Dive Review of Aldora Divers in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

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Aldora Divers: "Still Excellent After (Partial) Ownership Change", Mar, 2020, by Ryan Black, MI, US ( Reviewer 4 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 11450 has 3 Helpful votes.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Third consecutive year diving with Aldora. My wife and I did 7 days of 2 tank AM diving with them. We dove all seven days with Didier, who was great at pointing things out and being responsive to requests for bird-dogging specific things (e.g., tiny macro stuff). There has been a partial change in ownership -- Dave retired -- but things are still running about as smoothly as before. For newcomers, Aldora is known for using larger steel tanks. Men and women get 120CF and 100CF, respectively, by default. More gas means longer dives. We averaged 81 minutes with a min/max of 65 and 94 minutes. Note that women can ask for bigger tanks, but make sure you verify when you check in that they know you want them (and have it written down on your information sheet). Surface intervals are done on shore, though the location has changed from a full-service beach club to something a bit more rustic on the beach. Aldora puts out a table of chips and (very good) guacamole, fruit slices, and water for you to munch on. This stuff is free. You can also buy some hot food -- e.g., quesadillas/tacos -- for cheap (20-40 pesos per quesadilla) from a nice family who cooks them fresh. It's a pleasant place to spend an hour. In previous years Denise and Memo were there checking in with everyone to ask if they were happy. Of the seven days we dove, I think we only saw them there once or twice. (NB: We didn't have anything to complain about -- just an observation) Aldora is also known for keeping its groups small -- usually 6 divers and a guide. On a few of our days our group also had another diver who had hired a private guide. They went in a few minutes before us and then typically stayed down for a modest among longer after we were all up on the surface. On one of the days we waited 20 minutes for them to finish their dive (putting their dive time close to 100 minutes). Conditions were calm, so it wasn't a big deal to be floating along waiting, but I would have been annoyed if the seas were rough. The upside of being a "bigger" group was that for most of those days we dove from Falicity, which is Aldora's biggest boat and was incredibly comfortable to be on with only seven divers and two guides. Brass tacks, Aldora will still be our go-to dive operation in Cozumel because we like their attention to detail and longer bottom times we get with the bigger tanks.
Websites	Aldora Divers
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Throughout the Caribbean, Iceland, Hawaii
Closest Airport	CZM	Getting There	Direct into CZM.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, cloudy, dry	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	78-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Let divemaster know when you have 1000 PSI; safety stop at 700 PSI; no deco diving
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Home Depot bucket on boat that sometimes contained fresh water. Not a huge deal, however, since ride to/from sites from condo was short. Didn't see any big rigs on this trip.

Report currently has 3 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Aldora Divers in Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

Aldora Divers: "Still Excellent After (Partial) Ownership Change", Mar, 2020,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Aldora Divers in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan