Another set of questions about Cancun / Playa del Carmen / Cozumel

[happyfish]

Hi,

Apologies in advance if these questions have been answered elsewhere (but I have looked hard).
We have recently moved to Canada and have a week of leave coming up in mid-May and are going to head to Mexico.
It will just be my wife and I and although we are both AOW certified, her focus will certainly not be on diving i.e. she might dive 1-3 days of the 7.
So my questions are as follows:

1. Is it possible to stay in Cancun or Playa del Carmen and dive Cozumel / Cozumel divesites?
2. If yes to above which operators are recommended (for small groups / great service / gear changeover between dives etc (impt if/when wifey dives)

I realise that some people will say to simply stay on Cozumel as their is lots of options for topside activities etc. However we would like to maybe visit the Mayan sites of Chichen Itza or Tulum etc.

Thank you for answers and advice.

 

[Blue Life]

Hello HappyFish!

Yes, you can dive Cozumel while in Playa del Carmen. We actually have a very nice package "Taste of the Riviera Maya" that might suit you. It is a 3 day package that includes 2 cenote dives, 2 Cozumel dives and 2 reef dives for $300. Check it out here. We can also personalize a a diving package just for you. Let me know what you are looking for and I will set something up.

Hope we get to dive with you!

Karla and Frank

 

[lthomas132]

You can dive Cozumel from Playa del Carmen easily. Most dive shops in PDC will take you over to Cozumel via the ferry. Kind of a pain, but doable. I've done it several times with Fantasea Dive, Diving Playa Del Carmen, Dive Center, Cenotes, Tech and full Cave diving in PDC. Jason is a great DM and a great person. I've stayed twice at Hotel Cielo (just down Ave. 5 from the ferry dock) Hotel Cielo Official web site - Playa del Carmen Hotel, Riviera Maya Mexico. Very clean boutique type hotel, reasonable rates, right off the beach.

 

[NYCSurfer]

One dive op that does not use the ferry for Cozumel dives is Tank Ha. They I use their own boat tags leaves from Playa del Carmen and it saves about 2-3 hours on a two dice trip. I dove with them a couple of years ago and would recommend.

 

[DiveMexPlaya]

Hi,
If you want to go to Cozumel on a day trip you should stay in the area of Playa del Carmen.
We are a small dive operation in Playa del Carmen and we can organize some great days of diving for you and your wife in Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and the Cenotes.
Please check here.
We also help with nice small hotel bookings and excursions.

See u in Playa

Anna & Dirk

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

Your best bet is to stay in Playa Del Carmen. You close to everything and the ferry dock is right there. I would recommend Nicolas from CenoteXperience Nico and his brother are great guys and excellent dive guides. They get great reviews here on scubaboard and trip advisor. Cenote Xperience Reviews - Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya Attractions - TripAdvisor

I only live 20 minutes away in St. Thomas. I can give you some good info on the local diving if you are interested, just pm me.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I agree you can ferry over top Cozumnl I prefer blowing off both Playa and Cozumel ( been there a bunch) and going south to Akumal. I leave it to you to check out and see if it is to you taste. Ton's of turtles, limited number of divers, go do a cenote while you are there. Avoid the cattle boats and crowds on Cozumel.
DivemasterDennis

 

[peafarmer]

Hi, I am bumping this thread to ask a couple of newbie questions that don't seem to fit in any one place. My 15 year old daughter did her open water last summer, and we are planning a dive vacation to the Cancun area when school ends. I am a diver from years ago, have lost my dive card, and have been unable to recover any record of it from NAUI. My local dive shop (Sea Colony, Severna Park, MD) says that they will help me with an advanced open water certification. They do their certification dives at Lake Rawlings, a quarry in VA, which I am not too wild about. So, I am wondering if it would be best to bite the bullet and refresh my cert before our trip, or try to do it in Mexico.

Also, one more question. My son and wife do not dive, so I was wondering if they would be really bored if we stay in PDC or PA....? Would it be better for the family if we stayed in the heart of Cancun?

Thanks in advance!

Andy

 

[Dhboner]

Cancun is more built up than PDC (more high rise hotels close to together sharing a stretch of beach). The resorts in the PDC area are huge and spread out over a lot of property. If you like, no hassle, all-inclusive vacations stay in the PDC area ( I would include Playacar,and Puerto Aventuras). If you enjoy visiting different restaurants you might like Cancun better. Cancun is also the "jumping off point" for the island of Isla Mujeres and great snorkeling in Puerto Morales (forgive my spelling). If you dive out of PDC look up Beyond Diving...small, boutique operation and the owner, Erik Rosenstein is a great gut who will treat you like family.

 

[gone_swimming]

If you don't want to do the cert dives in the quarry than at least get the coursework out of the way before going to Mexico. IIRC your first 3 open water dives will be limited to 30 feet and you will have to do some skills work but the instructor should be able to give you a decent dive. Your daughter is novice enough that a few easy dives would be a good refresher to start. You don't say how old your son is or what your family likes to do.

PDC Pros: There are some nice family excursions close to PDC like the Tulum ruins, Xcaret, and Xel Ha. In PDC your resort will be isolated which makes it a little tougher for teens to find trouble. Not great diving there though. After you and your daughter are settled you could take the ferry to Coz for a day and do some really great diving.

Cancun Pros: Cancun has some nice easy diving for new divers Cancun museum would be a good spot for one of your shallow dives + skills and your daughter would like it. Lot's of restaurants and shopping. Isla Mujeres is a fun day trip, rent a golf cart and tear around the island.