reserve now or wait

[Divindave]

My family, wife and two sons 12 & 15, and I will be going down to Playa del Carmen/Cozumel in mid June for 8 to 10 days, for the first time. I am the only diver, though that may change between now and then. We like to keep a very "fluid" schedule on vacation, ie, decide what we're going to do that day when we get up, or at the earliest the day before. While I have been investigating what dives I want to make (ocean drift and cenote) and the different dive operators, I have yet to find out if it is better to reserve a dive early, and how early, or if it is OK to wait to book the dives till when we get down there - without having to worry about the availability of good dives with good operators. Anybody got any thoughts, opinions, ideas, or experiences on this matter? Obviously, in scheduling, the earlier the better to assure the best spots, but in this case is it really necessary? To me scheduling is for work and school, not vacation! Thanks for any help.
Dave

 

[dlndavid]

In my opinion, if you are not doing anything certification related and have the open schedule like you do, I would just wing it and book when you get there.
David

 

[WyDive]

Personally I am picky about who I dive with, so I would book early to make sure you get who you want.
Dive With Martin (Coz)
Christi - BLue XTSea (Coz)
Dennis - Diablo (PDC Cenotes)
are some of the Best operators there.
As for the rest of the vacation Wake up and go someplace and have fun.
PS DONT rent any scooters, its a guaranteed trip to the Hospital :07:

 

[oklahomajack]

I have approx. 50 dives in the Playa area, and will be there for 10 days may-june. You should research the dive shops in advance to see the best and most covieniant ones. I dive with Yucatek and feel like they have the best cenote dives. That is my opinion because I stay at the dive related hotel and gear is taken care of there right outside my room.Any questions about the area let me know and I'll try to answer it. also dove in Cozumel 3 or 4 times but usually stay in the PDC area. Have fun and protect the reef

 

[RICHinNC]

As Wydive indicates....if you know who you dive with it is a good idea to book early. But, I personally would not book early if I have had no experience with a dive group. I did that once and was unhappy with them. Their response was not to dive with them...but, oh the way.....no refunds on a 10 dive package.

It can just be a crap shoot sometimes. But if you can use loaded dice...do it!! Just make sure you know the package cancellation policy....if the HAVE one.
Rich

 

[Divindave]

Thanks for all the replies. Between SB and other forums I think I've got a handle on some of the better operators in PDC and Coz. It doesn't sound like I can go wrong with some of the more popular ones. Well, only time and diving will tell. Thanks again.
Dave

 

[oklahomajack]

Yucatek which is located on 10th between calle 2 and calle 4 also has the deepest pool in PDC about 15 ft. deep for the pool sessions, and it really helps on the clearing ears part of the class