DonnaC
Contributor
As I get ready for our next trip (Bonaire in January), I have really appreciated the time that other members spent writing trip reports, I wrote this report with the goal of passing on some of what I learned on our first trip to Cozumel earlier this year...
Trip report - Cozumel, January 2010
With guide books (Moon's Cozumel & Riviera Maya and Lonely Planet's Diving and Snorkling Cozumel) in hand, Dave and I hopped on a plane in Seattle January 5th and flew into Cancun, changed planes and took a smaller plane from Cancun to Cozumel. We got into the Cozumel airport after dark and with only a few people on the plane the airport was quite empty. We wandered around looking for someone to help get us and our luggage to our hotel. Dave finally found someone to help us with the luggage and I found the main terminal where there were some counters, one of which sold us the shuttle trip ($16) that we needed to get to our hotel. On our way to the Playa Azul Hotel!
We chose the Playa Azul Hotel (north of town) based on having 7 days scheduled at the Coral Princess - an RCI trade for our Worldmark timeshare. We wanted someplace different to spend 4 days and a chance to play some golf - which comes free when you stay at the hotel (free with paid golf cart - still only $60 for the 2 of us to play a fun, challenging, beautiful course!) The Playa Azul turned out to be a really nice hotel, fairly small, nice views. The staff was really helpful and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.
Day 1, January 6
We spent the day settling in, played 18 holes at the Cozumel Country Club, went into town to talk to the dive operation staff. I had done as much reading as I could to choose a dive operation that would work for us. I chose Deep Blue Divers. We did all of the paperwork and booked a twilight/night dive combo for the following day. Of strange note, we went to the restaurant across the street from our hotel, there was no menu - we were brought some soup and then some bread and Dave was taken over to a tank to choose our lobsters. We didn't understand how the restaurant worked and should have asked questions, awkward and some language barrier! They cooked and served the lobster and then presented us with a bill well over a hundred dollars. We attempted to use a credit card and were shown a sign in the bar area that said "cash only" in Spanish - we didn't go into the bar until that time. So, a learning experience for us on asking questions no matter how awkward it feels.
Day 2, Jan. 7
We got up and went to play golf (Dave played and I took photos) at the Cozumel Country Club. The course is on an Audubon Bird Sanctuary and was pretty and fun with great wildlife for me and challenging enough for Dave to enjoy.
After golf we took a taxi back to our hotel, changed into swimsuits, grabbed dive gear and cameras and took another taxi into town to Deep Blue Divers. We met the other couple on our boat at the shop and walked from the shop with our gear down to the dock. The couple had already been out for 2 dives earlier. Our divemaster was Vollrath. We set off and found that it was true that the Deep Blue dive boats were fast, a quick trip to our first dive site - Santa Rosa. Fantastic dive, we saw several Splendid Toadfish. The night dive was at Chankanaab Bolones. Vollrath wanted us to try diving without any lights on so that we could experience the phosphorescence. I humbly? declined - I can't take any pictures with my light off!! Halfway through the dive I noticed that the other couple were hovering about 20 feet above us. They came up really upset with Vollrath for taking them on a 4th dive (too deep) that they couldn't do without going into decompression on their computers. The DM denied any responsibility for their dive profile (they had been reminding him and confirming their deco status all along). This just made them really angry and was an uncomfortable experience.
A side note - there was no camera rinse bucket even though they knew that I had a large camera. The third day there was a bucket, requested by some of the other divers on the boat. We shared for that day and even though I requested it for all future dive days, it was always with the other divers - It came down to who had the most forceful DM.The dive operation only has one bucket!!! Next time I will buy and bring my own....
Day 3, Jan. 8
Back to the dock for more dives with Deep Blue. We headed south in our fast boat, passing all of the other dive boats, stopping to pick up a number of divers at their hotels. Our D.M. was Alfonso. We requested Palancar Caves for the first dive and it didn't disappoint. The swim throughs/reef structure are just amazing. Really wish that I had a wide-angle lens for this dive! Had a nice surface interval on the beach, would like to come back and visit. 2nd dive at Paso del Cedral, also a great dive - saw turtles on this dive. Probably my best photo day of the trip.
