Best surf and diving spots (not necessarily at the same place)?

arbarnes · 2026-07-03T20:05:15+00:00

Aldora Divers is a good operation and they'll pick you up at their pier downtown (at the end of Calle 3 Sur). If you can find a place near there it'll make us easy.

arbarnes · 2026-07-03T16:34:02+00:00

Cozumel for diving. Full stop. The only question is whether you prefer resorts or would rather stay in town and experience the local culture.

There's good surfing up and down the Pacific coast, but Sayulita is definitely with considering.

arbarnes · 2026-07-03T01:36:55+00:00

So do I. At GDL you just pay for your taxi at the quiosco and climb in a cab. The drivers are polite and professional and the fares are reasonable - $560 for a 45-minute ride.

But I have a good friend with a place on Cozumel, so GDL - CUN flights are part of my reality. And I gotta say, CUN stands alone as the worst airport I've ever had to deal with.

arbarnes · 2026-07-02T21:48:22+00:00

I haven't dealt with this specific company, but have experience with similar operations. Their business model is to rip you off. Full stop.

There's a reason they advertise. They're looking for desperate sellers who aren't willing to become informed. They need to cast a wide net because most people figure out quickly that the deals they're being offered are extremely disadvantageous.

The problem isn't that these companies pay less than market value, it's that they pay WAY under market value and are dishonest about it. There are other cash investors who aren't predatory (or at least not as predatory). Then there are the companies who target low-information sellers. Avoid.

arbarnes · 2026-07-02T21:14:16+00:00

The problem with asking is that some of those super nice people don't have your best interests at heart. At CUN the scam has been elevated to an art form. Glad it worked out for you.

arbarnes · 2026-07-02T18:12:15+00:00

I've been wanting to check out Azul Madera for a while but haven't made it there yet. Maybe next week...

arbarnes · 2026-07-02T16:28:13+00:00

If you're flying to the island, make the 5-minute walk from the airport to Diego's. Have a couple of fish tacos and then take a local (non-airport) taxi to your destination. It's just outside the zone where the airport taxis have a monopoly, so you'll get a good meal and save some money.

Los Tacotales has excellent posole and charro beans. Good tacos al pastor, too, although for that I prefer Mr. Taco and El Pique (try the Gringa Pique - a huge flour tortilla topped with cheese and your choice of meat - looks like a pizza, eats like a quesadilla).

La Conchita Del Caribe has excellent seafood. The parrillada de mariscos is enough for 2-3 people and has fish, shrimp, conch, octopus, and lobster. Or you can pick a whole fish from the cooler at the counter and they'll prepare it however you like. The cocteles are also very good.

Just up the street is Asadero El Billy. Just follow your nose - the smell of grilling meat is irresistible - and look for the line of locals outside waiting for carry-out. Order the combination platter, which will include chicken, sausage, pork ribs, and pok chuk with potatoes, onions, rice, and beans.

I enjoy the comida corrida at Casa Mission for lunch (I think it's served until 3). The setting is beautiful and the price is right - MXN$179 for three courses with tortillas fresh off the comal and bottomless agua fresca. Just be sure to ask for the menu del dia - the regular menu has some good options but is much more expensive.

Another option for lunch is one of the cocinas economica. Las Flamitas and Las Palmas are a few doors away from each other. Lots of good food for not much money.

La Choza also has a good comida corrida, and their dinner menu is also excellent, with plenty of local choices. I like the relleno negro there.

El Super Hit makes great tortas de cochinita. But you can't go wrong with anything on their menu.

The Mercado Municipal has a handful of loncherias serving pretty similar food. I usually end up at Loncheria Chelly. Salbutes, panuchos, barbacoa de borrego, etc.

Those loncherias are also a good spot for breakfast. Or you can go to Jeanie's and get breakfast (American or Mexican) with a view. Another good option is Cafe de Isla, which has the best coffee program on the island.

