cenotes or reefs?

[romancoat]

I will be in Cancun in October for a friend's wedding, and figured I'd come a little earlier to do some diving. Most of my dives have been in Anilao (it's a 3-hr drive away), but have also been to a few other sites in the Philippines as well, and will be diving Tubbataha next month. Definitely planning to do some cenote diving since that would be a new experience for me. Couple of questions:

1. I'm on the fence with diving PDC or Cozumel -- is it comparable to diving in the Philippines, or should I just do 2-3 days of cenote diving instead? My usual favorites are nudis and turtles, and of course would love to see pelagics.

2. How useful will it be to get a cavern-diving cert before my trip?

 

[npole]

Cenotes.. you can do it only there and it's freakin' awesome. There's no need for cavern cert, you only need good buoyancy.

 

[sea_otter]

Definitely choose Cozumel over Playa for ocean dives, but if your baseline is the Philippines you may be disappointed.

As for a cavern certification, it is not required for tours in Mexico, but training with a good instructor may be valuable. Cavern may also help open up doors for a few less frequently travelled dive sites, provided that you hire a private guide and can demonstrate skills to a high level of standards first. But it will take more than a card.

 

[freedc]

Cenotes are really cool. The geology, topography, clarity, haloclines. But you can also get bored after a handful of dives. I did four dives in cenotes, loved them, and was ready to get back in the ocean. Cozumel is definitely better than PDC or Costa Maya. Nice drift diving.

If you only have a couple of days, do the cenotes. I did not have a cavern cert, but I was lucky and went on a day when my guide had no other customers. Research your guides. Mine was excellent, but it was many years ago. I doubt he'd still be there. Another diver will follow you with a videocamera and try to sell you the images. If so, act uninterested and say no, but at the last minute offer a lower price and don't stop negotiating until you get them. Most of the dive sites are quite photogenic.

 

[romancoat]

My buoyancy is quite decent -- not worried about that. The instructor I did my AOW and Rescue certs with also does cavediving, so I'm open to the idea of cavern certification, but sea_otter is right that a good dive op is not going to just take me right away to one of those sites without them seeing my capabilities first.

My original plan was two weeks, with one week in Mexico City and one week in the Yucatan. Have also just started looking at Belize (Blue Hole) but if I want to do that, I think I'm going to need 3 weeks instead of two.

 

[Lorenzoid]

With some of the world's most beautiful reefs at your doorstep in the Coral Triangle, you will not be impressed with ocean diving in Cozumel or the mainland. So, another vote for focusing on cenotes. And another opinion that a cavern diving certification is pointless for that. Hire a guide who gets good reviews from knowledgeable divers, and put yourself in his or her hands to show you the best the area has to offer.

As for Belize and the Blue Hole, read some threads debating how interesting the Blue Hole may or may not be. Belize has good ocean diving, but you need to get out on the outer reefs. And again, no matter how nice Belize diving may be for us North Americans, you have nicer diving in the Phils.

 

[Chris H]

I recently returned from a cave diving trip in Mexico. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen. However, I'm full cave certified. I witnessed a few of the Cenote Tours and they were well beyond where a cavern course in the USA would define cavern. YMMV

 

[tarponchik]

We did snorkeling in one of the cenotes (Dos Ojos) and that was enough for us. We are not big fans of limestone, I guess. Just remember that water is colder than in the ocean, just about 72 F, and bring your flashlights. The ocean diving we did further south (Akumal) and it was excellent, by the Caribbean standards. If you are into turtles, this is the place to go.

 

[northernone]

If you think you like wet rocks, the cenotes are rare in the world. Reef life is many places. Might you be flexible enough to try one cenote dive and see if you love it... Make the week's plan afterwards? You're towards slow season so you might even get hour dive ops with last minute vacancy if you rearrange.

 

[sea_otter]

My original plan was two weeks, with one week in Mexico City and one week in the Yucatan.

Totally unrelated to diving, but Mexico City is amazing! I was there on a business trip so didn't have a huge amount of time to see the sights, but the food was amazing. Really enjoyed visiting the Zocalo and Templo Mayor. Also, the evening lights show at the Teotihuacan pyramids is well worthwhile. They tell a very interesting story of the history of the ancient ruins, projected on the pyramid of the sun. I also LOVE Coyoacan, a little historic village inside Mexico City, full of colorful street art, some nice Mezcalerias, and more great food.

It sounds like a wonderful trip.