Dive trip planned for Riviera Maya

[divebag]

I need recommendations on diving along the Riviera Maya.

I'm going to a business conference at the Paradisus Riviera (halfway between Cancun and Playa Del Carmen) in January. Diving will be free at the resort for the 4 days I'm there which I plan on doing daily. (not a lot of business meetings) yeah

I'm planning to fly in early to allow 3 days of diving before the conference.

Should I go to Coz and dive there for 3 days?
Stay at Playa del Carmen and dive 2-3 different places?
Cancun?
Cenotes?
Akumal?
Other places?


I'm fairly experienced diver (100 dives) and have dove coz many times (and love it) and have dove a few times at the Paradisus Rivera Resort near Puerto Morales at a previous conference. I've never dove anywhere in Mexico except Coz, and Puerto Morales.

I can stay anywhere prior to the start of the conference and would be getting around by taxi. Would like to have a home base hotel for the 3 days of diving.

What should I do to get the best diving adventure??

 

[5615mike]

The cenotes are a must. I have been trying to get that done for several years but I can't get my wife to go. I would stay south of Cancun. Your former resort is a good place for home base. There are several cenotes in the area. I don't have the websites marked but I found them by doing a search in Google. Have a great time.

 

[Jerryg]

Ahh PDC. I've spent four weeks diving in the PDC/Cozumel area and am returning in February for another 2 weeks. My wife and I have dove Cenotes, PDC, and Cozumel. They are all beautiful in their own way, and absolutely worth doing. If your into prestige the cenote is Dos Ojos which was featured in an IMAX film called "Journey into the Amazing Caves". If you like deep and unusual then try Angelita. Look them up on the internet and you'll see what I mean. On Cozumel everybody seems to rave about Palancar Reef. My personal favorite is the Santa Rosa wall dive. Dive depth here is 80-100ft. Don't make a mistake or you will disappear into the Abyss. Around PDC there is one exceptional dive called the Tortugas. Depth is 50-65 ft and boy will you see loads of hawkbilled green sea turtle. My wife and I dive out of a dive shop named Sealife Divers(www.sealifedivers.com). I've never dove with a more qualified or friendly staff than they have there. They can take you to the Cenote's, to Cozumel, and the reefs along PDC. We've stayed in three different hotels in the area but have gravitated to one. That hotel is the Rivera Del Sol in Playa Del Carmen. Nice rooms 200 yards from the dive shop/beach, includes continental breakfast, nice pool, some rooms with kitchenettes. most with fridges. If you book the room through sealife they can and do get you a substantial discount on the hotel. By the way, as I said we've spent four weeks in PDC and have yet to rent a car. Good luck in setting up your trip and if you go with sealife say hello to Dani and Franco from Jerry and Terri.

 

[Diver Lori]

www.cenotes.com

 

[scubawife]

We had a great time diving with Akumal Dive Adventures last year. They're on Half Moon Bay in Akumal. A small shop, good DM and very laid back. http://akumaldiveadventures.com/

We dove Dos Ojos and The Bat Cave with Hidden Worlds. This was our first time in the cenotes. Their guides were very good, and the largest group we had was 4 divers. Hidden Worlds has just mapped a new cave and opened it for cavern diving. www.hiddenworlds.com.mx/dreamgate1.html

 

[teamheatwave]

I'll second the recommendation to Dos Ojos / www.hiddenworlds.com. We were there in May and going back in 10 days!

 

[No Fish]

If I had three days, I would see who is doing the Tortugas drift dive mentioned by Jerryg. I'll bet I saw 60 turtles. Fantastic!

I would dive the cenotes on my last day to rinse my gear. I liked Grand Cenote But Chaac Maal (sp?) was good too. You walk down into the cavern to enter and I swear, the water is so clear you can't see it at first. There is a halocline there too. Neat!

In between.....I don't know, I guess it depends on the weather. I think the Mama Vinia "wreck" is somewhere near where you are staying. I could be wrong about that too..

Have fun.

 

[Augustus]

If you can look up the book The Cenotes of the Rivera Maya by Steve Gerrard http://www.cenotesoftherivieramaya.com/Cenotes.htm
This is the only real reference/guide for these cenotes, either done as cavern dives or full cave.

 

[chrisc]

I would HIGHLY recommend Aquatech Dive shop, it's on the south end of Akumal by Oasis Akumal. They had the best prices on Cenote dives and open water dives.

The DeRosa's were one of the original cave divers to explore all the caves in the Mayan area.

Chris

 

[Diver Lori]

DeRosa's/Aquatech's website is


www.cenotes.com

Lots of useful information on the area besides what they offer at the resort.

Nancy DeRosa is an activist in the area trying to improve/prevent further decline of the natural resources, turtles, etc.

I leave for Akumal and a week at DeRosa's in about two months for my 3rd year in a row. If you like a quiet, small, no glitz place to stay.....this is it. It's not a compound cookie-cutter European resort like the rest of the strip.