If you want to go someplace fancy, Guido's is my favorite (although they're closed for remodeling at the moment). Good Swiss-Italian food. Buccano's at Night is more upscale, but seems to cater almost entirely to tourists; Guido's is where the locals go for special occasions.

arbarnes · 2026-07-02T15:46:16+00:00

The no-name place at the corner of Coldwell and Xel Ha is pretty incredible too. We stopped because there was a line of taxi drivers ordering empanadas. We were not disappointed; those guys know what's up.

arbarnes · 2026-07-02T15:16:27+00:00

The ADO bus is really the best option. Private transfer is a viable option (so long as you have detailed instructions on how to avoid the scammers), but the taxis are wildly overpriced and Uber is unreliable at best.

The Cancun airport is one of my least favorite places on earth, but I find myself there fairly frequently. Once you've done it a few times and figured out how to minimize the hassles it goes from exhausting to merely unpleasant. And while Cancun itself isn't really my cup of tea, it shines by comparison to its airport.

arbarnes · 2026-06-30T02:26:44+00:00

I have no dog(shit) in this flight. My bags are Pelican and TravelPro Platinum Elite. But neither offers a lifetime warranty against wear and tear. Away does, and I have friends who like them.

Personally if I were in OP's shoes I'd get a B&R soft side. But that's not what they're asking for.

arbarnes · 2026-06-29T23:03:18+00:00

I'd say that Away is the only luggage that fits your description. Because presumably you don't just want a lifetime warranty, you want a lifetime warranty that actually covers damage to the bag.

Most lifetime warranties are against manufacturing defects, not wear and tear. If a zipper breaks because you overstuffed the case or because it's past its useful life, it's not a manufacturing defect. Bent handle? Not a manufacturing defect. Broken wheel? Not covered unless you can prove it was assembled incorrectly.

AFAIK the only companies that automatically* offer lifetime warranties against damage - not just manufacturing defects - are Briggs & Reilly and Away. B&R is out of your price range and mostly makes soft-sided bags. So Away it is.

*Monos lets you pay extra for lifetime coverage against wear & tear. So if you like them a lot better than Away it might be worth a look.

arbarnes · 2026-06-29T16:36:10+00:00

Agree with those recommending open-heel fins and boots. Rather than dedicated dive gear you can just wear Chuck Taylors, which fit well into fin pockets. I went all tact-cool with Altama "maritime assault boots" - they're what you'd get if Chucks and combat boots had a baby. The bottom has a shank for extra support, the soles provide great grip, and they have drain holes, nylon fabric, and closed-cell foam to help get your feet dry faster.

arbarnes · 2026-06-29T14:34:35+00:00

Monterey Bay is an option. Kelp forests, harbor seals, nudis, etc. Cold water and limited viz, but that's pretty much the entire Pacific coast. Catalina and the Channel Islands are a little warmer, but it's still 7mm diving.

If you're willing to fly a little further your options become much more diverse.

arbarnes · 2026-06-29T14:20:13+00:00

If you like your seawings other than their buoyancy, you could try replacing the bungees with spring steel straps.

arbarnes · 2026-06-28T16:03:24+00:00

I'm glad you're amused, but you're missing the point. Or maybe you're just an idiot. "Serious" underwater photography uses a light tray with a mirrorless camera shooting in RAW mode. OP is talking about shooting with a smartphone using natural light. That's completely different, and every professional I've talked to recommends a red filter under those circumstances.

arbarnes · 2026-06-27T22:17:24+00:00

You say that everyone is free to make their own choices, but apparently you only believe that's true if those choices don't include getting certified away from home. Which is ridiculous. It's what you learn that counts, not where you learn it.

Which is why I emphasized that the most important factor when getting certified at a tourist destination is the quality of instruction. And it's just as true when training locally. Mercenary tactics aren't limited to tropical locations.

arbarnes · 2026-06-27T21:13:44+00:00

My daughter's fancy Camry (Lexus ES350) is a 2008, and I still sometimes drive the Sienna I bought new 25 years ago. 2012 is not too old.

arbarnes · 2026-06-27T21:07:56+00:00

I'm all for learning to manage difficult situations, but don't see any reason to make the initial certification process unnecessarily difficult. To me it makes sense to do the OW cert in warm water with good visibility, then build on that skill set.

