Cancun - Mayan Aqua Dive - Awesome

[Stogie8]

I tried diving with Ben at Mayan Aqua Dive last week in Cancun. What a great operation! I have been diving a half a dozen times in the past with Aqua World and finally got tired of the cattle boats. After finding out about Mayan Aqua Dive via SB I gave Ben a shout and arranged a two tank dive with him.

Talk about first class all the way. We had four divers on board and Ben the owner acted as our dive guide. At the end of the dives his crew hoists you out of the water, changes your gear over for you and offers snacks to all. They rinse your gear for you at the end of the trip and are totally focussed on being the best operator in Cancun.

I spent the rest of my week in Cancun telling everyone at my hotel that was contemplating going diving about M.A.D. I go to Cancun every year and I will always dive with them moving forward.

 

[Spratman]

Glad to hear you had a great time! I'm chomping at the bit for August, when we will be there.

Where did you stay? We're at the Royal Caribbean this year. A bit more of a ride to MAD but we'll handle it....

 

[Stogie8]

We always stay at the Omni, KM 16.5. I think you are right next door at the Royal Caribbean. Yes, it is a bit of a hike to get to M.A.D. but it is definitely worth it. I'll bet if you are real nice to Ben he will arrange transportation for you to the shop.

 

[pcornell]

Could you tell me a little more about the diving in Cancun? I'd heard that there wasn't much diving in Cancun - that you had to go to Cozumel.

Just looking for general info like depths, bottom composition, currents, vis, etc.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[Stogie8]

I love diving in Cancun. Cancun is especially great if you are travelling with any non divers. The beaches are awesome, the resorts are spectacular and the restaurants and nightlife are great. There is something for everyone to do.

I can only talk from my personal experience and by no means am the expert. I have made about 15 or so dives in Cancun. The diving is mostly reef drift diving but there are a couple of good wrecks to dive on as well. I haven't been down on the wrecks since last year's hurricane hit so I really can't speak to the condition of them. The reefs are in great shape, 40 - 60 feet of water. Current is pretty strong right now so drift diving is pretty much the way to go. The water temp last week was in the mid 70s and the visibility was around 70 feet. We saw a bunch of turtles, stingrays, and a nice nurse shark. I think Cancun diving is still a pretty good secret out there. You should also try a cenote dive at least once in your life as well. It is amazing and something you will be hard pressed to do outside of the Riviera Maya. Hope this helps.

 

[Spratman]

I agree with Stogie8. Cancun diving gets a bad rap because many of the dive ops dump people off on Chitales Reef. I first dove Chitales with Ben back in 2004. It was being held together literally by zip ties! It was badly damaged in one of the hurricanes that year. Now it's pretty much a debris field. First impressions, ya know.

We dove Machones Reef last year and had a great time, as well as, Punta Negra. The boat captain tried to dump us on Chitales, and I was pissed. The instructors told him we booked Machones and he finally relented.

I'll probably one day do a trip to Coz. But with the family, we still go to Cancun.

Well, I'm always nice to Ben. Okay, most of the time...he's just a cheap b*****d!

 

[ben@scorpiodivers.com]

cheap ******* eh? ok, the whale shark trip just went up to $195 for you spratman, nice sb clients $160, check it out very soon.....
cancun diving is great, i ve dived all over, oz, thailand, fiji, nz, and i still really enjoy cancun, more so than cozumel, theres just so much life to be seen especially where and when you know how to find it, 21 eagle rays on the wreck dive sunday followed by 2 nurse sharks, a black tip and a couple turtles on the 50ft reef. who needs cozumel?!
those of you a little reluctant, give it a try, you wont be dissapointed. 5weeks til the big boys are in town, whale sharks and mantas!

 

[Spratman]

Oh nice....See if you get an invite to the BBQ...:mooner:

For me, I don't really care about where I'm diving, as long as I'm diving. There is a certain amount of bragging rights with Coz, but it's something I'll get to do. Shorter runs for some of the reefs, I want to dive puerto nihuz (the deep hole), and I've yet to see an eagle ray. I also hope to get some nice pics...

Try like...you'll like it!

 

[Narcd_dvr]

Thanks for sharing your trip report and recommendation. I'm going in July and will definitely dive with MAD..

 

[Scott T]

I'm glad Stogie started this thread. I'll be heading to Cancun in July and was worried about the whole Cancun vs Cozumel thing. I'll be sure to look up Ben before I head out.

Scott T