Under the Sea - diving in Cozumel (CZM)
Mar 12, 2019, 5:00 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 181
Under the Sea - diving in Cozumel (CZM)
In June 2018 my dad retired and decided get back into scuba diving. I became certified on our first trip together in August 2018 in cozumel. Between my mom who can't swim and my sister who hates the ocean, I got the lucky ticket to become my dad's dive buddy and make sure we have something to bring back in case we have a life insurance claim (my mom's words, not mine).
When I expressed it would be nice to go again in January for a week, it made a convenient excuse for my dad to let my mom (who is still working btw) know he'll be going with me for 3 weeks...
Flights:
IAD-DFW-CZM Y
CZM-CLT-DCA J
So in August on my first trip to Cozumel we flew direct from IAD-CUN and then schlepped to the island. While the bus to playa is fine, the ferry to the island is not. You know if they pass out barf bags on a 1hr ferry it's going to be a Bad Time. So my only ask was to fly to the island directly this time, with a pleasant stop over in DFW.
2nd time at the DFW centurion lounge which I found quite pleasant for breakfast. They make a great white mimosa.
I was wearing what my sister affectionately (?) calls a mumu in the lounge and a woman who saw me in the ladies liked it so much her (also adult) daughter came up to me at the coffee bar to ask where I bought it (muji)
img]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7801/40397464643_8937b5e86e_z.jpg[/img
Flights were unremarkable other than the intense turbulence coming into the island. Never had a plane shake so much. The sheer gut dropping fear kept the nausea away (neat trick I guess) but somehow I never have any luck getting to the island.
CZM is a very cute airport with no gates, very different experience from cancun. Immigration took an excruciating amount of time as the queues were vague but we all made it out without incident.
Note there are no ATMs in this airport (that I could find). Still 5$ for a shuttle to downtown is nothing to cry over, dad!
We stayed at the casa mexicana hotel in downtown and dove with Tres Pelicanos for the week. Great dive company, highly recommend.
We didn't book any dives till day 2, planning to use day 1 for some practice shore diving. Hopes were dashed as it was too windy (even the harbor closed for the afternoon) and the dive center said shore diving wasn't allowed. So we rented a scooter and went across the island, checked out some beaches, ate some lunch, the weather was gorgeous all things considered, aside from the wind. Jan is a great time to go temperature wise, but the weather is more unpredictable than August.
beep beep y'all
fun rocks but a few were loose
smol friend
About the diving: Is it really a vacation to get up at 630 every day, eat quickly, get on a boat, and then fling yourself bodily into the ocean? Ok I guess for morning people probably, for me that's the hardest part of diving. Once I'm in the deep it's all smiles. 3Ps is a great company and you get up so early so you can beat the slow boats and tourists out to the dive sites and not have people dropping overhead on your dive.
Dive photos, in no particular order (in august I dove in a shorty, in Jan I needed a hood+wetsuit because the first day I got so chilled I couldn't do my second dive
the water is still warm but the wind on the boat really kills you)
lil'dude
]
big lazy dude
flowing over some coral
Just passing through. The hood really saved me because I was getting too cold to enjoy looking at anything at 70-80 ft
Look at enough fish, you're going to want to eat them (more on that later)
This fine gentleman hung out for a bit to let us get our photos in
mfw I don't get my morning coffee
These swim throughs are NOT for the claustrophobic. They are also tiring and burn extra air :c
our chariot
google earth..dad. always takin pics. Most of the time we spent the surface interval on the boat between dives, but a couple days we stopped at a beach club (yay bathrooms) and caught a little sun
Eating in Cozumel: last summer I was surprised my dad (who won't even take ubers out of anxiety, much less ask for directions) made me walk (ok not surprised) to a fishmonger/neighborhood restaurant in the residential district. They make this amazing fried fish and we always go back. (google pescaderia san carlos)
gorgeous ceviche
so normally the fish is smaller than this, meant for one person but that day I guess they ran out so they had me physically go over to the kitchen and look at the fish in the ice box and verbally agree yes I would like a fish this big. spoilers it was no problem
pescado frito
teefs
Another spot we like is Guido's
Excellent italian, fresh pasta and excellent cocktails. I wish I could transport this place to my neighborhood, certainly then I will need fewer diving weights.
More fresh pasta at Kooben Laab
Very small ~8 seat local eatery, fresh pasta, fresh bread, really delicious (why do I eat so much pasta in mexico??? I don't know)
fresh churros
mole chicken
Aug is quite miserable outside with the heat so Jan was a nice change, but it brought some pretty intense rain that floods the island. Pic related
Return home
Since my dad was staying to do some more diving, I went home solo on an award ticket on AA. The airport is actually super close to downtown (relatively speaking) so after I dropped my luggage off we waffed around a bit and then soon I was on my way.
First a stop at the only lounge at the airport (but still PP!), which still was a nice reprieve from the chorus of yelling children, to have a "latte" and some snacks
comfy seats tho
aforementioned 'latte'
CZM-CLT was thankfully turbulence free, and even included a meal.... spoiler alert it was pasta. Although a far cry from the fresh pasta all week, I'll eat pretty much anything and it was not bad.
sea you next time
CLT-DCA was a super quick hop, mad props to the woman next to me who downed 2 vodka sodas in that time. What a champ.
Overall it was a successful trip, my dad came back home 2 weeks later with no incident, and now he's on the "i'm sorry" cruise around the Caribbean with my mom. poor guy /s
When I expressed it would be nice to go again in January for a week, it made a convenient excuse for my dad to let my mom (who is still working btw) know he'll be going with me for 3 weeks...
