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

Aldora Divers/Villa Aldora: "Cozumel and Aldora", Mar, 2016,

by Marcia Pedersen, WA, US (Contributor Contributor 12 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 8868.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food N/A
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments Stayed at Villa Aldora. Wonderful hosts and great guests who seem to stay there every visit. About a dozen rooms ranging from a studio with microwave and small refrigerator to two-bedroom with full kitchen. Very clean. Warm water. Big jug of potable water in room. Phone, TV, AC, and free WiFi. Great outdoor covered sitting area. Saltwater pool. Sandy area with lounge chairs. No restaurant or bar. Small grocery less than 1 mile away and large store in town. Main square about 1.2 miles from Villa. Great sidewalks for walking, and Villa had free bikes with locks also. Taxis easy to grab for about $5 a carload. Lots of great restaurants including Guidos, Al Pie, Café Dennis, and 707.

Tanks available for shore dives. Good ladders to get out of water. Dock is right at Villa, and boats were always on time (7:30 a.m.). Boats seemed to be the fastest we saw, so quick trip. Gear stayed with them, was rinsed daily, and was always set up on the boat in the morning. DMs are very personable and helpful. Roll offs. Stick with group. Steel tanks 100 and 120. Dives 55-75 minutes. Surface intervals at beach resorts. Never felt rushed to gear up or get back to the boat. They happily accommodated dive requests and afternoon or night additions.

Currents, temps, and visibility varied greatly throughout the week. Some dives no current while others were a fun ride. Currents also would change heading north and then turning south--sometimes mid dive. Dove mostly Palancar areas but also did a day further north at Barracuda and had a nice eagle ray encounter. Wore bathing suit and rash guard about half the time and a 3mm shorty the other half. Buddy wore a 1mm skin all week. Saw nice big turtles, some sharks, rays, morays, and lots of tropical fish. Corals looked great. Lionfish mostly outside of park area.
Websites Aldora Divers   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Puget Sound, San Juan Islands, Vancouver Island, Hawaii, Thailand, Australia, Mexico, Honduras, Bonaire, Dominica, Turkey, Caymans
Closest Airport Cozumel Getting There Easy

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, cloudy Seas calm, choppy, currents, no currents
Water Temp 75-82°F / 24-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 1
Water Visibility 40-80 Ft/ 12-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Stay with group. Indicate at 1000 psi, safety starts at 700 psi. Big 100 and 120 steel tanks, so long dives.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments No specified area. Small rinse bucket on boat. Rinse bucket on shore.
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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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