What dive sites not to miss and where to see the biggest sea-life?

[Mawg]

I've not heard of that one, unless it's the same as the one I've heard called "Francesca" and "the French reef". Is that the one?[/QUOTE




Same one Gordon. I've heard it called Palancar French,Palancar Francaise and Francesca. It is a spectacular 50 foot dive. It is the most " alive " reef in Cozumel. To me it is the best all around dive there with Columbia Pinnacles coming in a close second. I like the Pinnacles better than Punta Sur.

 

[MMM]

so I assume you'll be diving nitrox. You may find that you will need to charter your own boat to do the dives you want to. They will start south, work their way north. Given that you've got a lot of deep dives on the list, you will either need some long SIs in between all of these or some shallower dives as you progress north, back to the ferry terminal.

I would add Tunich wall to your list - it's a bit shallower and you can finish it off on top of the reef. It's got lots of life, often a really good current, and can be somewhat more challenging. I'm not a big Santa Rosa wall fan.

I'm actually a big fan of shallow dives where you can see lots of neat things in Coz.

If you want to see some big life, you might want to go North to Canterall and look for spotted eagle rays...but that's only good between Jan-March and I don't know when you plan to be there. :dazzler1:

 

[Shoc369]

To answer some of the questions:

We will be there in May 2005. Yes, we will be diving Nitrox. We have already cleared with dive-op our qualifications (long story) - so he said to just tell him where we want to go.

The locations i mentioned were just ideas based on what I read online, I really didn't try to geographically map them out for the boat schedule - I was just trying to give some ideas of where I thought we might like to go so I could get recommendations. I understand that all of them won't be possible do to depth, logistics, etc. I really appreciate any comments on this too!

Thanks everyone for your recommendations so far, and any others will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Christi]

We will only be diving Coz for one day (we are staying in Cancun, unfortunately). We are experienced divers (PADI certified Rescue, EAN and are current Divemaster candidates). We will be doing 4 dives in 1 day. 2 tanks in a.m. and 2 in afternoon. We are thinking about the following sites: Columbia deep, Punta Sur, Chun Chakab, Santa Rosa Wall, Dalila, etc. (We are open to other ideas).

Dive op has asked us what sites we want to go to so:

What four "best" sites would be recommended? We would like to do one deep dive and then we really like to see big sea-life.

Any thoughts would be so much appreciated! Thanks!

Well, I would never do Columbia Deep and Punta Sur in the same day. Chun Chakaab or Maracaibo Shallows are beautiful dives, but would have to be a first dive due to the location. 80/90 foot max

Maraciabo wall and Punta Sur are two dives that I will not take someone to without checking them out first, regardless of what certification level or how many certification cards they want to flop out. They are also too deep for nitrox. Every reputable shop I know of on this island has that policy for those dives (as well as north dive sites). I have mad one exception to this in three years, and that was because I verified his diving abilities with the shop he was diving with during the week before diving with me.

Here is what I would recommend if you only have one day to dive the four tanks and want one deep dive.

Columbia Deep (beautiful swim-throughs) or Palancar Bricks (Beautiful formations, always turtles and other stuff)
Delila or Francesa (just beautiful, usually sharks)
Cedral Wall into Cedral Pass (I often refer to this as the "Aquarium" because if you do the right section of it, it is FULL of fish. Almost always a shark or two, big green moray(s), turtles)
Yucab and/or Tormanetos...I like to call the combination "Yucamentos" (nice shallow dives full of fish)

Hope I didn't confuse you more Have fun and be safe!

 

[loudives]

Follow Christi's plan she is one of the best dive operators on the Island. It was my pleasure to dive with her and her divemasters. She has your safety in mind and the best plan for a one day visit to Coz. You might also stay and include a shallow night dive if you can, since you won't be diving the next day.

 

[Shoc369]

Christi-

Thanks so much for the info. but I have a question for you. Actually dive op in Coz can/will be verifying capabilities with dive op that we are diving with the week before in Cancun. So in that case, what itinerary would you recommend? Still the same as earlier or would you change it to Punta Sur, etc.? Thanks so much for your time.

P.S. You were our first choice of dive op if we were to be staying the entire week in Coz but unfortunately we have too many non-divers in our group!

 

[Christi]

Christi-

Thanks so much for the info. but I have a question for you. Actually dive op in Coz can/will be verifying capabilities with dive op that we are diving with the week before in Cancun. So in that case, what itinerary would you recommend? Still the same as earlier or would you change it to Punta Sur, etc.? Thanks so much for your time.

P.S. You were our first choice of dive op if we were to be staying the entire week in Coz but unfortunately we have too many non-divers in our group!

Yes actually, if I were coming for one day and had the choice, I would prefer Bricks or Columbia over Punta Sur...

ACTUALLY, Punta Sur Cathedrals (the southernmost section of the reef and do it without the throat) is also very beautiful, but I wouldn't "waste" my NDL's or gas on Devil's throat. It's nice, but overrated in my opinion

SO, I would stick with the same suggestions, but add Punta Sur "Cathedrals" to the list. Have a great trip and I'm sorry the dates and stuff didn't work out this time.

 

[Mawg]

Yes actually, if I were coming for one day and had the choice, I would prefer Bricks or Columbia over Punta Sur...

ACTUALLY, Punta Sur Cathedrals (the southernmost section of the reef and do it without the throat) is also very beautiful, but I wouldn't "waste" my NDL's or gas on Devil's throat. It's nice, but overrated in my opinion

SO, I would stick with the same suggestions, but add Punta Sur "Cathedrals" to the list. Have a great trip and I'm sorry the dates and stuff didn't work out this time.

Christi,

Thanks so much for your comments regarding Punta Sur and I agree with you completely. People speak of Devils Throat as if it was the Holy Grail of Cozumel. It is not. The Cathedral, however, I found to be magnificent and I would gladly dive it again. I have always found Columbia Deep/Pinnacles to be overwhelming in its beauty and scale. It is a world class dive and over the years I have met people on dive boats in Cozumel with a lot more experience than I diving around the world who agree. Palancar Bricks is another great dive. When I was there last May, we ran across 2 sharks, several turtles and 3 Eagle Rays. The current, according to Ricardo, was running at 2 knots or better that day. Is that normal for the Bricks?

 

[ggunn]

I've not heard of that one, unless it's the same as the one I've heard called "Francesca" and "the French reef". Is that the one?[/QUOTE




Same one Gordon. I've heard it called Palancar French,Palancar Francaise and Francesca. It is a spectacular 50 foot dive. It is the most " alive " reef in Cozumel. To me it is the best all around dive there with Columbia Pinnacles coming in a close second. I like the Pinnacles better than Punta Sur.

I dove there for the first (and second) time when I was there last May. You're right, it is a beautiful dive.

 

[Bison]

My persoanl favorites are any and all of the Palancar sites: Palancar Caves, Palancar Gardens, Palancar Horseshoe, etc.

I also have really enjoyed diving the C-53 Wreck, but not everyone enjoys it the way my buddy and I do.


W

I also enjoyed the Palancar sites. Nice variety at these sites.
Have fun!