Best Dive sites...Cancun or Playa

[stevsgarage]

We are setting up a cenote dive for next week. so... what do you acutally see down there? Is it really dark? So.. there is an overhead environment but you are close to an exit?? is that it? What about snorkeling there (family members that don't dive). Is that a good experience and again, what do you see?? Thanks for the info!

Cenote diving is not for everyone. It is very dark and there is an over head enviroment, sometimes very confining , and others wide open. The water is cool in the 60's but as clear as drinking water. Some of the Cenotes have excellent snorkeling areas and it is fun to come though a pass and suddenly spot people swimming above you.
If you are into exploring caves Cenotes are a must, but other than stalagtites and stalactites there isn't a lot to see. I prefere the reef diving but always like to end a trip in the area with a couple of Cenote dives.

 

[divekitty]

I've gone diving in PDC 3 times and have found Tank-Ha dive center to be quite good. The staff there is very knowledgeable and professional. They are also the only dive center in Playa that has a dive boat that goes over to Cozumel directly as opposed to going over by ferry (and lugging your gear). Tank-Ha is located on Avenida 5, big orange building on left side (if heading toward bus terminal/pier), one block after Java Joe's coffee house.

If you do go to PDC or further south, try a cenote dive. The cenotes are incredibly beautiful - stalactites, stalagmites, fossils. At Tank-Ha, both Steven and Roman are excellent guides for this kind of dive.

Have a great time! If you go to Tank Ha, tell them Barbara from Boston says hello.

 

[divekitty]

Cenote diving is not for everyone. It is very dark and there is an over head enviroment, sometimes very confining , and others wide open. The water is cool in the 60's but as clear as drinking water. Some of the Cenotes have excellent snorkeling areas and it is fun to come though a pass and suddenly spot people swimming above you.
If you are into exploring caves Cenotes are a must, but other than stalagtites and stalactites there isn't a lot to see. I prefere the reef diving but always like to end a trip in the area with a couple of Cenote dives.

Cenote diving is definitely not for the claustrophobic. Though it is dark, each diver is provided with a flashlite and natural light is visible at least half of the time. The natural light (usually) indicates an alternative exit point as well so if you don't feel like you can complete the dive, you can get out.

Also, as Stevsgarage mentioned, there isn't much to see. However, the stalac/stalag formations are gorgeous - some of it even looks like sculpture. Some caverns even contain both fresh and saltwater which form a heliocline. Pretty amazing to see how the water was separated in two distinct clear layers; when the layers were mixed, couldn't see clearly through the water.

 

[geraldp]

i dove pdc during the summer with my resort...seafari and then another dive with phantom divers...do tortugas reef if you end up diving playa, saw tarpon tuna cuda sharks and at least 20 turtles on that dive, and its real relaxing cuz its a drift. do los arcos and pared verde too if your up for a 100 foot wall dive, idk your cert level. the best dive i did there was definitely tortugas though...cant give u any input on cancun, never been there

Out of curiosity what did you think of Phantom Divers?

I agree that Tortugas Reef was really impressive.

Jerry

 

[ibond]

Steve..another Kansas Diver..bunch of us are going to PDC 11/20/04..Did u use Daniel with Dive Mike? Have heard he is really good..Did u get a package deal? Cant seem to get them to give me a package price over the net..Brenda

 

[DepthCharge]

Cenote diving is not for everyone. It is very dark and there is an over head enviroment, sometimes very confining , and others wide open. The water is cool in the 60's but as clear as drinking water. Some of the Cenotes have excellent snorkeling areas and it is fun to come though a pass and suddenly spot people swimming above you.
If you are into exploring caves Cenotes are a must, but other than stalagtites and stalactites there isn't a lot to see. I prefere the reef diving but always like to end a trip in the area with a couple of Cenote dives.

