Cozumel is one of the great destinations in the world for scuba divers. As with anything else, though, you need to make sure that you use a good, quality operation to ensure that you have the most enjoyable time possible. This is especially important in an equipment intensive activity like scuba diving. Although generally safe if you dive within your limits, there is inherent risk involved in trying to breathe underwater, and you want to use a quality dive operator to minimize that risk. We would recommend Dive Paradise as a quality operation if you plan to dive Cozumel.

A word of caution: We have heard from a variety of sources that they play a little fast and loose with the rules in Cozumel as to what dives you are qualified for. Although we have not personally experienced ALL of the different operations, this appears to be the case with the majority of the dive operators. We definitely found that to be the case here, although it wasn't always detrimental. For example, a certified open water diver should have advanced training to descend below 60 feet, to dive at night, etc. Even though we didn't have any advanced training, we were allowed to go to 90 feet and do a couple of night dives, which turned out well for us since much of the diving in Cozumel is deeper than 60 feet.

However, we didn't at all feel that we were at any special risk. The water in Cozumel is so clear and warm, that even at 90 feet you can see a great distance, usually even to the waves and boats on the surface, so it doesn't feel so deep. And the night dives were fantastic, a completely different experience than in the daytime. In fact, we took advanced training at Beaver Lake, Arkansas after we got back and found that it was much harder to go 60 feet deep in a cold, dark, low-visibility lake in the Midwest than it was to do 90 feet in Cozumel. We also had night dive training at Beaver Lake, and the conditions were also much more difficult than in Mexico, since about all we could see in the lake were the fins of the diver in front of us and their lights through the gloom.

Using a well run operation like Dive Paradise with quality dive masters is definitely the way to go to feel safe, comfortable and relaxed. The dive masters from Dive Paradise really kept an eye on us and were aware of what was going on, so it was a very comfortable, relaxed time, even in the alien environment of the night dive. They were always around, but not intrusive; attentive and in control. They were also very instructive and were constantly looking for and pointing out the wide variety of marine life during the dives.

The trip was arranged through our local dive shop, Adventure Sports in Shawnee, Kansas. They have always had good experiences with Dive Paradise, and our trip was no exception. We enjoyed it so much, that we are headed back to dive with them again in just a few weeks. And it surely won't be the last time.