Scuba Club Cozumel closing!

[ggunn]

Me, the instructors at my shop and our customers liked it alot when it was Galapago Inn. Myself and another dive shop owner/instructor did a last minute trip for a week in January 2024 and another week at Chinchorro Reef at the Mexico / Belize border. We went to spread another friend's ashes as his last wishes. We had been going to other hotels and beach homes for the last 15+ years and diving with 'Dive with Martin', 'Aldora Divers' and Costa Maya Charters when Rollie was still open. SCC was awful in January of 2024. The service and food was aweful and limited.in the afternoon. We were crammed on boats like cattle and we couldn't even pay to do an extra 2 afternoon dives. Only shore dives were available to us. There were 50+ divers from the Villages in Central Florida for part of our time there and they all had issues with their rooms, clean rooms but in disrepair. The food servers and bartenders were horrible. Their dining area was no longer open after lunch. The person working the bar was always on his phone and did not want to be bothered serving us beer. In hindsight, they must have known there were problems. The older dive shop guys were good and I rememebered from long ago. The rest were rude or lazy. Boat boys were each expecting tips after they ignored us every day. We tipped the staff we liked well but the place was in great need of repair. I think it is best they're closing. Most of Cozumel shuts down when the last cruise ship leaves port.
Cozumel used to be a great place. I used to live at Punta Sur, Devils Throat and Maricaibo to the south and the great Barracuda Drift dive to the north, which has not been dove by tourists since the late 80s or early 90s. They cater to newbies now I believe. For those that knew the Cozumel of the 80s and 90s. Back in the day of La Ceiba, Scuba Hut, Carlos and Charlies, etc... save your time and pick somewhere else.

if you must go the best restaraunt that is still open and thriving is La Choza by far.

I cannot speak to the conditions at SCC, now or earlier, because I have never stayed there, but the place certainly has its fans who post on here.

What do you mean by "...the great Barracuda Drift dive to the north, which has not been dove by tourists since the late 80s or early 90s."? Dive ops don't go there as often as they do the southern reefs, but visitors to the island do dive Barracuda.

I also don't know what you mean by "Most of Cozumel shuts down when the last cruise ship leaves port." That certainly is not the case. It's not like Cancun (thank goodness) but the bars and restaurants are open long after the cruseros have left.

And while La Choza is indeed excellent, there are plenty of other great restaurants on the island, both new and old.

 

[Dmanfish]

As far as the Palancar Reef System of Cozumel, it is relatively unchanged other than there being less marine life in the area. The highlights of years past was a tremendous drift dive north of town, dive called Barracuda. It was often 8 - 10 knots. Definitely a strong current with great views and lots of marine life

I cannot speak to the conditions at SCC, now or earlier, because I have never stayed there, but the place certainly has its fans who post on here.

What do you mean by "...the great Barracuda Drift dive to the north, which has not been dove by tourists since the late 80s or early 90s."? Dive ops don't go there as often as they do the southern reefs, but visitors to the island do dive Barracuda.

I also don't know what you mean by "Most of Cozumel shuts down when the last cruise ship leaves port." That certainly is not the case. It's not like Cancun (thank goodness) but the bars and restaurants are open long after the cruseros have left.

And while La Choza is indeed excellent, there are plenty of other great restaurants on the island, both new and old.

I totally disagree with you. There are very few bars that are open after 8pm in comparison to years past. Most are gone in comparison. The liveliest area is the southern port where 6 or 7 ships dock. When the ladt ships leave its dead. Margaritaville, Senior Frogs and the other big bars and gift shops absolutely shut down when the ships depart. Sometimes at 3pm, sometimes closer to 5. Never after 6pm. You have never been to Cozumel in it's hayday if you think otherwise. There use to be hundreds of bars in town open till 2am. Everyone was a diver. Now the Cozumel square is filled with ED tourists. ED Tourists = the newly WED, the OVERFED and the nearly DEAD herded off each ship. You can see a couple hundred tourists in the square each night, nowadays. Carlos and Charlies had hundreds of drinking divers all night long. They had drinking games, indoor volleyball and so much more. We did monthly trips from our shop. There use to be thousands of people out till 2am.

