Akumal - wetsuit and other questions

[TorontoDive]

Hi,

I'm going to Akumal in a few weeks and it'll be my first time diving in the tropics (a reef dive from PDC, a cenotes dive and a Cozumel dive). I need help with a few questions:

1. Is a 3mm shortie wetsuit enough? I've heard the water is 80+F but all I know is that my 7mm Farmer John is way overkill! :11:

2. This is also my first time staying at an all-inclusive, do you have any input on the hotel "Bahia Principe" and the dive operation "Bahia Divers"? A search of both only revealed a few remarks about either.

Thanks!

 

[HammerNoMore]

Hi,

I'm going to Akumal in a few weeks and it'll be my first time diving in the tropics (a reef dive from PDC, a cenotes dive and a Cozumel dive). I need help with a few questions:

1. Is a 3mm shortie wetsuit enough? I've heard the water is 80+F but all I know is that my 7mm Farmer John is way overkill! :11:

That's what I use down there. Though, you'll want a least a 3mm full for the cenote or will need to rent.

2. This is also my first time staying at an all-inclusive, do you have any input on the hotel "Bahia Principe" and the dive operation "Bahia Divers"? A search of both only revealed a few remarks about either.

The hotel is decent as is the food. Not great, just decent.

 

[Aeolus]

Hi,

I'm going to Akumal in a few weeks and it'll be my first time diving in the tropics (a reef dive from PDC, a cenotes dive and a Cozumel dive). I need help with a few questions:

1. Is a 3mm shortie wetsuit enough? I've heard the water is 80+F but all I know is that my 7mm Farmer John is way overkill! :11:

2. This is also my first time staying at an all-inclusive, do you have any input on the hotel "Bahia Principe" and the dive operation "Bahia Divers"? A search of both only revealed a few remarks about either.

Thanks!

The 3mm shortie should be fine. A lot of people do not use a wetsuit at all for the ocean dives, but I like a little bit of thermal protection in any case. For the Ceynotes, I used a 3mm full suit with a hood and was very comfortable. Others in our group used less and got cold, especially if you do three Ceynote dives in one day. Of course, everyone is different.

I cannot help with the specific resort you asked about, but as a general rule the all-inclusives are very convenient. Once again everyone is different though. If you are not locked in to a dive operator, I would STONGLY suggest using Dennis (Pez de Diablo) with Diablo Divers. You can reach him through this board or through his shop. He picked us up at the condo and provided excellent service with attention to detail and safety. His prices were very reasonable as well.

http://diablodivers.com/

I hope that this helps you. DSDO

 

[TorontoDive]

Wow! That cool eh? I might just have to rent a 3mm full down there then, my intention is to pack as light as possible but with the temperature differences looks like I'll need 2 wetsuits.

 

[azcaddman]

The cenotes (and caves beyond) are a cool 76° year round. My wife & I typicaly use a 3mm full (allthough it is getting old and not too 'fluffy' anymore) and a 1mm hooded vest (3mm hood, 1mm vest). This works well for 90min dives, multiple in a day.

Wow! That cool eh? I might just have to rent a 3mm full down there then, my intention is to pack as light as possible but with the temperature differences looks like I'll need 2 wetsuits.

 

[Pez de Diablo]

The cenotes (and caves beyond) are a cool 76° year round. My wife & I typicaly use a 3mm full (allthough it is getting old and not too 'fluffy' anymore) and a 1mm hooded vest (3mm hood, 1mm vest). This works well for 90min dives, multiple in a day.

From my website:

Cenote yearly water temperatures and recommended exposure protection.

This is always a difficult question to help divers with, everyone has different comfort levels. Personally for cavern tours, I wear a 3mm full length wetsuit between June and October and during the balance of the year I wear a 5mm full length suit. Weeks where I am in the water everyday, I will add a hood or just use my drysuit for a couple of days during the week to help with the chill. Keep in mind that I dive almost everyday, so even though the water temperatures look nice and comfortable remember back to your open water training where we learnt how efficiently water conducts heat away from our body.

We rent out 3mm shorty wetsuits, they are more than adequate for the majority of divers though if you know you get cold, you may need a full length 3mm plus a 3mm shorty over top. A good tip to remember is that a large amount of heat lose is through your head - up to 75% - so if your cold, put on a hood 'cause it makes a big difference.


Month Water Temperature in F

Above 35'

January 76
February 75
March 76
April 77
May 77
June 78
July 79
August 79
September 80
October 79
November 78
December 77


I hope this helps,

Dennis

 

[Diana5531]

Been going to Akumal for 11 years: diving/snorkeling w/in the bays: my husband's T-shirt, out on the reef: skins, cenotes: 3mm.

We hope everything comes through Emily ok. Dennis and everyone: GOOD LUCK. I heard that just aboiut everyone has gone into the jungle.

I'm pretty nervous.

 

[TorontoDive]

Hi guys, thanks for the good advice! I just went and bought a 3mm full suit to wear, I'm thinking that it's probably more important to have godd protection in the cenotes and then just dive unprotected on the reefs.

To all those in the Yucatan now, good luck and hope everything turns out okay.

 

[Jmaserati]

Dennis,

Hope you guys are hunkered down, somewhere high and safe from the weather. Give us a report as soon as you can, let us know you're alright and your family is safe!

Oh, and when I come down to dive w/you, I'll bring my 3mm full suit!