Ixtapa/Zihaut?
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Hi,
I have dived there once and really enjoyed it. Diving is not like the Caribbean side but is still excellent...
Here is a link at the dive shop I went with. They were very professional. They will pick you up at your hotel no problem. There boat is in Zihuat...
Ixtapa Aqua Paradise: Diving Tours in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico
have a great time
I have dived there once and really enjoyed it. Diving is not like the Caribbean side but is still excellent...
Here is a link at the dive shop I went with. They were very professional. They will pick you up at your hotel no problem. There boat is in Zihuat...
Ixtapa Aqua Paradise: Diving Tours in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico
have a great time
Thierry speaks english, spanish, and french. Family run in the area for many many years. First beer is free
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/210298-trip-report-zihuatenejo.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/210298-trip-report-zihuatenejo.html
BlueCrab
Registered
Last year I was looking for the best instructor for my AOWD certification in Ixtapa and among all the local dive stores and from several recommendations in Mexico City and ScubaBoard I choose Carlo Scuba as Teerlkay appoints.
You can see my report "Diving Ixtapa Zihuatanejo". From Las Gatas beach is Caleta del Chon for night diving, or Piedra Solitaria for deep diving; little far from there is Morros del Potosí. You can rely completely on Thierry. Even not many Mexican divers know the beauty of Ixtapa. There I could see sea horses, flute fish like 1 m, huge globe fish, beautiful sea snakes, dolphins, toninas, turtles, hundreds of jureles, surgeon fish, octopuses. Everyplace with magnificent visibility. The sites are completely natural, no turists, no wave runners, you can be the unique diver around in the most beautiful acquarium. Bring your family, they can stay at the beach with waves little than the pool. The food is exelent and cheap.
My favorite places for diving in Mexico are 1. Anton Lizardo, Veracruz, 2. Las Gatas, Ixtapa and 3. The caribean.
Las Gatas is like 20 mins from the hotels zone in taxi, Thierry picks you up on the port.
Please tell Thierry that Carlos Morales send him a big hugh. Carlo Scuba · PADI Diving · Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa, Mexico
You can see my report "Diving Ixtapa Zihuatanejo". From Las Gatas beach is Caleta del Chon for night diving, or Piedra Solitaria for deep diving; little far from there is Morros del Potosí. You can rely completely on Thierry. Even not many Mexican divers know the beauty of Ixtapa. There I could see sea horses, flute fish like 1 m, huge globe fish, beautiful sea snakes, dolphins, toninas, turtles, hundreds of jureles, surgeon fish, octopuses. Everyplace with magnificent visibility. The sites are completely natural, no turists, no wave runners, you can be the unique diver around in the most beautiful acquarium. Bring your family, they can stay at the beach with waves little than the pool. The food is exelent and cheap.
My favorite places for diving in Mexico are 1. Anton Lizardo, Veracruz, 2. Las Gatas, Ixtapa and 3. The caribean.
Las Gatas is like 20 mins from the hotels zone in taxi, Thierry picks you up on the port.
Please tell Thierry that Carlos Morales send him a big hugh. Carlo Scuba · PADI Diving · Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa, Mexico
Indyscotch
Registered
I am just back from a week in Ixtapa and the diving was unfortunately terrible. Visbility was ony 10-15 feet. I was told the visibility was screwed up due to the recent "red tide" as well as tidal issues due to the full moon last week. I cannot say for sure if those were the drivers for the poor conditions, but the diving was so bad several on the dive boat did not even get in the water for the second dive of the morning.
There are several web site that advertise good diving in the Ixtapa area (I think there are bout 35 easy to get to sites within a 45 minute boat ride) with lots of things to see. Hopefully it'll clear itself up in the next few days.
There are several web site that advertise good diving in the Ixtapa area (I think there are bout 35 easy to get to sites within a 45 minute boat ride) with lots of things to see. Hopefully it'll clear itself up in the next few days.
maestra bella
New
I dove in Zihua with my boyfriend and his daughter on March 17, 18, and 19, and the viz tended to vary. For example, on the last dive at Manzanillo, at times it would be 30 feet, then suddenly as we went along, drop to 5. We're mostly quarry divers so low viz doesn't phase us.
Travelure said it correctly: it's not like diving the Carribbean side of Mexico. I have to admit that I've never done that, yet I've heard it's warm water, very clear, etc, quite different from Zihua.
Zihua does have its charms, as do all dive sites. Different doesn't equal bad.
We wanted to dive with a variety of dive ops, however: Carlo was booked solid due to cruise ships, and Nautilus Divers never responded to many e-mails or phone calls. So, March 19th we went out with Zihuatanejo Dive Center (ZDC) to La Caleta de Chon, and Las Gatas. Jorge, the DM/instructor, was really cool, and while the viz at Las Gatas was bad, we still had 2 great dives. He treated us like the competent divers we are, which was not the case with Aqua Paradise.
On March 18, we went out with Aqua Paradise for 4 dives: 2 in the morning, and 2 at night. Although there were 2 instructors (I use the term loosely, we were not students) and 8 divers, instead of breaking us into 2 groups of 4, we had to go in one big group. That was not enjoyable. I watch my buoyancy and trim, yet I was forever getting banged into by other divers, kicked, etc. Also, the manner of the "instructor" was rather condescending--he tended to act as if we were students. They took our gear bags off the boat and put them in their dive shop in Ixtapa (yes, the boats were small, so I understand that) so when it came to the night dive, we didn't have our lights which we had left in the bags, not needing them for the morning dives (of course they let us use theirs, so what in the heck did I haul that thing from Indiana for? GRR!!)
