Costa Maya Diving

[cruzbound]

Hi All,

We are going on a cruise in April 2019 and the stops are Nassau, Roatan, Cozumel and Costa Maya. I know who we will dive with in Nassau and Cozumel for sure. We have dived one in Roatan and the operator was fine, so we may use them again BUT we have never dived in Costa Maya. What is the diving like? Is it worth it? If so, can anyone suggest some dive operators that will provide us transportation to and from the ship? We really do not like booking dive excursions with the cruise line as we feel we get a better dive and service when we book our own dive with an independent operator.

Lastly, if anyone has any dive operator recommendations for Roatan, I would love to hear them so I can check them out.

Thanks!

 

[lthomas132]

You will be arriving at Mahahual. There are several shops there but from my recent experience at Xcalak & Mahahual, the best shop in Mahahual is Amigos del Mar (Amigos del Mar Mahahual | Mahahual Diving) hands down. Heiko has the best boat and best dive guides there. Diving the close-in reef is not spectacular but Banco Chinchorro is fantastic. Only problem is it's pretty much an all day trip, ~1.5 - 2 hrs. one way boat ride. Contact Heiko. I believe that the cruise boat will bus you down to the Malecón (beach walkway). His shop is next door to Nacional Beach Club (Nacional Beach Club). Have fun!

Oh yea, if you have non-divers/kids, the NBC is a great place to just hang out. It has a great restaurant/bar & is owned/run by a American ex-pat Evan. Great beach in front, chairs, tables, waiters. Home of the "water hammock". He'll even rent you a casita on the Malecón for the day.

 

[lthomas132]

Hi All,

We are going on a cruise in April 2019 and the stops are Nassau, Roatan, Cozumel and Costa Maya. I know who we will dive with in Nassau and Cozumel for sure. We have dived one in Roatan and the operator was fine, so we may use them again BUT we have never dived in Costa Maya. What is the diving like? Is it worth it? If so, can anyone suggest some dive operators that will provide us transportation to and from the ship? We really do not like booking dive excursions with the cruise line as we feel we get a better dive and service when we book our own dive with an independent operator.

Lastly, if anyone has any dive operator recommendations for Roatan, I would love to hear them so I can check them out.

Thanks!

Roatan has many dive shops, mostly in West End. Having been there many times, I have never experienced a bad dive shop. Some shops will pick you up at your ship, I believe. Do a search on the Roatan Forum. Here's an aerial pic of West End

 

[Altamira]

I have dived Costa Maya three times on a cruise, and have used Dreamtime Divers on all three stops. I have used them both as the ship's dive op and off-ship dive op, and thought the dive op was excellent in both circumstances and all three two tank dives were very good. In my opinion, the close in reefs are not as good as GC or Roatan, but we thoroughly enjoyed every dive with Dreamtime Divers. If they are not the ship's dive op for your cruise, they will likely pick you up and return you, but there is also an open shuttle that goes from the cruise port to the beach area, and will drop you right at the dive shop. If you have family members with you that are not going to dive, they can use the nice beach across the street from the shop. I found Dreamtime Divers to be very professional and safety oriented without being overly directive.

 

[cruzbound]

You will be arriving at Mahahual. There are several shops there but from my recent experience at Xcalak & Mahahual, the best shop in Mahahual is Amigos del Mar (Amigos del Mar Mahahual | Mahahual Diving) hands down. Heiko has the best boat and best dive guides there. Diving the close-in reef is not spectacular but Banco Chinchorro is fantastic. Only problem is it's pretty much an all day trip, ~1.5 - 2 hrs. one way boat ride. Contact Heiko. I believe that the cruise boat will bus you down to the Malecón (beach walkway). His shop is next door to Nacional Beach Club (Nacional Beach Club). Have fun!

Oh yea, if you have non-divers/kids, the NBC is a great place to just hang out. It has a great restaurant/bar & is owned/run by a American ex-pat Evan. Great beach in front, chairs, tables, waiters. Home of the "water hammock". He'll even rent you a casita on the Malecón for the day.

Hi lthomas132,

I sent an inquiry to Amigos del Mar over two weeks ago and they have never responded. Do you know if they are still in business? Are they just slow to respond normally? Any information you can give me would be appreciated.

Thanks,
cruzboun

 

[lthomas132]

Hi lthomas132,

I sent an inquiry to Amigos del Mar over two weeks ago and they have never responded. Do you know if they are still in business? Are they just slow to respond normally? Any information you can give me would be appreciated.

Thanks,
cruzboun

Yes, he's still in business. He splits his time in the off-season between Mahahual & Playa del Carmen. I let him know through Facebook that you tried to contact him. His FB is: https://www.facebook.com/heiko.goetze/about?lst=1377904703:1042427056:1520264024 and Amigos del Mar Mahahual. He should respond.