Akumal

[Wbwilly]

Hey All,
Got a short hop to Akumal in October...Which dive shop to use? Cenotes not an issue, just four days of nice warm water.
Thanks

 

[Mark Derail]

We used ScubaQuatic - which is part of the hotel. Good service. Search on my username for details.

We also did through them a cenotes dive at Dos Ojos & did a trip to Paradise Reef & the wall in Cozumel.

We left all our gear in a locked cube-thingy in the wall (white cement) so we could walk back to our room w/o gear, just a little key.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Akumal Dive Shop is top notch (see recommendation in recent thread. They have package deals for about $30.00 per 1 tank dive, small boats, small groups ( usually 6 or less), located right in the village.
DivemasterDennis

 

[lthomas132]

I dove with Bahia Divers - Bahia Divers Dive Center, specialized in private group diving and Cenotes - Dive at the Mexican Caribbean. They will pick you up at your hotel/resort & return you. Nothing but good to say about these folks. Plus they have a beautiful, seemed private beach. Oh yea, the two blonde dive instructors!

 

[t4e]

we dove with Akumal Dive Shop in may this year

Akumal Dive Shop is top notch (see recommendation in recent thread. They have package deals for about $30.00 per 1 tank dive, small boats, small groups ( usually 6 or less), located right in the village.
DivemasterDennis

$30 per tank dive is when you book 8 dives, until then from $50 down to about $40

http://www.akumaldiveshop.com/diving/ocean-dives/

 

[Mark Derail]

That is what I did, we did two PADI referrals for OW cert (500$ each) then bought 8 dives per person.

However that ended up being too many dives; we converted some of that 30$ pp to a dive trip to the Dos Ojos cenotes (worth it!) and a trip to "the wall" & paradise reef on Cozumel.

There's also a videographer that goes out with the divers, and burns a DVD, a great buy.

TIP DOS OJOS - on your way out, lookout for the onsite photographer, so you can look at him. His CD of pics is cheap, like 50$, and will have your party's pics and others he took, with a fish id subdirectory. Worth it too.

Why the tip? I was looking elsewhere because I had floated up too high...

 

[scubawife]

Depends where you're staying in Akumal. Are you at a resort (which other than Akumal Beach Resort, are not actually in Akumal), or are you right in Akumal? Which bay are you on - Half Moon, Akumal, Jade, Aventuras Akumal? There are several shops, all ok, so I'd pick based on convenience.

I've done a lot of diving in the Akumal area over many years, and I honestly wouldn't bother if I had to pay anymore than $30-35/tank. While any dive is a good dive, the ocean diving in this area, imo, isn't worth spending $40-50/tank, especially since it's really a no-frills type of diving. Carry your set up out to the boat, dive, go back to the beach. (I pay $85 or $90/2-tanks with a boutique shop in Cozumel, but they have steel tanks, long dives, beach club SI, towels, water, soft drinks, fruit and snacks, and they take care of my gear and store it, even the wetsuits)

In the Akumal area, diving is done as 3, single tank trips with your SI back at the beach/dive shop. The shop I've used for most of my ocean diving has a 4 dive pkg for $120, 6 for $160, 10 for $250. Less than 4 tanks and you'll pay $35 or $36/tank. These are prices for single tank dives. I stay on Half Moon Bay so I usually use Akumal Dive Adventures since they're on that bay and I've always had a great time with them.

 

[nimoh]

At Akumal beach, there are two shops - Akumal Dive Shop and Akumal Dive Center. As you are driving in, Akumal Dive Shop is to the left, and Akumal Dive Center is to the right.

I did a few dives with Akumal Dive Center last year, and they were quite good. The DMs were very good at pointing things out, and there was plenty of room (and viz) to spread out and have my (and my buddy's) own space. As scubawife pointed out, they are no-frills and SI is on the shore.

later in the week, I talked one of my non-diving friends to take a discover scuba however, and the instructor was not all that great. He was more interested in taking pictures of my friend in hopes that he would buy a CD later. At one point he was actually laying down in the reef to get the right angle of my friend and a turtle.

So, even though I had a great time on my other dives, and based on the DMDennis' plug for Akumal Dive Shop, I would probably go there.

 

[Wbwilly]

Thanks for all the great info. Still trying to decide where to stay in Akumal, condo, and who to dive with for a week or so.

 

[scubawife]

Vista del Mar is a decent, reasonably priced condo on Half Moon Bay. Same owners as Akumal Dive Adventures, so they have packages where you'll get a discount on both the condo and your diving. akumalinfo.com | Vista del Mar : Akumal, Mexico Beachfront Hotel and Condos Akumal Diving: Dive Vacation Packages, Akumal Dive Resort, Akumal Dive Center