Going to Costa Maya in April

[setzer]

I am going to Costa Maya in April and wanted to know of the best dive shops and dive sites. I will be arriving on a cruise ship and have one day to dive. I have heard mixed reviews on the Costa Maya diving from it was great to I wouldn't do it again. Would I be better off exploring the mayan ruins or hanging out on the beach or should I dive. thanks Eric Setzer:cool2:

 

[DandyDon]

Hi Setzer & welcome to SB. Your profile says Not Certified, right? So you are looking for a Discover dive...?

Costa Maya is more of a marketing term, I think. Do you know which port you will actually visit, the hours in port - and what time zone? Ships stay on the time zones of their boarding ports, i.e. Galvestion, Miami, etc.

There is a Costa May port by name, altho the term is more general. That port has an artificial village build to amuse boat people and get as much money as possible for the cruise line rather than the locals. It's about 100 miles south of Playa del Carmen near Mahahual and Xcalak not far from the Belize border. There is some diving done there, but not a lot, and not beginner diving I don't think. Long story...

I'd never been that far south inside Mexico. It'd probably be a neat area to explore if one had several days. For a cruise stop, who knows...?

 

[Laurie S.]

Majahual Beach at Costa Maya is a wonderful place to dive. It was damaged by the hurricane several years ago, but it is recovering. I have dived there three times while on a cruise over the last three years. I recommend Gypsea Divers, they have a website. It's a three dollar taxi ride to the beach. We love it so much that we'll be having a beach wedding there later this year.

 

[DandyDon]

Majahual Beach at Costa Maya is a wonderful place to dive. It was damaged by the hurricane several years ago, but it is recovering. I have dived there three times while on a cruise over the last three years. I recommend Gypsea Divers, they have a website. It's a three dollar taxi ride to the beach. We love it so much that we'll be having a beach wedding there later this year.

Ah, she's been there, while I have not. I was thinking about the offshore atoll. Didn't know they had diving close to shore.

 

[BRT]

Don't let anybody tell you the diving isn't great in that area. Costa Maya is a marketing term for the cruise dock just North of Mahahual. To search for dive operations search Mahahual/Majahual. We did a dive with Gypsea and they were great. We dove several times with the shop in the Hotel Majahual and they were good too. From descriptions in dive magazines I think it is very similar to San Pedro Belize which is 50 miles South. Lots of coral fingers with deep narrow crevasses in between that run from 40 feet or so on the shore side to 80 feet plus on the ocean side. If you have more experience and time we dove in Xcalak with a couple who got a taxi to run them down the coast and bring them back. XTC in Xcalak is a good operation with nice boats and there is just about nobody else diving there just 10 miles above Belice/

Brian

 

[sparky923]

Costa maya (Mahahual), is a great place to dive. Last year, we had 6 in our group that were cruising, but I was the only one of our group that was diving. We all booked a beach excursion and I booked a dive all through Costa maya tours. We all went to the beach, and Jorge came later and picked me up from the beach to go diving. After the 2 tank dive, they dropped me back at the beach with our group to spend the rest of the day. That is the second time I've gone diving with them and am planning another with them next year.

The pic is of Jorge on our first dive. (It was just the 2 of us on both dives).

The sea was fairly rough that morning, so he didn't show up until around lunch to pick me up. He figured the sea would calm a bit later, and it did. Not many from the ship got to dive that day, because the cruise ship booked tour cancelled due to rough seas.

My sig pic is my son and I diving with Jorge the year before. We were the only 2 diving with him that day as well.

Good luck on your cruise, and I'm sure ya'll will have a blast.

 

[setzer]

Hi Setzer & welcome to SB. Your profile says Not Certified, right? So you are looking for a Discover dive...?

Costa Maya is more of a marketing term, I think. Do you know which port you will actually visit, the hours in port - and what time zone? Ships stay on the time zones of their boarding ports, i.e. Galvestion, Miami, etc.

There is a Costa May port by name, altho the term is more general. That port has an artificial village build to amuse boat people and get as much money as possible for the cruise line rather than the locals. It's about 100 miles south of Playa del Carmen near Mahahual and Xcalak not far from the Belize border. There is some diving done there, but not a lot, and not beginner diving I don't think. Long story...

I'd never been that far south inside Mexico. It'd probably be a neat area to explore if one had several days. For a cruise stop, who knows...?

Thanks for the response. I am new to ScubaBoard so I hope that I am responding properly. I actually am certified. I checked off inexperienced diver and I see that it came back not certified. I was certified in October of 2012 but only iin a fresh water quarry and haven't dove in the ocean yet. The port that we are stopping at is Mahahuel and we will be there on 4-4-13. We will dock at 8 am and leave at 5pm. I did see one post that said that the best diving was 12-15 km south. But they didn't say south of what. So I wasn't sure where that was.

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks for the response. I am new to ScubaBoard so I hope that I am responding properly. I actually am certified. I checked off inexperienced diver and I see that it came back not certified. I was certified in October of 2012 but only iin a fresh water quarry and haven't dove in the ocean yet. The port that we are stopping at is Mahahuel and we will be there on 4-4-13. We will dock at 8 am and leave at 5pm. I did see one post that said that the best diving was 12-15 km south. But they didn't say south of what. So I wasn't sure where that was.

Ok, well the others who have been there can give you more details about local possibilities, and it is generally better to avoid the excursions set up by the boat. I guess you are sailing from Florida? If so, your ship will be on Eastern time, while the locals are on Central time, so you may need to adjust your arrangements for that.

For the first time in the ocean, it would be good to hire a private DM - money well spent, altho that sounds like it may be a given from some of the other posts. Got DAN dive insurance? Very important, and do not settle for the cheapest plan.

I have been tempted to drive down there but it's 3-4 hours south of my usual haunts. I'd like to dive the offshore banks, but I understand getting out there is challenging. You want to stick to the shore operators. The village at the dock is artificial but if you have time to visit the real one, that could be fun. Have a great trip.

You can edit your profile at UserCP easily.

 

[Laurie S.]

The ship's dive excursion probably uses Dreamtime, and they are a very good shop. I dove with them in 2009 right after being certified (Dives eight and nine). The DM was fantastic there for a newbie diver. On my first return there in 2011, I contacted Selma at Nomad Divers. Unfortunately, she had to have some emergency dental work the morning we arrived and she knew she couldn't dive with us. So, she arranged for us to dive with Gypsea Divers. They are fantastic and we returned again last year to dive with them. All three shops have websites, so you can contact them, although you wouldn't be able to use Dreamtime unless you do the ship's excursion since it would be a contract violation for them.

 

[setzer]

Thanks for the post. How far from Mahahual to Xcalak and if this will be my second or third (the first two beind earlier in the same week) would it be best to stay on the reefs and do the dive with Gypsea? thanks Eric

---------- Post added March 11th, 2013 at 02:00 PM ----------

What is the cost for a private divemaster? We will be doing a two tank dive in Roatan Honduras two days earlier. We are doing cave tubing in Belize then after Costa Maya we are also doing some drift diving in Cozumel. From what I have been told at the two other dive shops their boat sizes are relatively small at 4-8 at Honduras and I think 8-12 at Cozumel. thanks Eric