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Scuba, Snuba, and Snorkeling in Cozumel Thread

dbrady

By dbrady,
in Cozumel

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familyplanner

familyplanner

Posted
Posted

Does anyone know of a tour company that will take you scuba diving if you have never been before? We have a large group with several who certified about 15 years ago and haven't been since and other that want to try it. Also wondering if you know of a company that will let others ride along and snorkel the reef above? Thanks in advance!

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  • 3 weeks later...
bruce-r

bruce-r

Posted
Posted

Since you couldn't do the whole thing in Cozumel while on a cruise, you will have to do a land package. It takes 2 days of open water checkout dives to complete a certification and I know of no cruises that stop there that long.

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Gaston

Gaston

Posted
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bruce-r is absolutely correct. The Open Water Dives portion of the PADI Certification will take 2 complete days with a dive in the morning and afternoon each day. So, the question being posed by cruizinwoman needs to be expanded. Assuming you have not done anything toward your Certification yet, you will need even more time on Cozumel. For instance, where I live on the southeast coast, you would need four days of classroom and pool sessions for the first part of the Certification. Then, usually on weekends, you would need to spend Saturday and Sunday for your Open Water portion. This is why many people opt to complete the classroom and pool portions at their hometown SCUBA Center so that they only need to use 2 vacation days for the Open Water Dives. And of course, the amount of actual class, pool, and Open Water time will depend on whether your instructor believes you have mastered all your skills needed to complete a SCUBA Certification. Whatever you decide, good luck.

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cruizinwoman

cruizinwoman

Posted
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okay. thanks for that feedback. We were thinking a 4-5 day cruise where we could ferry over from Playa the one day and then actually be in Coz the other day. But sounds like we need to be there 2 FULL days.

 

Let me ask you this... we live in the country but found a scuba place in Dallas that will let us do the "classroom" portion at home, then we go on Saturday and Sunday 9-5 both days for the "swimming pool" portion. Does this sound right?

 

And then if we understand correctly, we would do the open water dives in Cozumel. I am going to assume this all needs to be done rather closely together, not weeks or months apart, yes?

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Gaston

Gaston

Posted
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Maybe bruce-r has a better handle on this question but I'll give you what I believe is the case. I have seen websites where they say you can do the classroom portion of the Certification at home using the textbook/textbooks and usually a DVD or CD with a recorded instructor. Unfortunately, that's where my experience ends with this type of classroom work. We physically sat in class each day before we went downstairs to the pool for skills. But let me say this, if no one (meaning a more experienced diver than me) has an issue with "at home" classes, then two pool days sounds right. I base that on the fact that we spent four afternoons in the pool, about the same number of hours as two days. And finally, you would then be ready for your Open Water Dives. As I previously stated, you will make at least 4 dives in the Open Ocean at Cozumel on two different days. The truth is that I actually did my classroom and pool portions here at home and did my Open Water Check Out Dives on Maui. I could have done my dives in West Palm, Florida but we opted for a more exotic locale. Good luck how ever you finally do your Certification.

I just re-read your Post and have two other comments. First, the 9-5 time frame on the weekend for the pool is to make certain you fully understand the Dive Tables and how to use them. Also, the length of time will give your instructor adequate time to evaluate your skills and the understanding of why these above and underwater skills are critical. Second, I believe there is a time requirement for doing class/pool and then completing the Open Water portion but I am not certain of how long. We did our Open Water Dives about a month after our class/pool sessions. Hope this helps.

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skylock

skylock

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Hi,

 

Yes you can do your class room at home and complete the dives in Cozumel.

 

However, I suggest you do what we did, and take a week in paradise and complete the whole thing there.

 

Honestly it was cheaper for the 2 of us to fly to Cozumel, stay 7 days (scuba class was only 4 mornings), and have a great vacation, than it was to get certified here locally. (We were going to have to go to Fla for the open water dives)

 

I recommend Aqua Safari for the class, and stay at the Suites Bahia hotel. It is a very nice simple hotel, but big rooms and only 2 blocks from Aqua Safari. Right in town. Ask for room 22. Balcony looks out over pizza hut. You will not believe the sights you can see from that balcony. The local people come out around 8 or 9.

