Dive report: Cozumel and Costa Maya (long)

[jtonra]

Just returned from 6 days on Jewel of the Seas. I arranged my own diving on both Cozumel and Costa Maya and thought I'd share my experience for those looking to book on their own in the future.

 

Cozumel:

 

I used Eagle Ray Divers here based on reviews from this site as well as scubaboard. Prior to the cruise, I corresponded with Chellie (one of the owners). She was very accomodating to my ships schedule and required only a 20% deposit in advance to hold my spot. This deposit was refundable if we missed the stop for some reason. When we arrived in Cozumel, I took a 5 minute ($6) cab ride to the marina where her boat was docked. I was met at the dock by her partner and husband Antonio. Before leaving the dock, Antonio gave a brief but very thorough skills / signals review which some might consider overkill but I appreciated it. There were three other divers and two snorkelers on board. There were two divemasters plus the boat captain. One DM went with the four divers and one went with the two snorkelers.

 

The dive boat was roomy and comfortable. Entry was giant stride and there was a ladder at the side to get back into the boat. The boat crew had my second tank setup before I had even dried off from the first dive. We spent the surface interval hanging out just off the beach near Paradise reef. Bottled water, fresh fruit and cookies were provided.

 

The diving itself was excellent. The first dive was at Las Palmas reef. This dive had a max depth of 71 feet and average depth of about 45 feet. Bottom time of 40 minutes. Current was moderate and visibility was in excess of 80 feet. Excellent coral, tons of fish, flamingo tongues, multiple turtles. Water temp was 79 degrees.

 

The second dive was on Paradise reef. This was a top five dive ever for me! Awesome coral formations, lots of critters (crabs, shrimp, lobsters). We also had a close encounter (literally 2 feet) with a large spotted eagle ray! Average depth on this dive was 43 feet; total bottom time 49 minutes.

 

Finished up with plenty of time to explore other parts of the island after taking a cab back to the pier. I would highly recommend Eagle Ray Divers! Total cost for two dives including rental equipment was $81 (cash required). I tipped the crew $20.

 

Costa Maya:

 

In Costa Maya I used Blue Ha diving after hearing a few good reviews of them from this site. Tanya at Blue Ha responded in detail to my pre-trip emails. A credit card is required to reserve your spot but is only charged if you're a no-show. Payment is required in cash on arrival.

 

We took a cab from the pier for $10 plus tip. It's about a 15-20 minute ride on a very primative road. Met Tanya and her husband Jonah and quickly had the paperwork filled out and we're good to go. The dive shop is directly opposite the beach where their dive boat is located. Dive sites here are very close to their shop which is a good thing as their boat is fairly small (but comfortable). Entry here is back-roll off the side of the boat. Re-entry to the boat could be tricky if the waves are up as it is via a fairly small ladder. Both dives here were drift dives.

 

First dive was Escalones (Stairs). There were seven divers plus Jonah on this dive. One of the divers was doing his advanced training and will be working for Blue Ha in the future. As this dive was his deep dive for his advanced cert the plan was to initially drop down to 110 feet. I was initially a little nervous about this as I haven't been that deep in quite a while but Jonah gave a thorough pre-dive briefing and the visibility was excellent so I was soon at ease even at 110 fsw. This was a sloping wall with a sandy bottom at 110 feet. After dropping down to the bottom we spent the rest of the dive working our way slowly up the wall. Visibility here was at least as good as in Coz the previous day, if not better; I estimated at least 120 feet if not more. Maximum depth here was 110 feet, average depth 65-70, total bottom time 51 minutes.

 

Second dive was called Front Garden and was literally right in front of the dive shop. This was a spur and grove formation with large coral formations as well as various swim-throughs. There were only four of us including Jonah on this dive. Maximum depth on this dive was 76 feet with a bottom time of 52 minutes.

 

I would say the reefs in Costa Maya are in excellent shape. There was lots of fish life including some larger groupers, jacks and others as well as an abundance of macro life and coral. I didn't see as many small critters here as in Cozumel and not quite as many color varieties in the sponges but otherwise it was very comparable. The current was pretty strong on both of these dives which (according to Jonah) is somewhat unusual.

 

The highlight of this trip was during the second dive when we came across a very large (6 feet across) green turtle hanging out in a valley at about 60 feet. We hovered over it and watched it for at least five minutes at close range until it finally decided to move on (which it did with impressive speed).

 

Again, I would highly recommend Blue Ha and would dive with them again in a heartbeat. One of the really nice things about this shop is that they use steel 95s which made for long bottom times even with the fairly deep dives. The surface interval was done back at the dive shop where bottled water and fresh fruit was provided. I don't remember the exact cost but I think it was around $80 like in Coz and here again cash is required.

 

Feel free to ask any questions if you've made it this far.

[Jerry_G]

Thanks for the info. I've dove Coz, but will be in Costa Maya in Dec. I'll be using Blue Ha as well.

Jerry

[susalov]

Just had to chime in and say that we also went diving with Blue Ha when we were in Costa Maya and had a great time! That was the first time I'd done a back roll entry--sounded so scary, but it ended up being pretty cool! :) We also decided that we really liked using the steel tanks! We'll use them next time we stop there again.

[w&k]

I was supposed to dive with Blue Ha on my Splendour trip in April, but the captain did not stop at Costa Maya due to the rough seas and howling wind.

 

What were the boats like?

 

Also, Blue Ha has now changed its name to Dreamtime Diving. http://www.dreamtimediving.com/home/index.php

 

Thanks for the review!

 

Wendy