Earlier this summer I had the chance to head south of the border and visit Cozumel Mexico. If you ever been diving out of the US, then chances are you’ve done Cozumel. Cozumel is a small island located off the tip of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, just a little south of the popular resort town of Cancun. It’s easy to get too and the diving is always great which makes this island the most visited dive destination for Americans.

We stayed at the Costa Club Resort, located just south of the main town of San Miguel. We dove with Dive Paradise, one of the oldest and largest dive centers on Cozumel. We did many things and saw many sites so I thought I’d sum up some of the do’s and don’ts you should remember for your next trip to this popular destination.

DO dive with Dive Paradise and request Martin as you divemaster. I thought other divemasters had shown us a lot of critters but now I see I hadn’t seen much at all. For example we saw about 4 seahorses on every dive whereas I had never before seen them in Cozumel.

DON”T sit on top of the dive boat all day with out sun block. You’d think this would be a no brainer but with a little breeze it didn’t feel that hot.

DO rent a car or moped and see the island. There are some great beaches on the east side of the island.

DON”T try to get gas in your rental around 3 pm when all the taxis are gassing up for the night shift. I got flustered with the gear shift in our VW Bug and backed into a taxi.

DO pay the extra couple of bucks and get the extra insurance for your rental in case you do the above don’t.

DON”T go to the Dairy Queen in town and get a Mr. Smoothie or whatever they call their shaved ice cones for $3 US.

DO go around the corner and get a bigger one from a local stand for 10 pesos (about 1 cent US).

DON”T worry if it looks like rain. It rained almost every day but always cleared up fast.

DO shop at the Chedrau supermarket just south of town across from Plaza Las Glorias. It’s like a Fred Meyers with a little of everything. It’s great place to get snacks, drinks and has the best fresh bread and donuts.

DON”T be a dumb, drunk American. It was embarrassing to see some of the people from the cruise ships that came into town.

DO go to Cozumel for some of the best drift diving in the world.

Let’s go diving!
Dave
Summer 2000