Recos for Coz with 13 y/o diver?

[Rob9876]

My son was 13 when he was certified in Cozumel, and it was a great. Since you mentioned your son is mature for his age, it sounds like it should be fine. I'd definitely go with a dive op with smaller boats, not a big cattle boat.

Also, as an alternative to a private DM, you may consider going ahead and getting his AOW while you are there if they'll allow you to tag along with them. That gets him 5 dives with a DM also, and may be a cost effective alternative to just paying for dives and a private DM -- plus he'd have the AOW cert (seems more and more dive ops in the U.S. are requiring AOW for many dives). After the 5 AOW dives you can decide whether you want a private DM for the rest of your trip or not. I'll add a plug for Tres Pelicanos (small fast boats, and great dive op overall) and their DM Jose is really patient and calming with inexperienced divers (and great at finding cool little critters too).

 

[DeltaWardog]

My son was certified at 13 by ScubaTony in Cozumel. He was immediately a fish. No issues. I have been diving with ScubaTony since 2008-ish and they continue to be an amazing op.

Reality is, the Cozumel dive ops certify young divers all the time. Find somebody with a good recommendation and have fun!

 

[lizzzzz]

We were on a cruise, and the ship’s dive op was Sand Dollar, one that I have used several times without any issues or complaints. They were safety oriented and very accommodating about letting us stay at depths compatible with his JrOW cert. As a cruise ship dive op, their profiles are conservative, and some on this board like a lot more freedom to dive their tank, go their own way, etc., but with a new, young diver, it was exactly what we wanted. Although our grandson was a natural in diving, we always had to keep in mind that although his buoyancy and dive skills were excellent, he was still a kid, and their brains don’t always see or appreciate the potential dangers underwater.

Absolutely. I read a report on youth divers (DAN, I assume) that noted how they're old enough to have a well-developed sense of risk but not mortality. When I got certified as a teen (a long time ago and I don't count those dives in my total), I was a cautious kid but I'm sure I didn't fully grasp the risks. This is why I try to be extra mindful to use use more conservative dive ops. I don't mind speaking up when needed, but it says a lot about a dive op when they're pressuring divers to go deeper than their certifications — and it's extra inappropriate with youth divers IMO. Thank you for the recommendation, I'll look into that shop!

 

[lizzzzz]

My son was certified at 13 by ScubaTony in Cozumel. He was immediately a fish. No issues. I have been diving with ScubaTony since 2008-ish and they continue to be an amazing op.

Reality is, the Cozumel dive ops certify young divers all the time. Find somebody with a good recommendation and have fun!

Thank you! I was looking into that one because he's got so many great recommendations on here. Great to hear of your firsthand experience with your kiddo there!

 

[ggunn]

My son was 13 when he was certified in Cozumel, and it was a great. Since you mentioned your son is mature for his age, it sounds like it should be fine. I'd definitely go with a dive op with smaller boats, not a big cattle boat.

Also, as an alternative to a private DM, you may consider going ahead and getting his AOW while you are there if they'll allow you to tag along with them. That gets him 5 dives with a DM also, and may be a cost effective alternative to just paying for dives and a private DM -- plus he'd have the AOW cert (seems more and more dive ops in the U.S. are requiring AOW for many dives). After the 5 AOW dives you can decide whether you want a private DM for the rest of your trip or not. I'll add a plug for Tres Pelicanos (small fast boats, and great dive op overall) and their DM Jose is really patient and calming with inexperienced divers (and great at finding cool little critters too).

I will likely ruffle a few feathers with this, but is is my opinion that a requirement for an AOW cert should be some minimum number of dives (50?) under an OW certification. An AOW card in the hands of someone with a total of 10 dives (or whatever the minimum would be if they went directly from OW to AOW) could be very misleading to a dive op who has never met this person. That person is in no sense an "advanced" diver.

 

[OregonDM]

My son got certified at 12 years old and we took him to Cozumel for his first tropical dive trip at 13. We dove with Aldora and it could not have gone better. We decided to hire a private DM to dive with him and that was the best money I ever spent. Fernanda was amazing and having her allowed my wife and I to enjoy the experience as mom and dad instead of dive buddies trying to wrangle a really excited kid who wanted to swim after every single cool thing he saw. Being on a small, not crowded boat also helped a lot. There wasn't the rush to get in the water, rush to drop down, etc. Everything was done at our pace.

