This is in the For-What-It's-Worth column. I appreciate the postings of other SB'ers to help me plan trips, so I offer here a rambling comparison of two trips taken this year. We stayed at Park Royal in Feb, and Fiesta Amreicana in July. Dove both times with Blue Magic.
Park Royal was a nicer place than Fiesta Americana. Don't know what the price difference is at a given time; it's not fair to compare PR in Feb to FA in July during swine flu season, but we paid over $2000 for an all-inclusive package with PR, and less than $500 for a breakfast package at FA. I'd say everything about PR was a little better than FA; the room, restaurants, facilities. And you didn't have to cross the road to get to the beach; they have a tunnel under the street, which might be nice if you had children. PR also had a little play area for kids, but I didn't really look at it. You're a little closer to town, but I doubt the cab fare would be any cheaper. At PR, you had to make reservations with the two nice restaurants on site, which was kinda stupid, as was the dress code. We only ate there once, and it was almost empty, but you still had to make a reservation in the afternoon to get in. No walk-ins. The food was very good. We ended up eating in town over half the time anyway, so FA made the most sense for us when we went back in July. I don't think you can do PR without all-inclusive. FA has options for room only, breakfast only, or A/I. From FA, it's a short walk to the Money Bar (good food), and we did that a couple of times, once for a snack and once for dinner, so even tho you're a long way from town, you have some options. The package we bought for FA included a buffet breakfast. That's what we had for the first few days at the restaurant inside the hotel, up one level from the lobby. For the rest of the week, that restaurant was closed, and we ate breakfast in the one beside the pool where they had a griddle and made omelets and stuff for you much like the one in PR. I don't know if that is normal, but the buffet was getting old in just the three days we ate there, and we were glad it worked out like it did. They did change things up a little each day, but one thing we've noticed with A/I's is that after a while, everything starts tasting the same. When we go back (Lord willing), we probably won't do an A/I unless it's cheap enough to justify eating dinner in town most of the time. If we had kids with us, it would be more convenient to eat at the resort. We never ate dinner at FA, so I don't know what the food would be like, but judging from the breakfast, I think it would be fine. Here's the thing: I think a lot of A/I cost is figured in drinks. Since we don't drink much, it doesn't pay for us to buy an A/I package. We bought a few drinks at FA thru the week, plus we had a few snacks, and our tab at FA was $38 for the week. We ate dinner in town all week for $225 for both of us, and $96 in taxi fares, which we split with another couple. The taxi fare was 100 pesos or $10, so it was a couple bucks cheaper to pay in pesos. Having the breakfast package at FA was ideal for us. The deal we got from bookit.com included the breakfast at no extra charge, so if it would have been extra, I'd have to weigh the cost of that, but in reality, we'd probably eat at the hotel anyway because of the convenience, especially on the days we went diving. At first, they weren't going to give us the free breakfast; it was a bookit bonus added on literally in fine print, but when I showed them the confirmation (and that fine print), they honored it without question. The rooms were kept impeccibly clean at both hotels, but everything at PR is newer and nicer.
I dove with Blue Magic Scuba both trips. When I first started snooping around SB for an OP, I realized you can hardly make a wrong choice on Coz. I picked Blue Magic because of their later departure times, and Joyce was so accommodating in her e-mails. As it turned out, I couldn't have been happier with an OP. From PR, they picked me up at the hotel each day on their way to Caleta, where they harbor their boats. I understand they also pick up at the PR pier. From FA, they picked us up at the pier each day around 9:30, perfect time to sleep in a little, have a leisurely breakfast, and mosey down to the pier. They rinsed and stowed my gear each night, so I simply showed up with my camera each morning and dove. I dove with Pumba and Sandro, both excellent DM's. They literally do all the work, swapping tanks and helping you into your gear. Bottled water before and after each dive, fresh fruit during the SI, dry towels... all in a fast boat. We were usually back by 2:00, plenty of time to clean up, take a nap, and go into town for the evening. My favorite dive destination is Bonaire, but it costs twice as much to get there, food & lodging are higher, and, while I really like the freedom of shore diving, it's a lot of work. Diving with Blue Magic is as spoiled as it gets, and Coz is about as cheap as it gets from Peoria, IL. For the money, Coz is as good as it gets.
Of course, it was great to leave freezing weather and vacation in the warmth of Coz's tropical climate in Feb. It was hot in July, but not unbearable. I thought vis was a little better in Feb. Overall the current seemed a little slower in July, sometimes almost non-existent. We did a night dive in July, can't remember the site, but the ocean was still as a pool. After the dive, we waited a while for the boat. The sea was glass smooth, absolutely no current, there was a full moon just above the horizon reflecting on the water, no lights to compete with the stars, and it was perfectly quiet. I could've stayed out there all night. There were many eagle rays in Feb, but I only saw one from a distance in July; saw more sharks and turtles in July. Guess you should just go year 'round to see it all.
We rented a Jeep one day and drove around the East side of Coz. It's beautiful over there, but we picked the wrong day to go, election day, and Coconuts was closed.
By the way, we did the July trip, airfare, lodging (including an overnight stay in Dallas), taxi fares, food, diving, a massage for my wife (non diver), tips, Jeep rental for 1 day... for less than $2000.
