Where to stay in Cozumel?

[Scuba_Steve]

Hey Jim:

I'll bet Christi has a pretty good idea of where the reefs are located

Just a hunch here


I will say, when I stayed at Allegro a few years ago, we did manage to hit a few reefs a little further North, but not the ones that Christi (and also SCC) has taken us to.

 

[ggunn]

Yep, always tradeoffs and different strokes for different folks, but you are dead wrong about some of the reefs you mentioned. San Francisco reef is virtually directly off-shore from the Allegro, and Yucab not much farther. While the northern reefs are interesting, it's Palancar, El Cedral, etc that most people want to dive. Those are 10 min. away.

JIm

Hi, Jim

You are new here, so you probably don't know that Christi lives on Cozumel, and owns and runs her own (very excellent, BTW) dive operation on the island. I'm pretty sure that she knows where the reefs are. ;^)

BTW, she probably would never point this out herself, timid shrinking violet that she is... (Hi, Christi!)

Anyway, welcome to ScubaBoard!

 

[diveborg]

What dive shops do you recommend?

The answer to that question is another question, what kind of dive operation are you looking for? Small boat or large boat, structured dives or dive your own profile, AL 80's or Steel 100's/120's, one boat operation or an OP with several boats, Cheap or more expensive?

I have gone out with Blue XT Sea and liked it enough to go again.

I have also gone out with Liquid Blue, a very high quality operation with large steel tanks, good customer service, cater to more advanced divers, and the owner/DM Roberto is fantastic, but they are more expensive.

Although I didn't plan to, I have gone out with Caribbean Divers. They have a larger, s l o w e r boat but it has lots of room. The larger boat allows them to go out when the harbor is closed to the small boats, which is the reason I went diving with them. I had some very enjoyable dives with them too.

Any other operation I named would not be from personal experience, but I have read excellent comments about ScubawithAlison being especially good with divers of "lesser experience".

enjoy your stay in Cozumel,
Bruce

 

[94GTStang]

Bruce,
I suppose we will just stick to the Al80's unless the Al100's are a better bet. I looked at Christi's website and I think she would be a good shop to go out with. Plus she has a good rep. on the boards.
Also, since we are college students, money is sorta tight. So we are looking for the best bet for our money. We are going to go dive, but we would also like to go to different places on the island that we missed the first time around. And of course, those places cost money. :116:
My girlfriend and I are more of small group people, so we will stick with a smaller boat. I'm just not a fan of crowds.
Since my g/f has some sinus issues, how deep we go depends on how she is feeling. I would be happy to go deeper, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if we stayed in shallow waters.

Thanks for the advice and tips!

 

[Christi]

...but you are dead wrong about some of the reefs you mentioned. San Francisco reef is virtually directly off-shore from the Allegro, and Yucab not much farther. While the northern reefs are interesting, it's Palancar, El Cedral, etc that most people want to dive. Those are 10 min. away.

JIm

Well now that others have brought up the fact that I live here and have dove these reefs literally over 1000 times, I respectfully disagree with you. I am sorry, but I am dead right on this one. Prior to starting my own operation, I worked for several others and dove with a dozen or so as a customer even before that. I also have other very close friends who run operations here so I think it's fair to say I am intimately familiar with how things work down here.

Directly in front of the Allegro is Santa Rosa. Going north from there, the reefs are in this order:
San Francisco
Cardona
Punta Tunich(wall and shallows)
Yucab
Tormentos
Chankanaab (Bolones, shallow, C-53 wreck)
Las Palmas (wall and shallows)
Paradise (three sections)
Villa Blanca
Cantarrel
San Juan
Barracuda

While you may not feel that going north of your hotel is far, it is significant when calculating fuel consumption. Outboard motors are not the most fuel efficient to begin with. Then factor in currents, headwinds, etc. and this is a big deal. Trust me, I know exactly how much fuel it takes to get from any given point to another within a few liters based on sea conditions.

If you are diving with Dive Palancar, totally different story. They keep their boats moored off shore in front of the hotel and for the most part only transport hotel guests from Allegro and Occidental Grand. They do not have alot of clientele from other resorts/hotels. It doesn't matter if they go 10 minutes north or 10 minutes south because it's virtually the same for them. This is NOT the case with 99% of the other dive boats in Cozumel. We (other operations) keep our boats in the Caletta marina or even further north at Puerto Abrigo.

