Upcoming Trip to CZ

[mcohen1021]

The Aldora adventure dives are different, but several things have to come together to make it happen. You need enough qualified divers to make it worthwhile for Aldora to run the trip. Aldora wants to know you and see you in the water, so you really can’t just sign up for it as a one-day thing. And the weather has to cooperate. It’s pretty much a full-day commitment. You do three dives and don’t get back until later in the afternoon. I’m not trying to be discouraging, just pointing out that it’s not just a matter of saying “Hey, let’s do this.”

LOL @ “Hey, let’s do this…” I’m definitely seasoned enough to handle the super advanced dives, my wife although not as experienced, is very good now as well. But yeah I get it. Thx for the suggestion.

IF you haven’t dived the cenotes on the mainland, I highly recommend that. CenoteXperience Xperience will do three dives in a day (1 deep, 2 shallow). I have only been to Cozumel once but It was a letdown after the decades of hype (now that I know what to expect, I will enjoy my next trip more) but the Cenotes were a huge highlight for me. Some of the weirdest diving (in a GOOD way) I have ever done. I dove The Pit and two dives at Dos Ojos (The Barbie Line and the Bat Cave). There are quite a few to choose from and CenoteXperience is highly recommended.

Maybe it’s just me, but the cenotes do not even begin to interest me…?

Ya kick back, relax and dive the sites as though they've become old friends during the day and then you extend your topside time/ventures further and further. 1/2 of our Coz fun is diving and the other 1/2 is topside venturing out further and further. After 15 years diving coz there is no shortage of places we haven't visited topside. Did you know Coz has a Cenote hidden in the jungle? I didn't as I assumed they were just on the mainland. Take your wetsuits, masks and snorkels and grab a tour to Chaak Tun. I intend to check it out for the first time this December.

For the price and convenience, repetitive dives in Coz sure beats any day in the office. For me it comes down to time and economics. There are fantastic places to visit but the airfare alone will cost us more to get there than an entire 2 week dive vaca in coz costs us. Those destinations reside on our retirement bucket list.

Waiiit a sec… In Cozumel, it’s Jade Cavern, right? Chaak Tun I thought was in Playa? I see your point, re: treating the sites as old friends.

Eh... I think my friend must easily have over 300 dives at Devil's Throat alone and he still absolutely loves that dive. My log shows 71 dives at Paso del Cedral, but we still enjoy every dive there. We always see something new. My wife started diving in Cozumel in 1980 and she isn't bored yet. We tend to like peering into little crevices looking for things as well as flying along in a ripping current. I enjoy seeing megafauna, but I don't need mantas to have fun (though I'm still peeved about the time my wife and son saw a manta behind me in Cozumel but couldn't get me to turn around - I still haven't seen one). My friend keeps seeing hammerheads at Maracaibo, but they're always on vacation when I'm there.

I will say that we no longer dive every time we are on the island. There are other things we want to do. If you love the island but aren't feeling the diving at that time, there's lots else to do.

I guess it comes down to why you dive and what you like.

All great points… Wanna hear something not so funny? We were in Cz Dec 2017 and never dove due to el norte… :/

What about this special northwest Cozumel diving Aldora offers trips to for 'the very experienced diver?' I'm guessing that over 28 years you guys have already ferried over to the mainland to try cenote diving?

I've done neither of those, but if you're after something different, they're the ones I've seen mentioned.Richard.

We have done the NW – it’s so much wilder up there… To me it seems that on the southern sites the wildlife are used to seeing divers. Up north, the animals aren’t as friendly.

For me it's easy; I just won't go to the Red Sea.

But seriously, I don't see why diving there would diminish your enjoyment of diving Cozumel. Just because I get a great steak dinner doesn't mean that I no longer will like ice cream.

Man, the red sea was truly a treat… hard and soft corals, 6 different species of shark, a manta with at least a 20 ft wingspan…. Spectacular. I am hoping Cozumel will deliver like it always has. J

I think I’m up to 18 trips to Cozumel now, will be coming down in a few weeks, and have another trip planned. I’ve never been bored and have been to every site from Maracaibo to Barracuda, most many times, Islote on the east side, and unnamed sites on the east side. My focus has changed over the years and from trip to trip. The focus used to be big stuff, now my focus has drawn in to the smaller stuff. Unless the current is too strong, it’s usually a small critter hunt. A few trips ago, I finally learned where to find painted elysia and now I am looking for other slugs and nudibranchs. Some dives I spend lots of time looking for slender filefish, or juvenile spotted drums, or cherub fish. When there is sand, I look for those little crabs or baby peacock flounders. I could dive Dalila or La Francesca every day and never get bored. The same for many other sites. There is always something interesting to see and making the effort to find specific things has been very rewarding.

If you are looking for sites that aren’t dived as often, go with Aldora and see if you can get to the east side. We’ve done Islote by going around the southern end of the island when the whether is really calm. Sometimes Aldora can dive the east side during a norte. If you haven’t done Maracaibo Shallows much, that can be a very rewarding dive.

Yeah with an October date, I would not bet the wild side would be calm… I have heard of a site on east side where you can see a cave with sleeping sharks…?


Thanks for the replies guys, I really hope CZ will deliver the thrill it always has. I just never have dived in such an exciting place as Red Sea in my life.