After arriving back at the dock, we lugged our gear over to La Mission for a great meal (a short walk from the boat dock). I think that we became addicted to their ceviche. The restaurant was large enough for us to have a dive bag and cameras near our table and not have them in the way.
Day 4, Jan 9
Moving day. Checked out of the Playa Azul Hotel and took a taxi a short distance south to the Coral Princess. Unfortunately, I had used the discounted point transfer option and was given a room with a "jungle" view. The room was also pretty dilapidated, didn't feel very clean, and when we couldn't get the sliding door to close properly, we asked for a different room. We were then moved to the newer part of the hotel (south end). The room was still facing east but was nicer, newer, felt cleaner. My lesson was to spend the timeshare points and get a room facing the ocean, the Coral Princess was overall a nice hotel but it felt like a big step down from Playa Azul. A highlight of the Coral Princess was the restaurant, breakfast every morning, ceviche by the pool after diving, fantastic service.
Day 5, Jan 10
Stormy, windy day today. No dive boats going out. Good day to do some shopping and sightseeing. I had seen a dive guide at Deep Blue Divers and wanted to check it out. I ended up buying it and wish that I had bought it earlier. It is the best location specific dive guide that I've ever seen. You can buy it at Cozumel maps, cozumel diving, cozumel dive, diving cozumel, scuba diving cozumel
Dinner at El Capi Navagante - Really enjoyed it.
Day 6, Jan 11
Still stormy. Decided to join the cruise ship passengers at Carlos and Charlies, a good time was had by all!!
Day 7, Jan 12
Weather is better, going diving! Off in our fast boat down to Palancar Gardens with Divemaster Vollrath. Lots of great swimthroughs, lots of fish. 2nd dive at Punta Dalila, I must be getting jaded, this was an OK second dive but nothing to write home about.
Day 8, Jan 13
Heading to Palancar Gardens again, this time with Mario. Just as we were getting ready to enter the water, we saw a pod of dolphins. Everyone jumped in as quickly as we could - the downside of having a large, housed camera with multiple on/off switches, strobes on long arms, etc. Fortunately they stayed with us long enough for us to get pictures and enjoy their company!
Again, Palancar Gardens was a great dive. 2nd dive at Chankanaab Bolones. Of note: Mario removed a lionfish by putting it into a dive mask box. We didn't see where it ended up. Maybe in an aquarium, they had an aquarium containing lionfish on the counter of the dive shop at the Coral Princess.
Both were great dives and we really enjoyed Mario as a DM.
Dinner at Margitaville. Place was empty, must be a daytime, cruise ship passenger drinking spot.
Day 9, Jan. 14
Heading out again, this time to Santa Rosa with DM Tim. Did it differently, several of the divers on the boat were interested in drifting so we swam out from the wall in about 90 feet of water and looked at the wall from the open water. Not my cup of tea with a macro lens on my camera but an interesting experience. Also, being out with one DM and many drifters made it really difficult to stop and take any photos
2nd dive at Punta Tunich - had the most current of the entire trip, again, great for the "drifters" but not photographers!
Since it was our last day diving, we went into the shop to settle up. Gary, the manager was there and I discussed the problem of wanting to take photos and stay with a group of drifters in the current. I couldn't see ever coming back to Cozumel if I had to sacrifice several dives like today's. Gary suggested that we hire our own DM and then could go at our own pace. Something I wouldn't have thought on my own but may just make sense in Cozumel. Especially since we were used to Hawaii boat diving prices and Cozumel was such a bargain in comparison.
Day 10, Jan. 15
Went on the Ferry today to Playa del Carmen and then walked to the bus station and got on the bus to Tulum. The bus ride was very comfortable and they dropped us off by the highway near the entrance to Tulum. The walk would probably be too much for some people but I think that there was a shuttle that we could have taken. I enjoyed seeing the Tulum archeological site but probably wouldn't go again - once was enough! Caught the bus back to Playa del Carmen and straight back to Cozumel. A little shopping and then to La Perlita for dinner. Great restaurant! Excellent food - best ceviche I've ever had, comfortable atmosphere and we really enjoyed getting out of the touristy area a little.
Day 11, Jan. 16
Packed it up and headed to the airport. Easy flight, directly from Cozumel to Houston and to Seattle from there.
