Akumal

[foamer86]

I have dove in Cozumel and off Playa Del Carmen and Cenotes. Loved them all but differently. We are staying in Akumal this coming August and am wondering what the ocean diving is like there. Any shops to recommend. Or should I just take the drive north to Playa and dive there?

Thanks
Craig

 

[Canard]

There are good, well-established dive ops based in Akumal. No need to drive up to Playa. Akumal is well located for cenote diving and its dive ops are among the oldest in Yucatan. Don't overlook snorkeling with the turtles in the Bay.

 

[TSandM]

I dove the reef just off Akumal in March. Honestly, I was not impressed. It's not in very good condition and has heavy algae overgrowth. We did see a couple of lobsters and a turtle, but overall, for the cost of a boat trip, I wouldn't do it again. But then again, they had to drag me out of the caves to go open water diving, so there may have been a bit of bias involved

 

[scubawife]

Something like 80% of the reef immediately off Akumal has been classified as "dead" in the last 3-5 yrs. Very sad. I've been going to Akumal for many years and love it, but I've watched the reefs go from pretty good by Caribbean standards to having dives where seeing a live seafan, 2 eels and a few lobster and a handful of fish was considered good. The reef structure/topography around Akumal is gorgeous... but sadly in recent years not so thriving anymore. While I can make any dive a good dive, honestly, if you're someone who wants to roll in, drop down and be wowed then Akumal won't make you happy. If you want to see turtles, lobster and eel, or you have very low expectations and diving is not the main focus of the trip, go for it.

One nice thing about Akumal diving, especially in recent years, is that they do 3 single tank trips a day so you aren't committed for more then a tank at a time.

Akumal has a serious "water quality" issue. It's not a marine park or mpa, which was the communities choice to not go that direction in the early 90s. While there are many people there who "do the right thing" and put in every effort to promote sustainability and conservation, the resort development in the immediate area, as well as lack of any marine protections, have taken their toll. :depressed:

Where specifically in Akumal are you staying? There's a great shop on Half Moon Bay (that I've used for years), and there are 2 dive shops and one independent dive op running out of Akumal Bay. (I've dived with a couple of them). Who to suggest depends on what's going to be convenient to your location. For cenotes though, I'd go with Diablo Divers.

 

[driftwood]

We absolutely love the condos on Half Moon Bay and the local cenote diving is the class of the world. Ocean diving has a lot of nothing to look at. The healthiest reefs I have seen are the very shallow ones with a lot of wave action (close to the breaks in the barrier reefs in Half Moon Bay and Akumal Bay). Those places can get very sporting if you are not prepared for it.

The shop that Scubawife mentioned is a good one, owned by my bone doc, and I also like the Akumal Dive Center. Personally, I will not dive with the Akumal Dive Shop again.

 

[TSandM]

I second the recommendation for Diablo Divers for cenote dives. And the cenotes are unique; dead reefs, unfortunately, are not.

 

[Grover48]

We have been going to Akumal for many years and will be heading there in November this year. We rent a villa on Yal Ku Lagoon and rent a car for the duration of our vacation so the location away from the central area is not a factor.

We use Akumal Dive Center for all of our diving. AKUMAL DIVE CENTER - Scuba and cave diving courses/trips, south of Cancun I will not hire Akumal Dive Shop after a very bad experience with them on our first visit. ADC has some great dive masters and there are enough dive sites to keep you interested for a 2 week vacation. ADC does make dive trips to the cenotes if you want. True, the reef is not as spectacular as some I have visited. There was a shipwreck in Akumal Bay in the mid 1700 and you can still see the ships cannon layin on the ocean floor at about 30 fsw depth. It is close to shore so you could even snorkel the site if you wanted to show the non-scuba members of your party.

Here is a link to a forum about Akumal. Akumal & Riviera Maya message boards There are many threads and loads of information about the area.

I have some info about Akumal Dive Center if you are thinking of using them. PM me if interested and I will email you some information that will be helpful in getting the most out of your vacation in Akumal.

 

[driftwood]

Actually those cannons came from the Mataceros wreck, 1741, further down the coast. The "Cannon House" was the base for the operation and they were sunk there during the late 50's early 60's excavation. You can see some of what they found at the museum in Puerto Adventuras.

The man who led the excavation was Pablo ??? and his bust is the one you see on your way from the parking lot to the bay.

 

[foamer86]

Thanks for all the advice. We are staying at Bahia Principe Tulum, which I believe is actually located in Akumel. I am deffinatly planning on doing the cenotes, and snorkelling at Akumel bay for the turtles, we did that on our honeymoon and it was great. We are actually with a group of non divers, so I will prob do the cenotes and maybe one more day, that is why I wanted to know about the reefs close by.

 

[TSandM]

Do two days in the cenotes . . .