How is the diving in Playa Del Carmen compared to Cozumel?
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Generally speaking the reefs are lower in profile and a bit less colorful than on the other side of the channel. One advantage though in this area is you can dive cenotes and caves in the morning and the reefs in the afternoon! We're doing that in April with a trip to Akumal and that is an aspect tough to match on the island.
Geofish Dive in Playa
Contributor
Diving in Playa you will see tons and tons of sealife. You won't get the coral formations or the visibility you get in Cozumel, but you will see a lot more fish and usually bigger fish, and we still around 80-100ft viz. Hope you have a great time in Playa and let me know if you have any other questions.
Biggest difference we saw when we dove PDC about a year ago was how you get to the boat. Don't expect to be waiting on a dock, and then stepping into the boat. PDC boat entry is via the surf, often carrying your gear with you.
We prefer Puerto Aventuras over PDC, for a couple of reasons. First, you board the boat from a dock; and second, we prefer the laid-back atmosphere in PA versus the hustle and bustle of PDC. The reef quality between the two (PA versus PDC) is comparible, but I will agree, you won't find the structure of Cozumel at either one.
Cenote access on the Yucatan mainland has to be a plus, however, so I don't think you can go wrong if you base in PDC.
We prefer Puerto Aventuras over PDC, for a couple of reasons. First, you board the boat from a dock; and second, we prefer the laid-back atmosphere in PA versus the hustle and bustle of PDC. The reef quality between the two (PA versus PDC) is comparible, but I will agree, you won't find the structure of Cozumel at either one.
Cenote access on the Yucatan mainland has to be a plus, however, so I don't think you can go wrong if you base in PDC.
rcoreytaylor
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I did a number of cenote dives (awesome!) as well a couple of ocean dives out of PDC with the Casella brothers from CenoteXperience. On my very first PDC ocean dive I saw 3 bull sharks, 2 spotted eagle rays, 3 giant sea turtles, 2 spotted eels, lionfish, barracuda, and much much more! I was initially worried that the quality of diving in PDC would not be as good as Cozumel, I can now say that both are good and both are different.
Cheers
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Playa del Carmen have a very nice diving area. But the coral formation are smaller than in Cozumel. The most famous site is the turtle reef, the bottom is flat, big sponges, a lot of marine life and turtles of course. Other reefs at 45 and 100 feet. You will see there a lot of fishes. At 90 feet you can make a wreck dive. If you want enjoy your dives is better if you look for a small dive shop in town. The bigger ones take out a lot of people. I always went diving with Alberto's, a very small dive shop. They are very nice local people who also speak english and with them I feel like diving with friends.
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