After three back-to-back expeditions in Mexico, my next stop was Cozumel.

I had friends join me for another scuba diving trip to check out the location, operations, and logistics for a future expedition with clients.

I’ve been to Cozumel several times, but had never found ‘the spot’ to host a group of divers.

Then, one day, Nico from Blue Mystic Divers reached out with a unique offer that piqued my interest. This was the pitch: bring clients to Cozumel for an all-inclusive package without the sterile resort experience. Blue Mystic would orchestrate the diving, Cascada Maya would take care of our stay, and food would include an exploration of the best local restaurants.

I’m always a bit hesitant about new collaborations, especially after my previous visit to Cozumel turned into a total mess, but something about his pitch and business philosophy intrigued me. If you missed the episode of my previous experience on this island in 2024, watch it here.

With optimism, I made my way to Cascada Maya, a stunning little bed and breakfast owned by Mama Joe.

Besides being a wonderful host, Mama Joe is also a talented pastry chef, so make sure you taste a variety of her different sweets during your stay.

Within the bed and breakfast property, you’ll find the dive shop. They have a classroom, gear room, and even a pool suitable for scuba training. It’s a very cool setup and makes logistics a total breeze.

Whenever I do these types of scouting trips, I tend to do them alone, but this time I invited a few friends to help me sus out the place.

I sat down with Nico to learn more about his story and business operations. He’s a talented scuba instructor with a deep passion for excellent customer care. His organization and professionalism made my lingering hesitations melt away, so I was excited to see the rest of the operations.

This crew of friends always keeps me on my toes, so we were off to the races with all kinds of side quests.

My friends are brand new divers. Their last dives were with me over a year ago, so that meant our priority was a scuba diving refresher.

There are a couple of options for refreshers. You can take a formal training course through one of the certification organizations like the ReActivate with PADI, which includes theory and practical skills, and an e-card. This is a great way to upgrade a junior-level certification without taking the next-level course. Doing the formal training isn’t a requirement to get back in the water. Most dive schools will offer a standard refresher, which will cover the same skills as the ReActivate, but you will not receive the formal materials or e-card.

I really liked the way Blue Mystic runs their refresher programs. They took us to a shallow, sandy bottom, for skill practice before loading back in the boat for a shallow fun dive. It was the perfect combination of conditions to make my divers feel at ease in the water again.

Many people have a misconception that Cozumel is only for advanced divers, and that is simply not the case. There are plenty of shallow dive sites, and if you plan your trip outside of the full or new moon, you will more than likely experience gentle currents. As with any dive operation, your instructor or dive guide will take you to dive sites that are suitable for your level.

Diving in Cozumel is wonderful year-round, but there are a few considerations when planning your trip. Visibility is generally always good, but weather conditions can be challenging from December through February. That season, however, also corresponds to some pretty cool critter sightings, including possible bull sharks within that time frame, and eagle rays from November to April. Turtle nesting happens from May to September, and aside from those highlights, you’ll see all the usual suspects of tropical reef fish and what Cozumel is really known for, giant coral reefs with swim-throughs.

I am not a big fan of all-inclusive resort vacations, which is why my expeditions do not cater to that demographic of divers. I enjoy taking people to local restaurants, giving us the flexibility to try a range of flavors. Regardless, I was open-minded about the all-inclusive itinerary Blue Mystic Divers put together, and it didn’t disappoint. We got to taste a wide variety of cuisines, even Lebanese food! There is a strong Italian influence on the island, so be prepared for a lot of delicious Italian and Mexican food.

On our final day of diving, something really extraordinary happened… We found out a friend was also on the island for diving, so we arranged to pick them up for a day trip. This moment is brought to you by Instagram Stories. I don’t always share my location in real time on social media. The internet can be a scary place for a woman, but for whatever reason, I shared that I was on the island, and that’s how we connected the dots. It’s moments like these that make me grateful for social media, which I need regular reminders because it can be challenging to continue to put myself out there.

But, I’ll keep showing up, if you do. 

It’s always rewarding to watch people’s progression with scuba diving, and this trip was a great example of expanding comfort in a safe environment. My friends had never experienced currents before, so we started in more protected dive sites. By the final day, we ventured to a wall with stronger currents, and they handled it like champs.

Cozumel can be a great place to get comfortable with currents. This was my first experience with drift diving, over 10 years ago. Lessons here helped me prepare for working in the Komodo National Park.

With every new environment and skillset, we become more capable divers, and even after thousands of dives, we can, and should, continue learning.

Now, with only about 15 dives under their weight belts, my friends are already more experienced than people with triple their dives in simple conditions.

As part of our final day on the island, we visited the Punta Sur Eco Beach Park. This natural state reserve is home to a wide variety of birds and animals, several of which are endemic to the island. There are a couple of highlight points in the park, including a small Mayan ruin, the lagoon tower to look for crocodiles, and the lighthouse, which gives you a 360-degree view of the park.

I loved exploring the different trails, but of course, my favorite part was the boat ride to see the crocs up close and personal. This gave me a flashback to swimming with saltwater crocs in Banco Chinchorro, but that’s a whole other story.

My experience with Blue Mystic Divers and Cascada Maya blew my fins off. People are always asking for Cozumel recommendations, and I haven’t had a solid answer for them for several years, but now I do. As such, I decided to book two diving expeditions with them next year.

I have opened spots for both standard and LGBTQ+ dive expeditions in March 2027. If you want to join me on the island, check out the details on my expedition page.

See what trips are coming up. I always give my community first dibs on spots, so you can sign up for Patreon (and get trip discounts) or my email list to be the first to know about new expeditions in the future.