Mexico Cenote Diving or sth else in Latin America/Cavern Diving

[repat]

Hi,

I'm going to Latin America in a month and was wondering where to dive there. We pass St Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao on the way to Panama, so I'll definitely go diving in each of those. From Panama City I'm open to fly anywhere for about a week.

Since we dive a lot in the ocean here on Gran Canaria/Spain I thought it'd be nice to fly to Cancún and go Cenote diving on the Yucatan peninsula. So here's my questions:

- Would there be enough Cenotes to dive with no cave certification for about a week?
- If not, would there be enough interesting diving with the cavern Cenotes and ocean diving in Yucatan?
- Is it even worth it to dive only the cavern sections?
- Will they let you dive the cavern sections with no cavern specialty card?
- Would it make a difference (=see more) if I take a cavern diver course beforehand at home?
- If so, will serious cave associations/dive shops/instructors recognize the cavern specialty course from, say PADI or ProTec(CMAS)? Or should I do cavern, intro to cave, full cave from one organization?

I saw that cave diving training is obviously quite expensive (also, I don't own all the equipment), and I don't really have the time to do some training except for maybe cavern, if that would make sense.

I'm doing my (PADI) Divemasters on Gran Canaria, Spain and have now ~80 dives. By the time I go traveling, it'll be more like ~100, since we go diving every weekend and some days of the week after work. Before Gran Canaria I've dived in Thailand and in a lake in Germany. Besides the Rescue Diver I have training/dives and the specialty plastic cards of: Nitrox, Deep, DPV, Sidemount, DrySuit.

 

[Lorenzoid]

There are enough cenotes that one can dive without cave or cavern certification to keep one occupied for a week. As you may know, you need to be accompanied by a guide. You would have to REALLY love cenotes, though. That is a lot of cenote diving! However, they are beautiful. It is definitely worth it!

If you search the Mexico branch (you posted this under Advanced Scuba Discussions), you can find recommendations for guides.

There is no point in getting a cavern certification.

 

[Dogbowl]

Hi,

I'm going to Latin America in a month and was wondering where to dive there. We pass St Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao on the way to Panama, so I'll definitely go diving in each of those. From Panama City I'm open to fly anywhere for about a week.

Since we dive a lot in the ocean here on Gran Canaria/Spain I thought it'd be nice to fly to Cancún and go Cenote diving on the Yucatan peninsula. So here's my questions:

- Would there be enough Cenotes to dive with no cave certification for about a week?
- If not, would there be enough interesting diving with the cavern Cenotes and ocean diving in Yucatan?
- Is it even worth it to dive only the cavern sections?
- Will they let you dive the cavern sections with no cavern specialty card?
- Would it make a difference (=see more) if I take a cavern diver course beforehand at home?
- If so, will serious cave associations/dive shops/instructors recognize the cavern specialty course from, say PADI or ProTec(CMAS)? Or should I do cavern, intro to cave, full cave from one organization?

I saw that cave diving training is obviously quite expensive (also, I don't own all the equipment), and I don't really have the time to do some training except for maybe cavern, if that would make sense.

I'm doing my (PADI) Divemasters on Gran Canaria, Spain and have now ~80 dives. By the time I go traveling, it'll be more like ~100, since we go diving every weekend and some days of the week after work. Before Gran Canaria I've dived in Thailand and in a lake in Germany. Besides the Rescue Diver I have training/dives and the specialty plastic cards of: Nitrox, Deep, DPV, Sidemount, DrySuit.

There are many cenotes (caverns) to dive for the week without a cavern certification. You'll need to hire a guide. Absolutely worth it. You can also take the ferry over to Cozumel (or go direct on a dive boat) for several days. Cozumel diving is world class and should not be missed if you're in the area.

 

[stuartv]

My 5th and 6th dives ever (right after completing OW certification) were cenote dives in Mexico. You definitely do not have to have a Cavern certification...

They were awesome, by the way. I would love to go back and do more.

 

[Dan]

Talk to Natalie of http://www.underthejungle.com/en/home/

She guided me 3 times since 2011. I only have AOW certification. For 1st timer, she will spend an hour to go over the necessary training for cavern diving.

 

[DogDiver]

There are enough cenotes that one can dive without cave or cavern certification to keep one occupied for a week. As you may know, you need to be accompanied by a guide. You would have to REALLY love cenotes, though. That is a lot of cenote diving! However, they are beautiful. It is definitely worth it!

If you search the Mexico branch (you posted this under Advanced Scuba Discussions), you can find recommendations for guides.

There is no point in getting a cavern certification.

Just be sure you take a body bag.

 

[halocline]

Just be sure you take a body bag.

This is an annoying and completely inaccurate comment. OP, please ignore it.

There are many excellent cenote dives in the Yucatan and many excellent guides. I would start with Under the Jungle and check their availability. If they're not available, Nat can make a good recommendation for you.

You do not need a cavern certification to dive in the cenotes with a licensed guide, but personally I think if you have a week, the cavern course is well worth it. It will increase your safety and enjoyment of cenote diving, and who knows, you might catch the cave bug. If so, watch out....you'll end up spending a lot of time and money!

 

[DogDiver]

Tell that to the family's of all the inexperienced open water divers and instructors that have had their dead body's pulled out of caves. And the risk of those recovery divers.

Sorry...just the facts.

 

[scubadiver888]

Hi repat,

I spent a week in Playa Del Carmen this year. I planned for a mix of cenote and ocean diving but the water was rough and ocean diving got cancelled. So I ended up doing a week of cenote diving. As everyone has pointed out, you just need your OW to do cavern diving in the cenotes with a guide.

Most the cenotes are south of Playa. So if you can stay anywhere, south of Playa but north of Tulum will reduce travel time from your hotel to the cenotes. If you are staying in or near Playa, most the good shops there charge around the same amount. Different cenotes will have different pricing. If they don't list pricing for different cenotes, they are probably just taking everyone to the same cenotes all the time. Checkout DiveMex - Scuba diving in the Cenotes. Give you an idea of the cenotes you can dive and how much to expect to pay. This is who I went diving with and had a pretty good time.

Darrell

 

[kafkaland]

Tell that to the family's of all the inexperienced open water divers and instructors that have had their dead body's pulled out of caves. And the risk of those recovery divers.

Sorry...just the facts.

That's unhelpful polemic. The guided cenote tours have proven to be very safe, as long as the rules are strictly adhered to. Those rules cover everything from the qualifications and equipment of the guides, to group sizes, distance to open water, etc. Now, this is Mexico, and enforcement of these rules is lax at best. Therefore, it's important to find a reputable guide / operator. Some are regularly mentioned on this board. Under the Jungle is an excellent operation, although they specialize more in boutique cave diving than cavern tours. Another well-respected outfit is CenoteXperience. And there are others. Avoid fly-by nights to save a dollar or five.