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Dive Review of Sand to Sea/Iberostar in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Southern part of Cozumel Is.

Sand to Sea/Iberostar: "Good trip", Dec, 2014,

by Henry O Ziller, CO, US (Top Contributor Top Contributor 35 reports with 19 Helpful votes). Report 8089.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Travel tip – Upon arriving at Cozumel airport, after clearing immigration and customs, turn right and go to the transportation counter to arrange transport to your hotel. There are several people standing at the exit that look official but are hawkers and just want to sell you excursions.
The Hotel:
This trip (our 5th) we stayed at the all-inclusive Iberostar Resort which is located south near El Cedral Ruins. This is a great location if you want to be away from town and close to the dive sites. A trip to town via taxi costs $20 each direction. The water is safe to drink, 110 outlets in the rooms, AC, ceiling fan, free mini bar. TV with two English speaking channels – WB and TNT.
The grounds are lush and well-kept with Peacocks roaming about freely. The flamingo lagoon is very nice and is also home to turtles and Iguanas. It was nice to wake up to the Iguanas warming themselves in the treetops each morning.
Iberostar is family friendly with a kids club. That being said, there is ample opportunity for adult fun and or quiet. The activities center offers activities which included target shooting (one air rifle that was over used and in poor condition), archery, bingo, beach and pool volleyball, pool basketball, water aerobics etc.
The food is offered as buffet or reservation only restaurants. The buffets always offered kid friendly options such as chicken nuggets, pizza, burgers, and hotdogs. Every day - guacamole (yummy), a variety of fish, meats, veggie options and a pasta bar. There was always plenty to choose from. We did not go hungry! Breakfasts were extensive and included an omelet bar. The Mexican restaurant was just OK. Tacos are not something we feel the need to make a reservation for. The steak house was very good. It is advertised as ‘formal attire but long shorts are acceptable’. Confusing.
The onsite dive outfit:
Dressel Divers, is a full service PADI shop closely associated with Iberostar Resorts; they have good reviews in the chap book. Their three large boats are always filled with twenty or so divers and they stay quite busy, they must be doing a lot right. Rinse tanks and outdoor showers are for all to use.
DIVING:
We dove with Sand to Sea Adventures which was at one time Chucho Divers. Fernando "Hampton" Conrado was our DM. He is Co-Owner of Sand to Sea - MX Cell 044-987-857-1029. reservations@sandtoseaadventures.com
Sand to Sea will pick you up just about anywhere in Cozumel at any hotel near the beach. Our boat, Naomy, is covered and had all necessary safety equipment. Both DM and captain are personable and take great care to make sure your dive experience is safe and memorable. The boat can hold about 6 divers and DM. On two days we shared the boat with other divers and their own DM. The remaining three days it was just the two of us and Fernando. He was able to keep us away from the big boats that congregated south of our hotel.
All of our dives were within 15 minutes of the hotel dock.
During our 10 dives we encountered only four Lionfish. As typical in the Caribbean, they are killed on the spot and left as a gourmet snack for snapper.
We saw nurse sharks on almost all dives along with large grouper, moray eels, eagle rays, lesser rays, yellow rays, turtles, banded pipefish, lobster, crabs, and some tiny nudibranchs the size of a pinhead.
Of course a trip to Cozumel wouldn’t be complete without seeing the Splendid Toadfish; we saw three.
Websites Sand to Sea   Iberostar

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Throughout the Caribbean, Micronesia, Indonesia, Philippines, Maldives, Tanzania.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm, currents
Water Temp 79-80°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions At 750 psi come up to safety stop.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

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

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments We asked for a camera bucket and it was immediately provided on the boat.
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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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