Combining scuba + cenotes + archeology

[Sbiriguda]

As per the title, is there a way to arrange a trip in an efficient way to go scuba diving both in the coral reefs and in the cenotes and at the same time to see some old Mayan ruins? Which place would be suitable for such a trip?
Thanks

 

[rick00001967]

thats easy. playa del carmen. or anything close by. akumal, tulum, etc. you can do reef diving there. the cenotes are all in that area south of playa. you have ruins at tulum or can even take a trip to see chichen itza.

the other option might be to stay on cozumel. there is better reef diving there. they do have some ruins on the island, but you would have to go across to playa to access the cenotes. there are some cenotes on coz but you would need to be cave certified to dive these.

i guess it would depend on what your priorities are.

 

[halocline]

As per the title, is there a way to arrange a trip in an efficient way to go scuba diving both in the coral reefs and in the cenotes and at the same time to see some old Mayan ruins? Which place would be suitable for such a trip?
Thanks

There are some great possibilities. I've done two out the three on various trips (sometimes cenotes and ruins, sometimes cenotes and reef diving), and I guess 'efficient' is somewhat in the eye of the beholder. So, if I were planning a trip for all three activities, I would start with deciding which Mayan sites you want to see and work from there. It's hard to imagine a trip to Mayan sites without Chichen Itza on the list, and Tulum as well.

Playa Del Carmen is a good base in that you can hop on the ferry to Cozumel and there are some very good cenotes close by. But it's a long way for day trips to Chichen, Coba, and Tulum. People do it, but you might want to spend a night in Valladolid if you visit Chichen, and a couple of nights in Tulum for the ruins there and Coba, and there are good cenotes close by Tulum as well. It's not too difficult to get on the ferry from playa early in the morning, dive on Cozumel, and take an afternoon ferry back, but again it might be more fun and relaxing to spend a night or two in Cozumel as well.

 

[Lorenzoid]

As per the title, is there a way to arrange a trip in an efficient way to go scuba diving both in the coral reefs and in the cenotes and at the same time to see some old Mayan ruins? Which place would be suitable for such a trip?
Thanks

My wife and I like to spend one week on the mainland diving the caves and one week on Cozumel diving the reefs. She said she would only take up cave diving if I promised never to give up reef diving.

 

[wnissen]

Are you flying in from Italy? I would take my time and try to see the whole peninsula. Almost everyone visits Cancún or Cozumel and takes a day trip to the cenotes near Tulum or Chichén Itzá. But the ruins at Uxmal are just as nice and not nearly as crowded, and there are a ton of great cenotes around the wonderful city of Mérida in the interior of Yucatán. No reefs there, obviously.

 

[driftwood]

There are a lot of companies that do day trips out of PDC to all the major ruins. Generally they will run in the $125pp range for a full day. Small vans so your group is around 15 people. Yukatreks and Alltournative come to mind. We have used both of them and were happy. Great way to spend a day.

Add Ek Balam to the list of "must see" Mayan ruins.

 

[KenGordon]

As per the title, is there a way to arrange a trip in an efficient way to go scuba diving both in the coral reefs and in the cenotes and at the same time to see some old Mayan ruins? Which place would be suitable for such a trip?
Thanks

Do a two centre trip. I spent a week on Cozumel then a week in Playa and did a Chichén Itzá/other ruins trip for a couple of days at the end. The cenotes were the highlight. Cozumel is quite good but the Playa diving was a disappointment and not worth while.

I suggest a week on Cozumel and a week based in Tulum to cut down transport time. You will probably want different providers for the two bits. Talk to About – Underworld Tulum about Cenotes and accommodation on the mainland.

 

[Korhil]

there are a ton of great cenotes around the wonderful city of Mérida in the interior of Yucatán.

Have you actually dived any of them?
Could you recommend an op which provides diving trips to the cenotes near Merida?

I'm travelling to Yucatan in 2 weeks and it seems to me, there are more cenotes, which are more accessible as well, near Valladolid. Not sure about diving, though.

 

[wnissen]

Have you actually dived any of them?
Could you recommend an op which provides diving trips to the cenotes near Merida?

I'm travelling to Yucatan in 2 weeks and it seems to me, there are more cenotes, which are more accessible as well, near Valladolid. Not sure about diving, though.

No, sorry, that was right before I got certified. We only snorkeled. I saw your question in the other thread and I know there is at least one dive operator in Mérida. But I don’t know anything except what you can find on Google. Language might be an issue; Mérida has a good amount of tourists but almost all Spanish speakers.

 

[Sbiriguda]

Thanks everybody for the very good suggestions