a cab ride daily to get to the marina. DWM is one of the oldest dive ops on the island and they include equipment rental in their price. They are a great operator and David and Walter are as good of DM's as you will find.
You can also find cheaper places to stay. Suites Bahia is nice enough and usually $40 a night ish. There are several hotels in that $40 a night range on Hotels.com.
You will be there over Day of the Dead so flights were a little higher, we had to book for the 27th to the 4th to get the $300 airfare on SW. I have no idea what Covid will do to the Day of the Dead festivities, but if it is not canceled, it is definately worth walking to the square and enjoying to celebrations. It's my favorite holiday.
Soooooooo, if you stayed in a cheaper hotel and dove with DWM, your diving and lodging would be around $750, food could easily be $30 a day, (breakfast is free and I usually don't eat lunch)
It looks like American can get you there for $350, add a bag so call it 400. SW can get you to Cancun for 400 with 2 free bags (and they actually get you there with no travel drama) The bus and ferry would take another $25 combined, each way.
Going with what we do, it would be 700 diving, 430 hotel, 400 flight. Shaving some costs with DWM and Suites Bahia would be 450 diving, 280 hotel, 400 flight. 1530 vs 1130. Food is up to you. You can pick up lunch stuff, coconut waters, and snacks at Mega and save some money there.
You can also call or email DWM and Aldora and see if they have sleep and dive packages. I have seen Aldora get insanely cheap rates at CM or Villa Aldora.
Also, a week of diving every day straight is hard (for me). If you took a day off to go to Punta Sur and spend a day in a hammock, then hit the East side of the island for Coconuts bar and those beaches probably wouldn't save you any money, but would be a fun day to rest up.
Don't forget a couple of night dives. All the fun stuff comes out at night.
My prices don't include tips, and we walk most everywhere but I could do one person easily for 1750, less if I cut some costs. If your buddy can come along and split hotel and cab costs, that's even cheaper.
Good luck, safe travels.
Jay
I’ve never been to Coz. I need to go one day.
As for South Florida, we’ve got it covered here. Given the COVID situation and limited boat capacity, more tourists aren’t needed.
Joking aside, go to Coz. Really.
As for South Florida, we’ve got it covered here. Given the COVID situation and limited boat capacity, more tourists aren’t needed.
Joking aside, go to Coz. Really.
To the OP: Your profile indicates you're not a certified diver. Are you learning to dive in Florida or Cozumel? If so, you may consider staying in Florida to get a few dives under your belt before going to Cozumel. The drift diving can be quite challenging for new divers.
If you are certified and comfortable with drift diving, then definitely Cozumel is your best choice.
Good luck and happy travels!!
If you are certified and comfortable with drift diving, then definitely Cozumel is your best choice.
Good luck and happy travels!!
DanSinks
Contributor
I've been to the Cancun area diving way back around 1995(Cozemel is a short boat ride away), and my impression(foggy as it is in my memory) was that the local dive charters had lesser safety standards, beat up equipment(painted tanks) and did things like anchor in the coral heads etc. So as exotic a destination as it may seem compared to Fla, you might not get the quality of experience as you might like, but again I have not been there for a long time, it's probably much better now, But I would use the extra money saved and go to Fla and hire a private dive charter and go to some out of the way, unexplored dive sites(this is a relative thing, are there any a little further out that get less dive traffic?).
Nope. The further out you go it quickly gets too deep for recreational diving. Other than a few deep tech wrecks and reefs, the reef line runs parallel to shore and is within 1-2 miles of the beach. There are a few smaller boats (6-packs) but you'd need to either have a group of 5-6 for them to run or you'd need to charter the whole boat. That really isn't necessary. Between Jupiter in the north to Ft. Lauderdale in the south there are plenty of quality charters you can book a seat on with confidence. In the upper Keys there are even more charters available.
Barnaby'sDad
Contributor
Yes indeed! Plus many of our sites can be dived outside (eastern edge) or inside (western edge) of the reef. Outside is typically deeper by 10-20' or more and is more sloping with a spur and groove topography while the inside typically has more relief of up to 10-15'. So much diversity and so many sites within a short ride of each of the inlets!
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