COZUMEL, MEXICO

Year:2003

Spectacular drift diving and fine reefs

Season: Year-round diving (optimum: December-May)

Visibility: 25-45 metres (can be up to up to 60 metres)

Water temperature: 25-29°C

The island of Cozumel is perched off the shoulder of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and offers spectacular and effortless drift diving all year. Although some luxury hotels have been built and cruise liners now use Cozumel as one of their staging posts, little has altered the superb quality of the diving, the warmth of the people and the charming atmosphere of this friendly little island. Remarkably clear water, friendly locals, a very pleasant climate (especially in the European winter), good accommodation, interesting food and some of the Caribbean's finest diving make Cozumel an excellent diving holiday choice.

From deep in the South Atlantic, a current of water flows northwards until it reaches northern Brazil, where just less than half of it splits off and forms the Guiana Current that flows into the Caribbean Sea. Eventually some of this mass of water is forced through the Yucatan Channel, which divides Mexico from Cuba, and the resulting constriction gives rise to currents which sweep past the island of Cozumel and force away suspended sediments. Corals thrive in these currents, which can range from half a knot to over 2 knots on occasion, and some really spectacular sponges can also be found at Cozumel's dive sites. The superb water clarity allows more sunlight to penetrate the water and subsequently the reefs are exceptionally healthy.

Effortless drift diving in Cozumel is very rewarding, most enjoyable and yet quite remarkable We have taken great care to work with a very well established operator who knows the reefs and currents and yet understands that most divers do not want to play follow-my-leader on a dive.

Happily, one can still enjoy the true flavour of Mexico in Cozumel, which should not be confused with its near neighbour, the sprawling resort complex of Cancun, so near in geography and yet so far in ambiance and atmosphere! The small, but busy, seaside town of San Miguel offers a remarkable choice of places to eat and drink, from small cafés and bars, tucked behind the main plaza and specializing in sizzling fajitas flavoured with avocado, barbecued chicken, grilled vegetables and, of course, a little chilli washed down with a cool beer or a zing of Margharita, to more elegant establishments, like Pepe's Grill on the waterfront where waiters 'perform' nightly and prepare flambé dishes for you at your table. Those with energy to spare after diving will also find some flashy nightclubs in San Miguel. Try to make it into town on at least one evening!

There are some truly fabulous long, powder-soft sandy beaches to enjoy on the east coast of the island and a few restaurants which offer wonderful seafood meals. Try the garlic lobster, or shrimps Cajun style and, for the brave, Pico de Gallo (a delicious yet very hot salad seasoned with much garlic and chilli). Naturally, chilli sauce will be offered with everything! Enjoy a long lazy lunch in the shade of an umbrella, sipping a chilled beer and gazing at the sunlit ocean.

Cozumel makes a superb choice for couples who want a romantic holiday, groups of friends who can seek out the more lively bars and nightclubs in San Miguel, and families who can enjoy the superb facilities of a fine hotel. Everyone will enjoy exploring the island, which is very easy to do with a rental car (roads are good and uncrowded away from San Miguel). Live it up, or live it down, the choice is yours. Cozumel offers a great combination of varied and interesting diving along with a wonderful Mexican ambience ­ perfect for a relaxing holiday.

At Santa Rosa Reef divers are usually dropped at a sand flat, at around 15 metres, which gives way to a coral buttress that rises up from the top of the wall and forms a ridge only about 12 metres from the surface. This tall column of coral is cut by channels which slope downwards from the sand flat to the seaward wall. The almost vertical wall supports superb sea fans and amazing sponges. In the middle section of the wall are caves and overhangs with tunnels that are big enough to swim through with ease. The ceilings of the tunnels are covered with interwoven rope sponges, encrusting sponges and barrel sponges. This is one site where wide-angle photographers should have an excellent choice of subjects with divers silhouetted in grottos or caves, or disappearing into the narrow slots between walls. Fish life includes large Black Groupers, barracudas, moray eels which frequently swim freely inside the tunnels, Queen Angelfish and schools of Creole Wrasse and parrotfish. Look out for cleaning stations, where with luck, you may find a friendly cleaner shrimp to give you a manicure.