I just got back from Playa cenote diving and ocean diving. Water was actually 76-78 deg F in the caves. However you do need to be cave cert to explore them. I was lucky enough to get into some cenotes that were pretty much virgin, not dove since their original survey. I found that there was alot more to see than just stalagtites and stalagmites.
As for the reef diving the best is in Akumal, about 1 1/2- 2 hrs south of Cancun or about 30 min or so south of Playa. Northern reefs are flat and trashed. The reefs at Akumal are in good condition and offer large relief. Nitrox is available for about $15 for 36%. I'd highly recommend Pro-Tec in Playa Del Carmine for setting up your diving. They did my cave training, and handeled my needs for my recent trip flawlesly

 

[Divegurl]

Hi Everyone I am heading down to the Grand Bahia Principe Coba, Riviera Maya on Sat Oct 24 for a couple of weeks and hope to get some diving in. However, I'm not going with another diver if anyone is going down also and would like to buddy up please let me know. Thanks

 

[Dirty-Dog]

We've done about 100 dives in the Cancun area, 40-50 around PDC, and a couple hundred off Cozumel.
Cancun has wonderful diving. The reefs are healthy, vibrant, and active, with tons of fish. Rays, turtles, sharks, schools of 30-40 barracuda, swarms of various reef fish... The reefs are shallow (other than a couple wrecks at 80FSW, you'll need to bring a shovel to get below 60FSW), with little or no current.
You can easily take a day trip to the cenotes. At the right time of year, we've headed down, done two tanks in the cenotes, then come back and done an afternoon dive with the Bull Sharks at PDC on our way back to Cancun.
At the right time of year, you can also see the whale sharks off Isla Mujeres.
Night dives are also excellent. There are tons of eels, lobsters, crabs, octopus and squid. On our last night dive from Cancun, we extended our safety stop to about 6 minutes, because a squid had decided to get right in the center of our group and was just drifting around from person to person. Massive cool, to see such a normally shy critter hanging out with us for so long.
We always dive with Alvaro from AlwaysDiving.
There are tons of excellent resorts, and as for nightlife... it's Cancun... what more need be said?

 

[Dirty-Dog]

Cenote diving is not for everyone. It is very dark and there is an over head enviroment, sometimes very confining , and others wide open. The water is cool in the 60's but as clear as drinking water. Some of the Cenotes have excellent snorkeling areas and it is fun to come though a pass and suddenly spot people swimming above you.
If you are into exploring caves Cenotes are a must, but other than stalagtites and stalactites there isn't a lot to see. I prefere the reef diving but always like to end a trip in the area with a couple of Cenote dives.

Well, no... the cenotes are generally low- to mid- 70's. I hope that was a typo.

All of the cenote tours that are available to OW certified divers are carefully planned so that divers stay within the cavern area. You are always within sight of outside light. Most are exit points, and those that aren't are still places you could get your head above water in a crisis.
The rules are also very strict, so long as you make sure you're with a guide who follows them.
No more than 4 divers per guide.
Every diver must have a light source.
Guide must be full cave, and dive full cave gear (doubles, long hose, redundant equipment, etc).
Dives must follow the "rule of thirds."
Other than cave formations, you can see fossils. Lots of fossil shells embedded in the walls. We've also found the skull and lower jaw of a mammoth, but that cenote is not yet open to the public, to the best of my knowledge.
You might find one or two other things to see...



Admittedly, fish like this are rare, but very cool.

 

[htatton]

I like to dive around Cancun, but I base myself in Isla Mujeres. It is a whole different atmosphere, laid back without the hustle and bustle of cancun.

I dive with Casa Del Buceo Scuba Diving Isla Mujeres on Isla. They are a small shop with great service. Professional guides and instructional staff and very friendly staff. I'm going next week to do the AOW course with them.

Why do I like diving around Isla Mujeres and Cancun.
1- Easy diving. I'm 72 years old and a new diver with just 1 year experience.
2- Hard bottom at 30-60 feet. I really don't want a mistake in buoyancy control to create a life or death situation.
3- Relative mild currents.
4- Beautiful reefs and MUSA underwater museum.
5- Great people. I'd go back to Isla to see the new friends I've met even if I couldn't dive.

I haven'd dove Cozumel but walls and currents sound spooky to me.

I have spend a week in Bonaire and loved the diving there.