Dive trip report Puerto Aventuras

[Chocoholic]

We stayed at Chac Hal Al Condos in Puerto Aventuras for 10 days. It is close to the Omni hotel. We ate at the Omni El Xenote restaurant which had ok food. We ate at Gringo Dave’s with pretty good food, Richard’s restaurant good pizza, and Café Ole – also pretty good food. We didn’t really find any restaurant that was outstanding in Puerto Aventuras but we did like Lol Ha in Akumal

Walking around the marina in Puerto Aventuras is entertaining, with all the little shops and people, it really wasn’t that crowded for January. We watched a great show with drumming and fire dancers at Gringo Dave’s one night, I would’ve paid extra just to see the show. I really liked Akumal and I think we might stay there next time, it was more rustic and beach oriented rather than PA which is more about the marina and the dolphin encounter.

I dove with Dive Aventuras at the Omni hotel and was happy with their dive operation. It worked out well for us since I could go dive for an hour or so, return to the condo on the surface interval, then go out again. The reef is only a 3 to 7 minute boat ride out and they return to the hotel between dives. The reef is quite healthy with lots of fish and a fair amount of coral. I also dove Akumal Bay with Akumal dive shop and thought it was about the same type of diving except it had more turtles. The only draw back was that the dive ops tend to dive a schedule and I always came up with lots of nitrogen time and air left over, usually a 45 to 55 minute dive and then back to shore. My dive computer said 81 degrees for water temp, I was plenty warm in my 3mm long suit. The boats at Akumal are brought up to the shoreline/beach and you have to put all your gear on (including tanks and weights) and walk to the boat then dump the stuff in and climb over the side of the panga boat. They use pangas to dive in Puerto Aventuras but the op schleps the tanks and weights for you to the dock.

We had a great time, and will be back.
Chocoholic

 

[scubawife]

Aventuras is nice, but for my taste it's bit too much like a Mexified version of a Florida gated vacation community. It has a very fabricated feel.

I've been going to Akumal for 5yrs and really like it. The atmosphere and prices have changed quite a bit in the last year, but it's still a very relaxed place. We stay in Half Moon Bay at the Vista del Mar condos and dive with their shop, Akumal Dive Adventures. From my experience, they are the one shop in Akumal that lets you dive your tank and computer. They don't rush us back to the boat at 45min, and in the off-season we often have the boat to ourselves, or sometimes 4 divers total. Very rarely is there a full boat of 6-8. Our dives are usually about an hour or more. If they are a bit late getting back then the next dive is pushed back 15 minutes or so. I've found them to be more laid back then the shops in Akumal Bay. And not that it's that big of a deal, but the DM and captain carry our tanks and switch them out for us between dives. If you stay at Vista del Mar and dive with Dive Adventures you can get discounts on the condo and the diving.

If you have time and want a great dive vacation, spend a week in Cozumel then a week in Akumal. Very different diving and topside in both locations.