We had a great time in Cozumel over-all, even with the iffy weather and would do it again. If you're going - have a great time and have some ceviche and a margarita for me!!!
Donna (and Dave)
Trip report - Cozumel, January 2010
With guide books (Moon's Cozumel & Riviera Maya and Lonely Planet's Diving and Snorkling Cozumel) in hand, Dave and I hopped on a plane in Seattle January 5th and flew into Cancun, changed planes and took a smaller plane from Cancun to Cozumel. We got into the Cozumel airport after dark and with only a few people on the plane the airport was quite empty. We wandered around looking for someone to help get us and our luggage to our hotel. Dave finally found someone to help us with the luggage and I found the main terminal where there were some counters, one of which sold us the shuttle trip ($16) that we needed to get to our hotel. On our way to the Playa Azul Hotel!
We chose the Playa Azul Hotel (north of town) based on having 7 days scheduled at the Coral Princess - an RCI trade for our Worldmark timeshare. We wanted someplace different to spend 4 days and a chance to play some golf - which comes free when you stay at the hotel (free with paid golf cart - still only $60 for the 2 of us to play a fun, challenging, beautiful course!) The Playa Azul turned out to be a really nice hotel, fairly small, nice views. The staff was really helpful and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.
Day 1, January 6
We spent the day settling in, played 18 holes at the Cozumel Country Club, went into town to talk to the dive operation staff. I had done as much reading as I could to choose a dive operation that would work for us. I chose Deep Blue Divers. We did all of the paperwork and booked a twilight/night dive combo for the following day. Of strange note, we went to the restaurant across the street from our hotel, there was no menu - we were brought some soup and then some bread and Dave was taken over to a tank to choose our lobsters. We didn't understand how the restaurant worked and should have asked questions, awkward and some language barrier! They cooked and served the lobster and then presented us with a bill well over a hundred dollars. We attempted to use a credit card and were shown a sign in the bar area that said "cash only" in Spanish - we didn't go into the bar until that time. So, a learning experience for us on asking questions no matter how awkward it feels.
Day 2, Jan. 7
We got up and went to play golf (Dave played and I took photos) at the Cozumel Country Club. The course is on an Audubon Bird Sanctuary and was pretty and fun with great wildlife for me and challenging enough for Dave to enjoy.
After golf we took a taxi back to our hotel, changed into swimsuits, grabbed dive gear and cameras and took another taxi into town to Deep Blue Divers. We met the other couple on our boat at the shop and walked from the shop with our gear down to the dock. The couple had already been out for 2 dives earlier. Our divemaster was Vollrath. We set off and found that it was true that the Deep Blue dive boats were fast, a quick trip to our first dive site - Santa Rosa. Fantastic dive, we saw several Splendid Toadfish. The night dive was at Chankanaab Bolones. Vollrath wanted us to try diving without any lights on so that we could experience the phosphorescence. I humbly? declined - I can't take any pictures with my light off!! Halfway through the dive I noticed that the other couple were hovering about 20 feet above us. They came up really upset with Vollrath for taking them on a 4th dive (too deep) that they couldn't do without going into decompression on their computers. The DM denied any responsibility for their dive profile (they had been reminding him and confirming their deco status all along). This just made them really angry and was an uncomfortable experience.
A side note - there was no camera rinse bucket even though they knew that I had a large camera. The third day there was a bucket, requested by some of the other divers on the boat. We shared for that day and even though I requested it for all future dive days, it was always with the other divers - It came down to who had the most forceful DM.The dive operation only has one bucket!!! Next time I will buy and bring my own....
Day 3, Jan. 8
Back to the dock for more dives with Deep Blue. We headed south in our fast boat, passing all of the other dive boats, stopping to pick up a number of divers at their hotels. Our D.M. was Alfonso. We requested Palancar Caves for the first dive and it didn't disappoint. The swim throughs/reef structure are just amazing. Really wish that I had a wide-angle lens for this dive! Had a nice surface interval on the beach, would like to come back and visit. 2nd dive at Paso del Cedral, also a great dive - saw turtles on this dive. Probably my best photo day of the trip.
After arriving back at the dock, we lugged our gear over to La Mission for a great meal (a short walk from the boat dock). I think that we became addicted to their ceviche. The restaurant was large enough for us to have a dive bag and cameras near our table and not have them in the way.
