Help out a Mexico virgin

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

If I were you I would try to head North or out to Cozumel to do your diving. I have never dove in Akumal, but I have heard that the reefs are in pretty bad shape. The diving in Playa del Carmen and in Cozumel is still very nice. The nice thing about being in Akumal though is that you are very close to the really nice Cenotes. Whether you dive in Akumal or somewhere else I am sure you will have a great time. On the bright side you will still be diving.

 

[driftwood]

WOW! you paint a bleak picture! Is it truly that bad? The dive shop OPs said it was pretty nice and healthy.

Hi Tamas,

We have spent some time on Bonaire and know what a healthy reef should look like. I hate to say but what I saw 5 years ago was essentially a waste land of dead coral heads and fingers. The best dive had one barracuda, a huge green moray, two nice turtles, two squirrel fish and a lizard fish. The divemaster said it was a great dive but we were not impressed. I see a lot more action snorkeling where the wave action keeps the water cleaner. We have been back multiple times since and never considered ocean diving around Akumal. Snorkel, yes, dive, no.

It's their waters, not mine, they may have a couple of spots or they may be trying to sell dives. Give it a shot and see what you think. Geofish is right about the cenotes, they are not just world class, but the class of the world. I would spend my vacation time, the most precious resource you have, diving there over the ocean dives.

 

[lthomas132]

Greetings all,

Heading to Mexico for the very first time in November (wohooooooo!) so naturally I have a few questions that only you can answer

Will be staying at the Bahia Principie Tulum in November for a wedding with a group of non-divers. So my in-water time and group/wifey time needs to be planned out so that I can maximize the time best spent. Wanna get some dives in, but I also don't want to be the odd one out of the group. Having said that, it is a vacation, so I will and want to dive.

Few questions I had:

• how is the hotel's dive shop? am I ok diving with them or am I better off finding an off-site shop?
• are there double tank, early morning dives or based on my searches, all they do is single tank dives 3 times a day? (again, based on the group I am with, I would prefer to get 2 dives out early in the morning and be back before most of them wake up)
• what sort of dives can I expect? temps? what levels? depths? max time? (I am an advanced/technical diver)
• are all dives guided or can we venture off on our own?
• are the cenote dives a full day affair? is there activities for non-divers if they want to come along? can they come along?
• the Cozumel trips offered, are it non-diver friendly?

Please offer as much information and insight as you can.

Thanks.

Just returned from Bahia Principe Akumal (yesterday). Checked out the onsite dive shop and found them not friendly, uninteresting, etc. plus more expensive than offsite shops. I had contacted Bahia Divers before I left and Fabio, owner, responded quickly and seemed very friendly - Dive Center in Riviera Maya - Xpu Ha specialized in cenotes and private groups, Mayan Riviera , Mexico. No boats were going out the first 3 days due to passing of TS Matthew to the west, very rough seas, so I scheduled my first cenote dive with Fabio. Picked me up at hotel lobby at ~ 9 AM, which seems rare for most offsite shops, took me to dive shop approx. 4-5 mi. down main hiway. Funky little shop on the beach with 2 very cute young ladies working at the shop! Dove with Dario, who is a cert. cave diving instructor. Left for DosOjos cenote ~ 10. 2 tank dive, water temp 74 F, max depth 30 ft., 200 ft. vis, used a skin with 5 mm. shorty. Wasn't sure how I would react with 1st cenote dive ever, but had no confinement problems since it was fairly open. Back to the hotel lobby by ~ 2 PM. 2 days later, seas calmed down, did 2 tanks, one at The Canyons, 2nd was another shallow reef section not far away, didn't remember the name, water temp 84 F, vis ~ 80 ft, wore skin only. Plenty of stag and fan coral, nurse sharks, tarpon, turtles, & lion fish. Dove with Hendrick, South African instructor, and newly trained young lady Italian instructor. There were 2 of us diving with 2 instructors. I highly recommend these people, very knowledgeable and lots of fun to dive with. Prices were $120 for 2 tank cenote + tip. Reef dive $90 + tip.

 

[Tranman387]

Just got back from Cancun. The weather was bad out in the ocean so I ended up doing 2 days of cenote dives. It was an amazing & unique experience unlike any other I've had diving. Went to cenotes Angelita (more of a sinkhole), Gran cenote, and Chac-Mool. Chac-mool was definitely the coolest one in my opinion and had the best facilities. I've also heard good things about Dos Ojos and Tajma-ha.

I saw some non-divers snorkeling at some the cenotes but there's not too much to do outside of that. If you're interested, I'd highly recommend Nautilus Diving (cancunscuba.com). They're the highest rated Cancun dive operation on TripAdvisor for good reason. I loved diving with them!

 

[Tamas]

Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions guys.

Took the plunge and signed up with Tim at Maya Diving...we shall see what it will be like. The way I look at it, even a bad day diving is better than a good day at work

Well, 15 more sleeps and I am there :cool2:

 

[divemayancenotes]

Hi Tamas,

Hard to say how good is a reef because depends on your previous experience. I dare to say that compares to Bahamas Caribbean sea has nothing better than that to offer you, unless you go Diving to Cozumel Island
The best an unique diving experience in the area are the fresh water caverns named Cenotes. I strongly recommend you to take a look and plan your dives based on Cenotes adding Ocean dives later if you feel like it. Most of Cenotes are very close to Bahia Resort, so you shoud be back in the resort around 13 or 13 30 pm.
Check our web site and find out what to expect from this caverns.

DiveMayanCenotes

 

[Tamas]

Hi Tamas,

Hard to say how good is a reef because depends on your previous experience. I dare to say that compares to Bahamas Caribbean sea has nothing better than that to offer you, unless you go Diving to Cozumel Island
The best an unique diving experience in the area are the fresh water caverns named Cenotes. I strongly recommend you to take a look and plan your dives based on Cenotes adding Ocean dives later if you feel like it. Most of Cenotes are very close to Bahia Resort, so you shoud be back in the resort around 13 or 13 30 pm.
Check our web site and find out what to expect from this caverns.

DiveMayanCenotes

Now you show up .... after I made reservations. Oh, well Shall have fun regardless. Do like what you offer though.

 

[larry mckinnon]

My first dive in Mexico was out of Akumal, 25 years later I did not recognize the place under or above the water. Of course, I started diving when sex was safe and diving was dangerous, sorry most of you missed out. That said, I still think two things are most important when diving, water temperature and visibility. This assumes you have a good guide and you dive more then once a year. When we first started diving the cenotes, we hired a private guide to take us, the extra money that cost us was well worth it and percentage wise added just a few percentage points to the overall cost of a trip. As anywhere else in the world, it's sometimes hit or miss when you dive a location. The government here in Mexico is cracking down on waste water from resorts, hotels and homes. It will take time, but as divers it is our responsibility to remind dive operators of everyones responsibility to respect reefs and the ocean. As some once said "We have met them enemy, and he is us"

 

[Tamas]

Only a few more sleeps for me and will be basking in the sun.

But now the other question arises. For excursions, is it better to book in advance over the interwebs or will the prices and selection be better at the hotel lobby? Looking to do the Coba tour and THESE guys look pretty good (online).

Suggestions?

 

[driftwood]

We took that tour back in '01 and really enjoyed it. If you have a good dive light, take it with you in the cenote. Yucatreks is the other tour group that does similar tours, small groups with varied activities to break up the day. Between the two, I like Mitch with Yucatreks better but either you show you a good time.

6 of one 1/2 dozen between booking online or through the hotel. Being Mexico, you might want to call the day before your tour to remind them.