Scuba Club Cozumel

[DocVikingo]

I get daily updates on diving condtitions around the greater Caribbean, including Coz. Check with me shortly before departure & I'll update you.

In Jan, expect scuba water temps of 79 plus/minus a degree, 2 at the most. You will be at the end of the winter rainy season, so it should be no significant impediment to your diving or topside fun.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[redacted]

It was great until a cold front hit & closed to port one day. On the bright side, it finally gave us a chance to rent a car & tour the island. I don't know that I would give up a day of diving for it but it would be close. Water temps are just a bit cooler than summer. Plan on 78 to 82. Some folks still diving with no protection. Shorter days mean you get your night dives in early if you want. Air temp is very pleasant, but glad we had sweatshirts when the cold front hit. I put it on after snorkling on the east side so it wasn't really that cold - maybe mid 70's. I understand the east side is normally unswimable but the northern front layed the the surf right down. That is the dry season. I believe rainy season is May thru July.

Have fun

 

[scubasean]

nursesarah once bubbled...


The all-inclusive price through our shop looks good---

What exactly is that price?

Thanks!

Sean

 

[ggunn]

nursesarah once bubbled...


The all-inclusive price through our shop looks good---

From SCC you can easily and cheaply get to the restaurants in town; I'd consider that when deciding on whether or not to buy their all inclusive deal. I haven't heard much good about the food at SCC, and there are some excellent places to eat close by. With an all inclusive you are locked in, but eating in town you have many, many options.

An all inclusive deal might be the way to go at a far south resort, but I don't see any reason to take it if you are in (or close to ) town.

 

[scubanurse]

nursesarah,
My husband and I stayed at SCC last November it was our first ocean dives. Great place for diving they have shore diving right in front of the hotel.and you have unlimited use of tanks. Gear storage is right near the pier. Everything is geared toward diving. The dms and boat captains were wonderful. The biggest drawback to SCC were drink prices and tips. We went to the mexican Wal-Mart store and bought everthing we needed for drinks. The bartender at the hotel was really good about giving us ice when we would run out in our room. Most people had their own drinks and drank them around the pool and hammock areas and nothing was ever said so they are pretty laid back about it. The recommended tipping is a bit much, they suggest tipping everybody which I didn't agree with. We tipped the dive crew and housekeepers and spent around 200 in tips. Hope you have a great time. When will you be there? We will be in Playa Del Carmen Jan8-15 -04. May come over to Coz to dive 1 day.

 

[MikeS]

My wife and I stayed at SCC in October and it was great. All we did was eat, dive, sleep, … eat, dive, sleep. When compared to the boat dives, some of the best diving in the world, the unlimited shore diving is a bit boring. But it did offer a chance to re-check weighting and practice with the canister light and camera.

You couldn’t ask for a better setup for boat diving. It was a short walk out of the room onto the dock. There are rinse tanks and fresh water showers conveniently located for rinsing gear as well as lockers for storing wet gear. The attached picture is from the boat coming into the dock If you get the chance, be sure to do a night boat dive. I think the night dive was my favorite.


The food was excellent for an inclusive deal, we never ate anywhere else while we were there. The drinks are expensive. It doesn’t seem right to charge for coke and coffee with meals and call it inclusive.

Have fun,
Mike

 

[MikeS]

Here's the picture

 

[bubbleslan]

I just got back Sunday night from Cozumel and stayed at Scuba Club for 7 days. It is a decent hotel. Nothing fancy, but it is clean and the people that work there are very helpful and friendly. The drinks were a bit pricey...sodas were $2.20 and beer was $4something. We did what most recommend and that is headed to Chedrui (like a Super Walmart), which is about a 3-5 minute walk, and picked up beer, etc. They didn't have a problem with us drinking our own stuff outside, but they would not let us bring any of the drinks into the restaurants, which was OK with me. Food was good, once again, nothing spectacular. The dive shop located at the hotel was great. You have unlimited shore diving, so all you do is go pick up a tank, sign it out, and off you go! The depth of the shore dives average around 13-15 feet, but we saw quite a few fish, octopuses, smaller stingrays, etc. especially during the night and dawn dives. Cozumel was amazing and I will definitely be heading back! I would also recommend taking the ferry over to Playa Del Carmen for a day and diving the Cenotes with Aquatech. It is a very different experience, at least for me, since I had never dove a cavern before.
Have fun!

 

[simonk999]

How many people, typically, are on their boats? How about ratio of divers to divemasters/guides? What's the average drive time to the dive sites?

Thanks for the info.
-Simon

 

[bubbleslan]

I believe they have 7 boats, which range from taking 8-24 passengers. Our group was split up the first couple days because we all couldn't fit on one boat. So 24 were put on a catamaran and the remaining 6 were on the smaller boat. I prefer the smaller boat because it isn't as hectic, but that is just me. I believe their dive guide to diver ratio is 1:8 (that was the maximum they did with us), unless you are diving the C-53 wreck and penetrating, then it is 1:4.
As far as the average time to get to sites, it was anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour. The 1 hour was going all the way down to Punta Sur though. Most I would say were around 20-30 minutes if I remember correctly.