SCUBA!!

[Treebeard]

If you are not certain if you want to pursue diving, I don't think I would recommend Cozumel. You only have one weeks vacation and the extra time spent getting to the island is a waste. You may be better off hitting one of the resorts in Playa del Carmen or Akumal. Depends if you want all inclusive or if you are like the the wife and I, go for a condo for less dinero and take care of yourself. When are you thinking of going?

Originally Posted by doch

Wow... lots of options. As much as I'm sure we'd love Thailand, it's not in the cards... neither is anywhere far east. We've just sold or house, and will be moving shortly after the (way too short) 1 week vacation.

From what I've heard so far, I'm leaning towards Cozumel, or Runaway Bay. Are they set up for newbs? Would we need to be certified, or can they give us enough training there to get us by for a day or maybe two of dives? We definetly don't have the time to spend the whole trip diving... I wouldn't mind, but the wife has stated that it's not a huge priority for her... damnit.

[Treebeard]

One other thing about Cozumel as opposed to the mainland Riviera, there really are not any good snorkelling sites on the Cozumel beaches. On the other hand, Akumal is excellent. We prefer Half Moon Bay where Akumal Dive Adventures is located.

[lorenz0]

I have to agree with the current comment with cozumel, it can be VERY strong. One of the dives we did was a drift dive

Also as said before, the pool tells all. You need to be able to retrieve your regulator and clear your mask (and after full removal) without panicking. This is a problem for alot of people.

And for a week, Mayan is a great location. Sounds like the discovering scuba course best fits your situation with 2 dives. First day is a quick video, than the pool (only takes 2 hours) than the next day you can do a morning and afternoon dive.

[Treebeard]

If you are not yet certified, save yourselves some valuable vacation time and take your classroom and pool training before you go. Go to a destination with a PADI shop and do your open water dives there. For PADI, you need 4 open water dives which you can easily do in two days. For NAUI you need 6 open water dives.

I have to disagree with the comments about diving on the Mayan Riviera. The Mayan Riviera is a very long coastline with lots of great dive sites. I have dived twice in Akumal and the coral and variety of fish species was amazing! And for beginners Akumal is much better than Cozumel because the currents can be quite strong around the island. Cozumel is also more prone to winds. We were there for 6 days in 2009 and only got in 2 dives because the harbor master closed the port due to high seas from norte. We are hoping for better weather when we go back in August.

I did my advance open water in Akumal in January with Akumal Dive Adventures. We stayed in a condo 100 meters down the beach from the dive shop. The dive instructor was great as were the dive masters.
For affordability, the Mayan Riviera also wins hands down.

Check out LocoGringo for lots of good information on the Mayan Riviera.