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Dive Review of Scuba Club Cozumel in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

Scuba Club Cozumel, Jan, 2014,

by Brian Schultze, MO, US ( 1 report). Report 7496.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 2 stars Food 2 stars
Service and Attitude 2 stars Environmental Sensitivity 2 stars
Dive Operation 2 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 1 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 2 stars
Comments In a nutshell if you want to go and dive Cozumel for a week and not have to deal with making too many decisions you can’t beat Scuba Club. Everything is centered around diving so the meals and the dive schedules are coordinate. There are lockers for gear, bars to hand your wetsuits on the porch of your room, and the dive shop is right on the premises.
Rooms are sparse but clean. Tile floors, FIRM mattress (even by Mexican standards), small room fridge, safe, A/C, fan, no TV, and lots of hot water. There is free Wi-Fi in the main dining area and from room 30 we could usually get a weak signal, but don’t count on it for most rooms.
There are few options for diving. The main dive is two tanks that leaves the dock about 8:30 (but sometimes a bit earlier, get down to the dock by 8). Some days there are afternoon two tank dives, a one tank wreck dive, a two tank twilight dive (the time of day, not the movie), or a one tank night dive. To get on any of the dives you sign up for them at the dive shop. If you really want a particular dive site or trip the best way to go about getting it is to recruit fellow divers and talk to the dive shop. If you want a particular dive master you can also request that on the sign-up sheet.
The dive boats (they use 6 or 7 different ones) were all well run. Boats were slower and bigger (for the most part) than I liked with room from between 6-20(?) divers on board. It usually took about an hour to get to the first dive site (southern sites) and then 45-60 minutes to get back up North to the second dive site. The boar crew was uniformly very helpful with getting us on/off the boat and swapping dive gear between dives. When I go back again I would make sure to have a save-a-dive kit for the boat. One diver broke a fin strap and the boat didn’t have anything to help him. I was expecting the boat to have at least a few basic items.
If you aren’t too picky about what dive site you are going to or don’t have any special requests for the dive I think you’ll be pretty happy with the way the dives are run. In general 6-8 of us would be with a dive master and only told to keep reasonably close. I didn’t feel over-watched nor neglected. The main requirement was to start up with 700-800 psi. When the first buddy group ran low on air the DM would send a buoy up for them while the rest of us kept diving. Nitrox is available for $10 a tank in either EANx32 or 36 and seems to be available for only the second dive.
Meals were surprisingly good for a place specializing in diving. Breakfast was an “American style” buffet with a variety of eggs, a few types of meat, has browns and fresh fruit. Nothing fancy but good and fast. For lunch you either had one of their four specials or ordered off the menu. The specials were a Mayan/Mexican creation that was always good and interesting. One of them was always a vegetarian option. Dinner was a from a selection of three or four meals that also fell into the Mayan/Mexican camp. Never had one that was bad but meals sizes ran a tad on the small side. One note: On checkout you can fill out a form requesting special meal requirements (vegan, gluten-free, avoiding certain foods) but I never saw any evidence that they used this in the kitchen in any way. Maybe they do but if you have some special meal needs I’d be extra vigilant.
Tipping is handled at the end of your stay. Bring cash and keep track of your dive master(s) name as well as the boats you’ve been on. You stuff some cash into an envelope and then specify who you want it to go to (Dive Master Tony, the chambermaid, bellhop, a specific boat crew, waiters, etc.). It seems like a good system, if a bit cumbersome.
I’d think twice before bringing a non-diver to Scuba Club for any length of time. There is no real beach (the shore is very rocky). There is a small pool and some sandy areas near the shore, plus a good amount of hammocks, but other than that there isn’t anything to do. Plus the immediate area around the resort is pretty empty. The center of town is a 15 minute walk (or a $6 taxi) and even that won’t keep you entertained for more than a few days I’d imagine. In other words bring non-diving spouses along at your own risk.
Overall I was very happy with my stay. The diving was great and the food better than I was expecting. I will certainly go back again. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Websites Scuba Club Cozumel   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 51-100 dives
Where else diving Belize, Key West, Western Mexico, Mermet Springs IL
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy Seas calm, choppy
Water Temp 79-81°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 100-120 Ft/ 30-37 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions Start up at 700 psi. A few dives (usually the 2nd dive) were limited to 1 hour.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 2 stars
Small Critters 3 stars 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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Subscriber's Comments

By report author: Brian Schultze in MO, US at Jan 15, 2014 08:55 EST  
Messed up my star rating. Should be a 4 for "inexperienced" diver and 2 for "experienced"
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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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