Cenotes day trip worth it?

[Tunaman68]

Hey everyone -

Booked for 6 nights/5 days of diving in Nov with Blue Angel. Just wondering your opinions of the Cenote dives over on the mainland.

There will be 3 divers in our party, two newer and myself. It's been 17 years since I've been diving in Coz, and want to take in as much as possible.

Do you guys consider a day trip to dive the Cenotes (which I believe Blue Angel offers) to be a 'must do' even if it means missing one of our days on Coz? I know we could do a night dive that day, but might be too bushed after?!?!

Thanks all!

T

 

[Rand]

I absolutely would recommend hitting the cenotes for a day trip. I went to Cozumel for the first time last year. Rough seas caused us to miss two days of diving. The first missed day, we went into town. Luckily we ran into a guy who eventually set us up with Dive Shop Mexico and we arranged a cenote trip for the next day. They met us at the ferry dock, drove us to the dive shop for paperwork, picked up subs for lunch along the way, and drove us to Dos Ojos cenote for two incredible guided cavern dives.

Not only was it great that we saved a day of diving, but the cenote was so awesome that I, and the shop I dive with, plan to make cenote dives a regular part of the Cozumel trips.

I would plan it for the last day of diving as you most likely could only do two dives that day before flying the next day. Plus, it is a nice freshwater gear rinse. With all the travel and ferry trips, we ended up back at the hotel at about 6PM, so it is an all day event. I try to fit as much diving in as I can, but after all the time in the ferry, in the SUVs, and vans to and from the resort, plus the two dives, I was too beat to do a night dive that day.

I got the impression Dive Shop Mexico (maybe other shops) were able to do short notice cenote trips. This might be handy to know in case the seas are not cooperative.

As long as the newer divers are good on buoyancy control and can frog kick or modified flutter kick, I would say they'd be ok. We had a guy in one of our two groups of 3 that had less than 50 dives and was just certified AOW on this trip. He had no issues. You just don't want anyone stirring everything up or knocking into the formations or the ceiling.

Have fun on your trip and let me know if you need more info.

 

[parzdiver]

I personally believe it is well worth it. I absolutely love the Cenotes and am considering my next Mexico trip be to the mainland side. On my last trip to Cozumel, we did the cenotes and did our dives with Aquatech (Akumal Beach Resort Villas DeRosa - Aquatech Cave Diving Center). The ran a great operation including transportation to and from the ferry dock and lunch. After the dives we spent some time at the resort, decompressing at the bar and made it back to the ferry with plenty of time. Well worth it, IMHO.

 

[SailNaked]

++++1 yes do cenote. great experience, it is like a discover Cave diving.

 

[ggunn]

Hey everyone -

Booked for 6 nights/5 days of diving in Nov with Blue Angel. Just wondering your opinions of the Cenote dives over on the mainland.

There will be 3 divers in our party, two newer and myself. It's been 17 years since I've been diving in Coz, and want to take in as much as possible.

Do you guys consider a day trip to dive the Cenotes (which I believe Blue Angel offers) to be a 'must do' even if it means missing one of our days on Coz? I know we could do a night dive that day, but might be too bushed after?!?!

Thanks all!

T

Absolutely, it's worth it! Your DM will most likely be Mateo, and you'll be in very good hands. Tell him hi from fellow Deadhead Gordon.

 

[Scott]

Cenotes are addicting once visited. I just returned from Coz last night and while I wasn't able to make a cenote dive this year I have made numerous dives in years past.
My advice is to get your buoyancy nailed and do a couple night dives from shore if possible before diving the cenote. If someone dosen't like the dark then a cenote may not be their 'cup of tea'.

 

[ReefHound]

I agree with Rand, try to schedule it for your last diving day and use it as the best fresh water rinse you could get. And the dives are shallow (40 foot max, mostly less) helping keep your nitrogen levels low. By your last day you'll likely be a bit sunburned so the cool water will be refreshing and it'll be nice to get out of the sun.

When done diving and before catching the ferry back, have dinner in Playa del Carmen and stroll 5th Avenue. I find it much more active and interesting than downtown San Miguel.

 

[TSandM]

Oh, I disagree -- do the cenotes early in the trip, maybe after one or two days of reef diving, so you're in the swing of things. You may want to do a second day! When I went to Coz, I scheduled two days of cenote diving early in the trip for the three of us who were interested. By the end of the trip, EVERYBODY went back for a third day, even the people who originally said it didn't appeal to them. And one of those folks is now Full Cave

But my one caveat is that, if the other divers are really new, like on their first dive trip ever, they probably don't belong in the cenotes. It's my personal opinion that you need not only good buoyancy control and the ability to control your kick, but you also need to have some idea of how you react to minor problems underwater. Because the cenote dives ARE in an overhead environment. I've read reports here from people who apparently thought they were going to have an immediate OW exit available throughout the tours, and that isn't true. The definition of cavern is that you have to be able to see ambient light somewhere -- but it may be very dim, and quite a ways behind you.

 

[BTravlin]

Is it a must do? Yes, but only if it fits into your schedule and budget to do so. If you really have to go out of your way to make them work then you might want to save them until next time. My wife and I did our first and only cenote dives last year. We enjoyed them and are glad we did them because they are different and they were fun but they just aren't really our thing. We prefer the reef dives with all the varied marine life on display. At the same time we know others who love cenotes and caves more than reefs. We also know wreck divers who are bored to death on a reef. That's one of the great things about diving - the different types of diving available. Every experienced diver should try the cenotes at least once though.

 

[MMM]

For me, I enjoyed doing cenote dives...once. (Did them on short notice when the harbour was closed due to a norte.) It's seeing fish and other life that winds my watch and there is none of that in cenotes. But it was fun to try once. I was so tired/cold (even in 5mm suit) that I slept all the way home on the ferry.