December Cenotes/Playa Del Carmen/Cancun/Cozumel???

[fuimiah]

Hi, my name is Jeremiah and I am a solo diver, under 20 dives looking to do a 7-10 day dive trip during the last days of December and the first week or so of January. Tentative dates are December 30th-January 12th. My question is I am wanting to dive the cenotes at least 4 to 6 times, possibly do some drift diving on Cozumel, and/or at least get some ocean diving in either in Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, or Cozumel (whatever gives me the most for my money). Can anyone recommend very affordable resorts that have dive packages that include all of these. In addition to resorts, any recommendations for other options of lodging in and around these areas. Figure it may be better to stay in Cancun or around there so I can check out ancient ruins on land. Thank you all for your time, help, and suggestions. Cheers!

 

[lthomas132]

We just stayed in Playa del Carmen at Hotel Cielo (HOTEL CIELO ~ PLAYA DEL CARMEN * MEXICO), small boutique style hotel 1 blk. off the beach. Priced $50-70/night, no pool, nice small restaurant, just remodeled, very clean, cool. We did our diving with Jason Sartain (http://fantaseadive.com), just 2 blks. from the hotel, on the beach. Great dive instructor & quite a character. Check out some of his dive videos as well. I would recommend doing several days of ocean diving before trying the cenotes. He'll take you to Cozumel if you like, diving with bull sharks, etc. They'll test you on your buoyancy skills which are extremely important in the cenotes. If you go, take the ABO bus at the airport, $10/one way verses a $60 taxi ride/one way. He's on ScubaBoard quite a bit as PlayaCountryBoy I think. Good luck, have fun

 

[fuimiah]

Thanks IThomas. I wasn't planning on diving with bull sharks since I read somewhere on one site that you need a minimum of 40 dives. But if this shop is cool with me having less than that, I'd love to dive with the bulls, hit up Cozumel, and do a bit of ocean diving and cenotes. Thanks again for your input!

 

[TSandM]

fuimiah, my advice is to get out and do as many dives as you can before you go. Although I love the cenotes, and think the tours are great for a lot of people, I do NOT think they are suitable for beginning divers.

 

[Byte Me]

Playa has a bunch of smaller boutique hotels and is a pretty good spot for all you're looking to do. I've stayed twice at Playa Maya which is right on the beach so a bit more expensive but still quite a bargain in my book! Hotel La Rana is on 10th street right off 5th avenue and I've heard good things about it but never stayed there.

Playa Maya ~ Your beachfront home
La Rana Cansada Hotel and Bar Ranita in Playa del Carmen Mexico

Tank Ha dive shop is right next to La Rana and offers Playa and Coz packages, they have a boat that goes directly to Coz from Playa so you don't have to mess around with the Ferry. I dove with them last year and would again. They also offer cenote dives, but would heed TSandM's advice above. Personally, I love them and will be doing my cavern certification this October when we're there with Nicolas from CenoteXperience ( CenoteXperience ). But like some of the Coz wall drift dives, they are not beginner dives.

I might suggest diving as much as you can before you go and then "getting your feet wet" so to speak on some Playa ocean dives like cerebros, tortuga, mo che shallow, jardines, chunzumbul, isolote to name a few. All are relatively shallow drift dives with plenty to see. If at that point you feel good about your buoyancy and skills ask the DM if they think you're ready. They're beautiful but you'll be in an overhead environment which is a totally different animal all together. You also need to have really good buoyancy which, generally speaking, is something that it takes a while for beginning divers to dial in.

Dos Ojos, Gran Cenote and El Eden are all great for snorkeling as well if you want to check them out that way.

Have a great trip!

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I want to side with TSandM here. Cenotes are ok, but not for everyone. No fish, cool water (70F) cave formations are interesting. Debbie loves them, I would rather watch interesting animals doing interesting things. Cenote dives are shallow and therefor buoyancy control is essential. No kicking up the bottom or bouncing off the ceiling. I once was the "tail" divemaster for a group of limited experience divers, who did a cenote on their first dive of the trip because the ocean conditions were poor due to wind and weather. It was a cluster f... that lasted about 10 minutes: poor buoyancy control, dropped lights, etc. Just sharing the experience to help you make a good choice here.
DivemasterDennis

 

[bigbluemarble]

I agree with both DM Dennis and TSandM about cenotes not being for everyone. That being said, it really depends on the individual diver and his/her level of ability. I've seen divers with hundreds of dives silting up in the cenotes, sitting on the bottom, etc. and divers with very few dives who have no problem with buoyancy control in the caverns and really enjoy the dives.

Fuimiah, start off in the ocean as suggested in the above posts and let your instructor/guide know you want to dive the cenotes. On your ocean dives, s/he can can help you get your dive abilities/skills ready for diving the cenotes. Just be aware that it is an overhead environment that can get pretty dark and that you cannot go directly to the surface, but must swim out the way you came in. Some people feel claustrophobic thinking about that type of dive, but those who don't often find that cavern dives are an unworldly and unforgettable experience.

 

[ednedfred]

Tank Ha and Abyss are both excellent dive groups for ocean and cenotes.

 

[bigbluemarble]

Ditto on Abyss.

 

[Beyond_Diving]

May I suggest my shop, Beyond Diving.. We're a new shop, but definitely not new in the business... Scuba dive in Playa del Carmen with Beyond Diving