Can I book online, how I do book my scuba dives?
Yes, you can book online with our reservations form. Please note that we review and process every reservation manually focused on the details and the general overview of our operation.
To send your reservation information, please click on the reservations menu button and fill in the reservation form. We'll ask for your credit card number and to leave a deposit of $50 per day per diver.
To book minors, scuba training courses, private charters or have any other questions, please contact us.
When should I book?
During busy seasons, we advise you to make your reservation as early as possible.
The months from November to February; that includes Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, or from March to April, Carnival days and Spring Break, reservations usually happen at least 2 months in advance.
Please call us to check availability or to fine tune the details for your dive trip.
The Dive Shop is open from 7am to 3pm, and from 6pm to 8pm.
I am staying in Playa del Carmen, how can I scuba dive with Aldora divers?
You'll have to take the first 7:00am Ferry to Cozumel and we will have to delay a boat to depart at 8:30am.
Please contact us with two days notice for us to reschedule a later departure with the other divers.
We are arriving on a Cruise ship, how can we book scuba diving?
Please call us at the shop as coming from a cruise ship requires booking a private charter.
Can I check in at the boat, do I need to come to the dive shop?
To take care of several things before you start diving, check in must be done at the dive shop. You will be requested to review the information you provided for your dive schedule and make any needed changes.
Here we will attend to any equipment related needs, such as DIN/YOKE regulators including the fit of rental equipment if needed.
You will need to fill out a dive application form, and to present your certification cards and review our diving safety rules and schedule.
We also require you to fill a medical release form, which if has a 'yes' to any of the medical related questions will require a physican's sign off.
Can I fill in the paperwork digitally?
Yes, If you wish to speed up your check in process, you can fill our Diving Application form.
What payment methods are available?
You can pay in cash with US dollars or Mexican Pesos*
We also accept credit cards, VISA and MASTERCARD only.
*10% discount off when paying with cash.
How much should I tip?
Gratuities are greatly appreciated!
Most guests leave $20 per person per day for their hard working crew.
What is your cancellation policy?
To cancel your dives or make changes to you trip, a minumum of 12 hours notice or before 7.30 pm the night before your scheduled dives is required.
If you should cancel the morning of your trip or you do not show up, you will be charged the full price of the dives that day.
How do I cancel my scuba dives?
You can send us an email to frontdesk@aldora.com or call us at the dive shop to +52 (987) 872 3397, front desk is available every day from 7am to 3pm and from 6pm to 8pm.
How do I get a refund if I cancel?
Refunds to your credit card can be done if they have been processed no more than 6 months before the time of cancellation and it will take 12 to 20 working days to deposit it back from our bank account. Cash payments will be refunded the next day.
Do you offer transportation?
Unfortunately, we are not able to offer any transportation services between local hotels, our shop, or the docks, beach clubs or marinas. Guests are required to come to the shop to check-in for their dive trips.
Pick up for your dives will be scheduled on the docks in your hotel or if staying down town from the Aqua Safari pier beside the shop.
If staying in the North Hotel Zone pick up will be from the Aldora Villa.
In Cozumel, you have to use a rental car, the airport shuttles or taxi services for land transportation.
Taxi Phone numbers:
Base 1: +52 (987) 872.0041
Base 2: +52 (987) 872.5770
Base 3: +52 (987) 120.2874
Facebook: Taxis de Cozumel
Google Maps links for:
Dive Shop
Villa Aldora
Marina Fonatur
Aqua Safari Pier
Scuba diving with Nitrox (Enriched Air)
Enriched Air (Nitrox) is available for diving with Aldora Divers.
Both mixes of 32% and 36% Nitrox are provided by Altech (Our own filling station).
Other blends are available if ordered in advance. The cost is $10 per tank. In addition, we also pair divers by gas, and most of our divers use nitrox.
What's included on my scuba dive trip?
Our 2 Tank AM trip includes 2 air tanks, dives sites are decided on the boat with your guide. On board the boat there's purified drinking water, please bring your own re fillable water bottle to use on board, there is also a fresh water rinse bucket for masks cameras and equipment.
Rental gear is quoted separately
How cold is the water? Do I need a wetsuit?
Water temperature has an average of 81º F/27ºC.
In the summer months it can get up to 85º F/29ºC and in winter it gets down to 77º F/25º C.
