Cancun/Puerto Morelos/PDC - Whale Shark, Cenote, Wreck,Tulum

[comollusk]

Thanks in advance for any insight that you mainland veterans may offer!

Here's the background. I have been to Cozumel 11 times and I compare all diving in the world to that standard in terms of the actual diving but also cost/value, and ease. We have 4 divers heading out for about a week at the beginning of Aug and would like to do someplace different. I understand the mainland ocean diving won't really be quite as awesome due to the lack of coral formations and all, but I'd like to do a week on the mainland since I've only been there for a day to see the whale sharks from coz and we only saw 1 with 50 boats around it - definitely a suboptimal experience.

What we'd like to do is find 1 or 2 locations to stay that we can do all the cool stuff efficiently - whale sharks, cancun wrecks, cenotes, decent ocean dives, and visit some mayan ruins - maybe Tulum or something else. The whale sharks are a full day trip, but it seems that from certain locations (south?) it may be easier to say do 2 ocean or cenote dives in the morning, then go visit ruins in the afternoon on the same day.

Is there one central location that would be best to stay - Cancun, Puerto Morelos, or PDC - that would be close to decent ocean diving so that we would then shuttle to whale sharks, cenotes, and ruins?

Or, should we maybe stay a few nights in Cancun or Isla Mujares and do the whale sharks and wrecks, then head down to PDC/PM to explore the cenotes, ruins, and other ocean dives for several nights?

As far as lodging, we'd likely not do AI the whole time as we'll be out and about a lot. Maybe a hotel/resort with breakfast only or maybe even an inexpensive but nice vrbo or condo in 1 or 2 locations? Definitely would like a fridge for evening cervezas without always having to find a bar.

As far as dive/excursions - would it make sense to find 1 company for everything (I'm sure many of them do) or find a little more specialization in certain areas? Cenotes for sure we'd like a specialist for safety and visiting ruins and whale sharks would definitely be more enjoyable with a knowledgeable guide and NOT on a stuffy, uncomfortable collectivo bus for several hours a day (we'll pay extra not to do that again - the whale shark excursion from coz the 1 time taught me a lesson!)

Any other insight into this plan?

 

[BRT]

In Puerto Morelos you will not get the big coral structures. There are places there as majestic as Coz but they are deeper and I don't know of anyone that takes divers there now. On the other hand Puerto Morelos has lots of reefs with lots of coral and more fish then you generally see in Cozumel.

 

[ibj40]

I'd recommend you check our Puerto Aventuras. We've been there over a dozen times (after years of diving on Cozumel). Our preferred dive shop, Dive Aventuras, is one of the most professional shops I have dealt with in over 30 years of diving, and can take you both off shore, as well as to the cenotes. Xcaret theme park is a cab ride away, as is the Tulum archaeological site, as also is Playa del Carmen for a day trip. If you want to venture further, the Coba site is easily accessible via Tulum in a rent car.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

I would stay in PDC. It is in the middle of what you want to dive and you can pick from AI's, hotels and condo rentals. There are a lot of restaurants to pick from in town. I highly recommend Nicolas from CenoteXperience - Cavern, Cave and Ocean Diving in Playa del Carmen Yucatan Mexico - Home I have been diving with Nico & his brother Martin for over 7 years.They are great guys and very professional dive guides and they love what they do. They have a small family dive shop in PDC. Nico specializes in cenote diving. They can also set up your Whale shark snorkeling trip for you. tell Nico that Steve from Canada sent you.

 

[Dogbowl]

Hhmmm, looks like you want to do A LOT in a week, which sounds exhausting to me but understand that’s how some people like to vacation.

You may or may not run into the same experience with the whale sharks. There will be that many boats on the water and that many tourists. That won’t change. What may change is that you may get lucky and there may be many more whale sharks than the 1 you saw in the water. So keep this in mind. While August is low season for North American tourists, it’s also summer holiday for the locals.

I also currently use Coz as my standard for which I compare all diving. Using this standard, the only ocean dive I would do on the mainland is Puerto Morelos. I wouldn’t bother with PDC myself. But then I wouldn’t be too keen ocean diving at all on the mainland. Sorry, mainland!

On the mainland, the true attractions are the cenotes, of course, and so I would focus on that. If you’re up to it, do 2-3 (or more) days diving these. Some people don’t want to do more than 1 day though. Everyone’s different.

Tulum is beautiful so yes, go see it! It’s also not that far from the main drag. The other ruins are more of a drive. Chichen Itza, for example, is an all day affair (mostly on a bus).

Personally, I would stay in PDC. Cancun (whale sharks) is more than an hour to the north. Puerto Morelos is 30+ minutes north. The cenotes are 30+ minutes south. Tulum is an hour south.

You can see there’s a lot of driving back and forth and you may be ok with that. Personally, I’d drop the whale sharks because that’s the farthest from PDC.

I really like staying near 5th Avenue in PDC as I like to walk around at night, people watch and have dinner at a nice restaurant.

If you’re willing to drop Puerto Morelos and focus more on the cenotes, you may want to consider staying south of PDC as well, so there’s less driving.

We also enjoyed the eco parks in the area, specifically Xplor for ziplines, the show at Xcaret (I didn’t like the park itself but you can do just the show), and spending a relaxing day drinking (included), lounging and snorkeling at Xel-Ha. Some people complain the eco parks are too Disney Land for them but we think they’re very well-done.

 

[lthomas132]

We have stayed many times in PDC, just off 5th Ave. at Hotel Cielo (Playa del Carmen Boutique Hotel, Hotel Cielo, Riviera Maya, Mexico). A small but very clean boutique hotel 1 blk. off the beach. A great little restaurant downstairs. Walking distance to ferry dock, dive shops. Ocean diving is OK, not great, but the cenotes are incredible. Yucatek Divers (Yucatek Divers, Playa del Carmen) is just down the street, a 5 star PADI shop and will do it all. Tulum?, just sign up for a tour bus trip, don't mess with driving.