As far as the reef system, North of town was a fast drift dive no longer in use. It was just north of Eagle Ray wall on the NW of town. It was called Barracuda. It was fantastic. To the bottom South and East was El Islote, it was never visited by day boats with newbies and students. It was for advanced groups only. Going west from there was Maricaibo. It was about 30-50 meters near the top but so much life. Going just north you hit Chun Cacaab, not be confused with Chankanab.(sp?) Then going North its Devils Throat, Punta Sur, Columbia, Palancar, LaFrancesca, Santa Rosa - one of my favorite close dive sites, San Fransico, etc... I have 800-1000 dives in Cozumel with 50+ trips there. My shop could do it in a single flight back in the day. Always quick, even with 2 flights from the south east US.

 

[ggunn]

The highlights of years past was a tremendous drift dive north of town, dive called Barracuda. It was often 8 - 10 knots. Definitely a strong current with great views and lots of marine life

As I said, divers still go to Barracuda and San Juan. I last dove those reefs 6 years or so ago, and yes, Barracuda was an E ticket dive. I don't dive very deep or very fast any more.

I have been to Cozumel 45 times or so since 1978 and I have about 750 dives there.

 

[Rob9876]

I totally disagree with you. There are very few bars that are open after 8pm in comparison to years past. Most are gone in comparison. The liveliest area is the southern port where 6 or 7 ships dock. When the ladt ships leave its dead. Margaritaville, Senior Frogs and the other big bars and gift shops absolutely shut down when the ships depart. Sometimes at 3pm, sometimes closer to 5. Never after 6pm. You have never been to Cozumel in it's hayday if you think otherwise. There use to be hundreds of bars in town open till 2am. Everyone was a diver. Now the Cozumel square is filled with ED tourists. ED Tourists = the newly WED, the OVERFED and the nearly DEAD herded off each ship. You can see a couple hundred tourists in the square each night, nowadays. Carlos and Charlies had hundreds of drinking divers all night long. They had drinking games, indoor volleyball and so much more. We did monthly trips from our shop. There use to be thousands of people out till 2am.

As far as the reef system, North of town was a fast drift dive no longer in use. It was just north of Eagle Ray wall on the NW of town. It was called Barracuda. It was fantastic. To the bottom South and East was El Islote, it was never visited by day boats with newbies and students. It was for advanced groups only. Going west from there was Maricaibo. It was about 30-50 meters near the top but so much life. Going just north you hit Chun Cacaab, not be confused with Chankanab.(sp?) Then going North its Devils Throat, Punta Sur, Columbia, Palancar, LaFrancesca, Santa Rosa - one of my favorite close dive sites, San Fransico, etc... I have 800-1000 dives in Cozumel with 50+ trips there. My shop could do it in a single flight back in the day. Always quick, even with 2 flights from the south east US.

Respectfully, most of those bars that you mention are mainly for the (balloon-hat-wearin') cruceros so yes, they do close when the ships leave. There are plenty of other bars actually in town that are open fairly late -- can't recall exactly how late, but late enough to hurt a bit the next day. It's not Cancun or PDC, but there's still plenty of people out and plenty of trouble to get into. I've been going there since '97 and it doesn't seem a lot quieter at night to me.

All of those reefs you mention still exist and people do dive them. Many north or southeast of the marine park are considered advanced dives, so you have to discuss with the dive op beforehand. Eagle Ray Wall (Cantarel) is probably dived more during Eagle Ray season (I was out there last winter). Dives on the east/wild side are harder to find (Aldora is one dive op who goes there).