It is not fuel efficient or cost efective to go south to pick up at a southern resort, travel north again to a dive site, south again to drop off divers, then back north again to dock the boat. Therefore, when we have divers staying at the southern resorts, we are limited basically to Santa Rosa and south. We have on occasion made exceptions for clients that are diving more than 5 or 6 days and have dove all of the southern sites. This is the exception, not the rule.

You are correct that the southern sites are the most popular, but these others are also full of life and quite excellent shallower dives and highly requested sites as well. For those who like to fly, Punta Tunich is often a real adrenaline rush as are the far nothern sites.

Have fun and dive safe!

 

[ggunn]

Well now that others have brought up the fact that I live here and have dove these reefs literally over 1000 times, I respectfully disagree with you. I am sorry, but I am dead right on this one. Prior to starting my own operation, I worked for several others and dove with a dozen or so as a customer even before that. I also have other very close friends who run operations here so I think it's fair to say I am intimately familiar with how things work down here.

Directly in front of the Allegro is Santa Rosa. Going south from there, the reefs are in this order:

Eek! Christi, you mean north! And after I went and told everybody how knowledgeable you are! ;^)

(I get N&S mixed up , too)

 

[Christi]

Eek! Christi, you mean north! And after I went and told everybody how knowledgeable you are! ;^)

(I get N&S mixed up , too)

Thanks Gordon! Yes, I did mean north...wihth all the north and south back and forth it was a simple typo and I didn't proof it before I posted it!

It is corrected

 

[shaggie]

Thanks for all the info. We'll definitely go for one of these spots. I'm also checking on Caribe Blu because I like the house reef there. Easy diving and lots to see for a new diver.

Just got back from Coz yesterday. Stayed 5 nights at Caribe Blu and dove on 6 boat trips with Blue Angel. It's not the fanciest place in town, but it is comfortable and very convenient for diving. All rooms are ocean front and there is small resteraunt above the dive shop that serves breakfast and lunch. The staff is very friendly and eager to please. The reef off shore from the shop is a good one to check out equipment and do a quickie night dive when you have no other plans. All in all I give the place two thumbs up. I've also heard Papa Hogs is also a good operation.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[steeliejim]

Oh boy! Here I am a newby on this board and already stirring stuff up like careless finning through a cave. Some welcome! <g> I was just offering an alternative to the question about places to go and the FACT that the boat rides from San Miguel to the dive sites that most divers (certainly first timers) come to Cozumel to dive. What I particularly reacted to in Christi's post was her implication that San Francisco and Yocab are examples of reefs far enough north that it's more difficult for Dive Palancar (or other southern-based operations) to visit than dive operations in or near San Miguel. Sorry, but to use a quote, Christi is "dead wrong," no matter how dives she has under her belt. The Allegro is much closer to those sites and my assertion is easy to prove.

San Francisco, Santa Rosa, La Francesa, and Delilah, which are next to each other, are practically Dive Palancar's House Reefs and are virtually opposite the resort. I particularly know about San Francisco, because it is not one of my favorites, and I'd rather to do repeat dives at the other sites (great shallow dives that provide bountiful photo ops).

Now, if we start talking about the Palancar system, which are must-sees for most first time divers, there is no contest, because those, plus Columbia, Punta Sur and Maracaibo are south of the Allegro, and a really long boat ride from San Miguel.

OTOH, if people are looking for night life, and not into all-inclusives, there is no question that being at a resort near town is an advantage. While the Allegro is far more lively than the Occidental Grand next door, it is still pretty tame by the standards of those looking for Carlos 'n Charlies-type action.

Dive Palancar does one tank dives. The advantage is that some days divers (me) just want to do a couple of shallow dives and maybe a night dive. Also, some people, esp. beginners, just don't like to do deep dives--esp. drifting off the edge of an abyss , but you have no choice on boats that take the longer trips from San Miguel and therefore have to do two tank dives (probably stirred up another hornet's nest there, eh?). However, longer trips to reefs at the southern end of the island like Punta Sur and Maracaibo are by special arrangement, but Allegro's trips are still much, much shorter than traveling from San Miguel.

I have a suggestion that should put this to rest--I hope. One of the books I have on Cozumel, Diving Cozumel, by Steve Rosenberg, can be found at many dive shops and has a map with many of the dive sites Christi listed. Or, pick your favorite alternate. It's easy to check who is right, at least about the reefs that I specifically mentioned.


