Going to Playa and looking for some advice

[murdrcycle]

I know that these questions have probably been asked a dozen times, but I want some fresh information so bear with me. My wife and I are going on our annual Mexico trip in mid to late March. We will be staying in the Playa area. I have been diving a few times over a number of years but am newly certified (7 dives on my OW which I got in September, all in quarries). I may put a few more in the log books at Bonne Terre before the trip, just to keep the skills from getting too dull.

Now that you have the background, here are my questions:

1 - I am traveling with non-divers. How difficult will it be to find a dive buddy?
2 - How difficult will it be to find a safe dive buddy?
3 - knowing my skill/experience level, would you recommend for or against Cenotes diving? I am not very prone to freaking out, but I tend to have an adverse reaction to death and don't want to dive past my skills.
4 - Are there any particular dive spots that you could recommend? I am not looking to go really deep, but also don't want to visit some raked-over, burned out reefs. I did that last time I dove in Mexico and didn't care much for it (Indiana Joes was the place - they took us about a mile off the mainland. It wasn't as good as St. Thomas and from what I hear that sucks for Coz/Playa area). I wasn't certified and they were the only dive company that would touch me.

Any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

 

[TSandM]

I can't address most of your questions, because I travel with my own buddy/ies. But I'll address the one about the cenotes.

I think you need a couple of things to do the cenote tours safely. One is that you need good buoyancy control and the ability to dive in a horizontal position. This is both for safety (avoiding siltouts) and out of respect for the cave.

The other is that you need to have had enough time underwater to have some idea of how you handle stress. In the cenotes, you ARE in an overhead environment. If you flood your mask and your reaction is to head for the surface, you will be in a world of hurt when you hit the ceiling. If you've dived enough to encounter some simple issues and have handled them calmly, then I think you'd be fine.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Just got back, see my trip report....I recommend you contact Jason (aka PlayaCountryBoy on ScubaBoard). He runs a small outfit in Playa and that allows him to take personal care of you.

Scuba Diving, Fishing, Dive Packages, and Extreme Sports in Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Riviera Maya, Yucatan, Mexico and Caribbean

Trip Report:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/214659-cancun-cozumel-dive-trip-dec-14-dec-23-a.html

See email for answers:

I know that these questions have probably been asked a dozen times, but I want some fresh information so bear with me. My wife and I are going on our annual Mexico trip in mid to late March. We will be staying in the Playa area. I have been diving a few times over a number of years but am newly certified (7 dives on my OW which I got in September, all in quarries). I may put a few more in the log books at Bonne Terre before the trip, just to keep the skills from getting too dull.

Now that you have the background, here are my questions:

1 - I am traveling with non-divers. How difficult will it be to find a dive buddy?

Jason (aka PlayaCountryBoy on ScubaBoard) will be your dive master and personal dive leader, if no-one else on the boat, he's your buddy.

2 - How difficult will it be to find a safe dive buddy?

He's really safe, took care of my GF who only has 25 dives.

3 - knowing my skill/experience level, would you recommend for or against Cenotes diving? I am not very prone to freaking out, but I tend to have an adverse reaction to death and don't want to dive past my skills.

It's classified as an open-water dive, your bouyency must be dialed in. Dive the ocean first and do the cenotes on your last day. Contact Jason, he can setup a schedule for you.

4 - Are there any particular dive spots that you could recommend? I am not looking to go really deep, but also don't want to visit some raked-over, burned out reefs. I did that last time I dove in Mexico and didn't care much for it (Indiana Joes was the place - they took us about a mile off the mainland. It wasn't as good as St. Thomas and from what I hear that sucks for Coz/Playa area). I wasn't certified and they were the only dive company that would touch me.

Again, Jason will arrange the dive around your requirements....have fun.

Any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

 

[murdrcycle]

In the cenotes, you ARE in an overhead environment. If you flood your mask and your reaction is to head for the surface, you will be in a world of hurt when you hit the ceiling.

I am not concerned about getting so out of control that I head for the surface, but I think that an overhead environment, depending upon exactly how far to the exit, is probably biting off more than I want to chew right now.

I recommend you contact Jason (aka PlayaCountryBoy on ScubaBoard). He runs a small outfit in Playa and that allows him to take personal care of you.

I send him a PM. He had responded to a Playa question I had a few months ago and couldn't remember his name. Thanks, and it looks like you had an awesome trip.


If anyone else has any experiences/advice please let me know.

 

[tlmainer]

I'll second Jason. I dove with him in December and he was my dive buddy. My guess it that he would want to see your skills on some ocean dives before deciding on cenotes.

 

[divingtigger]

I am diving with Jason next week and am traveling with a non diving spouse (might change that some day) he will set you up with some one to dive with other wise most operations you are buddied up with the DM

 

[guggie]

Here is another dive report for you to read. I dove with my son (also a recent certification) and Jason this past November, PDC, Coz and cenotes. Don't underrate yourself. Let Jason advise you based on some ocean dives.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/210106-review-pdc-coz-dos-ojos-jason-fantaseadive.html