It's a bit late but here is a brief trip report from my dive trip to Cozumel last June. After much research here and elsewhere, my father in law and I decided to go to Cozumel for a dive-only trip. This was the first visit to Cozumel for either of us. For some background, he has about 300 dives logged, I passed 100 on this trip. He's been diving for 30+ years, me 10+ years. He's been on many trips, around the world. I've been to Mexico once, otherwise all my diving is in south Florida. We are both AOW, EAN certified, and I am SSI Rescue Diver certified. Based on a dive buddy's recommendation, we ended up diving with/staying at Roberta's Scuba Shack/Village Tan Kah and had a great time. Enough so that I would visit again in the future. It really wasn't much cheaper than diving in Florida, and much of the wildlife was the same, but the underwater topography and dive conditions were different enough that I didn't get bored. The diving ranged from easy peasy to challenging with current, up and down -swells and no visible bottom off the deep ledge at my favorite site (IRC was Palancar Towers?). He used a 3mm wetsuit as he chills easily. I have enough built-in insulation, or maybe am just tougher (shh...dont tell him I said that) but pretty much did all my diving in a swim trunks and a rash guard. The water temp was over 80, with surface temps up to 90s at times, and lots of humidity. Water vis ranged from 30-80ft, usually in higher end of that range. This is drift diving, for better or worse, and while I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, I still like to hover and observe, film things at my pace. After a bit of orientating myself, on most dives, I was able to pace myself and maneuver in and out of the drift as needed, without getting separate from the group or buddy (Except one time, more on that later). Some dives had very little drift, or at least sections with very little drift, while others were like a freeway. The dive boats are small, long, narrow outboards with a canopy. Nothing fancy. No head and could get choppy but as most of the rides were short, it was tolerable for everyone (I dont get seasick but I only saw one person puke and only one time). Entry was backroll. Reentry was via ladder and the captain would assist, take your BC and tanks as needed. The guides were mostly very professional, all were friendly and knowledgable, and I enjoyed diving with them. I had a HP hose blow on one surface ride to our first dive and thankfully, they had a spare and swapped it out for me, along with my ripped fin strap (all gear was my own except tanks and weights, and for some stupid reason I forgot my spare straps, but I don't have spare hoses and never thought one would blow, let alone on the surface, so they saved that morning dive for me). I did have one dive where I got separated from my buddy and group. It was one with a stronger drift but where the drift died down over a submarine hill, a few of us sat on the botom exploring while awaiting the dive master and rest of the group. At some point I look up from whatever I was observing and realize the whole patch was silted out by a couple of passing divers and suddenly I couldnt see anyone. I buzzed with my signal buzzer, banged on my tank and flahsed my light in circles. No responses, and could not find anyone. So after a minute or so, I slowly started ascending and suddenly saw a pair of divers about 100 ft away who I thought were from my group. I swam over to them only to find they weren't my group. So I started ascending again towards the surface when suddenly I did see my divemaster. He signaled, I responded, and sawm back towards him ( I never made it all the way to the surface). I thought I was following appropriate protocol, but he was pissed. So I was pissed. We had a little heated exchange on the boat about it (albeit friendly) but I think there was some miscommunication but in the end we dropped it both and had a great rest of the day. I did dive with him again multiple times and had no issues. I did a couple of shore dives from the shop, for which they didnt charge me to use the tanks, but I did hire one of their guides as I didnt know the area, and it was basically a tip (the shop didnt charge me IIRC and the guide didnt ask for anything but I gave him what I what I think was a good amount). I also hired the in-house photographer, Alexey, to do a shore night dive with him. He brings his camera gear and films and photos the dive for you, as well as guides the dive. He's a wonderful guy with a fascinating history and great photographer. I highly recommend considering hiring him for a session. Overall the diving met my expectations, and at times exceeded them, and I enjoyed it, as well as the crew.
The Village was a comfortable place for us and what we wanted - which was lowkey, minimal frills, budget friendly yet comfortable, safe and just across the street from the dive shop. The grounds were pretty, and I enjoyed relaxing on the hammock in front of our room, watching the hummingbirds at the feeder, nice gardening, etc. The staff was friendly, the breakfast was adequate for our needs, and the room and pool were both comfortable and clean. The room itself was practically a NYC sized 1-BR apartment, could easily house up to 4 people however not couples, as there was 1 BR and 1 LR type area with the 2nd large bed and a sofa, so that bed had no privacy. There were 2 separate bathrooms with showers and a kitchenette. I dont recall if there was a TV but I wouldn't have watched. If anything I could have streamed on my laptop but most days I was content to read from their library during my own time. It was out of town, but I walked into town in 30-60 minutes each way ( I can't recall exactly and it was excruciatingly hot and humid for walking but I wanted the exercise, and was too cheap to spend $20 on cab fare to buy a $5 pack of beer). There were some standalone and hotel bars and restaraunts on the way to town. We got a couple drinks at one, don't recall the name, and ate in town once.
So overall, for my first real dive dedicated trip abroad (my first time diving abroad was when I squeezed in a few dives on a family trip to mainland Mexico years ago), this was a success, and if you are going to Cozumel, I suggest you consider this dive shop and/or inn.
The Village was a comfortable place for us and what we wanted - which was lowkey, minimal frills, budget friendly yet comfortable, safe and just across the street from the dive shop. The grounds were pretty, and I enjoyed relaxing on the hammock in front of our room, watching the hummingbirds at the feeder, nice gardening, etc. The staff was friendly, the breakfast was adequate for our needs, and the room and pool were both comfortable and clean. The room itself was practically a NYC sized 1-BR apartment, could easily house up to 4 people however not couples, as there was 1 BR and 1 LR type area with the 2nd large bed and a sofa, so that bed had no privacy. There were 2 separate bathrooms with showers and a kitchenette. I dont recall if there was a TV but I wouldn't have watched. If anything I could have streamed on my laptop but most days I was content to read from their library during my own time. It was out of town, but I walked into town in 30-60 minutes each way ( I can't recall exactly and it was excruciatingly hot and humid for walking but I wanted the exercise, and was too cheap to spend $20 on cab fare to buy a $5 pack of beer). There were some standalone and hotel bars and restaraunts on the way to town. We got a couple drinks at one, don't recall the name, and ate in town once.
So overall, for my first real dive dedicated trip abroad (my first time diving abroad was when I squeezed in a few dives on a family trip to mainland Mexico years ago), this was a success, and if you are going to Cozumel, I suggest you consider this dive shop and/or inn.
