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Dive Review of Chili Charters/Palmar Condominiums in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

Chili Charters/Palmar Condominiums, Jan, 2014,

by Len Sisk, AK, US (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 7 reports). Report 7514.

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 N/A
Snorkeling 5 stars
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments This is a first class dive operation. The owners (Blondie & Donna) have been active in the Cozumel dive community since the mid-70's. Blondie was certified in 1974, and was subsequently one of the 1st Mexican nationals in Cozumel to attain his Dive Master Certification. They have 2 boats, each 28', with shade and a marine head. We dove from the boats, without any "chase" boat. The crew hauled up our tanks up at the end of each dive. They take a minimum of 3 divers, and a maximum of 8. Eight divers would be a bit crowded. A 2 tank dive is $90 per diver/day, nitrox is $10 more. Wt's/belts provided. We scheduled a few 2 tank days, as well as a few 3 tank days (where we brought our own lunch). The crew kept our gear for us for the week, and even rinsed it on the last day!

We dove in the Marine Park, which is an additional $2.50 per day. The sponges here are incredible. I saw the biggest loggerhead turtle I have ever seen, a juvenile drum, a pipefish I have yet to identify, some healthy corals, all within staggering visibility at various depths.

There are some enormous cruise ships that arrive each morning and depart each evening, but Blondie is familiar enough with the area and the dive sites that we saw very few other divers while we were at depth, and not on every dive. Impressive, as sometime there were 45+ boats topside ready to put divers into the water.

Currently, Chili Charters is not set up to take credit cards, but accept cash (US or pesos). Chili Charters are bilingual, so if you don't speak Spanish, it is not a problem. We do hope to dive with them again, as Cozumel is so close to the US and fairly affordable to travel to and stay in, and I am hoping they will be set up for credit cards in the future.

Safety, while always in the back of my mind, was not an issue. Cozumel has at least 2 large hyperbaric chambers that are well known, well staffed, and endorsed by DAN.

I highly recommend spending some underwater time with Chili Charters!
Websites Chili Charters   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Cayman, Chinchorro Banks, Palau, Maldives, Honduras, Hawaii, Fiji, Thailand, Indonesia, Puget Sound, Belize, Costa Rica, Australia.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas calm
Water Temp 78-79°F / 26-26°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 75-150 Ft/ 23-46 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions We were 3 divers on a boat with the same dive master (Rene) every day (5 days). After our initial check out dive, Rene let us dive our own profile so no restrictions were enforced.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

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