Amigos Hostel
Amigos Hostel review
I went to Cozumel from December 25-30th 2013. I have to say that Cozumel is one of my favorite dive destinations because of the ease of getting there, and no language problems. I was traveling on a very tight budget, and was looking for budget deals - yet something that won’t compromise on the quality of diving. I was ok with compromising on the accommodation. I dived with deep blue operator, and stayed at the Amigos hostel. I will provide separate reviews for the operator, the actual diving destination, and the hostel.
Amigos hostel review:
This was my first time staying at a hostel. SO I wanted something that was not ridiculously huge. My room had 5 other people. They also recommended me to a dive operator (Deep blue) who then gave me a discount because I said I was referred through the hostel.
• Getting there: You can get to Cozumel either straight by flight or you can take a flight to Cancun, and then a ferry to Cozumel from playa Del Carmen (PDC). I had taken a flight to Cancun because I was on a “land- vacation” with my siblings in Cancun, and then proceeded on to going to Cozumel. Traveling in Cancun can be easy. They have a ton of ADO ( name of the company) buses and bus stops. I got from my resort in Cancun to the PDC in an ADO bus. You can even get one from the Cancun airport straight to PDC. It costs around $45. From PDC you can get on a ferry. Don’t buy a two way ticket, because then you are limited to the ferry operator you can use when getting back. Two way ticket is not cheaper or anything – its just twice the cost of one ticket- so you are not even saving money. The ferry tickets were approx $11 one way.
PDC terminal: This has a bunch of cool eating places, and also a ton of currency exchange places.
Advantages of staying in a hostel:
• Meeting people of similar interests: If you are a single traveler, this is the BEST way to meet people. Most people at this hostel were diving. We all went diving in the day, and partied at night! I met so many new people, and I am still in touch with some of them. It is the best way to even do things around in town. I would say that this was the best benefit of staying at the hostel. After staying here, I willl always stay at hostels when traveling alone.
• Cost: The total cost per night was $12.00 I KNOW! So cheap! Also since I was diving most of the day, I didnt see the need to spend on a resort!
• Room size: Even the dorm rooms were just 6 -8 people total. Everyone was very polite and I got a good nights sleep every night that I was there. I also had to stay in another dorm called Hostelito for one night, because all rooms at Amigos hostel were gone. The dorm size there was 30 people, and I couldn’t sleep to save my life! I kept waking up every hour! So I really liked the Amigos hostel dorm size.
Restrooms: each dorm room had one rest room. Since the number of people in each dorm was really small, we did not face any inconvenience with this size of restroom
• Breakfast: They had a common kitchen where we could cook our own breakfast. People were very freindly and shared breakfast too!
• Owner: The owner of this hostel was extremely nice. She gave me a map of the island as soon as I arrived. She also gave me tips on what to do around the island, where to rent scooters etc. I was communicating with her over email before I got there to make sure I am doing everything right, She was quite responsive.
• Location: This hostel is a little bit inward i.e. not on the coast. So it was about a 10 min walk to get to the “downtown” Cozumel and to the harbor. But it didn’t feel too long. I did meet some creeps on the way back one night, but just kept my head up and kept walking. However since Cozumel is primarily a tourist destination, and since tourists are the primary source of income here, I think it’s mostly safe.
Food review is for Cozumel in general, not the hostel. There are all kinds of restaurants in Cozumel. Fancy, not so fancy,food stands. Pick your choice. I went to all kinds. We went to Senor frogs- super cheap margaritas and tequila. Also checked out some local food stalls.
