Do you need cave cert. to dive the Cenotes ?

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shark_tamer

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Planning ahead for next year's dive destinations, and Riviera Maya's cenotes really interest me.

Do you have to be cave certified to dive the cenotes ?
 
Planning ahead for next year's dive destinations, and Riviera Maya's cenotes really interest me.

Do you have to be cave certified to dive the cenotes ?

Some do not......plan for it with no cave cert.........
 
No. OW is all that is required.

:11::11: There are some OW instabuddies I would not dive the cenotes with !!!:D
 
I dove the cenotes about 2 years ago. Very cool.
Mexico appears to regulate the process quite closely. Dead tourists are bad for business.
As I understand it, guides have to be licensed by the state, can lead a group of no more than 4 divers, carry an extra tank and reel. They used 1/3 in, 1/3 out, 1/3 left. There are also lines that mark the trails. Only OW required.
 
I can just tell you from my experience in doing several cavern (not cave, i.e., always within the "daylight" zone) tours last March and then going back and taking the Cavern and then Intro to Cave classes.

To do the cavern tours, all you needed was OW (and some unspecified, but not relevant, number of dives) and a guide (full cave certified and Open Water instructor AND dive in doubles but YOU will be in an AL 80). I loved the tours -- which is why I went back and now have the Intro to Cave cert.
 
:11::11: There are some OW instabuddies I would not dive the cenotes with !!!:D

I agree, but that's not what you asked :D
 
Apparently you don't need to be Cavern or Cave certified. However understand that it's possible to get into a situation you have not been trained for. If this were to happen the guide may be the only one who makes it out alive since he/she is cave trained. In florida some of the caverns are silt free in the entrance, but a little farther in and silt appears. After looking back on what I learned in my cavern & cave classes, there is no way in hell I would go in without the proper training. Just remember you can run a stop sign 99 times but on that 100th one an 18 wheeler is going to t-bone you.
 
I've been to the Cenotes on three different trips, mostly just dedicating one day of my trip to the Cenote diving and doing reef dives on the other days. I couldn't recommend a particular operation as it was always arranged for me through the operation I was doing the reef dives with. It can be arranged from Cozumel or Cancun operations. No cave cert is required to do a guided cavern dive and have an exceptionally cool experience. If you set it up through the dive shop you will likely take a van ride down to the chosen cenote, and probably do two dives, led by an experienced cave diver who will spell out the details for safely executing your planned cavern dive.

It's crazy how you ride into the jungle along some bumpy dirt path and stop in the middle of a clearing to find that this crazy place is your dive site. On one of the trips, I had no idea where the entrance was only to be led to this hole in the ground where there was a ladder leading down to the cavern! Crazy. Amazingly beautiful. Visibilities are extremely good, to the point of feeling like you're floating in space. Waters are a little cooler than the low 80's of the nearby Carribean (74-76?), but extra suits are usually available. Have fun! Here's a few shots from one of my trips to give you a taste...

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https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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