Trip planning advice

[jejton]

Thanks for all the good advice. While it would be nice to explore town a little, we wont be dining out, hence the reason for staying at a place with a kitchen/ette. I like very much what I am reading but its the cash payment that may end up being a deal breaker. Even paying the extra $20 for the convenience of using Aldora divers is not a major factor. I am a bit of an air hog, so the steel HP's will be nice and I will be using my own equipment so the only extras should be tax, marine park fee and tip. When you say longer boat ride, how long a boat ride are we talking? If for whatever reason we end up not wanting to use Aldora, but still stay at the Villa, how much of a hassle it is it to get to other dive boats?

 

[Streydog]

Thanks for all the good advice. While it would be nice to explore town a little, we wont be dining out, hence the reason for staying at a place with a kitchen/ette. I like very much what I am reading but its the cash payment that may end up being a deal breaker. Even paying the extra $20 for the convenience of using Aldora divers is not a major factor. I am a bit of an air hog, so the steel HP's will be nice and I will be using my own equipment so the only extras should be tax, marine park fee and tip. When you say longer boat ride, how long a boat ride are we talking? If for whatever reason we end up not wanting to use Aldora, but still stay at the Villa, how much of a hassle it is it to get to other dive boats?

From My experience the boats pick up at VA around 7:40 and you start your dive between 8:30 and 8:45. I much prefer a boat ride than cabbing it to the marina.

 

[divingjd]

Things may have changed, but when I first started staying at the Villa, you had to be diving with Aldora to get a room there. I have stayed there at least twelve times and have never seen any other dive boats there. The shore dive is nice. It’s very shallow, but you may be surprised at what you can see out there. Free tanks at the Villa all the time. Aldora runs fast boats, so the trip to the park is not bad at all. Some dives go north, so you have a head start for those. I don’t love the cash-only approach, but you pay when you get there, so that addresses part of the issue. It works. The Aldora Divers/Villa Aldora combination is a big winner for me. In my book, the Villa is such a good value that it helps to balance out the higher cost of diving. In any case, Aldora is worth the extra money anyway. Bigger tanks, longer dives, and a great staff make it worthwhile. They also have multiple boats and doo a good job of grouping divers by experience and interests, which makes for a better experience.

 

[ggunn]

I was referring to Villa Aldora, not Aldora Divers, requesting payment only in cash. And its not just about them purposely stealing my money, but as well know many things go wrong with a trip and by paying with credit card, theres added protection and (often included trip insurance).

Hotels sometimes have a discount for paying in US$ cash; I take advantage of it when it is offered. Carrying the cash is not that risky (put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket), and I divest myself of it first thing when I get to Cozumel.

 

[Saboteur]

We found the cash-only thing to be strange too. It seemed like a lot of money to be carrying in your pocket. You don't have to pay until you arrive so if you cancel at the last minute, you don't have to pay anything, unlike many other hotels that you prepay with a credit card from a booking site well in advance. With those, there's often a penalty or no refund if you cancel within a couple days of the visit. We took out USD cash at home before we left so there was no hassle with finding a safe ATM late at night when we arrived. As far as Aldora Divers, they are the only operation I dove with so I can't compare with the others. It is pretty much the most expensive operation in town as far as I could tell. Their selling point is that they use larger tanks than the other ops so you get longer dives. For me, the main selling point was the convenience of being picked up in the morning by the boat literally a stone's throw from my room. I could have chosen a cheaper dive op, but saving $20 for me wasn't worth it to deal with early morning taxis or whatever to get to the docks in town to meet up with all the other dive boats. Keep in mind, the published dive trip prices are just the base price and then there are all the add-ons like taxes, marine park fee, gear rentals, etc. Nitrox cost an extra $20 per tank and for many of these long dives at an average of 60' depths, Nitrox wasn't optional. My 2-tank trip ended up costing close to $300 Canadian (over $200 US) plus a tip. That's almost double what we pay for local dive charters here in Canada. As far as the hotel Villa Aldora goes, we booked it for a few reasons:
1: The snorkeling. My wife doesn't dive, but we like to spend much of the day in the water so the convenient snorkeling here was the main reason. We didn't have to worry about driving to a beach, finding parking or figuring out where we were going to stash our wallets, keys, clothes, etc. when we were in the water.
2: The location. It's just outside of town so it's quiet with no loud thumping music from nearby bars or beach clubs, but it's close enough that you can walk or bike into town. The hotel has a bunch of bikes that you can use for free. There is a strip of a few waterfront restaurants between the hotel and downtown for an ever quicker walk or bike ride. I've heard a negative is that it's North of town, while the diving is South of town so the distance makes for longer boat rides to the reefs. I personally didn't feel like the boat rides were long or anything so that wasn't an issue for me.

