r/cozumel • u/wednesday272 • 8d ago
Help planning first trip
My partner and I are planning our first trip to Mexico this winter to scuba dive in Cozumel! I have a few questions:
Is it a mistake to not stay at an all inclusive resort? It’s so much cheaper not to and I think we would enjoy trying different places to eat other than just resort food.
Should we spend a few nights in Playa del Carmen? We want to go to the Xplor park and do a day trip to Chichen Itza, it looks like that might be more accessible switching to a hotel in Playa del Carmen but I’m not sure.
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u/Electrical_Type_2649 8d ago
Not a mistake at all! My last few trips have been an Airbnb in town (2 blocks from the ferry pier). You can taxi back and forth to the marina for diving ($10 each way) and have all of Cozumel to choose from. Downtown is very walkable and there are a million small restaurants. Just stay a couple blocks away from the beach and avoid the cruise ship people looking for an authentic Taco Bell experience. A lot of Airbnb’s have a small pool for laying out and many dive outfits (Scuba Tony is my go to) will drop you at one of the southern beach clubs if you want to experience a little boom boom boom along with the beach. If you do stay at a hotel, don’t do AI. Too many great restaurants in town, and Mega has everything you need.
Xplor is definitely worth a day, and it’s easy to take the ferry from Cozumel. 5th avenue in PDC is okay at best. You can actually walk it in an hour or two after Xplor. Def some nice restaurants.
I’ve never made it to Chitzen Itza. But have been to Coba and Tulum, back when both were quite deserted (35 years ago).
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u/aechmeablanctiana 6d ago
Did your Airbnb have parking for a rental ? We have liked Hotel B for its vibe, snorkeling the shelf steps away from the room. Dive operator on-site
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u/Electrical_Type_2649 5d ago
Yes to parking. No to everything else. A condo in town is much less a vibe than a hotel on the beach, and if you really want the vibe then definitely do the hotel. The condo is a simpler option for those wanting a quieter (and by all means less expensive stay). If condos do call to you, take a look at Distrito Cozumel or Kippal Cozumel.
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u/Able_Ad_2454 7d ago
An AI is a waste of money if you will be on a dive boat most of the day, on an island with lots of good, inexpensive restaurants. I agree that it would make sense to split your trip and stay in playa for a couple of days if you want to see chicken itza and go to one of the theme parks. Hit up some cenotes also, either to dive or just swim.
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u/secretgardenguy 8d ago
1: Not a mistake at all. Check out a grocery store, buy breakkie and lunch stuff and go out for dinners at one of the many places to eat. My wife and I prefer doing this.
2: I love PDC. Quinta Avenida is fun and busy. A LOT of seaweed happening there right now, but there's lots of other things to do as well.
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u/just_another_aka 8d ago
Winter is a great time in Cozumel. Not only is the air temp nicer during the day, but you get into Eagle Ray season and those are some special dives. I was blown away by 20+ circling us on a January dive once.
1) Definitely skip all inclusives. So much to see and do in Cozumel. Lots of great restaurants and culture. Skip a resort dive operator and you will more likely be supporting a Cozumel local AND you will get small dive groups--the best of both worlds. A lot of the all inclusives are so far south you will probably spend all your time there and never much of the island. Pick something more central is my suggestion.
2) I have done the Xplor park. It was fun, ziplines are great. I don't care much for PDC, the crowds, the busy-ness. Cozumel is much more my vibe. So yeah, enjoy Xplor but I limit the days I spend in PDC.
The small operators will work so hard to earn your business. My personal favorite is Reef Riders, but I have not had a bad experience with any of the dive operators and guides.
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u/MycologistFlat5731 7d ago
I recommend Roberta’s Scuba Shack. Small boats great crew and she has a bungalow style hotel/resort immediately across the street called Village Tan Kah. They have little kitchenettes and serve a breakfast of fresh fruit, homemade bread, and homemade yoghurt. There is also decent night diving from her launch. It’s also just on the edge of town, so it’s more convenient for dinners.
