Hi everyone -
I need a schooling please on diving Coz. I have it on a short list for a 2022 trip but have never been.
Background: wife and I are AOW with (by next year) about 75 dives under our integrated weights. We are fully kitted so only need tanks/weights. Don’t need to pinch pennies...rather spend more and get more while on vacation. I’ve been partial to all-inclusive placed in the past to keep it simple, but wouldn’t call it a must be.
Thanks in advance!
Good Morning! I understand you wanting to get as much information as you can. I am in a similar situation and you can see my threads/posts on this forum about recommendations on AI vs. in town hotels, and different dive ops. There are so many options and choices it can be a challenge to narrow down to what you want.
I want something convenient and easy but also want to experience the culture and restaurants. I also love quiet. Once I got recommendations on restaurants (see lots of great threads on this topic), it made it easier for me to look at places in town or close. From what I've heard, it is not a big deal to grab a cab to town and not expensive. I also found some good recommendations for staying in town in quiet places, like Villa Anclas or Villa Escondida (lots of other places too like Casa Mexicana gets good reviews and includes breakfast). Many dive ops have packages too for hotel/diving. The two smaller "Villa" places I mention above do not so you have to book separately. There are 3-4 dive ops I'm looking at (although recommendations for more good ones are here on this forum).
I have 3 VERY different options I'm considering (1) Stay at Villa Anclas or Villa Escondida and dive with Tres Pelicanos or Aldora's. Easy walk to either dive shop and easy walk for restaurants. (2) Stay at Village Tan Kah and dive with Roberta's Scuba Shack. Grab a cab into town for restaurants a few times, or get something to eat nearby (not a lot of choices but a couple in walking distance). Scuba Shack looks likes a nice little boutique place and quiet. (3) Last and probably least for me: Stay at Iberostar all inclusive and dive with Aldora or Tres Pelicanos or Salty Endeavors. Convenient for meals. Might be noisy with all the people. Supposed to have wonderful beach if that's important. Located south and short distance to dive sites so I hear if you are prone to motion sickness might be nice. Negative: not cheap and if you want to experience meals in town, will have added expense of cabs and meals.
Iberostar, like some of the other AIs and hotels, has included testing for COVID on premises and Iberostar has courtesy stay if test positive and have to quarantine. Others have reduced rates. I contacted Villa Anclas and they charge a minimal fee if you need to quarantine on premises. Hopefully not an issue for us. Roberta's also has a reduced rate. I understand the smaller places cannot afford to just provide a courtesy free of charge stay.
I hope this helps. I do not like cattle boats and ops like Dressel on Iberostar make me think of that with the number of divers on their boats, although they say that there are only 6-7 divers "per DM" but it still makes for a crowded boat in my opinion. I dove with Aldora's a little over a year ago and they are very good. Tres Pelicanos and Salty Endeavors both get excellent reviews here too.
