Re: Cozumel & Calica Shore Excursions - Recommended?

idea from a lurker... we aren't divers yet, will be when we go back...

when we were there for a week we wanted to avoid the cattle call snorkel
trips so we booked a snorkel trip through a dive shop, just our family of
four. We had a lovely full day out on the reefs with our dive master and
the driver, just drift snorkeling at the shallow areas... it was so much
fun!!

Penny S

The drift dives at Cozumel are world famous and well worth doing (although
see if you can get them to take you to Columbia deep). That will take up
most of the morning and early afternoon (boats usually leave about 9:00 and
get back around 1or 2 in the afternoon). The jeep tour is interesting but
you will not have time for it if you go diving. The sunset snokeling is ok.
but probably not as much fun as a night dive. Alternatively, see which of
the dive shops have a night dive and to that. Chankanaab Park is
interesting but you don't need a tour. Catch a cab to the park (use to be
only five pesos but may have gone up). You can get snorkeling gear there
(although if you do the dive in the morning you don't want to be doing much
up and down free diving - increased risk for DCS, "the bends" - because of
your nitrogen loading.)

In terms of Calica, Playa de Carmen, and Tulum you have several good
alternatives. Not on the list is a cavern dive in one of the cenotes (this
area is world famous for its beautiful underwater caverns/caves). You can
arrange for a cenote dive with most of the dive operators. If your boat is
docking in Cozumel, the ferry across to Playa de Carmen is less than 45
minutes (starts at 5am and ends at 11pm) and they run frequently. The
prettiest cenotes are "dos ojos", "taj mahal", or "car wash". The trip to
Chichen Itza Mayan Ruins is interesting but can be quite crowded and very
hot. Very disneylandish. An alternative trip for mayan ruins is La Coba,
60 kilometers east of Tulum. It is one of the largest of the Mayan ruins
and largely unexcuvated. Ask to go there or rent a car in Playa de Carmen,
drive to Tulum and visit the ruins there (no great shakes but does have a
very nice bizare for buying gifts), have lunch (not at the ruins but along
the beach south of the ruins, drive over to La Coba. Good roads, no driving
problems. From Playa de Carmen to Tulum is about 40 miles. From Tulum to
La Coba is about 40 miles. Trip toTres Rios would be nice.

don bradley wrote:
> ... The sunset snokeling is ok.
> but probably not as much fun as a night dive.

Actually, very late afternoon toward dusk is just about the worst time
to go snorkeling. When the angle of the sun gets low, most of the light
reflects away, so all you can see underwater is sort of a gray
undifferentiated mishmash. Go earlier when it's bright, or later with lights.

Gordon in Austin