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Dive Review of Blue Dream/Playa Azul in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

Blue Dream/Playa Azul: "Cozumel 12/2014", Dec, 2014,

by Matt Overholt, OH, US (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 8268.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 4 stars
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments I have been to Cozumel more than half a dozen times since 2003. Always stayed at the Fiesta Americana south of town until the recent remodel and re-opening as an all-inclusive. Too much good food in San Miguel to ever do all-inclusive, so decided to give North of town a try. Stayed at the Playa Azul, which I highly recommend. Big enough to have what you need and small enough not to draw a crowd. Definitely more remote and relaxing. Great (for Cozumel) snorkeling right in front of the hotel, especially slightly north or south (very short swim). Actually has it's own beach with a sandy, walk in entry. I recommend renting a car, or in our case, a scooter for the time that you're there (if you want to rent, I'll save you a lot of researching :rent from Rentadora Isis). Northern hotels aren't walking distance to town, and taxis are a few pesos more than southern trips. Dove with Scuba Tony (also a positive experience) for half of the trip. I'll address that in a separate review. We got tired of commuting to the Caleta every morning, so we gave Blue Dream, who have their dive operation at the Playa Azul, a chance. Having never stayed north of town, I'd never even heard of them. I'm VERY glad we tried them out. They run a friendly, courteous, and competitively priced operation (cash only at the time we dove, so prepare accordingly). I immediately noticed that they seemed to have a lot of long time, repeat customers who had been diving with them for years. The time spent on the dive boat had more of a "good friends and family" atmosphere. They run a small boat operation, and we never had more than 6-7 divers on a trip. Dives were not rushed, and the second dives routinely lasted an hour or more. The rental equipment I observed appeared to be in good working order, and I didn't have any issues with air fills or leaky tank seals. Our dive master was Alvero (from Spain) and he was awesome. Attentive, definitely enthusiastic, and not overly meddlesome. We also got to dive the northern sites, which most southern operators won't visit. This made for a nice change of pace. The Cantarel Wall was spectacular, with a ripping current and more eagle rays than I've ever seen in a single dive. I plan to return to Cozumel again in the near future, and I plan to stay at the Playa Azul and dive with Blue Dream again. Highly recommend both.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Costa Maya, Cozumel, cenotes in Mexico, Honduras, Grand Cayman, multiple Florida rivers and Springs, North Carolina wrecks, Ohio quarries
Closest Airport Cozumel Getting There One stop from Dayton to Cozumel in Atlanta

Dive Conditions

Weather dry Seas currents, no currents
Water Temp 81-81°F / 27-27°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 80-100 Ft/ 24-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Come up at 500 psi
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

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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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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