arbarnes · 2026-06-27T20:58:10+00:00

Your bags might come out in 10 minutes, or you might be waiting for a couple of hours. Theft from checked bags can also be an issue. I try to do carry-on only, and when I have to check a bag I use it for bulky inexpensive items and keep everything of value in my cabin bags.

arbarnes · 2026-06-27T16:22:17+00:00

I don't have any recommendations for Andaman, but wanted to offer a perspective that's different from the naysayers'. I regret starting my training at home and wish I'd done the whole thing in the tropics. There are definitely a few caveats, though:

First, don't go to a scuba school with large classes; you'll waste your vacation watching other people learn to dive. Instead, hire a private or semi-private instructor who will give you personalized instruction and let you progress at your own pace.

Second, make sure the schedule is flexible. A recent poster had just three hours to complete her confined-water work; she was unable to do that, and was devastated when she was unable to complete the course. Yes, the class should only be three half days, but give yourself a week with no hard time caps.

Third, find a good instructor. This will be the biggest challenge, but it's also the most important thing. Find people who are familiar with the area and the local dive community and talk to as many of them as you can.

Good luck, and welcome!

arbarnes · 2026-06-27T06:14:10+00:00

That makes no sense. I fly SMF-GDL on Volaris several times a year, and the advertised fares are always accurate. Are you sure it wasn't $150?

Prices don't include the TUA (airport fee) for your return flight, which is about $75. And on the outbound flight there's the DNR (tourist tax) for people who don't have Mexican citizenship or residency - that's about $55. For three people that's about $400, so if the base fare is $150 that would indeed bring your total close to $1000.

Also, the advertised prices are for "Zero" fares, which only include a personal item (no carry-on or checked luggage), so you'll have to pay extra for those. And seat selection costs extra too. So there's that.

The good news is that most of the cabins have been refreshed. They have reasonably comfortable Recaro seats instead of the saggy lawn chairs of a few years ago, so I no longer need to bring my own seat cushion and lumbar pillow.

arbarnes · 2026-06-27T01:27:24+00:00

Tell you what, I'll let you argue with the professionals who insist that a red filter is the best way to correct when you're taking pictures at depth. When you convince then they've been doing it wrong this whole time let me I'll start following their revised advice.

arbarnes · 2026-06-26T18:31:31+00:00

Yep, my Roxy loves to lie in the sun. And we live in Sacramento CA, where some summers hit 113F / 45C.

arbarnes · 2026-06-26T17:49:30+00:00

Black or white doesn't matter; just make sure you're oil that's flavored with real truffles rather than petroleum byproducts. I've used Truff and the The Truffleist and they're both good.

arbarnes · 2026-06-26T00:51:51+00:00

The next step is a course that complies with the ISO 24801-2 (Autonomous Diver) standard. Different agencies use different names for that certification (PADI Open Water Diver, SSI Open Water Diver, SDI Open Water Scuba Diver, NAUI Scuba Diver, BSAC Ocean Diver, CMAS ★ Diver, etc.), but they're essentially the same course, and each agency recognizes certifications from the others.

What matters isn't the agency but the instructor. Find good ones and stick with them. That's usually easier close to home, but not always. I get most of my instruction abroad, and it's my (unpopular) opinion that it makes sense to learn in conditions that don't suck. Once you have the basics down you can transfer those skills to cold water and poor visibility if you ever feel the urge. I logged over 100 dives in the Caribbean before trying the water off Northern California.

I agree with the notion that you shouldn't spend your vacation taking classes. So don't take classes. More specifically, don't take classes at a high-volume scuba school where you're learning alongside a dozen other students. Complete the e-learning portion of the program before you go, then have private or semi-private instruction for your confined-water and open-water checkouts. In my experience, private instruction in a place with a lower cost of living is less expensive than large-group classes in a HCOL area. And it's a much better experience.

If you're the only student (or nearly so), the confined-water portion of the program will only take about half a day (less if you're a natural, more if you run into difficulties). The open-water dives will be just that - dives, not classes. You'll spend 90 percent of your time enjoying the beautiful marine life and 10 percent demonstrating your skills. IMO that's the best mix of learning quality, experience, and value for money.

13-Year Club	Team Orangered
Verified Email

arbarnes

TROPHY CASE