Dive Review of Squalo Divers/NA in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Isla Mujeres

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Squalo Divers/NA, Jul, 2009, by Debbie Nottelmann, IL, USA ( Reviewer 4 reports). Report 5146.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	[None]We rented a house in the La Gloria section of town. A 5 minute taxi cab ride from downtown costing about 20 pesos one way. It was a very economical way to stay there while having more room to live in. The property was Naah Sasstal. The diving was mixed. Some dive sites were great, while others just ok.Punta Negra was the best. Lots of colorful coral, 1 nurse shark, midnight parrot, lobster, barracuda, large schools of grunts and snappers, cowfish,trunkfish,an eel,. Punta Sur has some strong current but it was a drift and we saw 4-5 turtles and a large stingray; no coral though. Banderas was another nice dive site. Known to have strong current, but there was none there that day. Elk horn coral, ledges and overhangs at 40 feet. Media Luna was great for arches, a large cave,swim throughs etc. My least favorite dive was Pailas. I was bored. Manchones is a very nice and colorful site with lots of tropical and easy diving. We went back there for a night dive and the divemaster couldn't find the reef (1st time that ever happened to him)so we had to abort the dive. The owner did refund our money though. The boat was small and pretty fast. Dive sites were no more than 15 minutes or so away. No facilities on board. Crew put your gear together, changed tanks and would even wash it for you afterwards. Most of the week it was just the 2 of us. The most that was on the boat was 4 people. That was nice. Isla has a strange way of categorizing dives. Reef and adventure. They charge more for adventure diving. If there is a current or wreck, or something supposedly cool, it becomes adventure. We were charged a package including some adventure dives and after looking at their own brochure, found that they were classified as all reef dives. When we pointed it out we did get a refund. Be careful. I'd recommend not paying upfront. Also, you may want to not go to the cave of the sleeping sharks as we were told they are not there very often anymore. There is a side trip to snorkle with the whale shark. We swam with several and saw a manta ray. It's 1.5 hours by boat to get there. We also went to the Dolphin Discovery Center and swam with the Dolphins. It was awesome. They will want to soak you for videos and pictures afterward. We bought the video because it was great. You can negotiate a package. You can rent a golf cart and tool around the island for about $50-60 a day. It's fun. Snorkling at Castillo de Garrafon is much cheaper (about 50 pesos/day) than the $50 at Garrafon next door. The turtle farm is interesting also. Food is great on the island and inexpensive. Cost was 60-110 pesos for most lunches and dinners. Good restaurants we visited were Las Brisas, Velazquez, Minninos, Rene and Rene for Mexican, and for a special treat of seaside dining (more upscale and expensive) Caso O's on the south end of the island. Soggy Peso has great ceviche and a nice bar with friendly people. The weather is hot! in July so consider places with airconditioning...it's a must. You get the island by ferry from Cancun and it only costs 35 pesos and takes about 15 minutes or so. The palapas on the beach at many different places where you can see the sunset costs $25. There is a free place you can go with unbrellas as long as you drink there. You can go to the other side of the island (Carribean) and walk the rocky shores there looking for shells, sea glass etc. We found 4 Chitons in the rocks. Never saw one before. Overall great trip for the money.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Fiji, Cozumel, Cancun, Galapagos, St Lucia, Saba, Bonaire, Curacao, Bahamas, Turks,
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	84-82°F / 29-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-80 Ft/ 12-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	Stay with divemaster and come up at 45 minutes or until the last person was at 1000 psi
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]There was no accomodations on the boat for cameras. The captain would hold onto your camera and pass it down to you in the water. No rinse tank or tables. I got some great shots underwater. Lots of schools. Some dive sites with good colorful corals.

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Dive Review of Squalo Divers/NA in Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Isla Mujeres

Squalo Divers/NA, Jul, 2009,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Squalo Divers/NA in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Isla Mujeres