Roberta's Scuba Shack
Family-run PADI shop on Cozumel's south coast with its own dive hotel across the street and a long-running program for divers with disabilities.
Last updated August 2026
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About Roberta's Scuba Shack
Roberta's Scuba Shack runs small, fast outboard boats out of a family-run shop on Cozumel's south coast highway, typically carrying around six divers at a time. The owner stays personally involved on site, working alongside a long-serving crew, divemasters Juan, Rudy and Willie and boat captain Burro among them, and independent accounts spanning several years describe the same names each visit, not a rotating cast. Diving splits between boat trips to reef sites along the south coast and shore diving straight from the property, free for guests of Village Tan Kah, the shop's own small hotel just across the street; even non-guests can try a complimentary shore tank.
Its clearest specialty, ahead of anything technical or deep, is a long-running adaptive diving program for divers with disabilities, built with the LifeWaters Group and now taught to other divers through the shop's own Scubility course. The shop's own site also lists NAUI, SSI and TDI courses alongside its PADI programs, though only the PADI listing carries independent directory confirmation.
What divers say
Reviewers keep coming back to the same points: Roberta personally present and hands-on, small hosted extras like restocked drinks, laundry help and upgraded internet for guests, and a familiar crew that repeat visitors get to know by name across separate trips years apart. The shop holds 4.9 out of 5 across 186 reviews, and separate long-running community threads describe the same small-boat, small-group pattern with no complaints of their own. The attached Village Tan Kah hotel and the option to book the in-house photographer both come up specifically as reasons people choose this shop over a larger operator.
A small share of reviews are critical. One detailed account, describing a single 2025 trip, raises a certification-level safety concern alongside an unresolved billing dispute. No other review or independent account repeats it.
Dive Sites (5)
Facilities
Pricing
We do our best to show current pricing, but rates may change without notice. Last verified August 2026. Always confirm the latest prices on Roberta's Scuba Shack's official website before booking.
View pricing details▾
Courses
Guided Dives
Other Services
Course prices are published on the centre's own site; guided-dive and equipment-rental rates are not published anywhere and the photography add-on is arranged and priced per dive. Verify current rates with the centre.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Roberta's Scuba Shack's adaptive diving program actually involve?▾
It grew out of an accessible-diving event in Arizona in 2011, where staff met a leader from the LifeWaters Group and began building a program for divers with disabilities, including paraplegic, quadriplegic, ambulatory, amputee, and PTSD or brain-injury divers. In its first year it took four wheelchair-using divers into the water with twelve support divers on one boat. In 2015, with Home Depot's backing, the same group organized a whale-shark trip for participants at the Georgia Aquarium, with staff buddying up in the water. A Scubility course now trains other divers, buddies and participants to support adaptive diving themselves.
Is diving here boat-based or shore-based?▾
Both. Guests of Village Tan Kah, the shop's own hotel across the street, get unlimited free shore-diving tanks, and even non-guests can try one complimentary shore tank. Boat trips run in small, fast outboards, around six divers typically, out to reef sites along Cozumel's south coast.
What's the deal with the attached hotel?▾
Village Tan Kah sits directly across the street from the dive shop, with daily breakfast included. Divers who have stayed describe it as quiet and budget-friendly, mainly because of how close it puts you to the boat. It is roughly a 30 to 60 minute walk into San Miguel, so most guests taxi in for dinner.
How much do courses cost?▾
Discover Scuba Diving runs 90 USD for one shore tank, or 169 USD for a two-tank boat version. PADI Open Water is 445 USD for the standard eight-dive course, 300 USD if you have already done the eLearning, or 279 USD on referral from theory completed elsewhere. Guided dives and rental gear are not published online; ask the shop directly.
Can I book an underwater photographer?▾
Yes. The shop offers an in-house photography and video add-on, arranged separately and priced per dive, not part of its published course and dive rates.
What languages does the staff speak?▾
English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Russian, useful if you are travelling from outside the US or booking as part of a cruise stop.
How is this different from a bigger dive operation on Cozumel?▾
Scale is the main difference. Boats carry around six divers, not a full charter's worth, and the owner stays personally on site with the same named crew and boat captain showing up trip after trip according to repeat visitors. Lodging sits a short walk from the boat at Village Tan Kah, unlike staying in town and taxiing out to a dive shop each morning.
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