We dove El Zacatoso and La Caleta de Chon (again!) on the morning dives, and in the evening did Piedra Solitaria and La Caleta (again!). Piedra Solitaria was very nice, lots of marine life. La Caleta in the morning was cool because we saw seahorses! And on the night dive, we ran across a tiny octopus there.
Wednesday the 19th we went out again with ZDC. We went back to Piedra Solitaria, which was even more fab in the daylight, then a place called Manzanillo (near la Caleta de Chon). All of us agreed that diving with ZDC was much more pleasant than diving with AP because Jorge treated us like fellow divers, not like idiots who had to have their hands held as they dove. It was much more relaxed, and a much less stressful atmosphere than with AP. With 8 divers on the AP boat, the instructors had to scramble to get gear set up for us, it was kind of tense. Also, I've never had any kind of "funny-tasting" air, but on 3 of the 4 dives with did with AP, the air had a weird taste to it.
Christian, the owner of ZDC, was very nice. We had to check out of our hotel before we went to the shop that Wed. morning, and she let us put all our luggage upstairs above the shop in her apartment the entire day. She even kept the shop open late in order for all 3 of us to shower and change late afternoon before boarding a bus to go back to Mexico City. We just felt that ZDC went above and beyond in the way we were treated.
There was a post somewhere from a few years ago about ZDC, very negative, and I should mention that ZDC is under new ownership now since a few months ago, and was nothing like what was stated in that post.
If you like cattle boats, then go for Aqua Paradise. Otherwise, my recommendation is Zihuatanejo Dive Center.
Happy diving!
Travelure said it correctly: it's not like diving the Carribbean side of Mexico. I have to admit that I've never done that, yet I've heard it's warm water, very clear, etc, quite different from Zihua.
Zihua does have its charms, as do all dive sites. Different doesn't equal bad.
We wanted to dive with a variety of dive ops, however: Carlo was booked solid due to cruise ships, and Nautilus Divers never responded to many e-mails or phone calls. So, March 19th we went out with Zihuatanejo Dive Center (ZDC) to La Caleta de Chon, and Las Gatas. Jorge, the DM/instructor, was really cool, and while the viz at Las Gatas was bad, we still had 2 great dives. He treated us like the competent divers we are, which was not the case with Aqua Paradise.
On March 18, we went out with Aqua Paradise for 4 dives: 2 in the morning, and 2 at night. Although there were 2 instructors (I use the term loosely, we were not students) and 8 divers, instead of breaking us into 2 groups of 4, we had to go in one big group. That was not enjoyable. I watch my buoyancy and trim, yet I was forever getting banged into by other divers, kicked, etc. Also, the manner of the "instructor" was rather condescending--he tended to act as if we were students. They took our gear bags off the boat and put them in their dive shop in Ixtapa (yes, the boats were small, so I understand that) so when it came to the night dive, we didn't have our lights which we had left in the bags, not needing them for the morning dives (of course they let us use theirs, so what in the heck did I haul that thing from Indiana for? GRR!!)
We dove El Zacatoso and La Caleta de Chon (again!) on the morning dives, and in the evening did Piedra Solitaria and La Caleta (again!). Piedra Solitaria was very nice, lots of marine life. La Caleta in the morning was cool because we saw seahorses! And on the night dive, we ran across a tiny octopus there.
Wednesday the 19th we went out again with ZDC. We went back to Piedra Solitaria, which was even more fab in the daylight, then a place called Manzanillo (near la Caleta de Chon). All of us agreed that diving with ZDC was much more pleasant than diving with AP because Jorge treated us like fellow divers, not like idiots who had to have their hands held as they dove. It was much more relaxed, and a much less stressful atmosphere than with AP. With 8 divers on the AP boat, the instructors had to scramble to get gear set up for us, it was kind of tense. Also, I've never had any kind of "funny-tasting" air, but on 3 of the 4 dives with did with AP, the air had a weird taste to it.
Christian, the owner of ZDC, was very nice. We had to check out of our hotel before we went to the shop that Wed. morning, and she let us put all our luggage upstairs above the shop in her apartment the entire day. She even kept the shop open late in order for all 3 of us to shower and change late afternoon before boarding a bus to go back to Mexico City. We just felt that ZDC went above and beyond in the way we were treated.
There was a post somewhere from a few years ago about ZDC, very negative, and I should mention that ZDC is under new ownership now since a few months ago, and was nothing like what was stated in that post.
If you like cattle boats, then go for Aqua Paradise. Otherwise, my recommendation is Zihuatanejo Dive Center.
Happy diving!
I was living a couple hours north of Ixtapa (in Manzanillo - and I had no clue there was a dive site named that). I just moved last week and the red tide was making its way in. Red tide smells, it kills the viz AND the fish and it is NO FUN. Also, all the divers at my shop HATED full moon because the moon tide kills the viz also. It only takes 2 or 3 days for that to clear up though. Red tide should be done within a couple of weeks.
The diving in the area is definitely not 100 ft viz but there is still a lot of interesting things to see.
buza831
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Nautilus Divers is the place to go. I do like Carlos Scuba as well. As far as having trouble reaching them, I know they moved their shop not long before you tried to reach them so perhaps that's why you were unable to get a response. I've known these guys for years and have been on 500 or more dives with them. Their equipment is the best anywhere in Z and they are very professional, speak Spanish, English and French. Their compressor is one of the newer ones in the area and they go out of their way to make your dive experience something unforgetable. You can't go wrong with these guys. Nautilus Divers: Diving Tours - Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico
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