Day 4, Jan 9
Moving day. Checked out of the Playa Azul Hotel and took a taxi a short distance south to the Coral Princess. Unfortunately, I had used the discounted point transfer option and was given a room with a "jungle" view. The room was also pretty dilapidated, didn't feel very clean, and when we couldn't get the sliding door to close properly, we asked for a different room. We were then moved to the newer part of the hotel (south end). The room was still facing east but was nicer, newer, felt cleaner. My lesson was to spend the timeshare points and get a room facing the ocean, the Coral Princess was overall a nice hotel but it felt like a big step down from Playa Azul. A highlight of the Coral Princess was the restaurant, breakfast every morning, ceviche by the pool after diving, fantastic service.
Day 5, Jan 10
Stormy, windy day today. No dive boats going out. Good day to do some shopping and sightseeing. I had seen a dive guide at Deep Blue Divers and wanted to check it out. I ended up buying it and wish that I had bought it earlier. It is the best location specific dive guide that I've ever seen. You can buy it at Cozumel maps, cozumel diving, cozumel dive, diving cozumel, scuba diving cozumel
Dinner at El Capi Navagante - Really enjoyed it.
Day 6, Jan 11
Still stormy. Decided to join the cruise ship passengers at Carlos and Charlies, a good time was had by all!!
Day 7, Jan 12
Weather is better, going diving! Off in our fast boat down to Palancar Gardens with Divemaster Vollrath. Lots of great swimthroughs, lots of fish. 2nd dive at Punta Dalila, I must be getting jaded, this was an OK second dive but nothing to write home about.
Day 8, Jan 13
Heading to Palancar Gardens again, this time with Mario. Just as we were getting ready to enter the water, we saw a pod of dolphins. Everyone jumped in as quickly as we could - the downside of having a large, housed camera with multiple on/off switches, strobes on long arms, etc. Fortunately they stayed with us long enough for us to get pictures and enjoy their company!
Again, Palancar Gardens was a great dive. 2nd dive at Chankanaab Bolones. Of note: Mario removed a lionfish by putting it into a dive mask box. We didn't see where it ended up. Maybe in an aquarium, they had an aquarium containing lionfish on the counter of the dive shop at the Coral Princess.
Both were great dives and we really enjoyed Mario as a DM.
Dinner at Margitaville. Place was empty, must be a daytime, cruise ship passenger drinking spot.
Day 9, Jan. 14
Heading out again, this time to Santa Rosa with DM Tim. Did it differently, several of the divers on the boat were interested in drifting so we swam out from the wall in about 90 feet of water and looked at the wall from the open water. Not my cup of tea with a macro lens on my camera but an interesting experience. Also, being out with one DM and many drifters made it really difficult to stop and take any photos
2nd dive at Punta Tunich - had the most current of the entire trip, again, great for the "drifters" but not photographers!Since it was our last day diving, we went into the shop to settle up. Gary, the manager was there and I discussed the problem of wanting to take photos and stay with a group of drifters in the current. I couldn't see ever coming back to Cozumel if I had to sacrifice several dives like today's. Gary suggested that we hire our own DM and then could go at our own pace. Something I wouldn't have thought on my own but may just make sense in Cozumel. Especially since we were used to Hawaii boat diving prices and Cozumel was such a bargain in comparison.
Day 10, Jan. 15
Went on the Ferry today to Playa del Carmen and then walked to the bus station and got on the bus to Tulum. The bus ride was very comfortable and they dropped us off by the highway near the entrance to Tulum. The walk would probably be too much for some people but I think that there was a shuttle that we could have taken. I enjoyed seeing the Tulum archeological site but probably wouldn't go again - once was enough! Caught the bus back to Playa del Carmen and straight back to Cozumel. A little shopping and then to La Perlita for dinner. Great restaurant! Excellent food - best ceviche I've ever had, comfortable atmosphere and we really enjoyed getting out of the touristy area a little.
Day 11, Jan. 16
Packed it up and headed to the airport. Easy flight, directly from Cozumel to Houston and to Seattle from there.
We had a great time in Cozumel over-all, even with the iffy weather and would do it again. If you're going - have a great time and have some ceviche and a margarita for me!!!
Donna (and Dave)
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