Cozumel on a budget trip report Sep. 2003.

Just back from my first trip to Cozumel, what a great time. Attempted
to do this trip as a last minute budget dive getaway. Chose Cozumel
for the caliber of diving which is very high, and for economy of
travel. I was able to find a $212 charter fare to Cancun out of
Denver on Ryan Air. The flight out was 3 hrs late departing but the
return left early? Made it to Cancun in time to catch a $15 (prices
given in US dollars) shuttle from the airport to Playa del Carmen.
The initial shuttle price was $18 but quickly came down to $15 with a
little bargaining inside the airport. After a quick beer from the
grocery store next to Senior Frogs at the Playa del Carmen Ferry pier,
caught the yellow ferry for $14 to Cozumel. There are two fast
ferries, a blue and a yellow one which run on the hour most of the day
till 11pm. Round trip between Denver and Cozumel ended up being $241
and was convenient despite the delay in Denver. Arrived in Cozumel
around 11pm and walked around looking for a decent hotel for around
$30 a night for two people. After looking at a few places, Bahia was
$48 for a suite, people recommended Hotel Gonzales on the plaza for
$35 but the room I saw was cramped and the place seemed grubby. Ended
up at Hotel Flamingo for $35 a night. Hotel Flamingo has a great in
town location half block from the ocean and 3 blocks north of the
plaza on a quiet street. They have clean spacious rooms with cable
TV, Mexican version of MTV was cool, private bath with shower but
don't expect much hot water. Rooftop deck overlooking the ocean and a
courtyard were nice to relax or have breakfast. The desk staff are
helpful in arranging dives or giving advice on what to do.
Ok, was set up for some great diving, but it is September and low
season. Having heard that diving is at your convenience in Cozumel I
figured I could sleep in and catch one of the many two tank afternoon
dives which go out around 1pm. Alas, it was a Saturday and most shops
were not going out that afternoon. I had to scramble around to find a
shop to take me out. DIMI Scuba Tours were the one outfit I found who
were going because of a large group who had been doing 1pm dives all
week. DIMI took us out on a large slow boat to dive San Francisco
Wall. More of a sloping tongue and groove but a sweet shallow drift
that seemed to go on for miles. Large French Angels drifting along
with us, a great warmup dive. Water temp was 84 degrees, bath water
in a 3/2 mil wet suit. Nice long interval with a good lunch and we
are off to dive the wreck C-53, recently planted. This was an
exciting dive following guide lines through the interior of the ship
some parts of which had no outside light coming in. Large schools of
minnows and glassy sweepers were in residence as were as a few large
groupers who feed on them. DIMI was a decent outfit with the casual
fun loving attitude found throughout Cozumel. They charged around $64
with BC/Reg rental. The next day I came down with a head cold so
diving was out for a couple of days. Fortunately Sep 15 was Mexican
Independence Day so lots was going on for that. Great food music and
sights were abundant at the fairgrounds south side of town. Since
diving was out the hotel people recommended renting a scooter to tour
the island. At $20 for the day this was a great choice; the east
coast of Cozumel is gorgeous. Nice beach bars along the way, my
favorite was Coconuts which is on a shady hilltop overlooking the
ocean reportedly the highest point on Cozumel. Also hit San Gervasio
ruins which is buggy but intriguing with lots of Iguanas A note of
warning, though, scooter riding is considered the most dangerous
activity for tourists on Cozumel.
Well, after losing 2 days diving to a cold I figured I better find a
cure. One good recommendation from a dive master was Sudafed and a
shot of Tequila. Also flushing the sinuses with sea water seemed to
help, rough going. Snorkeled at Playa de Corona to test clearing and
saw some nice immature French Angelfish. Finally ready to dive again
I went looking for a night dive, once again it was difficult to find a
boat. Even the massive Dive Paradise wasn't going out, so Kelly at
the Flamingo found Black Shark was going. I was a little leery about
Black Shark though because I had heard bad things about them on this
newsgroup. Well, they were a little crazy, with the gear hands all
drinking Tequila on the way to the dive boat. Also they had agreed to
$40 with rentals on the phone but demanded an extra $6 for the light
at the shop. Once on the boat things went smoothly, and we did an
awesome night drift on Paradiso reef. Saw 4 octopus one of which
crawled up my arm, very cool. All the DMs I dove with on Cozumel used
there BCD inflator hose as a tank banger, never attached them to the
BCD. The following day was back with Black Shark to do Punta Sur the
Devils Throat! I had asked many other shops to take me to this site
with no luck or the brush off. Papa Hogs manager was downright rude
telling me I had to dive with them for a whole week before they would
take any requests for something like that. This guy had a real
attitude and is reputed to be a real ass across the island. Black
Shark on the other hand was gung ho to do some advanced diving and
they did take us there the next day. I would recommend them to
advanced divers who have a sense of adventure, but you had better know
your business down there as no one is baby-sitting you. Our second
dive was El Cedral to Santa Rosa Drift which was a blast. Every
colored rope sponge flying by with a couple stops to check out nurse
sharks. Two tank morning dive with rentals was around $65 and I
chipped in an extra $10 for gas to do Punta Sur. What a bonus, two
great, exciting dives for my last day on Cozumel.
Next day off to Playa del Carmen to dive the Cenote Caverns.
Jumped back on the ferry and walked a few blocks to Casa Toucan: $27
a night recommended by the manager at the Flamingo. Casa Toucan is a
cool place with courtyards and a pool, but there surly German
management did nothing but glare at us Americans. Playa is a funky
artsy town which seems to cater to the European backpacker crowd; ie.
cheap. Yucatec Dive Shop is based out of the Casa Toucan so this was
convenient, but the Dutch DM there was overbearing and no fun. $100
gets you 2 tanks and rental for the cenote dives which do have a
technical aspect beyond open water diving. In the Cenotes Kul kul kan
and Chac mool the visibility was so good that your fellow divers
appear to be suspended in air. Swimming through caves with
stalactites was otherworldly. Something completely different from
Cozumel and a nice contrast. The 77 degree temp was something
different also. From what I heard the Cenote diving down by Tulum is
even better. Tulum Ruinas is a must see, Collectivo vans run regularly
from Playa del Carmen to Tulum for $2 each way.
Overall Cozumel and Playa del Carmen were a nice surprise, better
than I expected. Due to the volume of diving I assumed the reefs
would be thrashed but they appeared surprisingly healthy. Everybody
was very conscious of reef preservation here and divers pay $2 to
support the marine park. The Mexicans I met were gracious hosts and
fun loving too. The food was excellent, 4 tacos and a beer for $4.50.
This is a rather long winded report, I know, but I hope it provides
some useful information. Great Diving and a Great trip, Viva Mexico.
Peace, T.

Thanks for the great report, T.