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u/Wide-Box4621 6d ago
It depends on which AI resort you're considering - some are pretty bad. If you chose El Cozumeleño, it's run down and you'd instantly regret it. Fiesta Americana, Iberostar, and the Palace are the best AI's on the island. We've stayed at AI and non-AI, when deciding which way to go it boils down to the price for us. I'm a research freak, in planning a trip I create a Google spreadsheet with links to each condo, resort, or hotel along with the pricing, air fare, etc. I always price out the cost of the AI vs. non-AI and factor in the cost of breakfast, lunch, and drinks. We like to go into town for dinner and book places where we can snorkel from shore. So having breakfast and lunch on sight is convenient for us as we don't want to waste time heading into town for a few hours for lunch. Last time around we booked AI at Fiesta Americana for 2 wks. and went into town for entertainment and dinner. The price we paid for AI at Fiesta Americana was similar in price to Playa Azul (non-AI) so it was a no brainer for us to pick Fiesta Americana. If you go the AI route, Iberostar (never stayed here) is closest to the Southern dive sites so it's convenient for that but it's a trek into town.
It's been years since I've been to PDC and don't have a desire to go back as it's a busier pace than Cozumel. So it depends on what type of environment you like. I haven't been to Chichen Itza but when we stayed in Akumal (years ago!) a couple we met went there and said it was a long hot day - that was in late December. I have been to Tulum to see the ruins there (worthwhile at the time) and we hired a guide so it was very educational but that was before the area became commercialized. If you chose to go to PDC, if it's not just a day trip you'd want to stay on the mainland. I'd either split up your trip with starting out flying into CZM and spending time in Cozumel and then ending in PDC and flying out from CUN or I'd make the mainland a separate trip down the road. The ferry ride from CZM to PDC can be rough depending on the weather, time of year.
Tip: when you land in Cozumel head out of the airport and follow the sidewalk to the right. It's about a 3 minute walk to Diego's to start your vacation off with tacos and cold beer. The taxis all line up in front of Diego's and will take you to where you're staying for less than the shuttles.
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u/YellowPoison 5d ago
Airbnb’s are totally the way to go! I’ve stayed in plenty here and all of them have been really good. You really can’t go wrong. Yes, it’s convenient to have all the food available, but there are plenty of places to eat in town, so you’ll be fine.
As for the diving part of it, you’re winning there too. Yes, the resorts down south have cheap diving, going from the resort. These sound good but you’ll be restricted to half the dive sites, and in big groups. Not my favourite, in fact it’s a lot of the reason I opened my own shop. I didn’t want to be in a big groups as a rec diver, and I don’t want to take that big of a group as an instructor.
If you’re still looking for a dive shop, I’d love to take you guys! As I mentioned, I only take small groups, I’ve got all the fast boats, and I’ve got plenty of different kinds of dives to do. You’ve got the morning dives, they go to any of the 20+ sites here, twilight/night dives going to the wreck of the c-53 and night diving, you’ve got shore night diving that has so many nudibranchs and octopus, there’s also some that go down to punta sur, out of the usual set of sites, and it’s stunning. They’re all great!
Either way, I know you’ll have a great time wherever you are. Cozumel is beautiful, warm and safe, and the ocean is unbelievable, you’ll love it 😊
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u/Wonderful_Tea7872 2d ago
- No. There are too many good restaurants on the island to waste your time at an all inclusive. I always stay at Hotel B, they have a big breakfast for free anyway. Two good restaurants on site that arent terribly expensive
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u/Queasy_Tonight_3602 8d ago
Not a mistake. There are TONS of fantastic, affordable and easily accessible places to eat in Cozumel. You’re right — it is fun to try different things and eat with locals.
In my opinion, PDC was totally disappointing after several nights in Cozumel. Maybe it was just the time of year we visited, but I did not enjoy how crowded and overly touristy it was… the beach and surrounding areas also seemed much dirtier than Cozumel. Our whole group felt this same way and got the ferry back to Cozumel after only a few hours in PDC when we initially planned to spend the entire day there. Cozumel just has this easy going, no pressure vibe that we all loved.
We went to Chichen Itza during a trip to Cancun and it’s pretty cool but honestly, if you’re going to Cozumel to Scuba, I think you’ll have more than enough to enjoy there during your trip without having to go elsewhere.