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Dive Review of Aldora/Hotel Vista del Mar in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel

Aldora/Hotel Vista del Mar, Apr, 2009,

by Joseph Blakely, ca, USA ( 1 report). Report 4771.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food N/A
Service and Attitude N/A Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 2 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Aldora is a very professionally run dive operation. Their boats start at their pier in town and may stop to pick up clients at resort piers as they head south. The boats seemed to be the fastest around. The crews were respectful and helpful. Virtually every day we went to dive sites at the far southern tip of the island. I've heard that some other dive operations save on gas by only going to closer-in sites.

Aldora uses super sized steel tanks that allowed lots of bottom time. Our longest dive was 81 minutes. With all that air and the depths of some of the underwater attractions, expect to get some practice with decompression stops. The dive masters were good at navigating so the the stops were on shelves or other in interesting areas, minimizing time just hanging in the blue.

I liked that the surface interval was spent at a pleasant beach resort where coffee or sandwiches could be had. Some other Cozumel operators spend the interval on the boats. Not nearly as comfortable. Memo, the manager (owner?), was at the beach club during the surface interval, asking clients if they were enjoying their dives, sorting out any problems and asking if they had requests for particular dive sites. A classy touch.

Their windproof, fleece-lined, hooded robes sure were luxurious after a dive when they cranked their twin outboards up to full speed as they headed back to town.

Having dived extensively in the Pacific and southeast Asia, the amount of marine life in the Caribbean will never compare. Neither did the coral off Cozumel. That said, the underwater formations with lots of swim-throughs, ledges and walls when coupled with the really great viz made the unique drift diving of Cozumel worth the trip.

We were more than happy with the basic but charming Hotel Vista del Mar which was only a three minute walk from Aldora pier. Very friendly staff and hooks on the balcony for your wet suits.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Fiji, Honduras
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm, currents
Water Temp 76-77°F / 24-25°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility - Ft/ - M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 2 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters N/A Large Fish 2 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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