...in the North American zone if you were not going to Turks or Columbus? Any opinions on the "off property diving operations." We went diving in Bora Bora last year and it was great and we're just looking for someplace a little closer to home.

Mikiko?...Pinky?

Thanks!

Russ

Russ:

It would be a day trip, but Cozumel is one of the nicest places for diving...in the world, I've heard. It's about an hour and half from Cancun if I remember correctly. You would take a bus to the ferry and the ferry would take you to Cozumel. The scenery alone is gorgeous there, and the town is quaint and friendly.

Hope that helps...
All the best,
Annie J.

Echo that Russ!

Cozumel has great drift diving, where you jump off of the boat and the boat follows your bubbles. You are then picked up when you surface. Try to make sure that the boat driver doesn't have his girlfriend on board though. This happened to me once and, sort of, delayed our getting picked up. I guess his attention was elsewhere. I have to say that the dive operations and diving in both Turkoise and Columbus Isle are some of the best in the world and very inexpensive, costwise, to other operations. The convenience alone is worth it. The professionals working at both Clubs are really great!

Dad

Dad

Not a lot of choices left in the NA Zone if you rule out Turks and Columbus. Off site diving is hit or miss anywhere you go- Club Med or not. Best bet is to do your research on the dive operator that CM is affiliated with and also learn about the other dive operators on the island- that way you keep your options open.

As far as where to go- a lot depends on when you travel. I'm limited to traveling in August this year and "rainy seasons" combined with my subtle fear of hurricanes has made my decision difficult. I ruled out Cancun only b/c of weather concerns- otherwise- that's where I'd be this summer.

CM in Cancun has it good and bad points. One thing that I always loved about CM was that their resorts were frequently isolated- leaving you with little choice but to socialize with the other GM's (and of course the GO's). When I went to Cancun (and this was 10 years ago)- the village emptied out at night as everyone went to party on the strip. I still had a great time, but that aspect was disappointing. I also didn't care for the layout of the village- It's shaped like a giant letter U - with the restaurant and guest rooms at one tip and the water activities at the other tip. Back then- Cancun offered diving at the village and doing that hike daily from breakfast to the dive shack with all your gear was hell- and the diving was fair- at best.

However- CM did (and still does) offer an excursion to dive in Cozumel. Back then we took a low altitude flight back and forth- these days you take a ferry...but no question- the diving in Cozumel was great- it's almost exclusively drift diving which requires little effort- but things tend to whip by...

While visiting CM Cancun you can also opt to dive in a Cenote in the Yucatan area. These are sink holes that give access to ancient cave systems. The dives are supposed to be spectacular. The other great thing about visiting Cancun is the ability and ease with which you can visit ancient Myan ruins. Rent a jeep and go explore Telum on the water and then go to the city of Coba and play Indiana Jones- the City is almost still entirely covered by the jungle.

Your only other choices in the NA zone are La Caravelle in Guadeloupe- which is supposed to be a beautiful village- but most dive operations in Guadeloupe are not near where the CM village is- making me question the diving. You could go to Punta Cana in the DM- but CM offers no diving at all and although there are dive operators- the island is not known for it's diving.

Last choice is to wait until October (or December based on who you listen to...) and go to Martinique. However- I have no idea if CM is going to offer any kind of diving- and Martinique- is also not well known for its diving.

This is when I miss Sonora Bay- Paradise Island- St Lucia...

Sorry it's so long...hope it helps...

Yes, Martinique is not famous for it's diving but we took a nice dive out near Diamond Rock and saw some wreckage nearby. St Pierre was really cool -- lots of wreckage because of Mt. Pelee erupting a 100 years back. Not as good as Turks or Columbus Isle though and harder to get done. If you like hiking Martinique has some beauties though!

"This is when I miss Sonora Bay - Paradis Island and St, Lucia..." Amen, me too.

"Anybody got an extra yellow?"

I just got back from Cancun which was fun but my experience with Planet Scuba might inform others planning a trip there for diving. Two dive trips I'd hoped to take were canceled because I was the only one to sign up. That might be understandable re. the long trip to Cozumel but harder to accept re. their regular morning dive. Be forewarned that if your off-season (June?) or unlucky you might be stuck.

For a rusty diver like me it was a good site(s) to brush up on my skills but the Cancun diving pales next to Cozumel.

russ...are you specifically wanting to dive from a club med area????or just looking for a good dive spot near the us????if the former...cozumel,if the latter-cozumel,i`d also take a trip to roatan,st.lucia,bequia....

the diving in martinique is not very good,unless you go out to diamond rock..but then,i had some excelent dives there...that`s because they let me do my own thing,,and as a result,saw some great stuff..i still remember conducting my orchestra of squid...brilliant,and a welcoming `ti punch upon surfacing...not go`s,this was the company who took over when cm stopped diving there

pinky