 

[bamafan]

Ya kick back, relax and dive the sites as though they've become old friends during the day and then you extend your topside time/ventures further and further. 1/2 of our Coz fun is diving and the other 1/2 is topside venturing out further and further. After 15 years diving coz there is no shortage of places we haven't visited topside. Did you know Coz has a Cenote hidden in the jungle? I didn't as I assumed they were just on the mainland. Take your wetsuits, masks and snorkels and grab a tour to Chaak Tun. I intend to check it out for the first time this December.

For the price and convenience, repetitive dives in Coz sure beats any day in the office. For me it comes down to time and economics. There are fantastic places to visit but the airfare alone will cost us more to get there than an entire 2 week dive vaca in coz costs us. Those destinations reside on our retirement bucket list.

There are lots of cenotes on Cozumel. Aerolito is the only one that is open to the public. Jade cenote has a very strong sulfer smell and isn't clear like the mainland ones. It does have an awesome cave but it requires a permit to dive it. There are a few sea openings to the caves. The cenotes and caves are very overlooked on Cozumel in my opinion.

 

[Zman96]

The sleeping shark caves are way north. I have done them with Aldora twice, they were a lot of fun. The diving is far different than along the normal sites. Corals are much different, the sharks were pretty large and the lionfish spearing was great. It is an all day trip and we did 3 dives each trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Brules]

It all depends on what it is you like about diving.......I am not a critter counter and I don't need to check box what I see or dont see. To me the overall experience of a different world still awes me every dive. I have been diving there for 22 years now and I still see new things each dive, especially when you start looking at the small stuff. The coral formations, the massive pinnacles, the giant elk horn corals down to the tiny shrimp and gobies. I could see and watch it all every day all day and still be amazed.

So for me it never gets boring, makes it simple to keep going there lol!

 

[tridacna]

I thought the same thing when I returned from the Philippines. Yes the Indo-Pacific is incredible and Cozumel (or anywhere else in the Caribbean) can never hope to offer the same diversity of fauna, but...Cozumel is fantastic relaxing diving with great topside. The people are wonderful and the food is great. I’m off to Indonesia next but can’t wait for my next trip to Coz.

 

[Lorenzoid]

So… I just got back recently from a trip aboard the Aggressor to the Red Sea… We had an amazing time… There were 22 dives offered over 6 days including 2 nights dives… The count was 1 manta, 1 thresher, 2 oceanic white tips, 2 silkies and 4 hammerheads…

We have our 2nd trip of the season in October, which is to Cozumel… We were talking about the CZ trip the other night, this is how the convo went:

Me: Cozumel is only 3 months out… After what we just experienced @ Red Sea, do you think we’re going to be bored in Cozumel?

Her: Yep, I think so….

Me: No question, if we could eliminate the 34 hrs of travel time, we’d doing the same exact trip again… ​

Hmmmmm…. I’ve dived in CZ for 28 yrs, she’s dived there the last 7… Between us, we’ve pretty much dove all of the sites there are… So, I am wondering, what can we do differently diving wise to make sure it’s exciting?

I find it interesting that you felt the Red Sea was SO much better than Cozumel that it's going to raise the bar forever or something like that. I liked my one (northern) Red Sea trip, but I don't rank it at the very top of the world's best diving--not even close to the Coral Triangle in my opinion. The Red Sea was nice, and I did perceive the general health of the marine environment to be in better shape than Cozumel's, but both Coz and the Red Sea are middle-of-the-list destinations to me, not really "bucket list." If I lived in Europe, I suppose the Red Sea would become like Cozumel is to me living here in the US: where I go more frequently than other places because the combination of convenience and quality make it "good enough."

 

[mstevens]

Did you know Coz has a Cenote hidden in the jungle? I didn't as I assumed they were just on the mainland..

There are quite a few cenotes. There's even one in a city park on 65a Avenida, though you can't swim in it.

 

[mcohen1021]

I find it interesting that you felt the Red Sea was SO much better than Cozumel that it's going to raise the bar forever or something like that. I liked my one (northern) Red Sea trip, but I don't rank it at the very top of the world's best diving--not even close to the Coral Triangle in my opinion. The Red Sea was nice, and I did perceive the general health of the marine environment to be in better shape than Cozumel's, but both Coz and the Red Sea are middle-of-the-list destinations to me, not really "bucket list." If I lived in Europe, I suppose the Red Sea would become like Cozumel is to me living here in the US: where I go more frequently than other places because the combination of convenience and quality make it "good enough."

Well, Maybe it was the live aboard experience as a whole too. The crew was amazing, so nice, so friendly, so helpful. The fact that I did not have to schlep gear, I just suited up, threw my BC on and walked to the back deck (or skiff)… But the fact is, I have never seen animals like I did @ RS in Coz.

I’m only day dreaming here, but I did see a Palau Aggressor ½ price special August 5th… You could do it with air for under 4K pp from DFW…

That looks bad freakin arse…

 

[Brules]

And keep in mind, Coz is still just 12 years out from Wilma.......

 

[Lorenzoid]

I hear ya, @mcohen1021 . I have taken two liveaboards since the last time I was in Coz, and every time my wife and I are eyeing up a liveaboard we say to ourselves how many Coz trips that one liveaboard equals.