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Cozumel Scuba Diving |
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You've heard it all before, but diving the waters of Cozumel is exceptional and breathtaking and the dives sites look different even if you return to the same spot in the same week.
Rated in the top 5 diving sites in the world, Cozumel remains popular for all levels of diving from the beginner to the highly experienced technical diver.
There is challenge and beauty for everyone so take your time, get all the info you can, and learn from the Insiders ...
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Selecting a Dive Operator and Dive Trip |
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Since there are over 130 dive shops to chose from on Cozumel, deciding who to dive with can be overwhelming.
The choices range from large operations with as many as 15 boats in the fleet to mom-pop shops with a single boat to launch daily as well as freelancers hawking on the street and renting boats at the last minute when they get enough clients to cover costs.
Basics for Choosing the Right Dive Shop |
- Verify the dive operator is affiliated with a certifying agency such as PADI, NAUI, SSI or even FMAS which is the Mexican counterpart to the US agencies. All of these agencies have "incident" reporting processes to ensure safety and compliance with industry guidelines.
- Check the certification and experience levels of the shop owner as well as the person who will be conducting the dives. Your safety will depend on the guidance and decision making of these professionals. The more experienced guides are familiar with the water currents and reefs.
- Select dive operators who invest in safety equipment. The minimum safety equipment on board a dive boat is a radio, lifejackets and a DAN oxygen kit for emergencies. Professional operators will carry fresh water and first aid kits as well.
- Choose dive operators who employ multi-lingual employees. You will be more comfortable and misunderstandings are minimized.
- Most importantly, deal with a dive shop that understands the nature of customer service. With so much competition, there is no reason for anyone to be less than professional to you.
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Basics for Choosing the Right Dive Trip |
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- Private Charters: These trips are organized for just your group. You make all the decisions as to where you want to go and what you want to do. This is fun for a large family or group that works well together and knows the area. This is generally more costly then the regular scheduled trips but it doesn't hurt to inquire if you are interested. Contact us and we would be happy to help you set one up.
- Small Boat or "Fast Boat": This type of trip is typically taken on a small boat with an outboard motor. The boat can accomodate comfortably no more than 4-6 divers. Since the boat is small and fast it gets you to the reef quickly (maybe ahead of the other groups).
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- Larger Boat: This trip is taken on a larger boat typically with as as many as 10-15 other divers. The trip is very comfortable as there normally is plenty of room for your gear and to move about. While travelling to/from the reefs, these boats typically have areas to relax and sun and most offer some ort of refreshments/snack.
Each option has its merits and can be fun in its own way. If you prefer privacy, book a charter; if you are gregarious and enjoy meeting people from all over the world, jump on a larger boat and make some new friends!
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Some SCUBA (and almost) activities you might enjoy!
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I just wanted to let you know that the private charter van service was outstanding. Thanks so much to you and your staff for arranging for the beverages on board and the driver was great. We will be visiting Cozumel again will always be utilizing yours and Uniper's assistance. R. Lee Family ~ Colorado
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Sherri ~ WOW!!! We just returned from our cruise! What a wonderful time we had!! Your COZUMELINSIDER.com bookings for our Dolphin snorkel adventure and Sea Trek were the highlight of the cruise. They were easy and saved us about half the cost of booking through the cruise line. We simply hopped into a cab and spent the day at the Park (we could have spent a week there.) They were even able to work us into the Sea Trek early. All the people were friendly, helpful and overall just treated us great. While we were standing around waiting a short little man came up and ask if we wanted a snorkel tour. I instantly remembered what you had said and looked at his name tag. It was Mario! His tour was fantastic! If you see him ask him if he remembers Se or Ed and his family (he never caught that my name was Ted, but that's okay!) I had a waterproof digital camera and he snapped lots of pictures of us. We had a wonderful time and much of it was thanks to you, your website and staff!
I know you probably get lots of pictures but I had to send you three. Look at the smiles on my boy's faces. That says it all! Thank you so much for all your help and advice. We can't wait to return. Your website is the first place we will stop! I wish we could have met in person. We will next time! T. Mahler Family ~ Howe ,TX
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My husband, my son and his two boys spent 5 days at Hotel Cozumel and Resort.. He did his first scuba dive at Dive Paradise Club across from the hotel. The man who taught him was named Jordan. He was very thorough. The ocean was beautiful, the people friendly. It was a very relaxing vacation. Before we went I found your site, and spent several weeks before we went reading your newsletter. It was very helpful and gave us a wonderful view of what was going on. We were there at the end of May 2006 and I still am reading your news. I intend to continue to do so as we are planning to come back someday. Thanks for all the insight. I hope they keep that one beach open for the local people and fisherman's boats.. Even though we were tourists, it doesn't seem right to take everything away from those who live there. Connie Armstrong ~ Coyle, Oklahoma
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Just returned from Cozumel where we participated in the FP&M Turtle Salvation program and it was the highlight of our trip. Our guides picked us up at our hotel right on time. They were very nice and one spoke fantastic English. Being able to participate in the extraction of newly hatched baby sea turtles from their nests and then watching them scurry into the ocean was so amazing. There were 4 nests hatching that evening so we were interacting with baby turtles for several hours. Those little turtles are SO adorable and so VERY determined to get to the water. This activity exceeded our expectations. I would recommend it to anyone who loves nature and wants to help this endangered species. It is awesome that cozumelinsider.com donates its resources to handle the bookings for this activity to help raise funds for this great cause. Thanks for an awesome experience! T. Daily ~ Arizona
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Hello: Sorry about all the calls and e-mails yesterday ~ it appears that we had a problem with yahoo email and receiving your confirmations. But I had your staff send the confirmations to my work e-mail and all is good. Your staff was very helpful, customer service friendly and courteous and I think your agency is great! My wife is a travel/booking agent and she agrees with me and plans to use your services in the future to book excursions for her clients. Thanks again and have a good day; Michael Weinberger ~ not given
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Copyright 2000 - 2024 Sherri Davis, All Rights Reserved. Contributors retain the copyright to their work. Please do not take art or written content without permission. Other graphics and reference materials are used and attributed as per the Fair Use Provision of The Copyright Act and individual terms of use.
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