Perhaps the most famous reef on Cozumel is Palancar Reef which comprises a three-mile long section of reef along the southwestern edge of the island. Palancar Shallows is an area that can be dived or snorkeled as the depth of the reef top can be as little as 5 metres from the surface. The reef is around 12-24 metres wide and cut with miniature canyons, valleys and tunnels, the walls of which have many orange rope sponges and some very impressive tube sponges. You may find that you are not alone at Palancar Horseshoe. Angelfish, Bermuda Chub, Creole Wrasse and Yellowtail Snappers have been known to follow divers as they explore the amazing 'U' shaped cut in the reef. In 1985 a 4 metre bronze statue of Christ was placed here, but Hurricane Gilbert (1988) knocked over the statue, which was later moved to Chancanab. Today only the base of the statue remains.

Chancanab lies within the Cozumel National Marine Park and is usually done as an afternoon dive, due to its shallow profile. Notable for some really enormous lobsters (up to 9 kilograms!), this area is honeycombed with a maze of tunnels hiding much marine life. Pairs of Grey Angelfish will watch as you encounter crabs and shrimps. Under the ledges, expect to see the fish that enjoy lurking in dark corners: bigeyes and schools of squirrelfish. In addition, margates and grunts can be found in small schools.

Scuba Du offers Advanced Divers the chance to dive some of the more difficult dive sites, with their special Advance Diver's Programme (please see details below). Situated near to the southernmost tip of the island is the incredible Punta Sur Reef. Above and over the lip of the drop-off, at around 23 metres, are huge buttress-like formations where the coral has built up. These are honeycombed with caverns and a complex of interconnecting tunnels, some of which are suitable only for qualified cave divers as they are deep and lightless passageways without access to the surface. This is the place to find pelagics such as Horse-eye Jacks, sharks and Spotted Eagle Rays. At deeper levels, the superb sponges and corals are in pristine condition as few divers venture so far.

PRESIDENTE

INTER-CONTINENTAL HOTEL

The Presidente Inter-Continental is superbly situated on one of Cozumel's finest white sand beaches overlooking the channel between the island and mainland Mexico, and is surrounded by pleasant gardens. Its out-of-town situation (it is about 7 minutes by car from the centre of San Miguel, the island's one small town) means that divers can enjoy the hotel's peaceful location or can easily pop into San Miguel to enjoy its restaurants, shopping and nightlife. The dive centre, Scuba Du, is right on the beach at the hotel and could not be more conveniently located. The airport is about 15 minutes by road. Once your plane touches down at Cozumel Airport, it won't be long before you are installed in your very comfortable hotel room contemplating your first dive!

This modern hotel is built in a distinctive style with open-air corridors, lofty ceilings and with 253 contemporary-styled marble-floored rooms. In addition to diving, facilities include snorkeling, deep-sea fishing, tennis, windsurfing, sailing and jet-skiing. If you want to spend some time winding down, there can be no more perfect place than the outdoor swimming pool, or just lazing on the white, coral-sand beach. From honeymooners to families, the Presidente Inter-Continental offers something for everyone.

Superior Ocean View rooms have a private patio or terrace with lovely sea views. Each room is decorated with white cedar paneling and polished marble floors. Bright Mexican fabrics are used in the soft furnishings. All the facilities of a luxury hotel can be found here with air-conditioned rooms, complimentary coffee with your wake-up call, laundry and valet service, satellite colour TV, direct dial telephone, purified water, minibar and hairdryers in every room. These large and spacious rooms have either one king-sized or two double beds. Room service is available 24 hours. With two adults, up to two children under 12 years of age can be accepted without any additional room charge.

With spectacular views of the ocean from your table, El Arrecife Restaurant specializes in northern Italian fare along with lobster, shrimp and other local seafoods delicacies. El Caribeño is a poolside palapa where guests can enjoy all-day outdoor dining from breakfast to dinner. Waiters from the Caña Brava Beach Bar will bring you a cooling Lime Daiquiri and shrimp and octopus ceviche if you simply can't bear to leave your favourite spot by the pool or the beach.