As a final observation, the staff at the Villa Aldora were helpful and friendly. They have a kind of social meet-and-greet for the guests about once a week where they put on cake and snacks and beer/drinks. We're pretty introverted so we didn't go, but I guess it's a good way for normal people to socialize with each other. Our unit (Crystal Suite) didn't have a full kitchen, but it had a fridge/microwave/coffee maker and a drinking water dispenser. We were pretty disappointed by many of the restaurants in town. Maybe we're spoiled by good Mexican restaurants up here in Canada, where they have lots of fresh, spicy ingredients. Almost all the restaurants in Cozumel we went to, including a few local places well away from downtown, were very plain and bland. The tacos were usually frozen meat, chopped up and cooked in a microwave and then put in tortillas with no sauce or salsa or vegetables. We thought it must have been a mistake, until we went to other places and they were mostly all like that. We ended up going to one of the big supermarkets and getting various spicy dishes (mostly mole) from their deli section, some fresh salsa and a stack of tortillas and making our own at the hotel. Having that on the balcony of the hotel with some beers a few feet from the water watching the sunset beats any crap restaurant.

Good review of the property and operation. Being so far north how long were the day trips, eg, departure to return. Having a non diving spouse our go to place has been Grand Cayman.. usual pickup by our op around 7:30, return around noon. Also those prices sound high, even by Cayman prices. Quite surprising.

 

[ggunn]

Good review of the property and operation. Being so far north how long were the day trips, eg, departure to return. Having a non diving spouse our go to place has been Grand Cayman.. usual pickup by our op around 7:30, return around noon. Also those prices sound high, even by Cayman prices. Quite surprising.

I think that in general, staying north of town adds 10-15 minutes to boat rides to the reefs south of town.

 

[MarkH]

Good review of the property and operation. Being so far north how long were the day trips, eg, departure to return. Having a non diving spouse our go to place has been Grand Cayman.. usual pickup by our op around 7:30, return around noon. Also those prices sound high, even by Cayman prices. Quite surprising.

If I remember right, it was from 7:30 to about 1:00. I think regarding prices, the days of Mexico being a cheap destination are long gone. They haven't quite hit Hawaii prices yet, but most things (restaurants, hotels, dive charters, car rentals, etc.) all seemed to cost a bit more than where I live on Vancouver Island in Canada.

 

[Marie13]

If I remember right, it was from 7:30 to about 1:00. I think regarding prices, the days of Mexico being a cheap destination are long gone. They haven't quite hit Hawaii prices yet, but most things (restaurants, hotels, dive charters, car rentals, etc.) all seemed to cost a bit more than where I live on Vancouver Island in Canada.

I was in Playa for a week two years ago (cave diving). Lodging and food were much cheaper than I’m used to from US travels. I live in a high COL area. You definitely wouldn’t get a porter to haul gear up and down the cenote steps for $25 a day (500 pesos).

 

[Tunaman68]

I would personally also look into options that are a little further to the south and closer to the dive sites. Boats are not my favorite thing overall so having hour plus commutes to the dive area would make me hesitate. For what it's worth, I understand the desire to save money(or perhaps you have diet restrictions or other considerations) but eating out in Cozumel is one of the great treats in life for me. So many amazing options ranging from cheap eats and tacos to first class dining. It's been my experience that shore diving in Coz is pretty much muck diving with any substantial reefs being too far off shore for a surface swim and return safely. That being said, I've had lots of awesome critter encounters in 25 feet out in front of Blue Angel over the years. We have not stayed in the northern zone personally but I totally get the appeal of the newer and more quiet area...it's just the distance to the best diving that would sway me. I don't mind the taxi ride to the mariana in the morning and some of the ops can give you a ride on their way from the shop. Reef Riders, Tres Pelicanos, Caribbean Divers Cozumel, Punta Sur Divers, Living Underwater are all excellent ops and get great reviews (they are all owned by friends that we've made coming since 89). If you book something that is 'in town' while the properties may be lovely inside, I've seen newcomers shocked at the way they look from the street. Have a wander around using google maps POV and you will see what you are dealing with cosmetically from the street. I think it's awesome but some find it a little sketchy on first view. Villas Mayaluum Cozumel, Cozumel, Mexico is a nice property in a central location that has excellent reviews. You can walk to town in about 30 minutes if you want or you can take a taxi, there is Mega and Chedrauri a short ride away for groceries, and you're close to a couple of great dive ops (Blue Angel and Scuba Shack) that both have shore dives available. Best of luck and hope you enjoy it!! Drift diving is super fun as long as you go with the flow, stay low (current is stronger when you are up in the water column or close to the surface), and remember to duck behind a coral structure to get out of the drift if you need a break.

 

[MarkH]

I was in Playa for a week two years ago (cave diving). Lodging and food were much cheaper than I’m used to from US travels. I live in a high COL area. You definitely wouldn’t get a porter to haul gear up and down the cenote steps for $25 a day (500 pesos).

I find things in the US cost noticeably more than up in Canada, especially when you factor in the exchange rate, but maybe I'm just visiting the expensive places like California. In Cozumel I was surprised that even tropical fruit at the supermarkets cost more than the same fruit back home, even though it was shipped from Mexico. I see it as the "tropical premium", where you pay extra since it's a popular vacation destination, compared to a local dive destination up here like Campbell River, where a waterfront motel, dive charter, restaurants cost less than what I paid in Cozumel. Of course, there aren't thousands of divers a day from all over the world flocking to dive our cold waters. I know airport prices aren't a good example of reality, but at the Cancun airport on our way back, we had a single sushi roll, a bowl of noodles and 2 soda waters and it was over $100 USD. If that was at the Vancouver airport, people would be calling the police.