Please check this plan (Coz and Cenotes)

[scubawife]

Well, the thing is that my buddy (who is also my GF) hasn't dove since March and has no doubles experience, so the idea is to do some fun diving in Coz (4 days) so she'll get used to it again and hopefully try out doubles - albeit just independents. Perhaps we can try them on some shore dives and practice some DIRF drills in prep for the cave training. We'll stay on the island for 3 nights.

Then we'll move down to Playa and we already have an instructor in mind who will teach us cavern and intro to cave or NAUI cave 1 and maybe we'll do a few guided cave dives after the course (that's 5 nights, 5 days). The last day we'll spend doing non-diving activities though not on my account.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Another question: Is it important to book a place (dive shop, hotel) in advance or is it better to just show up and look around?

Book in advance if you want something specific. The better dive operators in Cozumel take only 6-8 divers. Some have 2 boats, some have only 1 boat. They do book up even in low season. If your early Sept trip is starting over Labor Day wknd you will find a few of the top ones are already booked out. If you're going the following week after Labor Day you should be fine. Either way, check out the ops suggested, do a search on the Cozumel subforum if you want more options and start sending some emails to see who's got space and can provide the type of diving you want. If your plan is to do DIR and/or dive doubles, go with the tech shops suggested. If you just want to get wet and do some great advanced recreational diving then you will have several great shops to choose from and it will come down to who has space and what price range you are comfortable with. If you really don't care where you stay or who you dive with you could just get off the ferry and find a hotel then either make calls or walk around town, find a shop and book dives.

Have you booked your cave course? That is something you really should do in advance especially if there's a specific instructor you want.

 

[*Floater*]

Book in advance if you want something specific. The better dive operators in Cozumel take only 6-8 divers. Some have 2 boats, some have only 1 boat. They do book up even in low season. If your early Sept trip is starting over Labor Day wknd you will find a few of the top ones are already booked out. If you're going the following week after Labor Day you should be fine. Either way, check out the ops suggested, do a search on the Cozumel subforum if you want more options and start sending some emails to see who's got space and can provide the type of diving you want. If your plan is to do DIR and/or dive doubles, go with the tech shops suggested. If you just want to get wet and do some great advanced recreational diving then you will have several great shops to choose from and it will come down to who has space and what price range you are comfortable with. If you really don't care where you stay or who you dive with you could just get off the ferry and find a hotel then either make calls or walk around town, find a shop and book dives.

Have you booked your cave course? That is something you really should do in advance especially if there's a specific instructor you want.

Yes, we booked the cave course, I think that's settled, just sorting out the final details. We haven't booked with a dive shop in Coz yet because we are still deciding. The 3- and 4-day packages don't seem to offer substantial savings yet you'd have to commit. If we knew and trusted a shop and knew how things work in Coz then we'd book, but now we'd rather have a little bit more latitude. But we are also still looking so perhaps we'll book anyway...

 

[*Floater*]

Another question, if we stay in downtown Coz, but 'dive with martin', then what would be the best way to get there each morning and how much would it cost?

What about regs types? Do they have DIN tanks or DIN-to-yoke adapters? (I should have enough myself, but just in case...)

 

[TheRedHead]

What about regs types? Do they have DIN tanks or DIN-to-yoke adapters? (I should have enough myself, but just in case...)

I know that Aldora has some DIN valve HP 100 tanks as well as yokes. Most of operators use yoke AL 80s. That is something you need to confirm with your operator. I wouldn't count on it.

 

[*Floater*]

Another q, is it normal and safe to send in a deposit if you book with a dive shop? What happens if you are justifiably unhappy with the shop's service the first day there, do you lose the deposit?

 

[scubawife]

Another q, is it normal and safe to send in a deposit if you book with a dive shop? What happens if you are justifiably unhappy with the shop's service the first day there, do you lose the deposit?

Some require a deposit and outhers don't. Their cancellation policy (both prior to arrival and on-island) are usually on their websites. If not, they will be happy to email it to you or give you the details over the phone. It's common for the smaller operators to require a cancellation for the next day (or days) by a specific time the day before. If they an fill the spot they will not charge you for the cancelled dives. If they can't then you pay.

I have not used that many dive operators in Cozumel. (I find what I like and stick with it). But the ones that I use are 6-8 divers per boat and they do not run a boat for less then 3 divers. If you have only 4 booked and 2 cancel on you last minute then you are forced to make other arrangements for the remaining divers. I don't blame them for not refunding. That way they can still provide the service promised to the other customers.

There is a dive operator for pretty much every taste and budget in Cozumel. If you have narrowed down your choices do a search on the Cozumel sub forum and/or post there for feedback. Unless you're booking with a cattle boat or a dive op that has given no indication of offering the type of diving and service you're looking for, I would doubt that you will be cancelling on-island.

 

[TheRedHead]

Another q, is it normal and safe to send in a deposit if you book with a dive shop? What happens if you are justifiably unhappy with the shop's service the first day there, do you lose the deposit?

I would define your diving goals clearly and let the shop know in advance. If your girlfriend has never used doubles, I'm quite certain that some operators would not let her try doubles without you paying for a private boat and divemaster. It would limit where the others in the group could dive. You don't want your first doubles dive to be on a deep wall or in a 2 knot current. I'm afraid you are not going to have your expectations met inexpensively if at all.

 

[*Floater*]

I would define your diving goals clearly and let the shop know in advance. If your girlfriend has never used doubles, I'm quite certain that some operators would not let her try doubles without you paying for a private boat and divemaster. It would limit where the others in the group could dive. You don't want your first doubles dive to be on a deep wall or in a 2 knot current. I'm afraid you are not going to have your expectations met inexpensively if at all.

I contacted a bunch of shops there and found one that agreed to let us use independent doubles, plus they offer free shore dives as well (I think), so our idea is to try them out at shore.

My buddy is also using jetfins, a can light and of course her doubles wing for the first time, so we definately don't plan to do it all on the very first boat dive. Besides, she's only 100 lbs so adding another AL80 to her rig may be more hassle than it's worth for her. I may use them though if I need the extra gas. She'll use them a little bit to get the experience before we take the cave course in twinsets, but definately not before we've gotten her set up correctly and acustomed to them in shallow shore waters.

p.s. i got locked out of SB on my desktop for some reason/bug (now using another computer), so I may not be able to reply for a while.

 

[scubawife]

Who are you diving with? Free shore dives are usually only offered by the on-site resort shops if you are buying their multi-day dive packages.

 

[TSandM]

Man, you are expecting a lot of your lady friend

Changing fins (and I assume kicks as well), adding a can light, jumping to doubles -- heavy doubles for a small woman -- and going straight to cave training within a week's trip? You know, that would not add up to fun for me, anyway.

Why not be a little less ambitious? Do a few days of fun diving with the fins and the can light, and then do cavern only in a singles rig? If your GF hasn't done the Fundies-type skills, she's going to have to get all that in her cavern portion, anyway.

I may be speaking out of turn, because I don't know your GF, and I don't know how driven she is to get all this done -- But if you're the one who's pushing it, be careful. I stopped rock climbing because my BF at the time pushed me too fast into difficult climbing, and I lost my confidence and my enthusiasm simultaneously.