Help out a Mexico virgin

[Tamas]

Greetings all,

Heading to Mexico for the very first time in November (wohooooooo!) so naturally I have a few questions that only you can answer

Will be staying at the Bahia Principie Tulum in November for a wedding with a group of non-divers. So my in-water time and group/wifey time needs to be planned out so that I can maximize the time best spent. Wanna get some dives in, but I also don't want to be the odd one out of the group. Having said that, it is a vacation, so I will and want to dive.

Few questions I had:

• how is the hotel's dive shop? am I ok diving with them or am I better off finding an off-site shop?
• are there double tank, early morning dives or based on my searches, all they do is single tank dives 3 times a day? (again, based on the group I am with, I would prefer to get 2 dives out early in the morning and be back before most of them wake up)
• what sort of dives can I expect? temps? what levels? depths? max time? (I am an advanced/technical diver)
• are all dives guided or can we venture off on our own?
• are the cenote dives a full day affair? is there activities for non-divers if they want to come along? can they come along?
• the Cozumel trips offered, are it non-diver friendly?

Please offer as much information and insight as you can.

Thanks.

 

[TSandM]

My experience is only with the two dive shops in Puerto Aventuras, and one of the shops in Akumal. But none of them goes out really early in the morning, the way the Molokini operators on Maui do. There's no reason for it (unlike Hawaii, where they are trying to avoid the afternoon winds) and most people don't want to get up at the crack of dawn on vacation. They seem to go out between 8 and 9.

The reef off Akumal was pretty shallow -- I think our max depth was about 60 feet. It also was not the greatest reef diving, with a lot of dead and algae-covered coral, although we did see a couple of big lobsters and some turtles.

The cenote dives are two tank dives (most of them, anyway) that leave in the morning (again, 8 or 9) and get back in the early afternoon. The earlier they leave, the smaller the crowds! Several of the sites are quite pretty but most of them don't have any "activities". Depending on the time of year, the mosquitoes can be pretty awful, and there have definitely been times when I would not have wanted to wait on the surface for someone who was diving.

If you decide to go to Cozumel, your family can go over on the ferry with you and spend the time walking the city and the shops, having a good meal (much better than you'll have ) and on the beach. The diving off Cozumel is much better, but you'll have to check with some dive ops about departure times, because the first ferry from Playa doesn't leave until around 8 am, IIRC.

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

The onsite dive shop probably only does one tank dives all day. They do this because they have a large number of people that are signed up so they treat it like a cattle boat. I think you would have the best time at an off site shop. There you will most likely have flexibility in scheduling as well as a more personal service. Your dives will be guided due to the fact that the diving here is drift diving and there is also no shore diving except for in Cozumel. Good luck with your search you will have a great time in Mexico.

 

[Jewls]

There is some good info in this thread

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/217307-bahia-principe-dive-shop-tulum.html

 

[Tamas]

Kentucky Bob.... Last time I was with them was last May. They send out deeper ocean dives every morning and shallow reef dives every afternoon. Cenotes are as close as 4 minutes down the street so they send trips daily there too. They book Coz trips on certain days and you must sign up well in advance because they have to book onto another Ops boat. My wife and I have stayed at that resort about 6 times and we sent our daughter there on her honeymoon. So all I have to say about the place is : STAY away.....IT Sucks.... It is a rip off.. < BIG GRIN> We like it there. I like the convenience of having the Dive shop at the hotel and I also like the fact that you can leave your gear in a locker at the dive shop and take the key. If you hang your wetsuit and bc out to dry they will stow it for you when it is dry. I had an issue a few years back with them and promised to never dive with them again however after discussing it with one of the owners I am a repeat customer again. One reason that hotel is on our favorite list because of it being so close to Akumal. My wife has to snorkel Yal-ku lagoon every trip weather we are staying in Puerto Moralos, Playa, Xpu ha, or Akumal.
If you dive with them say hi to the Texicans for me.


Danny..... Any Dive operation in the Akumal area will fill your need. It would be very hard to find a bad work said about any of them. If going up toward Puerto Aventuras is not out of the question then you may want to contact Scuba Boards own Dennis Weeks. His user name is Pez de Diablo. I have not met Dennis but from what I hear he is a great guide and instructor, can walk on water, leap over tall buildings, and can birth babies too.

Dectek summed it up nicely here in his post, but I am still not sure.....have heard to many good things about Maya Diving.

The only thing I don't quiet understand is, is "bahiadivecenter.com" and "scubaquatic.net" the same entity? Tel numbers and address match, so which is it?

 

[rcoreytaylor]

My LDS regularly runs dive trips to Cozumel. I have not yet had the chance to dive Cozumel however everyone tells me that it is a much better dive than on the Playa side. I did dive near Playa Adventuras last Januaray and had a good experience with Dressel Divers. I'm returning this winter to the same resort and plan to dive the cenotes - it's a 2 tank morning dive, so your non-diving travel mates won't have to entertain themselves without you for too long. I'm also considering a day trip to Cozumel so that I can dive and my wife can shop. If you're going to stay on the mainland my suggestion is to focus on the cenotes!

Cheers!

 

[driftwood]

Hi Tamas,

As TSandM said, the ocean diving in the area is pretty weak. The area's claim to diving fame are the cenotes. One operation that does have things for nondivers is Hidden Worlds Cenotes Park Yucatan Mexico Riviera Maya. I would highly recommend you getting the Mayan Riviera map from cancunmap.com-Your information source.

Finally, Alltournative - Off Track Adventures and Riviera Maya and Playa del Carmen Mexico Adventure Tours | YucaTreks - Far Out Adventure | Chichen Itza | Tulum | Coba have excellent day trips for small groups. Contact Mitch at Yukatreks and he will set up custom tours for groups of 8 or more.

Edit: I checked your resort's location and you are just south of Akumal. Personally, I wouldn't waste my time or money on ocean dives. The one exception would be if you can get a dive op to take you to the Mantacero (sp?) wreck site. There is still a lot to be found there. Mostly glass beads, but I know a guy who found a pistol there.

 

[Tamas]

Thanks. Is the ocean diving really that bad? I dove all around the Bahamas, so how would it compare? How would it compare to Cuba?

 

[driftwood]

Never been to the Bahamas and Cuba is closed for Americans. Having seen healthy Carib reefs, Akumal is on its last legs.

The last estimate I heard was that 80-90% of the middle and deep reefs are dead due to algae and fishing. No sea fans, sponges and the fish are few and far between. The only bright side is that the marine life you do see is pretty big. The shallow reefs, like Akumal Bay are still in good shape and are generally excellent for snorkeling.

Basically, the Mexicans did a poor job handling the waste water from Tulum and the resorts. That combined with a lot weaker current than you find off Cozumel led to the algae blooms on the coral. Then you have Akumal's decision to not establish a marine park years ago means there is still sport fishing on the reefs.

 

[Tamas]

Never been to the Bahamas and Cuba is closed for Americans. Having seen healthy Carib reefs, Akumal is on its last legs.

The last estimate I heard was that 80-90% of the middle and deep reefs are dead due to algae and fishing. No sea fans, sponges and the fish are few and far between. The only bright side is that the marine life you do see is pretty big. The shallow reefs, like Akumal Bay are still in good shape and are generally excellent for snorkeling.

Basically, the Mexicans did a poor job handling the waste water from Tulum and the resorts. That combined with a lot weaker current than you find off Cozumel led to the algae blooms on the coral. Then you have Akumal's decision to not establish a marine park years ago means there is still sport fishing on the reefs.

WOW! you paint a bleak picture! Is it truly that bad? The dive shop OPs said it was pretty nice and healthy.