Paralyzed by choice

[Ron Lee]

You all can keep arguing about weight- but since I can hold my safety stop, I don't think weight is the problem.

If people would like to argue about which in-town hotel is best on a budget, that would be more helpful.

I already provided one that is good (Hacienda San Miguel). Note that they have a small kitchen so you can save on a few meals that way.

 

[njones259]

Suites Vima $30 per night a really great deal and a really nice family.

 

[cvchief]

I already provided one that is good (Hacienda San Miguel). Note that they have a small kitchen so you can save on a few meals that way.

And the really good one, one block back from Don Nassim's. Can you see the pygmy deer from the hacienda?

 

[Ron Lee]

And the really good one, one block back from Don Nassim's. Can you see the pygmy deer from the hacienda?

I have no idea what facility you are discussing. The answer to your question is likely "no."

 

[cvchief]

I have no idea what facility you are discussing. The answer to your question is likely "no."

I think Don Nassim owns the Hacienda on Calle 10? If you walk east on Calle 10 to the corner and turn left you might be able to see the deer from the Don's parking entrance for his house. Can't you hear the peacocks from the Hacienda? He has them too.

 

[kmurray719]

I haven't personally stayed here, but I've toured the property, met the owners and had a friend stay at Los Alcatraces. It's back a bit on 25th, but an easy walk to everything in el centro. The property is gorgeous!
Los Alcatraces | Bed & Breakfast in Cozumel, Mexico

 

[halocline]

I typically stay in the vicinity of Casa Del Mar and walk into town for dinner, it's a fairly long walk, about 45 minutes. Most people would not want to walk that far, so if being close to good restaurants is important to you, stay in town, not near La Ceiba or Casa Del Mar.

I stayed at the Barracuda once for one night while the electricity was out down in my usual spot, and that was enough. There has GOT to be a better place in town than that hole. I would be really interested in finding a nice, quiet B&B in town. I like it there.

Regarding dive fatigue, nitrox, safety stop, etc....try extending your stop to 10 minutes; do your normal 3 minutes at 15-20 feet then do another 5 at 10ft, then take 2 full minutes to ascend from 10 feet. That's like, go up to 8, stay 30 seconds, 5-6 ft, 30 seconds, etc....try this on air before you spring for nitrox. I bet it will really cut down on your fatigue. I suspect (this is a guess) that most divers who experience less fatigue using nitrox do so primarily because they surface with less N2 loading, and the extended stop should accomplish the same thing.

 

[mstevens]

If people would like to argue about which in-town hotel is best on a budget, that would be more helpful.

The only in-town hotel at which we've stayed has been Hotel La Casona Real, right behind the Aki (former San Francisco). It's quite inexpensive if you book through a site such as Expedia, it's less than a block from El Pique, nearly across the street from El Chino Marinero, and very easy walking distance from the zócalo and all sorts of other places. They have a large pool. WiFi was good enough to stream the Doctor Who Christmas special in HD with no stuttering. It's clean and quiet, the rooms are air-conditioned, and it met our purposes.

Drawbacks? Well, that pool had no ladder or shallow end, so getting back out was unexpectedly tricky. It's aimed squarely at Mexican business travelers and people on a budget so nothing's very fancy. It's genteelly threadbare in spots. There's a restaurant, but I never saw it open. I can't say I actually checked, though, since there are places we like in easy walking distance for any meal, including some of my favorites on earth.

Given that we got a room for $48.02/night including all taxes and fees at the height of high season (Christmas to New Year's), you could consider a $35/day convertible Beetle from Isis an affordable add-on. You'll probably get dinged a good bit of that just getting to and from the Caleta (which I think is supposed to be around $6 but for which they'll probably try to get $10 each way), so the additional expense gives you a LOT of added flexibility in where you go. You can get a hardtop Beetle for $30, but there's no A/C and they're less fun.

Would we stay again? Probably not, since the only reason we did was we rented out the house then plans changed and we found ourselves on the island when our house was occupied and that's unlikely to happen again. Otherwise, sure.

 

[Ron Lee]

Has the OP learned that there are not 10,000 places to stay and decided on a place yet?

 

[Skittl1321]

Has the OP learned that there are not 10,000 places to stay and decided on a place yet?

I'm trying to decide between one of the B&Bs mentioned and Suites Bahia. We are still thinking about going back to Sabor though, because I know the food there is easy, and I get picked up on the dock.
We are trying to do this vacation really cheap... as it will be our third vacation of the year, and one is a bit of a doozy budget wise. Still need to figure out if we have enough miles to get there. I can't afford airfare for another trip.

I also find it interesting the number of people who mention they use breath control to do their ascents. (Oh, and for Mike- I asked one of the instructors who did my OW class. He ascends that way too. He just doesn't teach it in OW, because PADI recommends new divers use their fins. Just like he teaches using an octo for air sharing, when he uses primary donation in his real diving. But since you'd think I somehow expressed I know better than him and all.)