Cenotes and Cozumel combo diving ops?

[Stargazer]

I'm looking into a trip with non-diving but snorkeling wife and son...we like relaxed, low-key places, not big resorts and shopping. Thought there would be enough to keep everyone busy if we could stay around Akumal, which seems reasonably quiet with good beaches...the main thing is that I want to try diving cenotes AND get in a couple days at Cozumel...so does anyone know of good operators on the mainland side, close to Akumal, who would be able to do both ? This will be next December, but got to plan now. Any leads appreciated.

 

[Diver Lori]

Not sure about diving in Cozumel, but Villa DeRosa/Aquatech can take care of the cenotes and ocean diving in and around Akumal. It's not a glitzy place, but very clean and nicely decorated. It's located right on the ocean....if you get a condo room you will face the ocean. Very nice snorkeling for the wife and son too. They also have kayaks for your use as well. They have a restaurant on site that will serve you in your room or by the pool.

www.cenotes.com

 

[Augustus]

You likely would be better off seperating the two. Lots of operators on Cozumel and (i believe with the exception of Aqua World which is pure cattle) you would have to cross over on the ferry to meet up. So assuming you are not going to spend any nights on Cozumel, you would need to go to Playa del Carmen and take the ferry over to meet up with your dive boat. I doubt you plan on getting up in akumal to catch a 7 AM ferry so you need to look into the dive operators that have midday departures. Dive Paradise is one that I know does. But there are many others as well. Since you are leaving in Dec. you have the time, check out various dive operators on cozumel and when you see one that might work email them.

ps regarding aqua world. they have boat that run divers over from P Aventuras where they meet up with aw own dive boats. But IMHO they are providing poor quality dives.

 

[manitou diver]

Just returned from a 10 day trip with four nights in Cozumel, one night in Valladalid to see Chichen Itza, and five nights at the Akumal Beach Resort. I dove with Christi at Blue XT Sea while in Cozumel and with Venta Diving which is the shop located at the resort. I didn't find too much info about Venta so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was very pleased with the two days of diving. The first dive was just off shore. The divemaster was an instructor who had previously worked at resorts in Cypress, the Maldives and the Red Sea. Very knowledgeable and great with both experienced and new divers. We also did a cavern dive at Chac Mul which was excellent! A different DM/instructer led the dive and made it a very educational trip. Although I didn't use the service, they apparently are connected with Blue Angel to offer dives in Cozumel.

As for Akumal Beach Resort, it is an all inclusive but has a small and intimate feel to it. The food was well prepared with lots of variety. There are a wide range of activities available and the bay is sheltered offering opportunities for snorkling. My friends saw turtles, a sting ray and wide variety of reef fish.

Hope this helps! I had a great time!

 

[boulderjohn]

I agree with the idea of going with different ops for each side. There is no reason to go with just one. On the mainland, I had a good experience with Dive Aventuras in Puerto Aventuras a couple of years ago.You have a lot of good choices in Cozumel.

 

[Dectek]

In tha Akumal area there are dive ops comming out the Yahoo. You might want to contact SB's own Pez de Diablo. He is just a few miles away. I hear Dennis is great. Stefano at Bahia Divers gave me great service. Bahia divers not to be mistaken for Bahia Dive Center.

 

[Stargazer]

Thanks for all of the suggestions....it looks like Bahia Divers will take people to both cenotes and Cozumel (so says their web site and one Undercurrent report I found)...any experience with them ? I will check out Diablo also.

 

[Misty89]

We just dove (Cozumel only) with a divemaster couple that were great. For our dives, they "rented" a couple of spots with a FT dive operation, but we were our own little group. My husband, myself and the two DM's - which was great because I can stay under a lot longer than my husband so I got more bottom time with my own DM.

We're not "crack of dawn" early morning people, so it worked well for us, as the dive boat left the marina at 10:00 am and returned around 3:00 pm. So you wouldn't have to catch the 7:00 am ferry if you stayed in Playa. And if you stay in Coz, our DM and his wife (also a DM) have a bed and breakfast for $45/night - nothing super fancy but nice, clean and safe (with super yummy breakfasts) with a comfortable bed and very nice hosts. And a nice rinse tank, help with your gear and somewhere to hang your stuff to dry. It was like staying with friends - which I guess now they are our friends .

They also take people to the cenotes. Their website is: [URL="http://www.laslunas.com"]http://www.laslunas.com/[/url] and their names are Oliver and Janie Robertson.

 

[Stargazer]

Thanks for the info, Misty89 - their website looks nice....will look into them also.

 

[TorontoDive]

I've also dove ocean (Playa del Carmen side) and cenotes with Stefano of Bahia Divers. He and his boat captain Maricio (sp?) are both top notch people. Stefano makes no mistakes when it comes to diver safety, he'll explain everything thoroughly and will make sure that you are comfortable in every step. For the cenotes he took us to Dos Ojos and the Bat Cave (same entry point but different paths) which I believe are the same as the other ops but he was willing to pick us up early and get us in the water before any other ops had shown up. It was great to be the first in the water with 100% visibility.