Surf Diving Hotels in Cozumel/Cancun???

[mdooley]

I'm planning a trip to Cozumel or Cancun (havent decided which one) and was wondering if anyone knows of a good place to stay that has decent diving from the beach and onsite air, dive shop, etc. Or am I wasting time trying dive from the hotel/beach????? My wife and I are new divers so any advice is appreciated!

[DevilDiver]

Scuba Club and Fiesta Americana advertise unlimited shore dive with most packages. Both nice and packages priced right. There might be more that offer shore diving but these came to mind first.

Boat diving is what you want on Cozumel.

[ParrotheadDiver]

Shore diving in Cozumel is hardly worth the effort or the money....but at least you are in clear water....In front of El Cid there are the remains (if that is what you call it) of an old airplane it is more like pieces of metal now Caribe Blu has a little bit of rubble as well... most of the shore diving is sand bottom with bits of rubble/coral heads here and there....but really for the most part you need to do boat dives in Cozumel to experience the reef...it is all drift diving so you cover alot of ground

[l_w]

I just got back from Cancun... stayed right down from Playa Del Carmen too. The shore line area was a little rocky in places and very sandy.... but when I got out on the boat the water was great. Visability was over 100+, and sea life was booming everywhere. It was well worth it. a 2 tank dive cost me around $70. I think it was worth it- I had a blast. The dive center was at a resort I stayed at, they were Scuba Libre. I would use them again.

[Defman]

If I ever dove it I don't remember much about it, but I have a short memory too.

Villa Blanca Wall is right out from Villa Blanca hotel & Papa Hogs. I think I recall the folks at PH saying it was a good dive.

[DevilDiver]

You know.. I totally 100% agree that if you are on Cozumel boat diving is what you want to do. Now after saying this I have read a lot of reports from divers who do shore dives there and complain there is nothing to see......

Well... this depends what you are looking for and how you go about it. There typically is only rocks, small coral heads, sand patches and turtle grass.

If you like juvenile fish, invertebrates, gobies & blennies, jaw fish, squid maybe even seahorses..... You might want to look again, just a little slower.

The last trip I stayed at the Fiesta Americana and did 4 shore dives while I was there. Mostly in the evening after the days boat dives. On these dives I saw lots of juveniles, blennies, splendid toad fish, a few cleaning stations, rays, plenty of grunts, parrot fish, angels and a jaw fish. And the deepest I went was 20'.

I got his pic of an Chain Moray right under the ladder on the dock for the DS.



You have to do the boat dives. That is what Cozumel is all about.... Just remember there are some cool critters close to shore if you look.

Hope you have a great trip!!!!

[mdooley]

Great, thanks all for the advice. I definately plan to do plenty-o-boat dives but thought it would be fun to do a little mild diving in the evenings and relax on the beach too.

btw.....what is a cleaning station?

[RonFrank]

The *Beach* off of spots like Papa Hogs, and Caribe Blu is not beach, it's rock. If you want a beach, you have to go south and stay in a Condo, or resort. The disadvantage is that there is better shore diving North, and a Taxi to/from the city from down south runs $15 or more each way. Depending on how far down you are it may run closer to $20 one way.

I did one shore dive the last time I was in Coz. It was a nice dive, and we saw a lot of life. However the boats are where it's at!

If you are doing a trip to dive, stay in Coz. If you want to party, then go to Cancun. I personally like the atmosphere better in Coz, but that is a subject call. You could also do both, and even dive a Cenote while on the mainland.

[mermoose]

I went to Cozumel a few years ago with some friends. We stayed at an all inclusive resort that included at least one 2 tank dive per day, maybe more. I'll email them and see if I can find the name of it. I think there are different prices for non-divers, but, we had lockers near the dock and used them everyday. There was a rinse tank and I believe there were also morning deep dives included. Check into dive resorts if youre going. We had a GREAT time. All the dives were boat dives and mostly drift. I loved it. I'll let you know if I can get the name of where we stayed . But I know there is more than one. Go for it. Although, you may want to ask about the condition of the reefs since that big hurricane. Good luck!