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As someone who recently completed his Open Water Diver Certification at Cozumel Dive School, I would highly recommend it for new divers who are open, social, eager to learn, and budget conscious.
Discovering how much of a tourist trap the entire Mayan Rivera is, the Cozumel Dive School is a breath of fresh air. While providers of fun dives and open water courses abound, many are very business like and profit driven like the Beach Clubs and and tour companies that own them. However, right when I entered, I realized the Cozumel Dive School is very different, it is more of a community than a business.
Ekai was my instructor, I would highly recommend him as he was very patient and explained lots of confusing techniques and equipment to me until I nailed them down. Ekai was very flexible in my individualized lesson plan and did not rush me, which I highly appreciated. For the shore dive we went to Tikila Beach and our boat dives were at Yucab and Palancar reef. Ekai was kind enough to take photos for me with his GoPro and later share them with me.
However, the PADI course is long and challenging. I was lucky enough to come at a time when I was able to get a private instructor, which made my learning experience a lot better. This student group before me had several students per instructor, which would have slowed down their progress due the instructor having to individually assess each student for skill checks.
During my shore and boat dives, I observed other diving instructors and am glad I got Ekai. I observed other instructors, especially from other diving schools were not nearly as helpful. As someone who needs a lot of assistance and has lots of questions, Ekai helped me throughout the process.
However, there are some prospective divers who probably wouldn't be the best fit here. The dive school is all inclusive and even includes a bunk in the hostel. The facilities are clean enough but as I mentioned before, the Dive House is a community, everyone is expected to clean up after themselves and voluntarily contribute to upkeep expenses like water and toilet paper. When I was there, there was a workaway who helps clean common areas, but all residents are expected to be team players and keep all facilities and equipment in good order. Those who expect a catered service like hotel and private boats and transportation would probably be best off sticking to the dive provider at their resort.
Lastly, Cozumel is a very expensive island. While the school has a guidebook, it is a bit outdated and it is highly recommended to ask the staff for their recommendations for food options ASAP. Ekai was kind enough to share his knowledge of a good taco place. Also, Rico and Ginger are the two residents school cats. Their fearlessness and tenacity inspires a whole generation of divers to explore new places. - via 