Need advice for dive operators in Costa Maya

[lhhoback]

We leave next week and our ship just changed one of our ports of call from Belize to Costa Maya.
Looking for advice as to local dive operators that are willing to take cruise ship divers.

thanks so much

 

[2dive.com]

I can only vouch for one operator in Costa Maya a.k.a. Mahahual
Have a great voyage.
Ken

Mahahual/Costa Maya options

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I usually don’t troll the message boards but several of my clients have brought to my attention that there may be some miss-information posted in regards to Costa Maya accommodations and diving. Some local business people may attempt to direct your choice for your vacation. My goal in this thread is to provide correct information in regards to our operation here in the Costa Maya / Mahahual.
Maya Palms Resort is part of West End Diving :: Welcome to West End Diving :: Professional Diving Centers Since 1960 ::
We can proudly say we are now celebrating our 50th year in serving the dive industry. For the last 30 years we have enjoyed success as the developers and owner of Bonne Terre Mines Bonne Terre Mine the world's largest freshwater dive resort and currently featured on History Channel “Life After People”.
At Maya Palms we offer unspoiled diving 8 to 30 kilometers south of town. There are parts of the barrier reef that stair step down parallel to shore however; we use the first two parts of what is known as the “Mesoamerican Reef”.
In front of Maya Palms the first section of the reef can often be seen approximately 300 yards from the beach above the waves at lower tides. Depths on the beach side of the formation can run from 3 to 25 feet and the depth on the ocean side can vary from 25 to 40 feet. These depths are excellent for discover scuba diving and snorkeling.
The second reef formation in front of Maya Palms is approximately 400 yards off the beach. The crown of this reef formation is 30 to 50 feet. The beach side depths of the “spur and groove” formation range from 30 to 50 feet of depth to the sand. The depth of the ocean side of this formation will vary from 70 to 150 to the sand. This area offers world class diving for scuba divers. This formation is organized similar to a wall and also spirals towards the beach. The house reef in front of Maya Palms is called “El Castillo”, here the top of the reef is at 40 feet and the sand is 130 with the grooves ranging only 3 to 10 feet wide. The dive site was named El Castillo because of its scope; it dominates in size as in comparison to the surrounding area and it is only five minutes from the Maya Palms PADI-SSI Dive Center. About at kilometer 12 the second reef begins to break up and has begun reforming at kilometer 14. From kilometer 14 south the reef no loner resembles a wall but it is plush disorganized mountains of corrals with an eroded older area in shallower depths offering some great swim troughs. You will find most operators prefer not to travel this far south because of added boat fuel cost and time constraints if you are a cruise ship diver. However, our cruise and overnight customers are already in front of this reef after a 20 minute cab ride from the cruise pier to Maya Palms Resort.
During surface interval, Maya Palms Divers enjoy the most beautiful facility in Mahahual hands down. Maya Palms is a one stop full service diving resort complete with: PADI-SSI Diving Center, with beach front villas, dive boats, bar, restaurant, freshwater pool, and over a kilometer of private beach. We are the first resort in Mahahual celebrating our 12th year in business. Our location was chosen for its proximity to the best diving in Mahahual.
We are also featured in a 10 page article in the May 2010 Issue of Sport Diver Magazine, in the article titled, “Mahahual Maverick”.

We have uploaded a few pictures of our resort to our photo album here at Scuba Board so that you can see what we have to offer.
ScubaBoard Gallery - 2dive.com GalleryThank you for your interest in Maya Palms and for further information and pricing see 2dive.com
We have also recently started a You Tube channel for those that would like to see some of the local wildlife in action. It can be found at YouTube - MayaPalmsResort's ChannelAnd check back, as we will be adding interesting clips in HD.

Thank you,
Maya Palms Resort
The Mahahual Maverick dive team

 

[TN Traveler]

The other option is Blue Ocean Safari.

We have used them several times diving from cruise ships and they are great to work with. Will be using them again next week - they are accommodating us even though the ship does not arrive until 10 am - we will still get in 2 dives.

Contact Julie.

Blue Ocean Safari

 

[3000dives]

I too have been to Maya Palms and found their on-site dive center to be to be everything I expect from a first class diving operation. Their dive staff was wonderful and they knew all the best spots in the area to take us diving on the beautiful reef. Since most of the dive sites are within minutes from shore they brought us back to Maya Palms for our surface interval, where we got a great meal, went for a swim in their fresh water pool, basked in the sun and enjoyed the comfort of one of the many hammocks. Then we headed back out for our second dive and saw sea turtles and a huge spotted eagle ray. Maya Palms is the only place in Costa Maya I would consider recommending not only for the best diving but also for their wonderful service, facilities and food all set within a gorgeous setting amongst the lush botanical gardens. Thank you Catherine, Doug, Ken and Mark!

 

[divezonescuba]

Who did you end up using.