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ColumbiaMDCanadian

ColumbiaMDCanadian

Posted
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What is discover scuba? Do you actually do a tank dive without certification? May want to try this with dalila divers in Jan.

 

Yeah - also called a 'resort course', they let you try scuba - usually in a pool first and then from a beach in "pool like conditions", with a tank. At the end, you're not certified but some places may give you some credit for the time toward full cerification. ( See https://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/rec/begin/dsdsd.asp for a better explanaiton. Note that a local dive shop can probably get you the full certification for only a little bit more than some resort courses! $99 for Discover on Cozumel and $175 to $250 for full certfication at dive shops in the Maryland area)

 

I did Discover in St. Thomas a few years ago and loved it - so much so that I'm going for lessons this January. VERY weird feeling, by the way, the first time you breathe under water - my brain kept trying to tell me that I wasn't supposed to be able to breathe!

 

Have fun with it.

M

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fredwooch

fredwooch

Posted
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My son and I are going to be in Cozumel on a cruise and we want to take an introductory diving course. (I dove once about 10 years ago; he's never dived before.) We've checked with a couple of operators that we found over the internet who can accommodate us, but I was hoping to get some recommendations from anyone who may have had personal experiences with them. Safety, of course, is our top priority. We were also wondering whether it would be better (especially given the conditions after Wilma) if our first dive was a shore dive or off a boat, since most operators seem to offer only one or the other.

 

The operators who seem to be able to accommodate us include: Blue Angel Dive Shop, Papa Hogs, Michael Beasley, Cristina Roman (Dive With Cristina), and Cozumel Cruise Excursions.com (I don't know who they use as the actual dive shop).

 

Does anyone recommend or not recommend any of the above? Is there anything we should particularly be looking for?

 

Appreciate any help . . .

 

[Please excuse the cross-posting with the Scuba & Snorkeling forum; I thought I might get a different population responding here]

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rico

rico

Posted
Posted

No experience with any of those you listed.

 

My wife wanted to do an introductory course when we were in Cozumel (I'm already certified but also did the course with her). We were with Sand Dollar Sports. They did a good job with it. They're a PADI dive center and their classroom instruction covered all the critical items well. Diving was from shore directly across the street from their shop. Not one of Cozumel's great reefs, but there was enough there for a beginner to be excited. Coral heads, barracuda, Spotted moray, Eagle ray about 30 feet from us, etc.

 

This was in 2004. Unless they've really changed, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Sand Dollar.

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Cozumel-Ian

Cozumel-Ian

Posted
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Hi Fredwooch

 

Unless the sea conditions are bad, I'd recommend you do a boat dive, there should be more to see in terms of reef, although there are fish everywhere!

 

I've recently been out diving with Scuba Tony and Liquid Blue - both were excellent. Tony, from California, runs his own small operation and gives great personal service, Liquid Blue is run by Roberto from Mexico and Michaela his wife from the US, also quite a small operation and they use steel tanks = more air = more bottom time.

 

I've just added a report with new underwater photos about diving here to my website too - see: www.wilmacozumel.com

 

Happy diving!

 

Ian

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NYHartChapp

NYHartChapp

Posted
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My son and I are going to be in Cozumel on a cruise and we want to take an introductory diving course. (I dove once about 10 years ago; he's never dived before.)

 

You might want to consider "snuba". My son (12 at the time) and I were in Cozumel a couple of years ago and booked a snuba excursion with Mayan Paradise. Basically, snuba is a cross between SCUBA and snorkling. With snuba, you are connected to a floating air tank via a 20' air hose and breathe through a regulator, just like SCUBA, but without wearing the tank and without having to be certified (you are given instructions on the way out to the reef and Gary - the owner - won't let anyone in the water until completely comfortable with the apparatus). We're going to be back in Cozumel this April and look forward to booking with Gary again. Have a great cruise.

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