This trip is in the books!

We leave up the trip post and add pictures from the trip in case any new people want to research us, or if any past participants are looking for links to pictures!

If you want to stay up to date with our trip pictures as the happen, send me a direct message on FB.  Here is a link to my profile: https://www.facebook.com/mattidh/

You will have to send me a message first before we can be “friends”.  Just say you want to see the trip pictures, I’ll add you.  Below is an example of the kind of stuff I post from the Cozumel trip.

 

Cozumel Trip March 24th to 31st, 2024

Trip Dates and prices confirmed with the resort

As I’m writing this we just completed the 2022 November trip.  If anythign the resort was even better after Covid.  The food was certainly top notch.  We’ve done plenty of these trips to Cozumel over the years, but in 2019 we tried out a new place and we liked it.  The Iberostar on the southern tip of Cozumel near Palancar Reef. It is an all inclusive. The boat rides to the dive sites are so short we are doing most of our surface intervals at the dock.  The food is great.  The free beer and cocktails were mid range, but acceptable.  The FREE part didn’t hurt at all.  We enjoyed the two restaurants that required reservations (free), and everyone was happy with the rooms.  We spent quite a bit of time at the pool swim up bars.  Overall, it is our choice in Cozumel.   By Island Divers tradition, we take one trip into town to the Mission Restuarant, but that is optional.

Availability update 11/27/23 – 10 of the 12 rooms I booked are taken.  It is kinda a spring breaky time (though we have never encountered much in the way of spring breakers here, they are all in Cancun).  But it does make the availability higher.  Just be aware that I may not be able to add of if you are planning on booking last minute.  Fair warning.  Of course, I will add you on last minute if the resort has room.  Not a problem.  Last time we went we were a big enough group they split us into 2 boats.

$1660 double occupancy diver rate, $1100 dbl occ non diver rate

$2360 single occupancy diver rate

Included:

• 7 night hotel
• all meals
• standard beer wine and cocktails
• 6 days 2 tank diving
• Nitrox
• airport transfers

Not included:

• airfare
• Cenote Trip add on, $130 optional
• gear rental if needed
• $2 per day “environmental fee” from the hotel, per room
• $2.50 per dive “national park fee” collected by the dive shop for actual number of dives you did
• $40 per dive for additional dives

Customize your trip

• add a single occupancy day with diving $400
• add a single occupancy day without diving $295
• add a double occupancy day with diving (must book with 2 people) $280
• add a double occupancy day without diving (must book with 2 people) $175

Note on trip customization.  I am happy to arrange this for you, but nothing is reserved at the resort.  So you will need to contact me matt@islanddivershawaii.com with the exact dates so I can confirm it for you.

Arrival in Cozumel

Come in anytime on the 24th of March airport transfers are included in the package, so we will be collecting your flight information to pass on the the operator.  Basically you go out to the arrival area, look for the Margaritaville stand (yes, I’m serious) and find the driver.  You get full more detailed instructions in a pre trip email.   Meet up at hotel lobby bar at 5pm for a social.  If you get in late, no problem, we’ll let you know what time to be at the dive shop to start the diving the next morning.

The Diving in Cozumel

We are signed up for a 6 day 2 tanks a day package.  However if that is not enough for you you can add on dives at $40, $60 for a night dive.  This is a special rate for our group, normally $59/$79.  The package includes nitrox, so if you aren’t certified yet, let us know and we will get the bookwork done prior to the trip and certify you the first day.  That’s only $150.  Worth it.  Diving is Cozumel is all drift diving, and damn that is nice.  You usually drop into the sand at about 50ft and head over to the ledge to explore caverns and swim throughs.  You know we will be going to Columbia Reef at least once, shallow and packed with life, this is an easy hour plus dive.  Don’t be surprised if Bob and Kathy Zimmerman show up on this trip just to make sure they don’t miss out on that dive.

The Cenote Option

So everyone knows what a cenote is right?  Okay, maybe not.  Basically, there is an underground freshwater river system on the mainland.  When there is a cave system collapse on the surface, you get an entry point to the underground system.  It makes for some amazing stalactite and stalagmite-filled cavern dives.  And you encounter the visual effect of a salt water and fresh water interface, the halocline.  Super amazing.  So you have to give up a day of diving for this and pay a $130 extra, but it includes the transportation to Playa del Carmen by ferry and the cave diver guides for safety.  This is just an option, but it is unique enough to be worth giving up a day of great reef diving.

How to book

Send an email to matt@islanddivershawaii.com or just send in a $500 deposit check to PO Box 30108 Honolulu HI 96820.  Make check to Dive Travel Services.  We’ll take a deposit at any time, but can’t reserve a spot until we get it.  Basically, don’t book flights for the trip if you haven’t sent in a deposit.  The balance will be due by Jan 10th, 2024.

Who can come on this trip?

It is extremely exclusive.  Just kidding.  Our trips are open to all fun loving divers who are interested in group travel.  Many of us have been traveling together for years.  There is always someone new, and most of them end up joining other trips in the future.  Sometimes it just works out that you are interested in a trip that we are offering as it coincides with when you were planning on traveling anyway.  That’s cool too, join us for a one-off.  There are often non-divers on our trips as well, and this trip will be particularly good for those couples.  Iberostar is a nice resort with a lot of other activities besides diving.  Join us, we love meeting new people.

This is a good trip to book if you are just checking us out.  To see if you want to go with us on some of the liveaboards that we book.  The resort has about 100 rooms, lots of people at the resort are not divers, just beach vacationers.  So it is also a good place if you have a non diver in your group.  In 2022, we had 10 people on their first trip with us, they all want to travel with our group in the future.  That is a sign of good people.

Here is a link to some facebook pics from the Nov 2022 trip