Scuba in Cozumel

[dodgersmom]

I will be in Cozumel in a few weeks and want to dive. I have my PADI certification. I don't want to book the excursion through the ship. Any suggestions for dive shops?

[moonvine]

I will be in Cozumel in a few weeks and want to dive. I have my PADI certification. I don't want to book the excursion through the ship. Any suggestions for dive shops?

 

I did discover SCUBA with Eagle Ray Divers in Cozumel and I liked it so much I plan on getting certified. Don't have anything to compare it to but they seem to be highly recommended. http://www.eagleraydivers.com

[bruce-r]

I have been diving with 3 dive operators in Cozumel.

 

I had a good time diving with all three. In no particular order they are:

 

Blue XT Sea This operation is run by a really nice lady from Texas, Christi Courtney. I went out with them on a cruise last March. Excellent customer service, small fast boat, snacks and drinks on the boat, 1 1/2 hour surface interval spent at one of the beach clubs, and you can dive your own profile.

 

Caribbean divers I didn't plan to go out with this operator, but I'm glad they showed up when they did. I stayed at the Fiesta Americana in December. The wind was blowing fairly briskly from the north. This stirs up the waves and the harbor Captain closed the ocean to small boats. Their boat is large enough to be called a large boat, so they could still go out. They had good DM's, drinks and snacks on the boat, and plenty of room on the boat. A couple of things that weren't so great were that the boat is slow and they did the surface interval on the boat, so it was shorter than I would have liked. Their schedule can be flexible to accommodate a cruisers later arrival time.

 

Liquid Blue Owner/operators Roberto and Michaele run an excellent operation that attracts experienced divers. They use LARGE steel tanks to give you maximum bottom time with lots of gas left for a long safety stop. They also have a nice ,small, fast boat. Micheale runs the shop and does it well. Roberto is an excellent DM and guide, and funny as well. He found the sea horse I wanted to see, too cool. They also do the surface interval at one of the beach clubs, usually 1 1/2 hours long. Often it will be at Playa Palancar. Like Blue XT Sea, they will ask, "where do you want to dive today?". They are a bit more expensive than most operators, but many people think that they are worth it. They often get booked up a couple of months in advance during the high season. They like to leave early, so a cruise diver isn't likely to be able to make their schedule, but you never know.

 

 

Dive operators I haven't used, but have heard good things about are:

 

http://www.blueangel-scuba.com/

http://www.divewithmartin.com/

http://www.seahorsecozumel.com/

 

Hope this helps.

Questions? email me idiveoregon(at)yahoo.com

 

Bruce

[chriscamp]

We used Eagle Ray Divers 2 weeks ago and had a great time. There were only 3 divers and the divemaster. Excellent one on one service.

[karen2cruz]

Any of the above-mentioned dive shops are wonderful. After having gone diving all over the Caribbean, we vote Cozumel as having the most beautiful reefs and assortment of sealife - enjoy!

[turtlegirl2]

The diving is wonderful, the drift diving is like floating through space, and the viz is awesome! We've been for the past four years just for dive trips and always dive with Alison Dennis, www.scubawithalison.com. She is a great DM and guide, runs a small, fast boat and is a lot of fun. She's a California girl who moved down about 14 years ago and loves it there!

 

It's funny, every trip we go on, she usually has 1 or 2 cruise ship divers who join us for diving. By the end of their first dive, they are asking about the hotels and prices to stay on the island. By the end of their second dive, they are about in tears because they have to go back to the boat and miss out on the beautiful waters! I'm pretty sure most of the people we've dove with end up going back to Coz for a dive trip after that. ;)

 

This summer, we are going to be the cruise divers and get to check out the Bahamas and Key West. I'm looking forward to the change but worried that it won't be as good as Coz and I'll be sad that I have to wait until January to make a trip back.

 

Have a great time!

[Tracy1]

thanks everybody for the suggestions. I've sent off e-mails to the dive shops mentioned to see if we can do a night dive with them in Cozumel since the ship is in port until 10pm.

[CruiserRDH]

Cozumel has several great dive operators ... but I highly recommend Alison Dennis. ( www.scubawithalison.com ) We have gone diving with her four times, all on different cruise vacations. Great Lady! If you book with her, tell her Kim, Greg and Brian from Colorado say "HI"!!

[hdcline]

I suggest Papa hogs in Cozumel. My son (age13) and I dove with them on two different cruises and have nothing but great things to say about them. They only have small goups and will work with you as to the times the cruise arrives and leaves. Once it was only my son, I, the boat operator and the divemaster. They will work with you on your experience and won't put you in any kind of danger.

[psterman]

Sorry for the late response -- I dove with Aldora Dive last April for five days. Just terrific! Steel 120s made average bottom times of over an hour (a couple of the shallower dives were around 11/2 hours or more (required long surface intervals though...)

 

Have fun.

[Tarkus]

i'm a big fan of both dive with martin and aldora... you can't go wrong with either.

 

and i'm envious... been too long since i've gotten wet in coz. enjoy! :cool: