Diving with Blue Ha 4/20/05 (long)

[jtonra]

(Copied from Scuba Board)

 

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.

 

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.

[travelbuds]

Curious if you have any recommendations for snorkeling at Costa Maya. We were on the Jewel in March and did a snorkeling trip. Not much for fish or coral. http://costamayacruiseexcursions.com/CostaMayaSnorkeling.htm

[jtonra]

Sorry I really can't help you there since we were diving. Both the spots we dove were pretty deep and thus would probably not be good choices for snorkeling. We did see plenty of both coral and fish though. You might want to check with Blue Ha and see if they have any suggestions.

[billyscuba7]

(Copied from Scuba Board)

 

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.

 

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.

Who did you get in touch with for Blue Ha. Iam wanting to dive there Aug 8th with 10-15 friends :) :cool: billyscuba7

[gaviota]

OP and responses are nearly 2 years old.

 

Blue Ha is now Dreamtime Diving.

 

Other dive shops include Maya Palms, Bucanero Diving and Blue Ocean Safari. All have websites and e-mail.

[Nauti_Buoy]

Blue Ha is now Dreamtime Diving. Other dive shops include Maya Palms, Bucanero Diving and Blue Ocean Safari.

 

Thanks for the update! I'll be in port there 9/7/07 and have just started checking into dive shops, so your info is greatly appreciated. Of these 4 shops, do you have a particular recommendation (and why)?