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Dive Review of Chucho Divers/El Cid La Ceba in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel

Chucho Divers/El Cid La Ceba, Sep, 2008,

by Henry & Carol Ziller, CO, USA (Top Contributor Top Contributor 35 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 4396.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments This was our third trip to Cozumel and all three times we stayed at the El Cid La Ceba. We could not beat the package deal. There is only one airline flying direct to Cozumel from Denver, CO (Frontier)and they only fly there during high season December thru March. This time of year is low season (Hurricane season)and when we saw how many open seats there were on on our flights both directions we understand why.

There is good shore diving at the La Ceba, but we did 13 boat dives in four days so we opted for no shore dives.

Sunday August 31st we could not dive due to Hurricane Gustav. The harbor master closed the ocean for small crafts. Since we were a small boat, the ocean was closed. Chucho Divers uses a covered 27-feet fast boat with one 175 hp Yamaha and gets to the sites fast. There is a maximum six divers, Chucho and the captain. The three dive day package includes lunch (On a beach) of authentic mexican dishes and they are really good. Fresh fruit, water and sodas are also provided throughout the day. Divers set the departing time in the morning, and we used 8:30 and returned usually by 3:00. Chucho is really good at finding unusual things like a pipefish, and nudi's.

The effects of Hurricane Wilma are still abundant, sand is covering many parts of the reefs, but slowly it is coming back. The fish are still there, we saw several large grouper (3-4 ft) on every dive, nurse sharks are everywhere, really large parrot fish (About 3-ft), and the visibility is still 100-feet plus on most dives. Our night dive produced a dozen octopus.

The La Ceba is located a $6.00 US each way cab ride from the Plaza. We prefer to eat at local small restaurants a couple blocks off the main Plaza area and skip the chain restaurants altogether. Try Abuelo Gerardo on 10th Ave just north of Ave Benito Juarez. You may not need a dinner if you eat all the chips, salsa, and guacamoli, but the dinners are really great too. Dinner with desert and drinks for five was $83.00 with tip.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Indonesia (Wakatobi Resort) Micronesia (The Village on Pohnpei) Hawaii (Oahu) Belize (Ambergis Cay) Honduras (Roatan) Cayman Brach Dominica Tobago Curacao Bahmas (Nassau) and Florida
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, rainy, dry Seas calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp 82-83°F / 28-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 50-120 Ft/ 15-37 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Come up with 500 psi and a time limit was placed prior to the dive.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 5 stars
Large Pelagics 4 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 No rinse bucket on the boat.
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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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