Hello everyone. Diving soon in Mexico. :)

[Margaux Geeroms]

Hello everyone. I am going to Mexico in 15 days to dive especially. I have currently the padi advanced open water. I want to dive as much as possible but I hope not to spend 90 dollars a day, which is, maybe, quite unrealistic.

I was planning to go to Isla Mujeres, Riviera Maya and Cozumel.

I think in IM you have whales and in the other places not. (I am there 23nov-24dec). And maybe diving in Cozumel is enough, not in RM, but RM can be nice to just be a few days or just as base to go around and visit stuff.

First thing I was thinking about was renting equipment only and hopefully finding a group I could join. So not a dive school, but actually people who are experienced and would not mind taking somebody on. But don’t know how to find this. Or an experienced buddy. But I also do not know how to find a buddy. The site of padi with logged dives is quite outdated. Or does someone know anyone in one of these places who would be happy/wouldnt mind to take me along?

For now it seems the options I have is taking 5 or more day packages at a dive school. I would like to see as much as possible - reef, cenote, maybe a big animal, shore diving... Is this included in most packages, like a variety?

Any help welcome, so basically I want to dive and see as much as possible but not spend a fortune (I am one month in Mexico so I have time).

Thanks

 

[drrich2]

I think in IM you have whales and in the other places not.

Haven't been to IM, but IIRC, it's whale sharks. Still would be neat to see.

You can often sort of 'dive with the group,' so finding a dedicated buddy and group may not be as important as it seems. I'm not sure how things are done in the places you have prior experience.

In case it may be of help, some Cozumel-related info.
Tres Pelicanos & Casa Mexicana, Cozumel Sept. 2018 Report - Tres Pelicanos/Casa Mexican Trip Report Sept. 2018
My Research Notes from Planning Cozumel Trip - My Research Notes from Planning Cozumel TripRichard. (There's a section touching on the cenotes).

 

[kumimonster]

In case it may be of help, some Cozumel-related info.
Tres Pelicanos & Casa Mexicana, Cozumel Sept. 2018 Report - Tres Pelicanos/Casa Mexican Trip Report Sept. 2018
My Research Notes from Planning Cozumel Trip - My Research Notes from Planning Cozumel TripRichard. (There's a section touching on the cenotes).

thanks for the notes! I am heading there next year instead of cabo pulmo!

 

[Snoweman]

You cannot dive with whale sharks in IM. It's snorkeling only. I think they are predominantly there in the summer.

If you want to get as much diving in as possible, spend all your time in Cozumel. The diving is the best, and you won't get bored.

 

[Lorenzoid]

You cannot dive with whale sharks in IM. It's snorkeling only. I think they are predominantly there in the summer.

If you want to get as much diving in as possible, spend all your time in Cozumel. The diving is the best, and you won't get bored.

The OP mentioned cenotes, too. I missed that on my first read, too.

Sounds like the OP has it figured out: Isla Mujeres for possible whale shark encounter, the mainland for cenote diving, and Cozumel for ocean diving. I would recommend making separate arrangements with dive (or snorkel in the case of Isla Mujeres) operators in each of these locations. There are some operators who will set up any itinerary you could imagine, but it's easy to do it on your own. I would say don't waste time diving from the mainland (say, Playa del Carmen). For ocean diving, your time is best spent in Cozumel.

 

[Diverspoint]

Cozumel has the best reef dives. Drawback is that it can be a bit hectic. Some shops use relatively large boats. and most are in a rush to get back. Also some spots have many divers.

If you are in the Playa del Carmen Tulum area do go to the cenotes. Reef dives off of Playa del Carmen are pretty awful, only the Tortugas dive is nice to see turtles.

IM has very little diving, and the whaleshark season is summer only.

Puerto Morelos has a decent reef, and a nice wreckdive.

 

[kumimonster]

IM has very little diving, and the whaleshark season is summer only.

.

There was a whaleshark in Cabo Pulmo a couple of weeks ago. Just cruising around with some divers.
I am jealous!

Hopefully it'll be nice this week cuz I'm flying down tomorrow!

 

[JamesBon92007]

Of all the places you mentioned I think that Playa del Carmen probably had the cheapest diving, but it looks like prices have gone up so they are on par with Cozumel. A typical two-tank dive from Cozumel is about $85. If it is less it probably does not include the marine park fee and taxes. You can get multi-day packages and get that down to less than $80/day. Generally they don't take you to the same reefs over and over but you could end up at the same ones twice in five days. You might see some nurse sharks, large sea turtles, and spotted eagle rays. I hope that your $90/day budget does not include food and lodging, otherwise you might have to skip breakfast and dinner and sleep on a bench in the square You could do the daily special at Casa Mision and probably get enough to eat for a day. I haven't been there for a couple of years but it was $79 pesos and was a LOT of food plus all the horchata you could drink.

Whales shark season starts around June at Isla Mujeres and ends at the end of summer so it's unlikely you'll see any this trip. I didn't think the diving was all that bad around Playa del Carmen but it does not compare to Cozumel. The diving from Isla Mujeres can be very interesting but again, it doesn't really compare to Cozumel unless you specifically want to see MUSA. Besides that, San Miguel is a much nicer place to be in general than IM or most of RM.

 

[Streydog]

If you are traveling all the way from Europe to dive in this area you owe it to yourself to spend your time in Cozumel unless you are doing a cenote. I would recommend booking your dives ahead of time with one of the ops that gets recommended on this site. I have a little experience diving in Playa and there are some nice sites but they do not compare to Cozumel.

 

[JamesBon92007]

First thing I was thinking about was renting equipment only and hopefully finding a group I could join. So not a dive school, but actually people who are experienced and would not mind taking somebody on. But don’t know how to find this. Or an experienced buddy. But I also do not know how to find a buddy. The site of padi with logged dives is quite outdated. Or does someone know anyone in one of these places who would be happy/wouldnt mind to take me along?

I overlooked this part of your post...

If you get on a dive boat there will probably be about five other divers on board, more if you get on a big boat. My experience has always been that it's very easy to get to know the other divers and I've always felt very welcome. Often by the time I get back and rinse my gear I've already made more plans to go diving with my new friends, and sometimes go out to dinner together. In the past I used to travel alone and always found it fairly easy to find dive buddies wherever I was. You also might be surprised at how many single woman divers travel alone and are looking for company.

There are also some groups of people here on Scubaboard who meet up in places such as Cozumel. There are threads called "Roll Call." I think that if you inquire on this thread you may get some answers:

Roll Call- COZUMEL December 2018