Flights:
IAD-DFW-CZM Y
CZM-CLT-DCA J
So in August on my first trip to Cozumel we flew direct from IAD-CUN and then schlepped to the island. While the bus to playa is fine, the ferry to the island is not. You know if they pass out barf bags on a 1hr ferry it's going to be a Bad Time. So my only ask was to fly to the island directly this time, with a pleasant stop over in DFW.
2nd time at the DFW centurion lounge which I found quite pleasant for breakfast. They make a great white mimosa.
I was wearing what my sister affectionately (?) calls a mumu in the lounge and a woman who saw me in the ladies liked it so much her (also adult) daughter came up to me at the coffee bar to ask where I bought it (muji)
img]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7801/40397464643_8937b5e86e_z.jpg[/img
Flights were unremarkable other than the intense turbulence coming into the island. Never had a plane shake so much. The sheer gut dropping fear kept the nausea away (neat trick I guess) but somehow I never have any luck getting to the island.
CZM is a very cute airport with no gates, very different experience from cancun. Immigration took an excruciating amount of time as the queues were vague but we all made it out without incident.
Note there are no ATMs in this airport (that I could find). Still 5$ for a shuttle to downtown is nothing to cry over, dad!
We stayed at the casa mexicana hotel in downtown and dove with Tres Pelicanos for the week. Great dive company, highly recommend.
We didn't book any dives till day 2, planning to use day 1 for some practice shore diving. Hopes were dashed as it was too windy (even the harbor closed for the afternoon) and the dive center said shore diving wasn't allowed. So we rented a scooter and went across the island, checked out some beaches, ate some lunch, the weather was gorgeous all things considered, aside from the wind. Jan is a great time to go temperature wise, but the weather is more unpredictable than August.
beep beep y'all
fun rocks but a few were loose
smol friend
About the diving: Is it really a vacation to get up at 630 every day, eat quickly, get on a boat, and then fling yourself bodily into the ocean? Ok I guess for morning people probably, for me that's the hardest part of diving. Once I'm in the deep it's all smiles. 3Ps is a great company and you get up so early so you can beat the slow boats and tourists out to the dive sites and not have people dropping overhead on your dive.
Dive photos, in no particular order (in august I dove in a shorty, in Jan I needed a hood+wetsuit because the first day I got so chilled I couldn't do my second dive
the water is still warm but the wind on the boat really kills you)lil'dude
]
big lazy dude
flowing over some coral
Just passing through. The hood really saved me because I was getting too cold to enjoy looking at anything at 70-80 ft
Look at enough fish, you're going to want to eat them (more on that later)
This fine gentleman hung out for a bit to let us get our photos in
mfw I don't get my morning coffee
These swim throughs are NOT for the claustrophobic. They are also tiring and burn extra air :c
our chariot
Eating in Cozumel: last summer I was surprised my dad (who won't even take ubers out of anxiety, much less ask for directions) made me walk (ok not surprised) to a fishmonger/neighborhood restaurant in the residential district. They make this amazing fried fish and we always go back. (google pescaderia san carlos)
gorgeous ceviche
so normally the fish is smaller than this, meant for one person but that day I guess they ran out so they had me physically go over to the kitchen and look at the fish in the ice box and verbally agree yes I would like a fish this big. spoilers it was no problem
pescado frito
teefs
Another spot we like is Guido's
Excellent italian, fresh pasta and excellent cocktails. I wish I could transport this place to my neighborhood, certainly then I will need fewer diving weights.
More fresh pasta at Kooben Laab
Very small ~8 seat local eatery, fresh pasta, fresh bread, really delicious (why do I eat so much pasta in mexico??? I don't know)
fresh churros
mole chicken
Aug is quite miserable outside with the heat so Jan was a nice change, but it brought some pretty intense rain that floods the island. Pic related
Return home
Since my dad was staying to do some more diving, I went home solo on an award ticket on AA. The airport is actually super close to downtown (relatively speaking) so after I dropped my luggage off we waffed around a bit and then soon I was on my way.
First a stop at the only lounge at the airport (but still PP!), which still was a nice reprieve from the chorus of yelling children, to have a "latte" and some snacks
comfy seats tho
aforementioned 'latte'
CZM-CLT was thankfully turbulence free, and even included a meal.... spoiler alert it was pasta. Although a far cry from the fresh pasta all week, I'll eat pretty much anything and it was not bad.
sea you next time
CLT-DCA was a super quick hop, mad props to the woman next to me who downed 2 vodka sodas in that time. What a champ.
Overall it was a successful trip, my dad came back home 2 weeks later with no incident, and now he's on the "i'm sorry" cruise around the Caribbean with my mom. poor guy /s
Mar 18, 2019, 9:27 pm
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Programs: UA Platinum MM; DL Silver; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Hilton Gold; Marriott Gold
Posts: 24,249
Good trip report.
I love Cozumel and diving there. Regularly stay at Casa Mexicana. Great location for walking around town, good breakfast.
Guido’s is excellent. I’d also recommend Del Sur for cheap and tasty empanadas and the margaritas at Wet Wendy’s.
I love Cozumel and diving there. Regularly stay at Casa Mexicana. Great location for walking around town, good breakfast.
Guido’s is excellent. I’d also recommend Del Sur for cheap and tasty empanadas and the margaritas at Wet Wendy’s.
