What do you wish someone had told you?

[gopbroek]

When are the port closed for events? I've got friends wanting to go this November. Anyone on this thread know?

Per its web site Iron Man is scheduled for Nov 26 2017. Ironman unlike the ITU event last October normally does not actually close the marina but transportation to that area is time consuming as the road from the cruise ship pier to the marina is down to one lane with a flag car, it gets congested.

 

[jlyle]

After our first disaster trip to Cozumel we had decided to give it a second chance. Reading all the threads and advice made me wonder....what do you wish someone had told you? Thanks! Bill

Bill, care to share in what ways your first trip was a disaster?

 

[Johnoly]

I wish someone had warned me about the photo albums on the bar at Coconuts.

 

[uncfnp]

Bill, care to share in what ways your first trip was a disaster?

From another thread...

Why were we disappointed with cozumel diving? High current, Slowwwww boat (our fault, we choose a poor dive boat), left dive master behind and we had to go back for him (our fault, we should have bailed right then) ((and yes as you laugh and say "no way" they really did leave him behind)) poor vis (maybe wrong time of year), little sea life (again poor choice of dive boat) , stayed at AI (hotel cozumel ) and were very disappointed in food (hmmm, yep our fault again). After trip was over we crossed Cozumel off our list. l accept we did not due our research and many of our concerns were caused by us. But bottom line we were unimpressed with the diving. Our favorite carribean dive locals are little cayman and bonaire. Must we have no current to enjoy a dive? No. So many people love Cozumel our trip must have an anomaly hence why we are considering going back. We like to try new places but think we need to give Cozumel a second chance

 

[Lorenzoid]

After our first disaster trip to Cozumel we had decided to give it a second chance. Reading all the threads and advice made me wonder....what do you wish someone had told you? Thanks! Bill

Didn't people give enough advice in the thread in which you reported the "disaster" trip?

why is Cozumel so popular? Bad experience or just over rated expectations?

 

[ColoDale]

Nov 26, 2017 is the date listed. If there is a port closure it would be that date. It's possible they close the port around the date for course prep.

Ironman Cozumel

Road closure is under News at top

I could not find anything about local port closures but maybe the dive ops know. I understood in the past that the ports were closed due to road closures but possibly now it's due to courses near a port. I don't know that one.

 

[ColoDale]

I wish someone had warned me about the photo albums on the bar at Coconuts.

Mezcalitos has the same type of photos

 

[MMM]

Didn't people give enough advice in the thread in which you reported the "disaster" trip?

why is Cozumel so popular? Bad experience or just over rated expectations?

Boy, either you have a great memory or the search function works well! I had forgotten all about that thread. @wildbill9, if you are keenly interested in photography, especially macro photography, I would refer to this thread: Slow moving dive operator for photos And did you see the thread I started with my frogfish photos?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Boy, either you have a great memory or the search function works well! I had forgotten all about that thread.

I like to read the Cozumel branch, and I recalled wildbill voicing his frustrations previously here. Anyway, after I posted that, I felt maybe I was missing the difference between that question and this one. In the previous thread, he asked about comparing Coz with other destinations that he had enjoyed, such as Cayman and Bonaire, and whether he failed to appreciate something about Coz. The question in this thread has a different angle. Fair enough.

 

[nwflyboy]

Very good comment gr8jab!- Definitely something to always keep in mind when traveling. Although I have been fortunate to not have any issues with raw foods/salads in Cozumel, it should always be a consideration. I have had my fair share of issues in Asia, South Pacific and Central America in the last 30 years. I never drink from the tap and only brush my teeth with bottled/purified water.

I've generally been pretty lucky avoiding traveler's trots on many trips to all sorts of places. Probably because I'm paranoid. The old adage I tend to follow is "cook it, peel it, or forget it." I also take a good hard look at any place's cleanliness, although I know that is not always a 100% reliable indicator. Yeah, I have missed out on some amazing-looking "street food" across the globe, that's the price I pay for not spending 3+ days of my trip in the bathroom. I do brush my teeth with bottled water, I don't ingest tap water in the shower or anyplace else. One time we were out of bottled water and all we had available to brush our teeth was beer and Coke...it worked, but was pretty weird (we used the Coke; figured it was awful for our teeth, but we needed the beer).

The only time I got sick in Mexico (many trips, including some long ones where I was way out in the boonies for long periods) was the day I ordered guacamole in Cancun.

Going back to Coz in 2 days.

Salads with fresh veggies, and fresh fruit that's served to me are tougher calls. Ice? Maybe in the big resorts (this time we're splitting our time between the Hotel Cozumel and the Intercontinental El Prez). I'm thinking that the ice in these two well-known places may be a safe bet. I'll still maintain discipline with their tap water.

Any other food safety tips (places you definitely do/do not trust)?