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Dive Review of Del Mar Aquatics/Casa Del Mar in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

Del Mar Aquatics/Casa Del Mar, Apr, 2009,

by Joe Williams, sc, USA (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports). Report 4743.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Cozumel has changed much above the surface, but is still excellent below! We stayed at Casa Del Mar hotel south of downtown. Very nice, inexpensive, and dedicated to serious dive vacationers. Del Mar Aquatics provided well guided, professional service.
Saturday boat dives were unspectacular due to the swift current preventing reasonable observation of anything. Had trouble keeping up with my buddy, and the guides had trouble keeping the group in one line. Not their fault, but still disappointing.
Sunday was better, and thanks to Renay's choice for trips (Palancar Horshoe and Cardona) we sighted and photographed turtles, eels, very large parrot and angle fish, nurse sharks and even a pair of seahorses. We took Monday off to go see PDC, and the wind was so high on Tuesday, the harbor was closed. Staff came over to the hotel restaurant at breakfast to notify everyone.
Wednesday saw much improved conditions, and many more creatures, including stingrays, turtles of all size, a HUGE baracuda, and even a large octopus at Dalila reef. Good drift dives through the rest of the week, which I remember Cozumel to be famous for.
All in all a great week for the money, and we would return to Casa Del Mar again. There are certainly a few other very good dive ops, listed in the forums and trip reports on Undercurrent. We had pre-paid 4 days of diving, which took us untill Thursday to fulfill, due to two days break in the week. We gladly booked one more day with Del Mar Aquatics due to their outstanding service.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Palancar reef, Mexico, Sea of Cortez, Eastern and Southern Caribbean
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather windy Seas currents
Water Temp 80-82°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 30-70 Ft/ 9-21 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 6-8 divers, drift untill boat pick-up, 700psi min. tank reserve
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 5 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 2 stars Shore Facilities 2 stars
UW Photo Comments two 5 gallon buckets aboard for camera and mask to share, no "helpful hints" about diver courtesy concerning observing animals from dive staff...."experienced" divers on this trip could have used some pointers .
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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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