Dive Review of Aldora Divers/Residencias Reef in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel

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Aldora Divers/Residencias Reef, Dec, 2009, by David Dornbusch, California, USA ( Sr. Reviewer 10 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 5326.
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
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Aldora is an excellent dive operation. Memo, the owner, gives the operation his constant personal attention and makes a point of being available by cell phone anytime. Aldora fills steel 100 tanks to 3300 to 3400 psi, which always provided more than enough air for two one-hour plus dives. The steel 100's are pretty heavy, requiring only half the weight necessary as when using aluminum tanks. However, Aldora also offers smaller/lighter tanks, which the women preferred, and which provided all the air they needed for the one-hour long dives. All dives were drift in modest 1-2 knot currents. We were able to cancel dives as late as the afternoon before. And, Aldora charged for only one dive when two in our group were unable to make the second of two tank dives. Dario was our dive master all days and was superb. He's very knowledgable, congenial, has great eyes, and was very attentive to the least experienced in our group. Frequently pointed out very small critters that we would never have seen on our own. Aldora picked us up and dropped us at a dock only 50 yards from our rented condo. Kept our regs and BCs, and anything else we wanted to leave, and had it ready to go when they picked us up, always at 8:00 AM sharp. Surface interval always at Mr. Sancho's, a private beach near the reefs, serving decent food, and offering tables and lounge chairs to relax in the shade or sun. The reefs were much healthier than I expected. Seem to have completely recovered from the hurricane of 2007 (or 2008?). Beautiful hard and soft coral formations, swim-throughs, and reasonably abundant populations of fish, turtles, invertibrates, etc. As good a dive experience as I've had in the Atlantic/Caribbean. Rented a 3-bedroom, spacious and comfortable condo at Redencias Reef, about 15 km south of town. I recommend staying away from town, and therefore away from the nuisances of the numerous visiting cruise ships, crowds and traffic. However, all good restaurants are in town. Mega is a huge supermarket supplying everything you'd want if you want to cook in. Small and medium-size rental cars or jeeps are reasonably priced at one-third the cost of a van. You can keep the cost down if your car insurance and/or credit card will cover you and therefore enable you to avoid buying the Mexican car insurance. Highly recommend Kinto's restaurant! Make a reservation. Pancho's Backyard, Veranda, and Guido's were also very good. Outdoor restaurants on the east side of the island are in beautiful settings and serve decent to very good food.
Websites	Aldora Divers
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Galapagos, Red Sea, Fiji, Sipidan, Great Barrier Reef, Roatan, Belize, Turks & Caicos, Tahiti, British Virgins, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Indonesia
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	79-81°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	70-90 Ft/ 21-27 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No special restrictions
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	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	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Aldora Divers/Residencias Reef in Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel

Aldora Divers/Residencias Reef, Dec, 2009,

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/Residencias Reef in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel