November in Cozumel - where to stay?

[WaterDance]

Sounds like you want a boutique style dive op. Smaller boats, less divers, and usually having divers choice of dive sites. Most or all of them will have bottled water on board - maybe snacks too. Divers choice of sites may not guarantee you sites you want to see as other divers have their wants but over a many days you should get to many of them. This is something you should ask the dive op you choose. There are quite a few dive sites with swim-throughs. Many dive ops go these sites anyway.

For 4 dives a day over many days is something to talk to the dive op about. Single boat dive ops or smaller ones may not have enough divers for afternoon dives. Larger ops may mean larger boats and more people. Many of the boutique dive ops know each other and can organize getting you on boats for dives if they can't take you on a particular day.

Many of these smaller dive ops will take care of your gear for you. Mine washes it and sets ups daily.

Nitrox is not really a problem for any dive op.

Almost all of the 6 pack boats have a cover though a few don't. I like the shade as well. Check the dive op for the boat.

I use Bottom Time Divers which has all of the things you want. There are similar dive ops to it which are listed in the thread already. You'll spend more money over a bigger no frills dive op but I think you are aware of that.

The hotels to the south are All inclusive and large(r). Sounds like you need to be nearer to town. We stay south for better beaches and to be closer to dive sites. That means car rental or taxi to town.

I'm not opposed to staying out of town, a taxi isn't that much from the south. We just dislike lots of people on the boat / at the resort. We don't need to do 4 dives a day, usually on vacation we do 3. Yes, I understand that we will be paying more money for a boutique type of experience. I'll add Bottom Timers to the list.

Aldora will take of all your gear between dives. Just drop of your gear at Aldora's office at the beginning of the trip, pick it up at the end. I don't think Aldora takes care of wetsuits, but that's never bothered me. s.

DJDiverDan - I can handle my own wetsuit, that is normal for me. Do most people dive air or Nitrox on the Island?

---------- Post added May 20th, 2015 at 01:41 PM ----------

Tres Pelicanos would meet your needs for sure. Servando has never met a swim through he won't go through. (To the point that my husband would see holes the size of my fist, point at them and make the sign for "swim through")

We loved staying at Suites Bahia. We got a balcony, although with TP taking our wetsuits we didn't need a place to dry them We didn't pay for "ocean view" but we could see it. The room was large, and we liked that it had a microwave and fridge. Inexpensive so we had plenty of money to go out to eat wherever we wanted. Great location- close to everything downtown, super close to TP to walk over and take a truck to the marina in the morning. A great breakfast buffet is included, 2 blocks down at Casa Mexicana.

The swim through sounds like my husband. We have even come up with hand signals pertaining to the visibility and the size of the swim-through.

So where we stay is directly related to if we want a restaurant near our room, or if we need to do cooking / eat out all the time.

 

[MMM]

I think it's safe to say that pretty much all operators will offer swim throughs and nitrox. On your list are two steel tank operators so they will outfit you with larger tanks for longer bottom times. LU's practice is to come to your accommodations and pick up all your gear, including your wetsuits, and drop it all back off again at the end of your trip, so you never lift your bag except going to and from the airport. And I am particularly fond of his spacious, well-maintained boat.

In terms of getting 3 or 4 dives in with LU, he routinely does 2/day but does 3 tank dives if you book them...not sure how far in advance you need to do that though, since I always just go with the flow of what is happening that particular day...two, three, or whatever. You will definitely want your nitrox as the dives can be rather lengthy!

On the "not getting bored" part...I can tell you that the owner/DM of Living Underwater conducts his dives at a very, very slow pace and we spend a lot of time poking around looking at things. So if you are one of those divers with attention-deficit disorder who needs to move along quickly to search out the next lobster, that won't be the best match for you. But if you like to look around for smaller things and can manage yourself in current, then I think you will enjoy them very much. But hard to go wrong with most of the ops on your short list.

In terms of where to stay, why don't you look into a bed and breakfast in town? Then you have your choice of any one of the island's best (and/or cheapest) restaurants. This place (not sure it's a B&B though) is popular with Europeans and their restaurant is pretty good too: Guidos Hotel Boutique | Cozumel, Mexico I think you would also like Blue Angel resort. It is smallish, within walking distance to town and the owner is a lovely woman.

In answer to your question about whether most people dive air or nitrox, that is highly variable. I do air on the first dive, nitrox on 2nd (and 3rd if doing a third one).

 

[ronscuba]

On Cozumel there are options to keep everyone happy.

Good food a priority and don't need a fancy hotel ? Stay in town. Suites Bahia and Casa Mexicana have a great location, affordable rooms and free breakfast.

Any of the dive operators you listed will be fine. Living Underwater, Liquid Blue and Aldora are a little different because they use large steel tanks. This leads to 75 minute group dives on average. Nitrox is a good idea in this case. You mentioned wanting 3 dives a day ? Two 75 minute dives is the same bottom time as three 50 minute dives, so going with a operator with large tanks is an option for similar bottom time as 3 dives a day.

