Cozumel Aug 10 - 17

Tell us your tale of coming nose-to-nose with a 6 gill [--this big--], or about your vacation to turquoise warm waters. Share your adventures here!
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stevensjg2001
Just Settling In
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Cozumel Aug 10 - 17

Post by stevensjg2001 »

I just signed on to NWDC before I took this awesome week trip to Cozumel, so here is my first trip report. My wife , a friend and I stayed at the Iberostar Cozumel and cannot say enough good stuff about this "All-Inclusive" stay. Total cost for room, board and airfare was $1,100 for a 7 nite stay. I then paid Dressel Divers about $515 for 2 nite dives and 12 day dives. All in all, I thought the cost was pretty reasonable for a week. The food was great and more importantly, the bar was almost always open (remember, the key word was "All-Inclusive").
I thought the folks at Dressel were extremely helpful and I enjoyed the diving, but would likely try a new plan when I return sometime. Mainly, I would make sure I went with enough other divers so we could charter one of the smaller companies Like Blue Angel Divers or Diving with Alison. The boats were always crowded and when doing some of the cool dive throughs and cavelike areas in the reefs, I always had one or two divers in front of me that could not keep their fins off the bottom. But when you travel as the only diver, you often have to take the good with the bad.
Several of the dives were in some pretty rapid current, so we often did not get to observe some of the small stuff - but the reefs were gorgeous. I finally was able to observe (my first) turtle and a beautiful green octopus on a night dive. I also was able to see a clown shrimp - but would have never known without the divemaster - talk about small ! One of my dive highlights was to dive the C-53 Felipe Xicotenantl, a Mexican minesweeper that was sunk in June 2000. The only downside was that we were dropped in at the bow of the ship and as we kicked down the starboard side, we were fighting a horrendous current. By the time I kicked around the entire perimeter and finally entered the ship via one of the provided "cut-outs", I was down to 1,000 PSI. So with it being 75' at the bottom, I only made a 34 minute dive. I would like to return to that sight again sometime.
One of the best deep dives was at Punta Sur - we were at 101' and the reef formations were massive. I do not have a digital camera yet, so will be dropping off 5 rolls of 35mm film at Costco and praying that some of the shots came out - that's always the drawback to film.
Dressel Divers was pretty good about not repeating dive sites, but because of currents one day and another day that I chose to dive shallow so my wife and I could be on the same boat while she snorkeled, I did hit Palancar Gardens 3 times. That would also be the advantage of having 5 or 6 divers "own" the charter - if a site is bad one day, come back to it another day. I did not have that option with Dressel. But one more time - I was pleased with their service and their crew.

In closing, after diving a full week in board shorts and a rash guard, I'm not sure I am ready to put back on the fleece, hood and thick gloves again - but after all, I live here and I can dive whenever I have a buddy . . . . . . . ~ Jim Stevens
Ready to learn . . . . even more
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rjarnold
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Re: Cozumel Aug 10 - 17

Post by rjarnold »

Thanks for this report! Iberostar was the exact resort I was looking into for a possible dive vacation (hopefully) coming in the near future. The package shows 7 nights stay, all inclusive, plus 5 2-tank day dives for I think it was a bit over $800/pp. Still would need airfare, and I assume I'd want to dive more than that. Is there a 'house reef' or something nearby?
Lophiiformes rock.

"Anal fins are a gateway drug." - Tom Nic
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LCF
I've Got Gills
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Re: Cozumel Aug 10 - 17

Post by LCF »

If you can get enough people together to do it, I highly recommend Aldora Divers. We did six days of diving with them a year ago March. They run six-packs and have a very nice operation -- They also use steel 100s and 120s, so we got nice LONG dives with them.
"Sometimes, when your world is going sideways, the second best thing to everything working out right, is knowing you are loved..." ljjames
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stevensjg2001
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Re: Cozumel Aug 10 - 17

Post by stevensjg2001 »

Everything Dressel does is within the Marine Park - so a weekly plan provides no repeats. However, there is no shore diving from that location - or if I remember correctly, there is no shore diving within the marine park. Most other dive shops will pick you up at the pier in front of the Iberostar - so if you decide to run with another dive service other than Dressel, they will pick you up. That is important, because the cab ride into town is $17 USD one way.

Thanks for the tip on Aldora - the aluminum 80's at Dressel made some very short dives (like the C-53).
~ Jim
Ready to learn . . . . even more
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