I stayed at Viva Azteca last memorial day and used 3 different dive operations. The Azteca (by wyndam) is just north of town, also.
We are noobies to diving. We dove with Scuba Caribe, Dive Mike, and Tank Ha. We had a horrible experience with Scuba Caribe. We had a dive master who was 21 years old and was just beginning her dive master career. The other DM that was supposed to show up got stuck in traffic. Because of rough water we were taken to Cozumel by ferry and then got on a boat (contracted by Scuba Caribe) and did a dive that was deeper than we were told it would be. Since this was my girlfriend's first dive after being certified I specifically requested a shallow dive. We were supposed to dive on the playa side. However, when we arrived that morning we were told it was too rough and we would go to Cozumel. We were never told that it would be a deeper dive (60-80 feet) or that we would have 1 DM from Scuba C. and 1 DM that would just follow at a distance (because he was with the boat (the one contracted) and not with Scuba C.)
So, we ended up with basically 1 DM with about 12 people. I have told this story before and I have learned my lesson. I ask a lot more questions and don't dive if I am not comfortable. However, in this case I was told a very different story the day before. Our day of diving just kept getting worse. I realize she was new, but this was a bad addition to my girlfriend who was just certified and was looking for a little more one on one with the DM. I should have hired a private DM for the 35-40 dollar going rate. It would have helped. That being said, I didn't know to do that and I was just trying to survive the day with my girlfriend.
So, that was the last time we dove with Scuba Caribe. I think they are a resort center dive op only and they did not have their act together at all. P.S. on Scuba C. There were some very advanced divers on the boat with us. Every single person on the boat was very angry by days end. They all had the same opinion. I wanted to make sure it wasn't just because we were noobies.
Next:
Dive Mike: Was a good operation. We enjoyed our dives. You will need to take a taxi to downtown (which was not all that bad). They take you out from the shore near their shop. I would dive with them again. I just found the following dive operation to be more of what we were looking for.
Tank Ha: Great dive operation. They were very nice and they seemed to be more flexible. They just seemed to have the operation running smoothly. You also will need to take a taxi to down town. Our Dive Master was Alessandro. He was a great DM. He was very helpful and wanted us to improve our skills. He was very helpful to us both.
My take: we were noobies. We got more accustomed to diving as the trip wore on. In hindsight, I would definitely go with Tank Ha. If for whatever reason I couldn't get on with Tank Ha I would be happy to dive with Dive Mike.
P.S. They both use fast boats (6-8 divers). Diving from Playa can be very rough water and with the small boats you will be in for a rough boat ride. It didn't bother me but my girlfriend gets seasick. She didn't use the patch and was vomiting a lot. She never missed a dive though and she still highly recommends Alessandro with Tank Ha.
Hope this helps. My hands are tired. If you have any additional questions, PM me.
Later!
Rondo:
Howdy folks I could use your help.
My brother will be staying at that fairly new Capri secrets resort north of Playa,it's sort of a bad location for getting to Coz for morning dives so I'm recommending he dive Playa.
Having never dove Playa I need some recommendations for dive ops,I think he's just interested in ocean diving even though my favorite are the cenotes.
Thanks,I'm clueless
