Re: Caribbeans for vacation.
HHL, the Cozumel trips usually cost about $3500 for 7 nights:
Airfare for two: $1100 (about $550 x 2)
Seven nights at a decent resort: $1250
5 days of two tank dives, 1 night dive, 1 additional afternoon dive: $800 (for 2 people. The dives are with Aqua Safari, the BEST dive shop on the island, a little bit more spendy, but boy are they good, they know every dive site like the back of their hands, the dive masters are very experienced, the boats are in very good shape AND have a head which is very important to the wife. Last year we had some divers on board that were inexperienced and were making things not so much fun for us, we told the dive master and within half an hour we docked and they were asked to leave, yaaaay)
Food and snacks: $300 (we don’t drink, so alcohol prices aren’t in here, we eat everywhere from the spendy sea food, touristy places, to where the construction workers eat. Tip: don’t eat at restaurants on the water front, they are spendy for no reason, go deeper into the city, don’t be concerned that no one speaks English, it’s part of the fun, pointing at food and then pointing at your tummy.)
With Cozumel, you can also visit two of the Mayan ruins on the Island, they’re pretty cool. If you’re really into the ruins, you can take a ferry to the mainland, into Cancun, get on a bus, and get to Chichin Itza, it’s a good day trip.
I would also recommend renting a scooter for the day and drive around the Island, it will take a half a day to drive around the entire island and stopping at various beaches to sample the water. Cozumel has a service called the Green Angels that constantly drive around the island to help stranded motorists, so don’t worry about breaking down.
Ugh, now I wanna go.