Travel: Flying direct from Denver to Cancun on SW for a song compared to flying through Texas to Cozumel was a no-brainer. Plus, we had drink coupons that were set to expire, so… Our modified ‘bag drag’ meant that we pre-arranged a car with Playa del Carmen Tours to drive us from the airport to the ferry in PDC. Bus = $20 for two. Group vehicle = $25 per person. Private van = $52.50 total. So basically we paid ourselves $32.50 to help ensure that we made the 6:00 ferry. We were motivated to get the 6:00 so we could get to the dive shop and check in, settle into the room at the Villa, and buy some food for the week. We were also able to make a stop at a bank ATM along the way to PDC. The extra $30 (plus tip) was well worth it.
On the way back we did the traditional bag drag with a nice stop in PDC at La Coronela for lunch, which is only a one block detour from the walk to the ADO. Super easy. It's basically a 3-4 block walk. Nice bus. Terminal 4 for Southwest was the first stop.
Accommodations: This was our first stay at Villa Aldora and we plan to go back. A great diver’s place, with clean rooms, nice little salt water pool, beautiful view and common area, and a spacious area to dry gear after using the rinse tank. There are bicycles to use and it’s very quiet. Our room was cleaned and in great shape, every day when we returned from diving and the shower always had hot water.
We had a room without a kitchen, although we did have a nice sized fridge, coffee maker (coffee too), toaster, and microwave. This made breakfast and lunch at the Villa easy.
The Villa hosts, Chris and Chris, are wonderful and friendly. They made sure the boat info was clear every day and were always around to answer a question or provide some local knowledge. They were at the dock everytime the boat arrived to pick up divers and again when returning from dives. They helped to create a very welcoming environment at the Villa.
We met great people there and had a blast diving with them. Super nice people and excellent divers who I am not sure ever breathe while underwater. I saw bubbles, but those may have been a ruse just to cover up the fact that they had gills.
Diving: We have been out with Aldora before a few years back, but only a limited amount. They have a great rep and they did not disappoint. While both of us have dived with steel tanks in the past, we took a few dives getting used to them. Once I placed 2 lbs of steel on my top cam band, my trim improved and I felt totally comfortable. They offer a choice of 120s and 100s for the boat dives and 80s for shore dives from the Villa. The dive times we got were stunning and the element of safety we felt on dives like Maricaibo was a great aspect to diving steel in Cozumel.
Over 4 days and 10 dives, we had 3 different DMs and they were all great. Some highlights were:
Maricaibo: 67 mins, 2 great swim-throughs
Cathedral: 75 mins, 2 great swim-throughs
Yucab (Night Dive): 77 mins, one of my favorite night dives ever; the fauna was stunning, abundant, and very active.
Palancar Bricks: 95 mins
Dalilah: 91 mins
We had a 98-minute dive (San Clemente I think)
All of the SIs (1+ hours every time) are at Palancar Beach where you can go ashore and buy something to eat. We brought our own snacks each day.
Food:
La Choza: The grilled fish was a little overcooked, but the flavors were nice. The Pollo de Mole was also overcooked, but the mole was good (not great), but good flavors. They have good dips/salsa included to go with chips.
Los Otates: Incredible pozole. The tacos al pastor were the sacred experience al pastor is supposed to be for those of us who consider those flavors to have meaning. (if you don’t, there’s nothing wrong with that) We could not get enough and probably ate 6 each. Great atmosphere. Friendly staff. Amazing prices.
El Pique: Good traditional tacos, but not as good as Los Otates. The taco el pastor was good, but not the flavors that moves one to pray and the pollo was a bit dry. A highlight was chicken baguette sandwich, however. Great prices. I remember a better experience at El Pique several years back.
Rock ‘n’ Java: We went on a night dive and Rock ‘n’ Java delivers. We returned around 8:45/9:00 PM, so we decided that was our best option. These may have been two of the worst burgers either of us could ever remember having. YMMV. Average fries. Very good guac.
*Many years ago, when staying at Hotel Barracuda, we had consistently good breakfast there. We also had a good Thanksgiving dinner there 6 years ago.
Cuatro Tacos: This place is not to be missed. We had a plate of great fish tacos. We also had fantastic tacos al pastor, tacos pollo mole, and chicken raja. The food was cooked perfectly and the flavors were distinctive. They provide 4 house-made salsas ranging in heat and all four were fantastic. (two of which are muy picante. Cuidado!) The portobello taco was good too. We also enjoyed the margs. Not too sweet. Not too strong. Super friendly staff.
