Roberta's Scuba Shack: The Complete Guide
Roberta's Scuba Shack in Cozumel: adaptive scuba diving for a wide range of disabilities, PADI courses with published USD prices, per-trip private charters and its own dive hotel, Village Tan Kah.
Roberta's Scuba Shack: The Complete Guide
The Cozumel operator to choose if adaptive diving, a private charter, or diving-and-lodging in one booking is what you need
Roberta's Scuba Shack is a long-established Cozumel dive operation whose real differentiator is adaptive scuba diving. The shop states it dives with paraplegics, quadriplegics, ambulatory divers, amputees and people living with PTSD and acute brain trauma — and it teaches the Scubility course so other professionals and dive buddies can do the same. Very few Cozumel operators name that range of conditions on their own website.
A second, less common feature: Roberta's Scuba Shack runs its own hotel. Village Tan Kah is the affiliated dive lodge, which means accommodation, breakfast and diving come from the same people on the same schedule.
One housekeeping note straight from the shop: the site warns visitors that it should not be confused with a differently-owned Cozumel business trading under a similar name. Book through scubashackcoz.com.
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Why Choose Roberta's Scuba Shack
Choose Roberta's Scuba Shack if you need diving that adapts to you rather than the other way around.
The adaptive programme is the headline. Alongside guided adaptive dives, the shop offers Scubility, the training course that certifies professional divers and dive buddies to support adaptive divers properly. Its affiliation list includes Lifewaters, a nonprofit focused on adaptive diving, next to the more usual PADI, TDI/SDI, SSI and DAN.
The second reason is packaging. Between the standard two-tank rate, multi-trip packages, per-trip private charters and the Village Tan Kah hotel, most of what a dive week needs is priced on one site.
On track record, be aware the site is slightly inconsistent: the meta description says "over 30 years" while body text refers to a 25-year reputation. Either way, this is not a new operation.
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Diving Style and Experience
Roberta's Scuba Shack dives Cozumel as drift diving, and says so directly: "Scuba diving in Cozumel offers the particularity of drift diving!" It notes the current typically runs north to south along the reefs.
Standard descents are described as "roll back or giant stride entry and group gradual descent" — the group goes down together rather than trickling down a line, which is the correct approach when the boat cannot anchor and the current is moving.
Divers assemble their own gear; the crew assists with heavy equipment. Masks and regulators stay in the diver's own hands. Private mini rinse tanks are provided so each diver rinses their own kit.
If drift technique is new to you, the wider best scuba diving in Cozumel guide and the Cozumel dive sites guide explain how the island's reefs are actually dived.
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Courses and Training
Roberta's Scuba Shack is described as a PADI International Resort training facility, and its published courses are PADI courses with prices, durations and prerequisites listed.
| Course | Price (USD) | Duration | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discover Scuba Diving | $90 | About 3 hours | Minimum age 10 |
| Discover Boat Diving | $169 | About 4.5 hours | Discover Scuba Diving completed |
| Open Water Course | $445 | 3 days (2 with instructor approval) | None stated |
| Open Water — eLearning completion dives | $300 | — | eLearning finished beforehand |
| Open Water — referral | $279 | 2 days | Confined water and theory done at home |
| Advanced Open Water | $445 | 2 days | Open Water certification |
| Rescue Diver | $445 | About 2 days | EFR completed within prior 24 months |
| Divemaster | $875 | 7-10 days | Rescue Diver, EFR and First Aid within 24 months |
Discover Scuba Diving is explicitly "not a certification course," but the shop notes it counts toward Open Water if you continue. The $90 rate covers one tank on a shore dive with equipment included; the $169 Discover Boat Diving adds two tanks, equipment, snacks and soft drinks.
Fourteen specialty courses are offered — including Deep Diver, Nitrox and Underwater Photography — with pricing on request.
For neutral explanations of each certification, see the PADI Discover Scuba Diving experience in Cozumel, the PADI Open Water Diver certification course in Cozumel, the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course, the PADI Rescue Diver course in Cozumel and the PADI Divemaster course in Cozumel. The EFR prerequisite for Rescue is covered in the Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care course in Cozumel.
Divers interested in the adaptive side should also read about the PADI Adaptive Techniques course in Cozumel and the PADI Adaptive Support Diver course in Cozumel, which are the PADI equivalents of the Scubility training Roberta's Scuba Shack offers.
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Adaptive Scuba Diving
This deserves its own section because it is the shop's genuine speciality.
Roberta's Scuba Shack lists adaptive diving for "paraplegics, quadriplegics, ambulatory, amputees, and people suffering from PTSD as well as acute brain trauma." Alongside diving with adaptive divers directly, it teaches Scubility, the course that trains dive professionals and buddies in adaptive techniques.
There is also a dedicated adaptive scuba diving trip page on the site. Combined with the on-site accommodation at Village Tan Kah — ten single-storey cabanas around a pool — the logistics of an adaptive dive trip are simpler here than at a shop where diving and lodging are separate bookings across town.
The site does not publish specific accessibility measurements for the boat, the dock or the cabanas. Anyone with mobility requirements should confirm those details directly before booking.
