Roberta's Scuba Shack
Owner-run PADI Resort on Cozumel's south coast road, with its own dive hotel across the street, small fast boats and an adaptive diving program since 2011.
Last updated September 2026
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About
Two boat trips leave Roberta's Scuba Shack every day, at 8:30 and 13:30, each with a group of six or eight on a fast boat, and the day's sites are the divers' choice. Punta Sur, Maracaibo and Barracuda run as special trips on request, for advanced divers only and at a higher price. Night and twilight dives are also on the rate card.
The shop sits at km 3.5 on the Carretera Costera Sur, in the south hotel zone, and its own hotel, Village Tan Kah, stands across the street. Hotel guests shore dive from the property on unlimited free tanks, and any other diver gets one free shore tank. Lockers, a rinse tank on the pier and a locked room for drying wetsuits are free.
Its other line of work is adaptive diving. It began in 2011, when the shop joined the LifeWaters group after an adaptive diving event in Arizona, and the shop now teaches the Scubility course to professionals, buddies and divers with disabilities.
Courses follow the PADI system, from the Bubblemaker for 8- and 9-year-olds and Discover Scuba Diving through Open Water, Advanced, Rescue and Divemaster, with 13 specialties. The shop also describes itself as affiliated with NAUI, SSI and TDI.
Every diver pays the national marine park fee of 225 pesos per day, a government charge the shop collects in cash on arrival.
What divers say
The layout gets written about before the reefs: hotel, shop and boat a few steps apart, gear kept on the pier, free tanks for shore diving from the property. One regular called the diving itself good but typical and put the convenience first. Roberta is described as on site all day doing the work, and guests mention her keeping their rooms stocked with beer and soda; a long-time regular adds laundry runs into town and getting fibre internet installed for a guest who needed it. Crew names recur across the years, with divemasters Juan, Rudy and Willie and a captain called Burro in 2021, guides Gilberto and Memo in 2025, Jorge in 2026.
One detailed review, from a guest whose latest visit was in August 2025, alleges that on an earlier trip a newly certified junior diver was taken to 92 ft, and that in 2025 snorkelers were towed behind the boat without fins or a briefing at Santa Rosa wall. The same guest reports a $20 overcharge that six emails did not get refunded.
Dive Sites (5)
Facilities
Pricing
We do our best to show current pricing, but rates may change without notice. Last verified September 2026. Always confirm the latest prices on Roberta's Scuba Shack's official website before booking.
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Courses
Guided Dives
Other Services
2026 rate card, subject to change. Hotel packages are the autumn 2026 season. The marine park fee is a government charge the shop collects in cash on arrival.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the adaptive diving program involve?▾
It started in 2011, when the shop took part in an adaptive diving event in Arizona with Saguaro Divers, met a leader of the LifeWaters group and joined it. In its first year it took four quadriplegic wheelchair divers into the water with 12 support divers, on one boat fitted with an adapted platform. In 2015 its staff buddied a LifeWaters group, backed by Home Depot, on a whale shark dive at the Georgia Aquarium. Today the shop teaches the Scubility course to professionals, buddies and divers with disabilities, and runs accessible boat diving with staff trained in adaptive support.
How deep does the Advanced course here take me?▾
The shop sells its Advanced course as taking you to 40 m / 130 ft. The PADI standard is shallower: an Advanced Open Water card qualifies you to 30 m / 100 ft, and 40 m needs the separate Deep Diver specialty, which is on the shop's specialty list.
What comes with staying at Village Tan Kah?▾
The hotel is across the street from the shop: ten air-conditioned cabanas, the largest a two-bedroom suite, continental breakfast by the pool, wireless internet and no TVs or phones in the rooms. Guests get unlimited free shore-diving tanks from the property, and dive-and-stay packages bundle the room with boat trips. A 2024 guest walked into town in 30 to 60 minutes, and a regular has advised taking a cab for dinner, since choices nearby are few.
Which reefs do the snorkel trips visit, and do they run all year?▾
The dedicated snorkel trip, for a minimum of four, visits Palancar, Colombia Shallows and Cardona reefs with a stop at El Cielo. The trip that carries snorkelers and divers together goes to Palancar Gardens or Horseshoe, Colombia Shallows and El Cielo. Those Palancar and Colombia reefs are among the ones the marine park closes for two months at a time on its rotating rest calendar, so the routing changes in their closure months; ask the shop which reefs are resting for your dates.
Is there a toilet on the boat, and how long is a trip?▾
No. A 2024 trip report describes the boats as small, long, narrow outboards with a canopy and no head. A two-tank trip runs four to five hours: the first dive is usually a wall to about 80 ft, the second 30 to 60 ft, with pastries and soft drinks on the surface interval.
Is Dive Eco-Cozumel/Scuba Shack the same business?▾
Yes. PADI lists the shop as Dive Eco-Cozumel/Scuba Shack, at PADI Resort level, with the same email, phone number and website as Roberta's Scuba Shack.
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