orewa

This will be my first time diving in Cozumel. Can anyone recommend a Dive Shop. There are so many to choose from. Good/bad experiences would be good to hear.
Thanks

Scubagal

Depends on what you're looking for. We've used 2 different dive ops in Cozumel. Dive House, the in-house dive op at the Fiesta Americana, and Deep Blue. Dive House uses large dive boats, so there are more people on each dive, and usually a minimum of 2 Divemasters. You do a giant stride entry off the back of the boat. Deep Blue uses "6-pack" small fast boats. You do a backroll entry off the side of the boat. We liked both ops.

Another op that gets rave reviews is BlueXT Sea. They use a small fast boat. Feel free to email me directly if you have additional questions. I have written trip reports on both dive ops we've used. Have a great trip, you will love the diving in Cozumel!

TC

My husband and all his pals will only dive with Pepe's Scuba at the Coral Princess Resort. Small boats, great dive masters. I supposed everyone has there personal favorites. I've heard good things about Deep Blue as well.

TravelingMom

I was a first time diver in Cozumel as well. We decided not to get certified at the time, so we did the "resort course" with Dive with Martin. We did 2 2-tank dives with them...both divemasters were great. The groups were small (4 people on the first dive, 6 on the second).

I don't have anything to compare them to, since it's the only time I've been diving, but I would still recommend them.

Mimz

WE DOVE WITH DIVE WITH MARTIN OVER LABOR DAY AND LOVED THEM. THEY WERE VERY NICE AND VERY HELPFUL. WE ONLY HAD ABOUT 6 OR 7 COUPLES ON THE BOAT. WE WILL BOOK WITH THEM AGAIN THIS SUMMER.

RoadtripDave

Hopefully you haven't left yet...but having taken many dive groups to Cozumel I can tell you we've always been overwhelmingly pleased with Dive House.

CozAnnie

If this is your first time to Cozumel diving, I would recommend a shop that specializes in small groups and personal service. Dive House is famous for crowding 20+ people on a dive, way too many for safety, much less enjoying the dive. I live here in Coz and know lots of dive shop owners personally and recommend them all according to each divers needs or requests. For first-timers, I would definitely recommend one of these:
Scuba Shack or Blue Bubble (same owners - Robert and Roberta)
Liquid Blue (Michaela and Roberto)
Blue XTSea (Christi)

I would send a letter to each of them and see who comes back with the best plan for what you want to do. I guarantee you will get excellent personal service from any of them. They will get to know you and you will feel like you are diving with friends who really care that you get the most out of your time in Cozumel. Happy diving!

RoadtripDave

I have to disagree about Dive House...they may (and I emphasize may) have 20 people on the boat but they have more than enough staff to escort small groups of divers...and I've never seen anything resembling unsafe practices on their boats, nor have any of our staff reported any. We've been using them for a lot of years both for our group trips and individuals divers...and for newer divers, a bigger boat may be less intimidating than some of the smaller boats other operators use...just my two cents and no, I have no affiliation with Dive House...

Chaddx2

My wife and I have dove Cozumel twice. We went with friends who have gone for years. They tried several shops but liked Dive with Martin the best. We couldn't agree more. Our first trip which was also our first dive ever was so easy and nice that we wouldn't think of anyone else. Small groups and great divemasters.

RoadtripDave

Just back from another trip to Cozumel and it was, predictably, wonderful. Fiesta Americana is still a great property and now offers an AI plan w/adult beverages. I prefer going to the local spots but a number of people in my group did the AI. Mostly buffet meals with two nights at the 'fancy' restaurant, ordering from the menu.

Dive House was again outstanding. We had 22 divers on the Dive House III (the big boat) which we split into 2 or 3 smaller groups for the dives. One advantage of a larger boat that the smaller boats can't offer...a head (potty for the non-nautical types). Which comes in very handy when you're out for 3-4 hours. Pop, water and fruit served between dives. Crew handled all tank changes between dives. Absolutely no complaints...other than having to come home much too soon.

Just another fabulous Cozumel trip!!

CozAnnie

In my experience (800+ dives in Cozumel) the small boats are the best. The original poster asked for good/bad experiences and this is what I know from my experience. I have not had many good dives with the larger dive shops that use big boats. I don't care if they split you up into groups, you are still way too many people on one reef at one time. The "6-pack" boats will give you more personal service, that's just a fact, because they don't have as many people to deal with. You will get more bottom time, more choices on which reefs you will dive each day, less chance of getting put in a group of mixed level divers (novices with advanced). I certainly understand RoadTripDave's loyalty to Dive House, he has enjoyed his dives with them and that's great. All dive shops have their loyal customers and I never try to change that loyalty. You just have to dive with the shop that you like the best--luckily Cozumel has all different kinds of shops and services to choose from to meet everybody's needs. Cozumel is a spectacular place to dive no matter who you go with. Happy diving!