Aldora Divers in the press

    Aldora Divers is proud to have made the Rodales' Scuba Diving Magazine Readers' Choice Top 100 Awards in the listing of top 10 Dive Operators in the Caribbean and Atlantic Region, in the top 10 most popular operators in the world. We thank each of our customers who participated in the surveys, and all of you that have told the stories of your good experiences to your friends and acquaintances - you have given us the good following we enjoy among the diving and online community.

    Aldora divers has been given quite a bit of press in The Travelin' Diver's Chapbook as well. As with any honest reports on an operation, there are good and bad comments presented, but the overall results are consistently and amazingly GOOD! The Chapbook is a compilation of trip reports by the subscribers and the incognito editors of Ben Davison's In Depth/Undercurrent, such as the one posted many months ago on this web site.  Undercurrent gives divers unbiased reviews of dive operations in their monthly newsletter. They accept no advertising and are therefore not bound by any obligations to operators. Order from 800-326-1896, visit the In Depth/Undercurrent web site, or e-mail BenDavison@aol.com for more information. Thanks to everyone who has sent in their comments to The Travelin' Diver's Chapbook.

Aldora Divers/Plaza Las Glorias, November 1996, Robert & Roberta Dulberg, Pembroke Pines, Fl. "My wife (10 dives) and I (100+ dives) made reservations with Aldora by e-mail and phone and sent deposit; Aldora staff member met us at the airport, put us in "approved" taxi, got bags loaded, gave us directions to the marina where we would meet the boat the next morning! 10 minutes later we were dropped at hotel. Nice accommodations; king bed, roomy, kitchenette, fantastic balcony view, good a/c, 4 channel TV, clean/no bugs, friendly and helpful staff; used timeshare trade. . . .Aldora top of the line outfit. Costs 10-20% more than others –– $65/person/day. Worth every cent! First day we went to them, then they came to us. Left dock 7:55-8:05 every morning, in the water by 8:25; use "Genesis" type high pressure tanks and din connectors; they modified our personal regulators overnight; they have 50's, 100's and 120's to even out divers air consumption! Novices and air hogs get 120's so they don't crimp the time of more experienced divers; everyone starts and finishes as a group. Every one is issued a computer and taught to use it. Usually spent 35-45 minutes at 85-120 feet, then drifted 10-15 feet for 5-10 minutes or until everyone is 2 bars out of caution. They take your gear and change tanks, hand you a fur–lined parka to warm you up. 10 minute ride to a beach front restaurant for 2 hour break/lunch/swim/surface interval, then regroup for a 2nd dive in 30-80 feet, back to pier by 2pm. . . .  Boats are custom 28 footers with twin 175's. Divemaster, Captain, 3-6 divers grouped by either experience or where they have been already. Poor entry, side door 2 inches from waterline no steps, but they did bring a portable set of stairs for me. . . .Divemasters Antonio and Daniel are ocean enthusiast. Great divemasters; both have Masters in marine biology. Antonio paid personal attention to my wife and taught her things that rocketed her from scared beginner to confidant semi advanced in 2 days! Thorough pre-dive and post dive briefings and pointed out interesting things; uses his underwater slate with abandon to teach/explain. . . . Food is dirt cheap."

Aldora/El Presidente, January 1997, Joe Harris, Cincinnati, OH. "Aldora runs a top notch outfit with 120 ft. 3 tanks and excellent divemasters. Drift diving demands that the group stay together, but with 4–7 divers/group with similar skills, they let you dive your own profile. Only problems arouse when the wind and seas picked up a bit and the harbormaster refused to let boats smaller than 40 ft. out of the harbor. Aldora ad to charter a 40 ft. boat from another dive operation. They put all of their clients from their 4 small boats on the big boat and it was a mess. vis:  75–100 ft. water:  80–81 degrees."

Aldora Divers, February 1997, Ken Paff, Detroit, MI. "As a result of reading your "Grown Up Diving with Aldora Divers" (October 1996) my partner and I booked with them. Good Stuff:  Steel 120 tanks and use of computers are a definite plus. Dived Santa Rosa Wall twice once as a first dive, another day as a second), and both times were able to have "two dives", one on the wall and in the glassy sweeper filled swim-throughs, and one on the back reef (nice area). Generally dives lasted about an hour. The (four) Aldora boats are great and the equipment and set-up good. Divemasters Daniel Martinez Alva and Memo Mendoza are very good, and the boat captains as well. Not-so-Good Stuff:  While Aldora was willing to go to the distant, southern reefs (one good dive at Punta Sur), there was some hesitation to do much of it. When I suggested we night dive (in a"twi-night double header") at Columbia Shallows, we went to Chankanab with the crowd. But they picked good sites, and I should say the night dive turned out great: Martinez was happy to start in the transition period, and we saw the jacks assemble and snake dance off the reef by the hundred, etc. Owner Dave Dillehay may not be able to hold onto the quality divemasters, and he himself is not the greatest divemaster unless you're into Winnebago-diving (cruising the reef as fast as you can to cover the most distance.) They mostly have novice divers (Dave confirmed this to me) and would not divide our group (as advertised). On balance:  Was it worth the $65 a day compared to the $45 a day we would have paid at Blue Bubbles, which (like a few other Cozumel operators) runs small, fast boats and allows computers? Probably, yes. It was about $100 more for five days for each of us, fairly modest when you consider the total trip cost. Your rave review may have exaggerated, but I think you were basically right. . . .as usual."

