Best Place for Beginners + Non-diver?

[lionvoice]

I'm planning a family dive trip for my family and am trying to determine the best locale for a couple of beginner divers and one non-diver in January. Have seen lots of posts for PDC, Cozumel, and others.... does one stand out amongst the rest? An all-inclusive would be best, and of course we'd need stuff for the non-diver to do (easy to please, however).

Appreciate the help!

 

[dlndavid]

Hi lionvoice and welcome to ScubaBoard. I like Cancun for the variety of diving and non-diving stuff to do. It is very easy and inexpensive to get around on the bus.
Last February I stayed at the Gran Solaris, all inclusive (like brand new) and loved it.
Good luck and have fun.
David

 

[divetahoe]

I'm planning a family dive trip for my family and am trying to determine the best locale for a couple of beginner divers and one non-diver in January. Have seen lots of posts for PDC, Cozumel, and others.... does one stand out amongst the rest? An all-inclusive would be best, and of course we'd need stuff for the non-diver to do (easy to please, however).

Appreciate the help!

If you don't like the hustle of Cancun (kind of like a vegas south), go with Playa Del Carmen. Much slower pace and you still have the nice beaches and easily accessible diving. If you want a more challenging dive, the cenotes are real close and there is a ferry to Cozumel as well.
FWIW.

 

[Charlie99]

I second the Cancun recommendation. Most Cancun dive spots are relatively shallow, and both of the Cancun operators I've used were good at handling the once-a-year-on-vacation divers that are their primary customer base.

The Cancun reefs are full of marine life and are pretty nice reefs, although they aren't the massive coral formations of Cozumel.

The one drawback of Cancun is that the dive sites are more exposed to the prevailing winds than are the popular Cozumel dive sites, so it's not uncommon to have good sized swells.

 

[lionvoice]

Thanks all for your replies and welcomes. My main concern is to find a dive location that everyone in the family can enjoy. I'm still a beginner by anyone's definition, but I do get out and dive around here (Peoria, IL--Midwest Muck) as much as possible. My father has <10 dives and is really looking for a relaxing dive vacation. My mother is the non-diver and is looking forward to beaches and shopping. All that said, it looks like Cancun has received the majority vote. Any particular dive shops/websites ya'll can point me to? I've done plenty of googling, but firsthand experiences are worth 10x more than Google's rankings.

 

[sharky60]

I'm with Divetahoe, it's just a personal preference but Cancun has too many people and is more of a party town than anything.

PDC is a good choice with shopping and access to tours to Tulum and places like Xel Ha and Xcaret and nice beaches for the non-divers. I do wonder if the diving over there is more advanced sence it is on the windward side of the coast, but don't quote me on that.

Cozumel of course is the first choice for diving, many people come there to do their final check-out dives for their certifications so being a novice is not a problem. There is also plenty of shopping, beach, San Gervasio for the mayanist, and they can also take the ferry over to PDC for the day to take advantage of all that.

Hotel Cozumel has both all-inclusive and european plan packages and is close enough to walk to downtown. It's a nice not too expensive property with a BIG pool located accross the street from the beach but they also have their own beach with I think a tunnel access to get to it so you don't have to cross the street.
most of the other all-inclusives are either in the northern section where most dive ops don't pick up and the far south section that is still recovering from hurricane Emily and are also high cab fares to town.

Other options are the new Cozumel Palace, close to town & Fiesta Americana I think also has AI packages, it may about $5-7 to take a cab to town from there. Dive ops will pick you up and drop you off at all these location's docks.

 

[dlndavid]

In Cancun, Scuba Cancun or Manta Divers. Cenote dives on the Yucatan are very nice and easy. Manta Divers use a cave certified dive guide Leif, who is a real kick.
Have fun.