1

P.S. What exactly is a "Caribbean boat dive?" I've heard it means they restrict you to 45-60 minutes per dive. Are they any dive operations that DON"T do this? If there is a smaller group of more experienced divers?

2

Went to Cozumel to dive last year. rented a house - went out to dive on good days, did other things non good days. Got the deals on diving without the resort price I think we used Deep Blue, got the repeat customer price which basically meant the more dives we did the cheaper each one was. .Diving was really good. Most locations that were best for diving were NOT near a beach - the east side of the island has some decent surfing options and no real good diving.
Cozumel is a MAJOR cruise ship port so daytime is full of tourists, & for many their last day of holdiays. (I'm a HUGE fan of eating in the great little out of the way places that the locals know & the tourists haven't found!) Often meals were cheaper in the evening than during mid day. There are some pretty authentic cultural activities as well - had the chance to go to the equivelent of a sweat lodge - not sure what the spanish word is, saw neat caves where indigenous people hid from Spaniards... Had a great time. ENJOY

3

Thanks! Have any leads on who to contact to rent a house or condo for a week? It would be nice to have a kitchen to not have to eat out every meal to save money for diving! I'm hoping to spend a lot of time in the water (snorkeling, diving, etc.) to avoid the on land tourists as much as possible-plus going Jan 18-25, so hopefully avoid the people on holiday with their kids quite as much.

4

I dont know how much you want to spend on a hotel but I always put friends at the Hotel Pepita. It is a long established, central hotel with low prices. It is very popular with divers who often gather around a communal table in the courtyard for free morning coffee. No kitchen but each room does have a fridge. The location is great for walking to nearby local restaurants and just far enough to not see many cruise passengers.

5

Thanks for the tips! We've decided on Tamarindo and are going to forego diving packages to save money and just dive 5 or 6 times. Tamarindo B and B got great review on Trip Advisor and is only $53 bucks a night including taxes and breakfast!

6

The Tamarindo is a nice place. But more expensive than the Pepita. Do be sure you got a room with air conditioning at the Tamarindo. It can be very hot.