cancun diving is it worth it????

[misdmnr]

My boyfriend and I are heading to MX for 2 weeks from Jan 5-19. We are doing a week in Coz and using Dive With Martin as we always do....my question to all of you is we were considering a week in Cancun for one of those weeks...is the diving in Cancun worth it? Would staying in Coz for the whole 2 weeks be our better bet? Are the odds of bigger fish like spotted eagle rays, sharks of the not nurse variety, whale sharks, etc better in Coz or Cancun? I know we love the diving in Coz, but we were tossing around the idea and looking for your opinions. Thanks in advance!

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

If you are already in the comparison mode, you are setting yourselves up for disappointment. Diving from Cancun is different. How much better or worse is in the eyes of the diver. Cancun shops ( we only recommend Solo Buceo - solobuceo.com ) offer whale shark trips, bulls shark encounters, sailfish bait balls, and cenotes, some trips season-dependent. Remember Cancun is Cancun, big city so to speak, big resorts, big shopping, etc. It is not a dive-only destination like Coz. You will not experience bull sharks or baitballs in Coz, but it all you want are two weeks of drift dives....

I dove a while back out of Puerto Aventuras and if you were to ask me how it compared to Coz, all I could tell you is it was different. Good dive shop, small boat, great bunch of very experienced divers, but totally different underwater. I loved it but if your goal was to compare it to Coz, you would probably not be happy.

I always ask my clients what they want out of a dive trip and understand their expectations or desires before I send them off on a plane. So I guess I would ask, what do you want out of your 2 weeks in MX...?

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[misdmnr]

Thank you for your opinion. I would love to do bull sharks, bait balls, and different stuff. So doing Cun from a dive point might not have been a bad idea...I do hate tourist traps so cun would be a negative there. Anywho the boyfriend accidentally (yes it was an accident) booked us for 10 days in coz so if we do Cun it will be pretty expensive. We will use Dive With Martin as we cannot speak highly enough of their dive op, and they will take us over for bulls if the seas aren't too rough. I have done the cenotes, and I must be an odd egg, but I didn't find them that exciting. Kind of reminded me of diving the quarries back here where I help with class. Besides the cenotes were darn cold!!!!!

 

[CCRDolphinDiver]

Having spent around 15 weeks in that part of Mexico over the last 8 years or so, and having dived both Coz and off the mainland (mostly near Playa del Carmen) I can tell you that the best open water diving in that area is certainly on Coz. I might consider spending your time on the mainland in other activities, Xplor is a blast for a full day, mayan ruins are interesting as well, even if you have done a cenote or two, check out cenote angelita which is a do it once OMG dive, bring your camera. You wont have to do it a second time, but it is a very cool site. Visiting Cancun is like visiting LA or Vegas.
Give my regards to your hometown, I have visited twice for the airshow and had great fun.

 

[redacted]

If your choice is diving in Cozumel or diving in Cancun, with few exceptions mentioned above, the answer is Cozumel. If you are going to Cancun and wondering if you should do a little diving, my answer would be dive. Good reefs with plenty of life between mujeres & Cancun with depths around 35 ft. More opportunities east towards the channel in the 60+ foot range. How many days can you just lay on the beach? It is not Cozumel but it is much better than WI.

 

[misdmnr]

Ice diving cert card always impresses them down in Coz

 

[redacted]

Ice diving cert card always impresses them down in Coz

Ice diving is great in Cancun. Margarita on the rocks.

 

[misdmnr]

Preferred dive site for the frozen Coz dives is Wet Wendy's downtown....yummmm I can already taste the delicious coolness...

 

[Mike]

My boyfriend and I are heading to MX for 2 weeks from Jan 5-19. We are doing a week in Coz and using Dive With Martin as we always do....my question to all of you is we were considering a week in Cancun for one of those weeks...is the diving in Cancun worth it? Would staying in Coz for the whole 2 weeks be our better bet? Are the odds of bigger fish like spotted eagle rays, sharks of the not nurse variety, whale sharks, etc better in Coz or Cancun? I know we love the diving in Coz, but we were tossing around the idea and looking for your opinions. Thanks in advance!

The diving is 'better' in Cozumel compared to Cancun based on the consistency of the diving and the bigger reef structure. However with 2 weeks planned, I think I'd be a little bored with diving 2 weeks in Cozumel if I had the chance to divide it up, I'd go that route, Diving Cancun area first for a few days then finishing with Cozumel for 10 days would be a good way to do. Diving Isla Mujeres first then finishing with Cozumel would be even better.

No whale sharks in Jan, out of season and Mexican law prevents any ops from doing whale shark specific tours except in season. Most if not all are long gone by then migrating south to Belize and such.

Spotted eagle rays are easier to find on the wreck off of Cancun, they seem to always be there hanging in the current around that wreck in the winter without fail.

Isla Mujeres and Cancun share some dive sites, but the ones that they don't that you mostly would only dive from Isla Mujeres are the ones that have the most potential for either a totally boring dive where you'd wonder why you bothered, or a dive diving with dolphins, mantas, sharks ect... the north and east dive sites are exposed to the ocean so potential for anything exists on them, similar to going to the far north Cozumel dive sites, more open ocean more chances for anything to be there, it's just a roll of the dice. You'll be there at the height of sail fishing season. Growing in popularity is being able to snorkel with sail fish and a bait ball, that is out of Isla Mujeres too, so you can see how Isla Mujeres is having a bit better draw than Cancun. All the best stuff they are selling you out of Cancun is actually happening out of Isla Mujeres, but those in Cancun won't tell you that.

 

[dive pro]

Hello mismnr, Diving in Cancun has always been underrated.
It is just different than Cozumel. As you know in Cozumel the majestic coral that develops at the edge of the walls is breathtaking so is the depth and visibility.
Just like edge of wall diving, there are different types of dives or call them theme dives, like Cavern diving.

Cancun has different types of dives, there are several coral reef wall formations at 55ft to 58ft depth. There are Wreck dives at 75ft depth.
There are nice shallow coral dives 33ft and the Underwater museum 33ft.

Many divers dive Cancun and come back for many years, many divers dove Cancun once and did not like it and are used to diving Cozumel.

It is a matter of opinion.
If you have require any information about Cancun and for you to see some photos, click on the web site and shoot me an email or a PM. Our dive services are private and personalized in Cancun dives even if only 1 diver.
Take care and happy diving.