Happy Bubbles
-Brad
Park Royal was a nicer place than Fiesta Americana. Don't know what the price difference is at a given time; it's not fair to compare PR in Feb to FA in July during swine flu season, but we paid over $2000 for an all-inclusive package with PR, and less than $500 for a breakfast package at FA. I'd say everything about PR was a little better than FA; the room, restaurants, facilities. And you didn't have to cross the road to get to the beach; they have a tunnel under the street, which might be nice if you had children. PR also had a little play area for kids, but I didn't really look at it. You're a little closer to town, but I doubt the cab fare would be any cheaper. At PR, you had to make reservations with the two nice restaurants on site, which was kinda stupid, as was the dress code. We only ate there once, and it was almost empty, but you still had to make a reservation in the afternoon to get in. No walk-ins. The food was very good. We ended up eating in town over half the time anyway, so FA made the most sense for us when we went back in July. I don't think you can do PR without all-inclusive. FA has options for room only, breakfast only, or A/I. From FA, it's a short walk to the Money Bar (good food), and we did that a couple of times, once for a snack and once for dinner, so even tho you're a long way from town, you have some options. The package we bought for FA included a buffet breakfast. That's what we had for the first few days at the restaurant inside the hotel, up one level from the lobby. For the rest of the week, that restaurant was closed, and we ate breakfast in the one beside the pool where they had a griddle and made omelets and stuff for you much like the one in PR. I don't know if that is normal, but the buffet was getting old in just the three days we ate there, and we were glad it worked out like it did. They did change things up a little each day, but one thing we've noticed with A/I's is that after a while, everything starts tasting the same. When we go back (Lord willing), we probably won't do an A/I unless it's cheap enough to justify eating dinner in town most of the time. If we had kids with us, it would be more convenient to eat at the resort. We never ate dinner at FA, so I don't know what the food would be like, but judging from the breakfast, I think it would be fine. Here's the thing: I think a lot of A/I cost is figured in drinks. Since we don't drink much, it doesn't pay for us to buy an A/I package. We bought a few drinks at FA thru the week, plus we had a few snacks, and our tab at FA was $38 for the week. We ate dinner in town all week for $225 for both of us, and $96 in taxi fares, which we split with another couple. The taxi fare was 100 pesos or $10, so it was a couple bucks cheaper to pay in pesos. Having the breakfast package at FA was ideal for us. The deal we got from bookit.com included the breakfast at no extra charge, so if it would have been extra, I'd have to weigh the cost of that, but in reality, we'd probably eat at the hotel anyway because of the convenience, especially on the days we went diving. At first, they weren't going to give us the free breakfast; it was a bookit bonus added on literally in fine print, but when I showed them the confirmation (and that fine print), they honored it without question. The rooms were kept impeccibly clean at both hotels, but everything at PR is newer and nicer.
I dove with Blue Magic Scuba both trips. When I first started snooping around SB for an OP, I realized you can hardly make a wrong choice on Coz. I picked Blue Magic because of their later departure times, and Joyce was so accommodating in her e-mails. As it turned out, I couldn't have been happier with an OP. From PR, they picked me up at the hotel each day on their way to Caleta, where they harbor their boats. I understand they also pick up at the PR pier. From FA, they picked us up at the pier each day around 9:30, perfect time to sleep in a little, have a leisurely breakfast, and mosey down to the pier. They rinsed and stowed my gear each night, so I simply showed up with my camera each morning and dove. I dove with Pumba and Sandro, both excellent DM's. They literally do all the work, swapping tanks and helping you into your gear. Bottled water before and after each dive, fresh fruit during the SI, dry towels... all in a fast boat. We were usually back by 2:00, plenty of time to clean up, take a nap, and go into town for the evening. My favorite dive destination is Bonaire, but it costs twice as much to get there, food & lodging are higher, and, while I really like the freedom of shore diving, it's a lot of work. Diving with Blue Magic is as spoiled as it gets, and Coz is about as cheap as it gets from Peoria, IL. For the money, Coz is as good as it gets.
Of course, it was great to leave freezing weather and vacation in the warmth of Coz's tropical climate in Feb. It was hot in July, but not unbearable. I thought vis was a little better in Feb. Overall the current seemed a little slower in July, sometimes almost non-existent. We did a night dive in July, can't remember the site, but the ocean was still as a pool. After the dive, we waited a while for the boat. The sea was glass smooth, absolutely no current, there was a full moon just above the horizon reflecting on the water, no lights to compete with the stars, and it was perfectly quiet. I could've stayed out there all night. There were many eagle rays in Feb, but I only saw one from a distance in July; saw more sharks and turtles in July. Guess you should just go year 'round to see it all.
We rented a Jeep one day and drove around the East side of Coz. It's beautiful over there, but we picked the wrong day to go, election day, and Coconuts was closed.
By the way, we did the July trip, airfare, lodging (including an overnight stay in Dallas), taxi fares, food, diving, a massage for my wife (non diver), tips, Jeep rental for 1 day... for less than $2000.
Happy Bubbles
-Brad
