Cozumel Diving Vacation
I’ve been meaning to put something together about diving in Cozumel for a long time. Any diver not living under a rock is well aware that Cozumel is world-famous for its incredible visibility, pristine reefs and generally affordable scuba vacation opportunities.
In spite of all that, I never bothered to go until early 2022. Partly, it’s because I do a lot of dive travel for work, and Cozumel simply hadn’t been on the agenda. When I was younger, all I knew about Cozumel diving was that you could expect wicked currents on every dive. While I’ve done some pretty incredible drift dives over the years, currents and cameras can be a challenge.
In my defense, my impression about the currents in Cozumel were driven home by every diver I knew that ever went there. However, toward the end of 2021, I had gotten to know the awesome owners of Villa Las Uvas and made plans to get down there. This, by the way, was not a free trip, or technically even a work trip, although I did use the opportunity to bring back images to use later.
The Best Cozumel Condo Rental: Villa Las Uvas
I am going to blatantly promote Villa Las Uvas. Las Uvas, the place, is about a 5 minute drive south of the main populated town in Cozumel. Cruise ships use the town as a frequent stop for shore excursions, so it can get crazy down there from time to time.
Villa Las Uvas is a property made up of two buildings. One is 3 stories, with a condo available for rent on each floor. The adjacent building is a 2-story villa that can accommodate around 14 people. They are located next door to each other, directly across the street from the beach.
All 3 condos, as well as the villa boast modern kitchens, a private pool (the condo building and the villa each have their own), and a rooftop veranda with views forever.
For divers in groups that travel well together, Villa Las Uvas is a dream. The pricing is shockingly affordable and the accommodations are beautifully maintained. It’s about as perfect as you can get, so if you are planning a Cozumel Dive Vacation, please reach out to J.P. at villalasuvas.com.
Getting to Cozumel with a Lot of Diving and Camera Gear
One great thing about Cozumel is access by major airlines. While I love remote, little-known diving destinations, there is something to be said for larger airplanes when you have a lot of equipment to bring along.
For this trip, I would be shooting product photos for diving gear manufacturer. So I guess it was actually a work trip, but Villa Las Uvas wasn’t the client. In any case, that meant bringing a lot of camera equipment, plus all the gear that needed to be photographed, as well as my personal dive gear.
All I had to do to get there was to check some extra bags. Some of the places I fly use tiny planes with equally tiny size and weight limits. Not only is that not a problem in Cozumel, you have choices. It’s pretty great.
My First Dives in Cozumel
For our first dive day, we played along with an experiment proposed by Cozumel Scuba Planet and the fine folks at Villa Las Uvas. Rather than drive 5-7 minutes to the Cozumel marina, we’d wait with our dive gear on the beach across from the villa. The idea was that they’d back the boat into shallow water, where we’d wade out to board.
So yeah, well, not so much. I thought it was fun, but the rest of my group wasn’t all that stoked when the boat couldn’t really access shallow water. Wading turned into swimming, and honestly, we did have a few things that would have been nice to keep dry. Just the same, I thought boarding the dive boat this way had a rugged adventurer vibe that I thought was great. After that, we made the drive.
I don’t think anyone has attempted the beach pick up since then, but I still like the idea.
Once on our way, we joined the flotilla of dive boats making way toward Cozumel’s popular dive sites. I don’t remember for sure what our first dive was. I think Palancar Caves. For the entry, I had anticipated the “go, go, go” rush typical of drift dives in aggressive currents. There was none of that. Divers dropped in and regrouped on the bottom like any other dive. Sure, there was some current, but it wasn’t all that strong and there was plenty of structure to dip into to avoid it.
Almost immediately, we were joined by turtles, and soon after, 3 eagle rays and a nurse shark. Visibility was easily 100+, and might have been 150’ or better. It was amazing! All I could think was, “I’ve been a fool!” Cozumel diving is not only amazing, but also pretty cheap.
Diving in Cozumel
Just about every dive in Cozumel is awesome. My personal favorite is Devil’s Throat, a deep, twisty-turning journey through an underwater maze that begins around 120’. Eventually, you’ll emerge out of an overhead tunnel at roughly 140’. It is an advanced dive for sure. I count it as one my all time favorite dives anywhere in the world.
The diving in Cozumel is amazingly diverse—even on a single dive. I remember one dive that started in a maze of passages before emerging into the current along a huge, deep wall, before hopping over onto an ever-changing, underwater sand dune.
There are so many dives in Cozumel, it’s hard to remember which memory belongs to what dive. One of my favorite memories isn’t even the diving, it’s the surface interval. Between dives, they serve apples dusted with Tajin, along with other fruit. I never would have thought such a spice belongs on an apple, but it’s pretty great if you ask me.
Also memorable is the awesome dive crew. They did such a great job, surface intervals are almost as enjoyable as the diving.
During one surface interval, they took us to a sand flat in shallow water where we could snorkel above hundreds of starfish. It was a really fun, unique experience in the warm, crystal clear water. On another, the crew took us to a remote beach where they BBQ’d chicken and beef other great stuff. They didn’t charge extra and they honestly didn’t have to do that for us. On our trip, they always provided lunch, which was exceptional, but the beach BBQ was over the top.
The Cozumel Diving (and Non-Diving) Experience
Cozumel is special. There’s plenty to see and do on land, so whether you dive a lot or not at all, Cozumel will be a great vacation experience. Even if you never leave Villa Las Uvas, you’ve got a secluded beach and a perfect temporary home to unwind and absorb the lush, tropical atmosphere.
As a diver, it is hard for me to imagine going to Cozumel and not diving, but diving isn’t everybody’s thing, so I think it is the perfect destination for mixed groups.
If you are planning your next diving vacation and aren’t sure where to go, at least check out Villa Las Uvas. I don’t have anything to gain if you visit, but I’m certain you will have a magical experience if you go. And, if you’ve been there, please leave your thoughts in the comments.