 

[jonhall]

That said, if folks don't think it's a good fit for diving with a young teen I also welcome that feedback.

You already have good info here from others, but if any doubt, I just returned from a trip to Coz with my family. Main purpose was to have my 10 year old granddaughter do the Discover Scuba Diving. She is a fish in a pool and did the "Bubbler" experience at age 8 and 9.

We stayed at Villa Aldora, so did the DSD with Aldora Divers. First day my son (who in 1998 didn't complete his last OW check out dive - he was 11 - with my wife and me) and granddaughter did the pool work (at the Villa) and then moved over to the ocean for a 60 min+ shore dive. I grabbed a tank and met them 10 minutes into their dive. It was about 15' max. Did see a nice drum fish and an eagle ray.

The next afternoon, my granddaughter and I went to a little used dive site - San Clemente (popular for snorkel tours) - and did a 70 minute dive with max depth of 30' and no current. I was the best "buddy" diver I've ever been for anyone I've ever dived with and that includes my wife! when she was diving! Since my camera flooded and I couldn't use it, it was also one of the most relaxing dives I've ever done. Saw a lot of fish and a turtle. Also had a new Rescue Diver and new AOW diver with a handful of dives on the boat with us doing the same site with a different DM. Granddaughter had a great time.

I've heard mixed messages about diving in Coz, specifically for younger/newbie divers, since some people love it and others are less enthusiastic.

My thought process is that many places get mixed messages for various reasons. I've even thought diving to be suspect on an island until I went a 2nd time and dove a different area which changed my mind. If I were looking at Coz for the first time and knew that it was a popular place that many people like (even though there were mixed messages), I wouldn't have second thoughts about trying it. Dive ops will take you to the marine park and through the course of several days of diving, I would hope to get a taste of what Coz has to offer.

Many good ops in Coz can set you up for the type of diving and depths you want. Where you stay might be a factor on who you dive with. There are options in Coz. One is the convenient way - dive resort with dive op onsite. Some of those will be all-inclusive with large boats (many divers), but some aren't AI's and have small boats (such as where I just stayed - Villa Aldora.) You can also stay at hotels/resorts that have a pier or are within walking distance to a pickup pier. Another option is a taxi to the dive op or to one of the marinas to meet the boat. Attached the link to my spreadsheet that may have some helpful info in choosing a dive op.

Cozumel Dive Ops

 

[DeltaWardog]

I will likely ruffle a few feathers with this, but is is my opinion that a requirement for an AOW cert should be some minimum number of dives (50?) under an OW certification. An AOW card in the hands of someone with a total of 10 dives (or whatever the minimum would be if they went directly from OW to AOW) could be very misleading to a dive op who has never met this person. That person is in no sense an "advanced" diver.

100% agree.

I've been diving since '07, somewhere around 200 dives at this point, and I still don't have it. Never needed it. It's not BAD to get it, but it's certainly not something any new diver should be rushing for. Especially in Cozumel, they don't care what card you have as long as you have a card, because they are gonna watch you the first time you dive with them and assess you anyway.

 

[ggunn]

100% agree.

I've been diving since '07, somewhere around 200 dives at this point, and I still don't have it. Never needed it. It's not BAD to get it, but it's certainly not something any new diver should be rushing for. Especially in Cozumel, they don't care what card you have as long as you have a card, because they are gonna watch you the first time you dive with them and assess you anyway.

+1. I have been diving on an OW cert since 1994, and I have over 600 dives, mostly around Cozumel. I consider myself to be a fairly advanced diver, although I dive pretty conservatively these days. No more deco or very deep dives for me.

 

[Shawn C]

+1. I have been diving on an OW cert since 1994, and I have over 600 dives, mostly around Cozumel. I consider myself to be a fairly advanced diver, although I dive pretty conservatively these days. No more deco or very deep dives for me.

Exactly! Certed as OW in 85 and never bothered to get my AOW either.