Cenote Diving?

[bober99]

Any suggestions for Cenote Diving? I've looked at Hidden Worlds and it seems quite a bit more pricy compared to reef diving ($100 compared to $60). Plus there's the additional cost/time of the ferry to get yout to Playa Del Carmen.

Is the extra cost because it's way out in the middle of nowhere? Can one just rent a car and go by yourself if you are cave certified? Thanks.

 

[sharkdiver00]

I used Hidden Worlds for a week back in July. They give you a discount if you book four or more dives with them. IMO they are really great and I will use them again and again. They are about 30 to 45 min drive South of the ferry terminal in Playa del Carmen.

Driving in the area is really easy and you can find very good deals on car rentals if you try. Actually, I had a reservation just in case and checked with the other agencies to see who would give me the best deal.

A lot of the cenotes are on private land, so I don't know about just going by yourself if you are cave certified. I am sure others will give you better responses on that question.

cheers,

 

[ShakaZulu]

Awesome diving, did Hidden Worlds myself.

 

[Augustus]

What are you looking for? If you are cave certified you can dive some of the systems but to be honest its not a good idea. You need a guide. Pick up a copy of Steve Gerrards book on the Cenotes of the Rivera Maya. That gives you a good idea. But if you are not cave certified you will need a guide. Most of the shops along the mainland run cavern dives. What you get are two dives usually at different systems, tanks, weights, and lights. I believe its a max of four divers per guide who is full cave certified dive master who also has trained to do the guiding in the cenotes. Thats one reason the prices seem higher then normal open water dives. I am sure many people can recomend who they prefer. Two outfits on cozumel, dive cozumel and yucatec both are cave divers who can arrange day trips for a cavern dive.

 

[DiverG]

Contact our own Scubaboard member Pez de Diablo. I used his service in July and had a great time. Here is a link to his website.

http://www.diablodivers.com/

 

[Christi]

Any suggestions for Cenote Diving? I've looked at Hidden Worlds and it seems quite a bit more pricy compared to reef diving ($100 compared to $60). Plus there's the additional cost/time of the ferry to get yout to Playa Del Carmen.

Is the extra cost because it's way out in the middle of nowhere? Can one just rent a car and go by yourself if you are cave certified? Thanks.

There are numerous reasons for the higher cost. In order to dive the cenotes, you must have a certified cave guide, so no, you cannot just go dive them on your own to save money. Per your own post on October 12, "I'm a new diver but will have AOW and nitrox certs by my trip date." This makes it obvious that you are not trained to dive caves on your own.

I would like to give you a very useful tip about diving in general, since you are a new diver. I have noticed a very common theme to all of your posts...that is finding the cheapest way to dive, get there, etc. We all want to save money and get the best value for our diving dollar, nothing wrong with that. However, you should get it in your head now that diving is not a cheap sport or hobby. It is very expensive and very addicting. Think about it this way also, how much is your life worth to you? Finding the cheapest is not really the way to look for a dive operator, equipment, destination, etc. Don't sacrifice safety and quality to save a few bucks.

 

[mbeerski]

I did a course with Harry when I was down there. Great but tough instructor. www.technicaldiving.us. I would not recommend cave diving to novices.

 

[verona]

I used Hidden Worlds. They are excellent with novices. I also booked in advance to avoid disappointment and would recommend that anyone else does the same.

 

[5615mike]

Well worth the money. Do it and have a great time. Completely different world

 

[lhpdiver]

Any suggestions for Cenote Diving? I've looked at Hidden Worlds and it seems quite a bit more pricy compared to reef diving ($100 compared to $60). Plus there's the additional cost/time of the ferry to get yout to Playa Del Carmen.

Is the extra cost because it's way out in the middle of nowhere? Can one just rent a car and go by yourself if you are cave certified? Thanks.

Just got back yesterday. (Hope this gets to you before you go)

After visiting Xcalak, we stopped off near Tulum and got in some diving. We did one dive with Hidden Worlds - Dos Ojos - 26 ft 39 minutes (felt a little rushed). The owner, Buddy, was a really nice guy. We were planning on diving DreamGate until we met up with Chris Stanton at

http://www.luckyfishdiving.com/

(He and Buddy are friends - apparently Chris worked there for 2 years).

He has a small shop in Tankah Inn (on Tankah Bay). That's were we stayed and we liked it enough that we spent a day looking at real estate in the area (too expensive).

We got in 2 ocean dives 90 ft / 39 min and 42 ft / 70 min. Lots of life. Next day we dove 2 cenotes; Carwash 53 ft / 48 min and Grand 30 ft / 45 min. I would highly recommend Chris - very competent / professional.

Although we have over 150+ ocean dives in the last year or so, we had never been in a cave/cavern/cenote before. If you are not cave certified - I don't think you can get a tank / fill in the area.

If you want more specifics drop me an email.