Aldora Divers/El Presidente, May 1997, Stephen Paul, Los Agors Hills, CA. "Water 83. Hotel terrible - no ac on our side/wing. Poor/marginal food, electricity inconsistent. When we complained, management made promises, then claimed the promises were never made. Aldora great. Concerned about divers and accommodate your needs even if they have to go out of their way. Well worth extra price as we sped by the other dive boats."

Aldora, May 1997, Steve Glenn, Richmond, VA. "Fastest boats. Nothing passed us all week; surface intervals spent at a beach park. Steel 120's. Longer bottom times by far. Every Aldora sincerely solicitous to see you have a great time. All extremely competent, easily worth the extra expense. Locals friendly. vis:  100-150 ft. water:  77-79 degrees."

Aldora/Fiesta Americana, June 1997, Chuck Wimberly, Metairie, LA. "Divemasters like Daniel and Memo led us on memorable and well executed dives. Claudia was efficient and attempted to deal with some problems we had. . . .  First day assigned to a boat and dive master that was tailored to novice divers, though we had indicated our experience level. Divemaster domineering and had a mother duck to planning and implementing a dive. Insisted that we return to the boat with 1000 psi, which negates any benefit that diving with 120 cu ft tanks and computers may bring. Attempts to explore grottos and pass throughs were met with strong resistance. . . .  Guest slipped on boat and hurt himself, but accident management by staff was virtually non-existent."

Aldora Divers/Fiesta Inn, June 1997, Delaine Lisk, Kennesaw, GA. "Water 83. Fiesta Inn clean, good service, decent but not cheap restaurant. Can walk into town or take taxi (inexpensive). . . . Aldora Divers is an operation that every serious diver dreams about. Steel cylinders (80, 102, 120) and will put a DIN conversion on your regulator. They handle all gear. Divemasters were excellent, we did most of our diving with Daniel, a marine biologist, who was a great critter-finder. Antonio coaxed a large green moray out of hiding and found both splendid and large-eyed toadfish — all in one dive. Dave made sure everyone has a great dive. Computers mandatory - sample profile:  max. depth of 128 ft, dive time 74 minutes or a second dive to 68 ft for 99 minutes. Truly memorable trip. Cozumelenos friendly. Good eats in town at Los Morros del Monritos."

Aldora Divers/Paradisus Resort, July 1997, Richard K. Solomon, South Jordon UT. "Paradisus an all inclusive resort. If you do not pay for the all inclusive package, you cannot buy a beer or a meal at any restaurants or bars on the property. You must go into town for a meal or a drink. Water is all bottled. Lagoon discharges dark water and makes the beach almost unusable two or three weeks per month. Service is great. Food is good for Mexico. Pools are beautiful. Nice facility, clean and well maintained. . . . Aldora Divers met us at the airport. and took our regulators to their shop to convert to DIN tank adapters. 120 CF steel tanks filled to 3600 PSI. Bottom times unbelievably long. Supply computers at no charge. Maximum of six divers per boat. Five boats very fast and have plenty of room. Beat everyone to the best sites. Divemasters knowledgeable and friendly. They clean and store your gear after dives and they put on boat in morning. During surface intervals (minimum 2 hours) they go to a nice beach to relax and have lunch. . . . Aldora's confirmation letter recommends a tip of up to 15% of your cost each day. I dive with my wife and two teenagers. With Aldora being the most expensive  on the island the tips added up to more than $200. I am not comfortable with this. I wish it just included in the price of the diving."

Aldora Divers, July 1997, George Kane, Raleigh, NC. "Every bit as good as you recommended in the last October issue, even better. Dive operation and divemasters could not have been any better, and they must have been listening to you, all five boats operating when we were there, were equipped with ladders for easy reentry. Diving was exquisite. Dave Dillehay said the goal was at least an hour per tank, and we exceeded that every dive. Friendly competition between the divemasters to see who could have the longest time, Alberto with 2 hours 15 minutes was the current champ. And every dive was extremely well planned, and we did the dives at the far south and north ends of the island that most other operators won't do. Service was as good as the diving. Regulators picked up and DIN adapter affixed for the steel 120's, pick up on time every day at our dock, gear rinsed daily and ready to go when we got on the boat, and equipment returned to your room when diving completed. I've been to Cozumel many times and this is the best, hands down. Thanks for the recommendation, and keep up the great work."

Aldora Divers, August 1997, Michael Silvestre, Spring, TX. "Water 84 degrees. Excellent operation. Though they charge $10 more than most operators, they go to some southern reefs that some other operators also charge an extra $10 for. High pressure steel 120's; had over an hour dive time on each and every dive. . . . double the time I got using aluminum 80's diving the tables. Unequaled safety procedures, thorough pre-dive briefing included a review of hand signals used by the divemaster, long safety stops, though a bit boring, were welcome."

Aldora, August 1997, Mike Silvestre, Spring, TX. "Stayed in a house about a 10 minute walk from the marina where their boats are moored, so I met them at the marina in the morning (0745) and boarded the boat there, which was much better than having to take a taxi into town just to get on the boat. The boats are great, about 23 feet long, with twin 150 hp outboards and a canopy for shade from the sun. No more than 8 divers, though my first day we only had 6. The divemaster, Antonio, was great. He is a biologist, so has a great and intimate knowledge of the reefs and sea flora and fauna. His pre-dive briefing was extensive, including max. depth, expected water time, hand and safety signals, marine life we should see, computer use, safety stop information/procedures. . . .  The first dive, first day was on Columbia 'regular' to 110 feet with an in the water time of 70 minutes! We did a safety stop at 15 feet for 15 to 20 minutes. Very safe operation. Minimum of 1 hour one very dive with the steel 120's. They now have a small office in Cozumel."