Dive Review of Aldora Divers/Casa Mexicana in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel

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Aldora Divers/Casa Mexicana: "Cozumel done correctly", Mar, 2024, by Bobby Munno, NY, US ( Sr. Contributor 27 reports with 21 Helpful votes). Report 12901 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I have been diving on Isla Cozumel since the 1980s but finally figured out how to do it correctly! Better late than never I suppose? I have stayed at an all-inclusive SCUBA resort close to town, a big hotel far from town, a trendy waterfront boutique hotel north of town and a luxury hotel with a beautiful sand beach. Several of these options were repeated over the years with my wife, friends and other couples. I have dived with on-site and off-site operations, including Aldora Divers on my last visit. I have rented a vehicle for the duration or a portion of all previous visits. Fortunately, I got diving Cozumel right on my recent solo trip, however. While one of the more expensive dive operator options, Aldora Divers is the only way to go for the experienced diver. Their shop is in town and 1/2 block from the waterfront and their pier. During my week I was on 3 different vessels with some same and different divers every day. All were serious and experienced individuals. I was assigned to high-pressure 117 cu. ft. steel tanks upon check-in and opted for Nitrox at a $125 upcharge for the week. My gear was left at the shop and it was set up on the boat at 0730 hrs. the next and every morning. After the day's dives are done, you pack your gear (all but skins & suits) in the mesh bag provided and leave it on the boat. Aldora takes the gear bags to the shop for a rinse and dry every night and has it set up for you on a boat the next morning. I stayed at the Casa Mexicana hotel on the waterfront in town, around the corner from Aldora's shop and across the avenue from their pier. A gent I met and dove with stayed at the Vista del Mar Hotel next door to Casa Mexicana, 2 great and extremely convenient options with the Vista being slightly less expensive @ $100/night. All the town's shops, bars and restaurants are short walking distance. A "collectivo" van from the airport and a taxi to the airport were the only transport necessary for the week. Nitrox bottles were 32% for the first dive and 36% for the second. Aldora personnel swaps out your tanks between dives as well. Whole fresh fruits were delivered to the boats every morning. Your return to the boat after the first dive was met with 3 types of fresh-cut fruits which cycled between bananas, pineapple, papaya, mango & cantaloupe. One dive day, our surface interval snack included fresh-boat-made guacamole! The Aldora fleet of Roman-numeraled boats were propelled by twin 150 HP outboards and had a max. of 8 divers on the reefs to the south long before the competition. We were generally back at the pier around 1300 hrs. after the two morning dives. Cozumel diving is all drift diving and includes great structure, many swim-throughs, walls and this trip included seeing 3 types of sharks, 3 turtle species, a big seahorse, a huge EagleRay and the endemic Splendid Toadfish. It took years of trial and error but henceforth all future Cozumel trips will have me staying at Casa Mexicana and getting wet with Aldora Divers! Cozumel done correctly.
Websites	Aldora Divers Casa Mexicana
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Bahamas, Belize, Bonaire, Cabo, Cancun, Carriacou, 3 Caymans, Cozumel, St Croix, Curacao, Dominica, St Eustatius, FL, Grenada, HI, St Helena, Iceland, Jamaica, LI, St Lucia, Mntsrrat, NYC, Palau, PA, Philippines, Poland, Roatan, Saba, Socorro, Tobago, Turks&Caicos, Utila, St Vincent, Yucatan cenotes
Closest Airport	CZM	Getting There	NYC to MIA to CZM. relatively easy but it is surprising that there is not a direct flight to CZM from any of the 3 NYC airports
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	79-81°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	81-100 Ft/ 25-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	All divers on the boat could do as they pleased but the current/drift dives and boat traffic necessitated that the group do the safety stop and surface assent together.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	no camera table or camera rinse tub provided on the boats.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Aldora Divers/Casa Mexicana in Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel

Aldora Divers/Casa Mexicana: "Cozumel done correctly", Mar, 2024,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Aldora Divers/Casa Mexicana in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel