Which dive operator to use??

[swimswithfishes]

Hello.....My huband and I will be in Cozumel in December (first time) and are staying at the Coral Princess. There is a dive shop on site....I believe the operator's name is Pepe. Anyone familiar with him or his operation? Any recommendations? We are both advanced divers and also plan on doing a couple dives in the Cenotes. Any info would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks in advance:14:

 

[loudives]

Pepe passed away last year. He was such a nice man. Don't know who is doing the on site shop but Liquid Blue bought the boat.

As for operations that would have the more advanced divers, Liquid Blue Divers cater more to them as most of there business is repeat. Very nice couple Michaella and Roberto run a very customer oriented business. They use larger steel tanks.

Others are:
Bottom Time Divers my favorite
Cozumel Diving: Blue XT SEA Diving, Cozumel Mexico
Living Underwater offers a personalized, fun and safe Cozumel diving experience!

You can pick any of these and will be very happy. All have small fast boats, excellent dive masters, and the other little things that make you feel like a king and queen.

 

[dtcmarical]

Swimwithfishes,

Also, close to the Coral Princess is the Fontan where you can be picked up by Aldora. They also use the small, fast boats, steel 120's, and provide a high level of service. Nothing against the other operations, they also have good reps, although I have never used them. If Aldora is ever in a position not to accomedate me, they would be my first group to choose from. If you get the chance, check out Villa Aldora which is a villa for use by divers diving with Aldora. On site managers are great, they will become like family. It is about half way between town and the Coral Princess. I am sure this will not be your last trip to Coz. Enjoy your time both below the surface and above.

 

[TSandM]

There are tons of threads here about this, and everybody's got his or her favorite to recommend. I used Aldora Divers when I was there, and I was very happy with them. They are comparatively expensive, and I have no experience with anybody else. But they had big steel tanks, Nitrox, and these wonderful fleece-lined windbreaker jackets for surface intervals, and we really liked the guide who dove with us (who was, as it turned out, not only an OW instructor, but full cave and a cenote guide as well). We were able to do the cenotes with him, and everything was organized for us (although doing it on your own isn't that difficult, because that's what we did the first two days).

Have fun on your trip -- The cenotes are magical! I have a report of our dives in them here.

 

[merganser1]

We go to Cozumel 4 - 6 times a year and there are many good dive shops there. I would recommend two which are:
Deep Blue Deep Blue - Scuba Diving in Cozumel
BlueXTsea Cozumel Diving: Blue XT SEA Diving, Cozumel Mexico

Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

 

[PlayaCountryBoy]

I've been going to Cozumel for diving for about 18 years, and in the last few years I have been using Blue Angel. Check'em out! blueangel-scuba.com Tell them I sent you, and they'll look after you like family.

 

[scubawife]

Hello.....My huband and I will be in Cozumel in December (first time) and are staying at the Coral Princess. There is a dive shop on site....I believe the operator's name is Pepe. Anyone familiar with him or his operation? Any recommendations? We are both advanced divers and also plan on doing a couple dives in the Cenotes. Any info would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks in advance:14:

Can't help you with the shop at the Coral Princess, but, staying north of town you will be very limited in choices if you want a boat to pick you up at the Coral Princess. Most dive ops will pick up in-town and south only.

Hard for anyone to make a good recommendation for a Cozumel shop without knowing your preferences. You're advanced divers, but do you like big boats, small boats, steel tanks or the standard AL80's, do you want someone to take care of your gear, do you want any "extras" (soda, juice, snacks, beach SI's, towels, etc.) or just a boat and a DM, what's your price range....? Every shop on the island, whether they're a big or small operation, has their pros and cons and all have a good following of happy customers. The best one for you will depend on what exactly you are looking for.

For cenotes, there are lots of good guides. My first choice is always Diablo Divers. They'll meet you at the ferry in Playa. www.diablodivers.com. If you want a guide who will go with you from Cozumel to the mainland, German at Yucatech Expeditions is great www.yucatech.net Although I haven't gone through Blue Angel, many regulars on the board here have been happy with the cenote dives they did with a DM from that shop. (Sorry, don't recall his name, but just contact Blue Angel and they can give you the details.)

 

[cowboyneal]

My usual mantra: As an instructor, I tell anyone who asks and my students that when going to Coz, decide what kind of diving you want to do first - then you'll be able to find any one or more excellent Cozumel dive operators to cater to it by using generally available information, this board, specific experience of your instructor, his or her friends, whichever...Personally, in scores of Cozumel dive trips, I have never used anyone other than Dive Paradise (except once I went out on Christie's boat just for the experience and had a very good time) but only because I have been diving with them since they started and I am friends with Apple - there are many, many good ops in Cozumel.

Beware of people saying this one or that one is "the best" or "better than all" or "the worst" because most people don't really have a clue at all (sorry, but really it's true), and unless they have dove with every operation at least once in every conceivable set of conditions and then with every single crew member and dive master of that operation, again in every single set of conditions, and have done it regularly enough to make a valid comparison (now we are talking about the impossible - thousands of permutations and combinations) then they can't really say.

I also wouldn't go with the actual recommendation of the tourist diver, because chances are they have only dove with one operator, so what do they know? (no offense intended)...

In the end, again, the type of diving you want to do and whether or not the op meets all of the rest of your needs will define what will be good for you.

Just to say, you couldn't go wrong with any of the operations mentioned (or that will be mentioned) in this thread IMHO, since most SB users have great experience.

CN

 

[mississippidiver]

I dove with ScubaTony and loved the service. He also does a lot of cenote dives on the mainland and on the island. see Scubatony.com

 

[5615mike]

Aldora always gets my vote and rec