For children from 5 years to 12 years, the Chiqui Club offers a programme of activities from 0900 to 1700 every day. There is no charge for children attending the Chiqui Club, apart from a small meal charge for children who dine from the special Chiqui Club menu. Activities include pool and beach games, children's aerobics, film shows, and castle building, frog races, kite-making and treasure hunts. There will be opportunity to learn basic Spanish, learn authentic Mexican songs and dances and play Mexican games. Children will be encouraged to learn about the world outside the hotel, especially the local fauna and flora as they search for iguanas, shellfish and other marine life. As every parent knows only too well, unless the children are happy the parents cannot enjoy their holiday to the full. At last, an opportunity for all the family: there is simply something for everyone!

Scuba Du is a PADI dive centre situated right on the beach at the Presidente Inter-Continental Hotel. The owners were instrumental in the foundation of ANOAAT, an association concerned with maintaining Cozumel's National Marine Park and promoting reef ecology education. The emphasis at Scuba Du is on personal attention and safety. Scuba Du has a fleet of 5 customized fibreglass boats, which are all equipped with DAN oxygen units and VHF radios, and take between 6 and 12 divers per boat, with a maximum of 7 divers to each divemaster. The boats have shade, and bottled water and fruit are available on every dive trip. Boats leave the pier at 0815 each morning for a two tank dive, returning at 1215, or leave at 1300, returning at 1715, for those who prefer to dive in the afternoons. For divers who want a third dive following the two morning dives, an additional dive boat departs at 1230 for a 1-tank, shallow dive and returns at 1400.

With over 10 years experience of teaching at all levels, Scuba Du can offer PADI specialities, Nitrox qualification, night dives (to be arranged locally) and special advanced dives to dive sites where stronger currents and faster drift diving is the norm. To qualify for the advanced diving, divers need to have satisfied the local divemaster on one day of diving (two tanks). Kindly note that for these advanced dives a fee, currently US $8.00 per person, is payable locally for two dives. A minimum of 4 divers is needed for dives to advanced locations.

£744 (non-divers: £555) from 28 April-21 December.

£878 (non-divers: £689) from 1 January-27 April.

£892 (non-divers: £703) from 22-31 December.

Includes:

· 7 nights room and breakfast accommodation in a Superior Ocean View Room on a twin/share basis at the Presidente Inter-Continental Hotel. Service charge is included.

· 6 days diving (2 morning or afternoon boat dives daily), dive guide, cylinders and weights.

Please note: Taxis and transfer buses are readily available at the airport with costs for transfers to the hotel currently between US $10.00-15.00. The journey time is usually 20 minutes if you take a shared taxi, as drop offs are made at various hotels. Taxis are readily available for return transfers and arrangements should be made in advance with the hotel reception.

Additional Nights:

£103 (without diving: £72) from 28 April-21 December.

£119 (without diving: £88) from 1 January-27 April.

£121 (without diving: £90) from 22-31 December.

Single Occupancy Supplement:

£72 per night from 28 April-21 December.

£88 per night from 1 January-27 April.

£90 per night from 22-31 December.

Deposit: £200

FLIGHTS

The airfares shown are the least expensive fare category available at the time of going to press. We will quote you the airfare applicable, based on current fare levels and booking class availability, at the time of booking. The usual airfare deposit is £100.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES

Daily departures from London (Gatwick) to Cozumel, via Houston, with an overnight stop in Houston en route, arriving in Cozumel the following morning. Return from Cozumel in the afternoon via Houston, arriving at London (Gatwick) the following morning.

It is also possible to reach Cozumel the same day as one leaves London on some days of the week: this involves flying with Continental from Houston to Cancun on the nearby mainland and then taking a short local flight across to Cozumel. The extra cost is £60 (plus excess baggage charges of around US $2 per kg on the local flight, where the free allowance of 20 kg is usually strictly imposed).

£545 for departures 1 January-30 April (excluding Easter), 1 November-13 December, 25-31 December.

£675 for departures 1 May-30 June, 1-31 October.

£710 for departures 1-30 September.

£850 for departures at Easter, 1 July-31 August, 14-24 December.

Includes:

· Scheduled flights London (Gatwick)/Houston/Cozumel/Houston/London (Gatwick) by Continental Airlines.

Overnights in Houston: £40 per night room-only at the Marriott Airport Hotel, a comfortable hotel situated within the Houston Intercontinental Airport terminal complex, on a twin/share basis. A single occupancy supplement of £40 per night applies.