However do note we do long dives, minimum 70 minutes so in the winter months a 3mm or 5mm suit will keep you comfortable.
I only did one dive of my two tank trip, do I have to pay for the second dive?
Yes. We charge for the space on the boat on a trip, only if you were using Nitrox, we won't charge you the second fill.
What's the length of the dive trip?
Our morning dive trips normally launch at 7:30am from the Downtown Dock, we do the surface interval at Playa Palancar around 10am, and return to the dock about 1:30pm.
Afternoon dive trips, launch at 2:30pm and return around 6pm. Twilight dive trips depart at 3:30pm and return around 9:00pm as well the Night dive boats.
What should I bring to the boat?
For day dive trips, please do not use sunscreen it is not allowed in the Marine Park, bring a hat, a rash guard or long sleeve t-shirts. We recommend that you avoid any chemical substance that will harm the Coral Reefs.
Please bring with you a reusable bottle to refil water from our water cooler on board.
We provide you with warm fleece lined diving parkas to cover you at the surface as it gets chilly. Also, there is limited dry storage in our boats if you need to keep something dry, we recommend you bring a small dry bag. If you are bringing your own dive gear, our crew will set it up, we recommend you a mesh bag. We can provide you with one if needed, ask for it when booking. Cameras are allowed and we have freshwater small rinse buckets. We ask that you only bring what you need on the boat, as space can be limited.
How big are the boats? Do they have bathroom?
We have 7 boats. Five small boats, that can accommodate up to 7 guests plus a dive guide. The Falicity is our large dive boat that accommodates up to 12 divers and 2 guides. The Falicity is our only boat with a bathroom.
PICKUPS - Downtown
Our morning dive trips almost depart at 7:30am from the Aqua Safari Pier downtown.
Sometimes we have a late departure, that happens around 8:30am, when we have divers from the mainland.
The afternoon boats leave at 2:30pm and night dives vary between season.
Please check the departure time at the dive shop.
PICKUPS - South Hotel Zone
We can pick you up from most of the hotel docks located south.
Be advised that some hotels charge a fee to use their dock.
PICKUPS - North Hotel zone
If you're staying in the north hotel zone, you can go to the Villa Aldora, or get a taxi to the downtown dock, most of the time they'll charge you the same fee.
How long does the PADI Open Water Course take?
The PADI Open Water Diver course takes 4 days to complete.
The course is made up of theory, pool training and 4 open water training dives.
You need to complete the theory portion of the course which requires watching the open water videos and completing the knowledge reviews, quizzes and final theory exam.
The pool training of the Open Water course can be done in one day, and following that your 4 open water training dives completed over 2 days.
The Open Water
E learning course is completed in
3 days.
You can sign up for E learning and complete the theory part of the training prior to your arrival. Then you just need to complete the pool training and 4 open water training dives.
The
Open Water Referral takes
2 or 3 days to complete depending on what skills you need to complete the course.
*We recommend having your PADI e-Learning completed prior to being on the island. Please call regarding continuing education classes, as these have different schedules.
Refresher Course
Divers that have been out of the water within the last 2 years are strongly encouraged to take a refresher course.
Regardless of dive history or experience, if you are unable to comfortably descend, we'll ask you to sit the dive out and consider a refresher.
Pricing for a refresher course is US$97,
If you need a private divemaster to your charter the cost is US$60 plus the cost of your dives.
Referrals
We can do PADI referrals or certify you as a PADI Open Water diver, if you're getting certified by another agency, please ask your training center for a Universal Referral form.
E-Learning
For all e-learning courses, the student needs to register with our dive shop as their training center.
Our dive center ID is:
Aldora divers #10689
please note that if the credit payment went to a different shop, the full price must be paid.
Link to use Aldora divers as your training center:
Aldora divers #10689
Do I need Dive Insurance?
Yes. We encourage all of our customers to have valid dive insurance when diving with us.
Although scuba diving is considered a safe activity, in the unfortunate event of a diving accident, even a minor one, insurance payouts can run into hundreds of thousands of US dollars, and standard health insurance will not pay for diving related expenses.
We are partnered with DAN dive insurance and we encourage our customers to purchase a plan through their site here:
https://dan.org/membership-insurance/dive-insurance/
For as little as $40USD you will be covered for one year, a small cost for a big piece of mind.