 

[ggunn]

Respectfully, most of those bars that you mention are mainly for the (balloon-hat-wearin') cruceros so yes, they do close when the ships leave. There are plenty of other bars actually in town that are open fairly late -- can't recall exactly how late, but late enough to hurt a bit the next day. It's not Cancun or PDC, but there's still plenty of people out and plenty of trouble to get into. I've been going there since '97 and it doesn't seem a lot quieter at night to me.

These days on Cozumel I am usually abed by 10PM, but in my younger and wilder days I used to go to Carlos n' Charlie's when it was north of Las Palmeras up that scary flight of stairs.

 

[staggsSevin]

@ggunn because you live in texass. For Cali, direct flight from SFO or lax is same duration as a one stop to coz (no non stops). You leave at night and sleep on the plane and you touch down in Fiji at 6 am and diving after lunch if your resort isn't too far from nadi.

Good news is, Fiji Airways is starting direct flights out of DFW starting in December.....13hr flight and get to skip CA.

 

[tursiops]

As far as the Palancar Reef System of Cozumel, it is relatively unchanged other than there being less marine life in the area. The highlights of years past was a tremendous drift dive north of town, dive called Barracuda. It was often 8 - 10 knots. Definitely a strong current with great views and lots of marine life

I totally disagree with you. There are very few bars that are open after 8pm in comparison to years past. Most are gone in comparison. The liveliest area is the southern port where 6 or 7 ships dock. When the ladt ships leave its dead. Margaritaville, Senior Frogs and the other big bars and gift shops absolutely shut down when the ships depart. Sometimes at 3pm, sometimes closer to 5. Never after 6pm. You have never been to Cozumel in it's hayday if you think otherwise. There use to be hundreds of bars in town open till 2am. Everyone was a diver. Now the Cozumel square is filled with ED tourists. ED Tourists = the newly WED, the OVERFED and the nearly DEAD herded off each ship. You can see a couple hundred tourists in the square each night, nowadays. Carlos and Charlies had hundreds of drinking divers all night long. They had drinking games, indoor volleyball and so much more. We did monthly trips from our shop. There use to be thousands of people out till 2am.

As far as the reef system, North of town was a fast drift dive no longer in use. It was just north of Eagle Ray wall on the NW of town. It was called Barracuda. It was fantastic. To the bottom South and East was El Islote, it was never visited by day boats with newbies and students. It was for advanced groups only. Going west from there was Maricaibo. It was about 30-50 meters near the top but so much life. Going just north you hit Chun Cacaab, not be confused with Chankanab.(sp?) Then going North its Devils Throat, Punta Sur, Columbia, Palancar, LaFrancesca, Santa Rosa - one of my favorite close dive sites, San Fransico, etc... I have 800-1000 dives in Cozumel with 50+ trips there. My shop could do it in a single flight back in the day. Always quick, even with 2 flights from the south east US.

It is wonderful how memories tend to embellish with time. I had a friend who told a great story once then said. "I've told that story so many times I no longer know if it is true or not."

 

[JD']

I just heard that Scuba Club Cozumel is closing as of August 31 - not just for September but all dates beyond.

We are really bummed. We've been going to SCC every year for over thirty years. Our home away from home.

Very sad.

Thank you for posting this, we had reservations for February and never would have know. We went the first time in January and liked it so much we were going back. Too bad it was a great experience.
Now need to find a new Scuba oriented place to stay, any suggestions?

 

[ggunn]

Thank you for posting this, we had reservations for February and never would have know. We went the first time in January and liked it so much we were going back. Too bad it was a great experience.
Now need to find a new Scuba oriented place to stay, any suggestions?

Consider Blue Angel hotel and dive op.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Consider Blue Angel hotel and dive op.

Or Consider the Villa Aldora at aldoravilla.com. Much like a land based live aboard, but more exclusive. Great snorkeling, and Shore Diving right there with free tanks. No bar but every spacious room has at least a coffee maker, microwave, refrigerator and eating area. Dive boats pick you up just a few feet from your room and all the amenities we could fit comfortably in a small exclusive property. Great cooperation with Aldora Divers but completely different ownership.

Dave Dillehay