Galapagos vs. Caribbean ? Anywhere you go in the Caribbean will seem boring in comparison.

 

[Skittl1321]

I'm not opposed to staying out of town, a taxi isn't that much from the south. We just dislike lots of people on the boat / at the resort. We don't need to do 4 dives a day, usually on vacation we do 3. Yes, I understand that we will be paying more money for a boutique type of experience.

I can't help you crowded resort, but just because you stay at a resort does NOT mean you have to dive with their op. Almost anyone on the island will pick up at any of the southern resorts (although for some ops you have to wade out in the water at Iberstar because of their ridiculous pier charges- but you were going to get wet anyway, right? Allegro, Secrets/Sabor- you can use the dock)

And oddly, boutique ops on Cozumel really don't cost much more. I mean, there are low frills ops that cost very little, but when you compare the resort cattle boats to the boutiques, the difference is not as high as you'd expect. You get a LOT of value for your money in Cozumel.

 

[krbailey]

Waterdance - my experience with Blue Angel re: your initial criteria

Dove my computer - no dive less than 60 min (I believe one dive was 50min - we went to 90 fsw max)
Gear stored in locker - valet service available ($5)
I did 4 dives/day for 9 consecutive days (5 if you count the night dive) Largest group - 8 people Smallest group - 3 people
Got nitrox certified there. Dove 100cf nitrox every dive
Dive sites chosen by consensus - swim-throughs on most dives - especially Santa Rosa
Never heard/experienced any safety concerns.
Small boats with shade
Boats grouped by skill level
Only 21(?) rooms - Rooms nice
Highly rated restaurant on property
20 min walk to downtown


My highly biased opinion - returning 7/31 for another 9 days.

 

[WaterDance]

Wonderful, thank for all the great information (and if you have more, keep it coming ) My diver partner (aka husband) is more opinionated than I. He's presently stuck at work, but when he finally emerges I'll see if he can look at your suggestions. This might have to be continued over the weekend.

As for the Galapagos being amazing, I agree.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyFvNX6R5Uk However, we dove Little Cayman after that and thought the diving was good. Didn't get bored once T&C last month just didn't cut it. He just loves Swim throughs. I think that is what disappointed him the most with T&C, their idea of a swim through was a wide open trench.

---------- Post added May 20th, 2015 at 05:04 PM ----------

I wanted to ask, do most dive companies stay away from Devils Throat due to the depth?

Waterdance

 

[Brules]

Most stay away because it is so far south and it can get rough out there fast + the depth etc or they can't get a big enough group to make it viable (4-6 ppl who all want to do it on the same day). Most ops will want to dive with you a few days/dives to make sure you can handle it. Last time I did it I think my comp read 131' at the edge of the sand shelf.

If you hubby likes swim throughs......he will love Coz lol......I hate them personally haha!

 

[ronscuba]

Cozumel walls are underrated. Plenty of great swimthroughs and cuts. One of my favorites for that kind of dive is Palancar Gardens.




http://www.buceogalicia.com/images/cozumel_plano_15_PALANCA_GARDENS.jpg

 

[Dave Dillehay]

I love swim throughs and that is why there is an Aldora Divers. The south part of the Punta Sur Reef was always great for swimthroughs but Hurricane Wilma in 05 flushed sand out old of ones, and on nitox 32 that is the best dive in the Caribbean IMHO. And much better than Cumber's Caves in Little Cayman.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

ALDORA DIVERS

 

[Moray]

I've spent the morning reading about the diving in Cozumel and the various Dive operations everyone is recommending. I completely understand it is about what is important to the diver, so it's not a simple answer of "What is your favorite Dive Operation?"

There was some talk about a Matrix being created that compared the various operators, but I imagine that would be a rather daunting if not impossible task. My personal preferences are the following:

Let me dive my computer. Not having to drag my gear back to the room. The option for diving 3 dives a day (possibly 4 if a night dive is allowed). Swim-throughs (very important). Nitrox. Safety. Water on the SI. Drift Diving. Not being bored (ok, I dove Galapagos in in 2014 and found T&C Liveaboard a few weeks back nice, but boring). Not a cattle boat. 6 to 8 is fine. NEED a boat that offers shade (redhead).

I have 200+ dives, and my dive buddy has 250+ dives. I'd consider us Advanced Divers.

Location to stay at - No idea. We don't like large hotels, lots of people, children, bad food. Not the most expensive on the island.

Dive operations I believe will be recommended based upon my research:

Blue Angel. Blue XTSea. Tres Pelicanos, Living Underwater, Liquid Blue, Dive Paradise. Scuba with Alison

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Waterdance

. Try Aldora Villas,just north of town,very quiet,mostly divers and Aldora divers are very good. No restaurant but a kitchenette. Surface interval at a beach bar -restaurant .