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Cozumel Trip Report
Posted by Jack
& Lee on 08/06/01
Cozumel Trip Report
Trip: July 20-28, 2001
Lodging: Alicia's Bed & Breakfast
This was our first trip to Cozumel and we consider it our best vacation ever. My
wife and I brought two of our sons with us (ages 15 and 12). We learned a lot
from this website and the postings (thank you, posters!), and we hope that this
report can give you some good ideas without too much rambling. The most the
important points are marked as "TIPS".
We decided to keep this trip as inexpensive as we could without sacrificing good
food and diving. Therefore we stayed at Alicia's Bed & Breakfast (please see
our report in Lodging Reviews) for only $35 per room per night (two rooms)
including breakfast. It was the perfect place to stay. TIP: Stay on the
outskirts of San Miguel... it is incredibly convenient to go anywhere on the
island and you can avoid the downtown madness (except when you're in the
mood for it). TIP: Rent a car for your entire trip... we constantly drove to
interesting places. We rented from Budget after checking prices online; only
$210 plus taxes for a week. Our experience with Budget was great. We had a good
four door Chevy with air conditioning. TIP: Get an air conditioned car if you
plan to drive to the east side a lot.
The Can-Do Cozumel map was indispensable and as good as any guide book. TIP:
Order it at www.cancunmap.com. Also, we found a free blue guide named, aptly
enough, Free Blue Guide to Cozumel. We got it in the Century 21 office, but on
the cover it gives an email address: freeblueguide@demasiado.com, so maybe
there's an easier way to get it.
We were determined to eat well without spending a fortune. Therefore we tended
to avoid the downtown places, except for Casa Denis a couple times. We ate at El
Moro at least six times. We had lunch at a couple places that were 100% locals
except for us gringos; prices were incredibly low ($6 for fajitas - enough for
two people, and 80 cent tacos). Alicia can tell you where to go, because we
can't remember the names. We think that one was on Quintana Roo avenue and was
named Noches y Dias (night and day) or something like that. It's sometimes a
challenge to make yourself understood, but it always worked out in the end. TIP:
Eat at local restaurants or off the beaten path; the food is very good (it has
to be or people wouldn't continue to go there) and it's reasonably priced. TIP:
On the east coast, order the garlic lobster dinner at Punta Morena.... the
restaurant looks terrible but the lobster is incredible and only $14, half of
what you'd pay in town.
Pesos are important. We had thought that dollars would be accepted everywhere,
and they were, but the exchange rates were wildly variable. We often got an
exchange rate of only 8 pesos per dollar. Sometimes it was 10 (all too rare).
And when they gave us change, it was always rounded. It wasn't worth the effort
to use dollars. TIP: Use pesos for everything, it's
simpler and will save you 5-10% on average.
My kids and I got certified in scuba a couple months ago in
Monterey (we're from Sacramento). My wife did her classroon and pool instruction
in Sacramento but wanted to do her open water certification in Cozumel. She
successfully did her certification while my sons and I went on boat dives. We
used Dive With Martin... they were the most reasonably priced and threw in a lot
of extras including free rental equipment as needed, free night dive, and
free video. We tipped them 10% on the boats and we gave $5 to each guy who
helped us around the shop. We were very satisfied with Dive With Martin.
We loved the diving, especially Palancar Reef. We saw up close
and personal: sea turtle, rays, large barracudas, huge grouper, a nurse shark,
rays, eels (I touched one), and a 2-foot crab. TIP: Check out Palancar Gardens
and Palancar Horseshoe. It's like floating through Yosemite, only better. Be
prepared to go down to 80 feet, though. We did boat dives on our first three
days. We felt kind of wasted after the third day. TIP: After two days of boat
dives, take a one day break. Next time, we plan to do more shore dives because
we can go at our own pace and stop to look at things without having to follow a
divemaster. We'll rent tanks at the harbor (Caleta) and dive the shallower side
of Paradise reef.
The B&B we stayed at was not near the water and it didn't have a pool. No
problem because there are tons of beach clubs. TIP: Stay at a nice but cheap
place away from the water and relax at semi-deserted beaches and beach clubs.
Our favorites were Dzul-Ha and Nachi-Cocom on the west side (both have beautiful
beaches, pools, sunsets, etc.) and Mezcalito's on the east side. Our favorite of
all of them was Mezcalito's. Never crowded, friendly staff, great waves to play
in, great beach, chairs, palapas, and even hammocks. We
went there almost every day.
July was a good time of year, at least when we were there. It was hot sometimes,
but so is Sacramento in the summer! The diving conditions were consistent and
excellent. The island was uncrowded, as long as you avoid the cruise ship hang
outs but that's not hard to do. All of the places I've mentioned were uncrowded
and unspoiled. TIP: Enjoy being around locals;
they're good people and it feels a lot more "real" than being in a
resort all the time. I know that not everyone feels this way, but it was true
for us.
To us, Cozumel is the perfect vacation destination. It's beautiful in a rough
kind of way, it's safe, it's inexpensive, and it offers unforgettable diving.
Most of the people we met had been to Cozumel many times. We can see why.
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