La Coronela (PDC): Good place to go in PDC when on the way to ADO. The pollo de mole was very good. The grilled fish was too. Very good salsas included.
A great trip and we can’t wait to return.
On the way back we did the traditional bag drag with a nice stop in PDC at La Coronela for lunch, which is only a one block detour from the walk to the ADO. Super easy. It's basically a 3-4 block walk. Nice bus. Terminal 4 for Southwest was the first stop.
Accommodations: This was our first stay at Villa Aldora and we plan to go back. A great diver’s place, with clean rooms, nice little salt water pool, beautiful view and common area, and a spacious area to dry gear after using the rinse tank. There are bicycles to use and it’s very quiet. Our room was cleaned and in great shape, every day when we returned from diving and the shower always had hot water.
We had a room without a kitchen, although we did have a nice sized fridge, coffee maker (coffee too), toaster, and microwave. This made breakfast and lunch at the Villa easy.
The Villa hosts, Chris and Chris, are wonderful and friendly. They made sure the boat info was clear every day and were always around to answer a question or provide some local knowledge. They were at the dock everytime the boat arrived to pick up divers and again when returning from dives. They helped to create a very welcoming environment at the Villa.
We met great people there and had a blast diving with them. Super nice people and excellent divers who I am not sure ever breathe while underwater. I saw bubbles, but those may have been a ruse just to cover up the fact that they had gills.
Diving: We have been out with Aldora before a few years back, but only a limited amount. They have a great rep and they did not disappoint. While both of us have dived with steel tanks in the past, we took a few dives getting used to them. Once I placed 2 lbs of steel on my top cam band, my trim improved and I felt totally comfortable. They offer a choice of 120s and 100s for the boat dives and 80s for shore dives from the Villa. The dive times we got were stunning and the element of safety we felt on dives like Maricaibo was a great aspect to diving steel in Cozumel.
Over 4 days and 10 dives, we had 3 different DMs and they were all great. Some highlights were:
Maricaibo: 67 mins, 2 great swim-throughs
Cathedral: 75 mins, 2 great swim-throughs
Yucab (Night Dive): 77 mins, one of my favorite night dives ever; the fauna was stunning, abundant, and very active.
Palancar Bricks: 95 mins
Dalilah: 91 mins
We had a 98-minute dive (San Clemente I think)
All of the SIs (1+ hours every time) are at Palancar Beach where you can go ashore and buy something to eat. We brought our own snacks each day.
Food:
La Choza: The grilled fish was a little overcooked, but the flavors were nice. The Pollo de Mole was also overcooked, but the mole was good (not great), but good flavors. They have good dips/salsa included to go with chips.
Los Otates: Incredible pozole. The tacos al pastor were the sacred experience al pastor is supposed to be for those of us who consider those flavors to have meaning. (if you don’t, there’s nothing wrong with that) We could not get enough and probably ate 6 each. Great atmosphere. Friendly staff. Amazing prices.
El Pique: Good traditional tacos, but not as good as Los Otates. The taco el pastor was good, but not the flavors that moves one to pray and the pollo was a bit dry. A highlight was chicken baguette sandwich, however. Great prices. I remember a better experience at El Pique several years back.
Rock ‘n’ Java: We went on a night dive and Rock ‘n’ Java delivers. We returned around 8:45/9:00 PM, so we decided that was our best option. These may have been two of the worst burgers either of us could ever remember having. YMMV. Average fries. Very good guac.
*Many years ago, when staying at Hotel Barracuda, we had consistently good breakfast there. We also had a good Thanksgiving dinner there 6 years ago.
Cuatro Tacos: This place is not to be missed. We had a plate of great fish tacos. We also had fantastic tacos al pastor, tacos pollo mole, and chicken raja. The food was cooked perfectly and the flavors were distinctive. They provide 4 house-made salsas ranging in heat and all four were fantastic. (two of which are muy picante. Cuidado!) The portobello taco was good too. We also enjoyed the margs. Not too sweet. Not too strong. Super friendly staff.
La Coronela (PDC): Good place to go in PDC when on the way to ADO. The pollo de mole was very good. The grilled fish was too. Very good salsas included.
A great trip and we can’t wait to return.
