2 Dives in Playa del Carmen, 2 Dives in Cozumel help!

[a13firman]

Hey guys,

So I am headed to Mexico November 4-11 and staying at the Iberostar resort in Playa del Carmen. Both myself and one of my friends will be doing some dives in Mexico and I am hoping to get some advice from you guys on some good operators. We went to Hawaii a couple of years ago and were recommended Shaka Doug by the forum and it turned out great, so I though I'd try again.

We are looking to head over to Cozumel for a day, and were hoping to do 1-2 dives there. One of the dives that caught our eye were the wall dives, patricularly the Santa Rosa wall. What are your thoughts on that dive? I've heard the drift dives there are great. We are also looking at one more while we were over at Cozumel. Any recs?

For the mainland, we have heard the Cenote dives are great... anyone have any experience with those? And finally we were looking to do a night dive on the mainland somewhere near Playa.

Do you guys think this would be a good mix of dives? And any recommendations for dive operators for the area?

Thanks in advance,
Andrew

 

[jmb]

Tank Ha has always provided great service, and offers cenotes diving and Cozumel as well as dives along the mainland. The staff is always friendly, professional and very good to dive with. Have a great time whatever you decide !

 

[rongoodman]

+1 on Tank-Ha. They will take you across to Coz on their own boat too.

 

[Beyond_Diving]

The cenotes are definitely a must!

 

[Scoober]

I used to guide in Coz, and Santa Rosa was one of my favorite dives there. However, I was back there a couple of months ago, and unfortunately the site is "frosted" with sand from the last hurricane. DO a 2 or 3 tank trip farther south, around Palancar and Colombia.

 

[ednedfred]

I use Abyss in Playa (Tank Ha is good too) and Blue Angel in Cozumel. DO NOT USE the on-site shop at the Iberostar (Dressel Divers). They are horrible on many levels. Also, the ferry is significantly better than having Tank Ha shuttle you to Playa. While I have never done it a buddy of mine did and said it was miserable. In Cozumel, I agree the farther south you go the better. In playa cenotes (any of them really) are amazing. My favorite dive site in Playa is Los Arcos.

 

[bigbluemarble]

I'd go with Abyss as well. Still run by one of the original owners, Dave, and he's an experienced dive instructor so he knows what he's talking about and professional. Like ednedfred, I like Los Arcos, too, but have to say Islote is one of my FAVORITE dives in Playa. Lots of colorful coral (soft and hard) and so many schools of fish (above, below and in the deep blue). On one dive, had a big nurse shark followed a few minutes later by an impressive bull shark!

 

[a13firman]

Thanks for all the input.

The packages on Tank-Ha look great, but my roommate and I are having a real hard time contacting them via their "contact us" form on their website. Does anyone have an email for them/alternate contact? I see the number on their website but am trying to avoid an international call.

 

[DandyDon]

I see the number on their website but am trying to avoid an international call.

Skype calls to Mexico are 10.5c/minute. You have to start with a $10 payment to credit balance, but you can also use it to call home while you are down there if you take a laptop & headset. If you register in the US, then call home from Mexico - that should be 2.3c/min.

There are more Skype tricks, but that's enough for here.

 

[Scoober]

Forget tank ha. Go with the Abyss, connect with dave and his peeps for advice, and enjoy!