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Boats and Group Size
Roberta's Scuba Shack does not publish boat length, type or a per-boat diver cap. What it does publish is charter capacity, which gives an indirect indication.
| Charter option | Capacity | Price per trip (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Private charter | 1-6 persons | $610 |
| Private charter | Up to 8 persons | $825 |
| Private charter | 9 persons | $915 |
The dedicated snorkel trip requires a minimum of 4 passengers.
Note that charters are priced per trip, not per person — for a group of six, $610 works out well below the $115 per-head two-tank rate, which makes private charter a genuinely sensible option for families and small clubs rather than a luxury upgrade.
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Location and Getting There
Roberta's Scuba Shack lists its location only as "Cozumel, MX." No street address, pier name or departure time is published anywhere on the site.
The affiliated hotel, Village Tan Kah, is the practical anchor point for guests staying there. For everyone else, confirm the meeting point when you book by phone or email — the shop's booking page is essentially a call-to-action ("BOOK IT – CALL US TODAY!") rather than a self-service system.
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Prices and What's Included
All rates below are published in US dollars and the rate sheet is marked valid through 17 December 2026.
Dive day formats
| Format | Price (USD) |
|---|---|
| Standard 2-tank dive | $115 |
| Twilight dive | +$15 |
| Punta Sur | +$15 |
| Maracaibo | +$18 |
| Night dive | $80 |
| Dedicated snorkel trip (min 4 pax) | $89 |
| Combined snorkel and dive trip | $73 |
Multi-trip packages
| Trips | Price (USD) | Effective per trip |
|---|---|---|
| 2 standard 2-tank | $226 | $113 |
| 3 standard 2-tank | $333 | $111 |
| 4 standard 2-tank | $440 | $110 |
| 5 standard 2-tank | $540 | $108 |
| 6 standard 2-tank | $642 | $107 |
| 7 standard 2-tank | $742 | $106 |
Rental
BCD $17, regulator including dive computer $20, wetsuit $10, computer $18, nitrox $10. Package pricing is listed at $23 for a BC and regulator combo and $7 for a wetsuit.
Fees on top
The site states: "All dive shops are required to collect $ 225 pesos per day" for National Marine Park entrance, collected in cash on arrival. Budget this separately from the dive rate.
Snorkel itineraries
The dedicated snorkel trip visits Palancar, Colombia Shallows and Cardona, roughly an hour each, plus El Cielo for the starfish. The combined snorkel and dive trip pairs Palancar Gardens or Horseshoe with Colombia Shallows, plus El Cielo.
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Who It Suits Best
Roberta's Scuba Shack suits adaptive divers above all. If you dive with a spinal cord injury, an amputation, limited mobility or a brain injury, this is a shop that has named your situation on its own website and trained its people accordingly.
It suits divers who want lodging and diving as one arrangement. Village Tan Kah's cabanas each have a kitchenette — refrigerator, microwave or toaster oven, cooking utensils, coffee maker and unlimited purified water — and the included breakfast is served poolside with bread baked on site each morning.
It suits small private groups. Charter pricing per trip rather than per person means a family of six or a club of eight can have their own boat for close to what individual seats would cost.
And it suits divers doing a full week. The seven-trip package brings the per-trip cost down from $115 to about $106, which adds up across fourteen dives.
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Who Might Prefer a Different Shop
Divers who want everything specified in advance will find gaps. There is no street address, no boat description, no per-boat diver cap and no departure time published. Much of the FAQ on the site is COVID-era content about capacity colour codes and airline restrictions, which dates it.
Price-sensitive divers should compare. At $115 for a standard two-tank, Roberta's Scuba Shack sits at the higher end of the Cozumel range, and the Punta Sur and Maracaibo surcharges add to that. What you get for it is a smaller, service-heavy operation — but if headline price is the deciding factor, the Cozumel dive centers guide lists cheaper options.
Technical divers will not find a published tec path. Despite the TDI/SDI affiliation, the course list runs to Divemaster plus recreational specialties, with no Tec 40/45/50 or rebreather training advertised.
Divers wanting mainland cenote trips, hotel pickup from elsewhere on the island, or professional underwater photography services should ask — none of those is described on the site.
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Practical Information
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Business name | Roberta's Scuba Shack |
| Location | Cozumel, Mexico — no street address published |
| Phone | +52 987 114 3568 |
| roberta@scubashackcoz.com | |
| Website | https://scubashackcoz.com/ |
| Affiliations | PADI International Resort training facility; PADI, TDI/SDI, SSI, DAN, Lifewaters |
| Adaptive diving | Yes, including the Scubility course |
| Accommodation | Village Tan Kah — ten cabanas plus a 2-bed, 2-bath suite |
| Standard 2-tank rate | $115 USD |
| Marine Park fee | 225 pesos per day, cash on arrival |
| Rate sheet validity | Through 17 December 2026 |
Not published on the site: street address, boat type or size, maximum divers per boat, departure times, languages spoken, hotel pickup from other properties, or cenote trips.
To compare training paths before choosing a shop, start with dive courses in Cozumel.