Finally, I have not dived the northern reefs yet--but would like to. I'll be in Cozumel again Jan 21-28 (sure hoping Wilma misses). It'd be fun to check out some of those spots you talk about, Christie. BTW, if you all like, there is an article I just wrote for the Sacramento Bee on getting into scuba diving that you can check out by logging on to sacbee.com. Just put in the seach word "scuba," and it should direct you to the article--it also links to another article I wrote on abalone diving on the North Coast of California, which I've been doing for forty years. You do have to do a free registration, but it's no big deal. Peace.

Jim

 

[Christi]

Oh boy! Here I am a newby on this board and already stirring stuff up like careless finning through a cave. Some welcome! <g> I was just offering an alternative to the question about places to go and the FACT that the boat rides from San Miguel to the dive sites that most divers (certainly first timers) come to Cozumel to dive. What I particularly reacted to in Christi's post was her implication that San Francisco and Yocab are examples of reefs far enough north that it's more difficult for Dive Palancar (or other southern-based operations) to visit than dive operations in or near San Miguel. Sorry, but to use a quote, Christi is "dead wrong," no matter how dives she has under her belt. The Allegro is much closer to those sites and my assertion is easy to prove.

San Francisco, Santa Rosa, La Francesa, and Delilah, which are next to each other, are practically Dive Palancar's House Reefs and are virtually opposite the resort. I particularly know about San Francisco, because it is not one of my favorites, and I'd rather to do repeat dives at the other sites (great shallow dives that provide bountiful photo ops).

Now, if we start talking about the Palancar system, which are must-sees for most first time divers, there is no contest, because those, plus Columbia, Punta Sur and Maracaibo are south of the Allegro, and a really long boat ride from San Miguel.

OTOH, if people are looking for night life, and not into all-inclusives, there is no question that being at a resort near town is an advantage. While the Allegro is far more lively than the Occidental Grand next door, it is still pretty tame by the standards of those looking for Carlos 'n Charlies-type action.

Dive Palancar does one tank dives. The advantage is that some days divers (me) just want to do a couple of shallow dives and maybe a night dive. Also, some people, esp. beginners, just don't like to do deep dives--esp. drifting off the edge of an abyss , but you have no choice on boats that take the longer trips from San Miguel and therefore have to do two tank dives (probably stirred up another hornet's nest there, eh?). However, longer trips to reefs at the southern end of the island like Punta Sur and Maracaibo are by special arrangement, but Allegro's trips are still much, much shorter than traveling from San Miguel.

I have a suggestion that should put this to rest--I hope. One of the books I have on Cozumel, Diving Cozumel, by Steve Rosenberg, can be found at many dive shops and has a map with many of the dive sites Christi listed. Or, pick your favorite alternate. It's easy to check who is right, at least about the reefs that I specifically mentioned.


Finally, I have not dived the northern reefs yet--but would like to. I'll be in Cozumel again Jan 21-28 (sure hoping Wilma misses). It'd be fun to check out some of those spots you talk about, Christie. BTW, if you all like, there is an article I just wrote for the Sacramento Bee on getting into scuba diving that you can check out by logging on to sacbee.com. Just put in the seach word "scuba," and it should direct you to the article--it also links to another article I wrote on abalone diving on the North Coast of California, which I've been doing for forty years. You do have to do a free registration, but it's no big deal. Peace.

Jim

You didn't read my post very thorougly...and I DO ON FACT know exactly where the reefs are. As I said, if you are diving with Dive Palancar, yeh, no problem...but sign up with any other operation and see who will pick you up at Allegro and take you further north that Santa Rosa. I didn't say anything about Delila and Punta Francesa...they are virtually in front of the Occidental, which is just south of Allegro.

There is another book on the reefs that was put together with a collaboration of LOCAL divers, the Cozumel Marine Park, and professional map makers. http://www.cozumeldiveguide.com/ Local divemasters and instructors collaborated and contributed, so take a look in the front of the book, on the "Special thanks" page.

By the way, the only other southern based operation is Dressel at the Iberostar, and you can read the reviews on them yourself to see how they are thought of.

Palancar and Columbia a "really long" boat ride from San Miguel? You call 20 to 25 minutes a long boat ride? That's what it takes on my boat. On a Dive Palancar boat, yeh, it would take an hour or more...another reason they keep their boats moored in front of the hotels. Punta Sur and Maracaibo are routine trips for us and we do them at least once a week (unless we have newbies on the boat all week).

There are MANY, MANY divers, seasoned and new who like smaller groups, smaller boats and don't like to go out out with resort style operations who limit bottom time and don't take them to more remote sites. To each is own. You prefer Dive Palancar for your own resaons, but if you haven't tried any others, please don't presume to know how they operate, etc. There are MANY very fine operations on this island who know what they are doing!