New to diving - Trip in June - looking for advice

[bgsnmky]

There are 3 of us that are getting certified next weekend. Then we are headed to Mexico on a big family trip in June. My brother and I and his 13 year old nephew will be diving. The 13 year old and myself have NEVER been diving before.

I would love suggestions on where to dive (it seems everyone suggests Cozumel)..but would love to hear from people here.

If Cozumel is the place...where would you suggest.

And we would love some suggestions on companies that are good with NEWBIES! I have to say I am a little nervous.

Would you recommend the Whale Sharks as a dive? I think it would be cool, but it could freak me out :11: . I am guessing they are safe right??

We will probably do one day of diving (2 or 3 tank dive). Or two day sof diving that are half days. I don't know if we will go again, as the rest of the family won't dive.

 

[gregpsych]

Where will your family be staying? Mexico is a big country. There are several good companys in Cozumel--we have usually used Dive Paradise (diveparadise.com). In Playa del Carmen we like Tank Ha dive shop (tankha.com). You can check out the PADI website (padi.com) for all of the PADI certified shops and resorts. If you go to Cancun or Playa Del Carmen be sure to do a Cenontes dive.

Greg

 

[bgsnmky]

Sorry, I thought I put that in there..that was pretty stupid of me.

We are staying in Cancun right now. (we might move to Playa Del Carmen if I cna get the timeshare).

Question on the cenote dives. Is there usually animal life there....or mainly the cave structures. It would be good mix the dives and do one cenote with other ocean dives.

 

[Scott Riemer]

I recommend diving with Dive Puerto Morelos They'll take great care of you and give you personalized attention. You can dive with them whether you're in Cancun or Playa Del Carmen as PM is right in-between. The first 2 years we dove with them we were staying in Cancun. Last year and this year, we're staying in PDC. I also reccommend getting over to Cozumel on the ferry for at least a couple of dives, it's incredible. We dive with Deep Blue. But there are a lot of good dive companies on Cozumel such as http://www.bluextseadiving.com/ Christi is a ScubaBoard member and a regular poster in the Cozumel Forum.

 

[scubawife]

Sorry, I thought I put that in there..that was pretty stupid of me.

We are staying in Cancun right now. (we might move to Playa Del Carmen if I cna get the timeshare).

Question on the cenote dives. Is there usually animal life there....or mainly the cave structures. It would be good mix the dives and do one cenote with other ocean dives.

Although the only requirement for doing a guided cenote dive is that you are an open water diver, think about saving the cenotes for another trip. Wait until you've got a little more dive experience and have perfected your bouyancy skills.

If you're only planning to dive one or two days and you're looking for some easy beginner divers, stay on the mainland. I haven't dived from Cancun, but there are some nice and easy dives off Isla Mujeres and the area around Aventuras and Akumal are also great choices for new divers.

 

[Spratman]

I agree with Scubawife. There are plenty of things to see within easy depths in Cancun. I would hold off on cenotes, but if you really want to....

Drop Ben a line at www.mayanaquadive.com. He offers the entire gamut....reefs, whale sharks, cenotes. He can work with you on a dive plan that will be perfect for your entire group. He can probably arrange transportation as well.

A growing number of people have dove with them and give him high marks for everything.

Good luck and I hope the weather is good to you!!

 

[Scott Riemer]

Ya, the more I think about it, you may want to save Cozumel for another trip since you're so new to diving. But definitely consider diving in Puerto Morelos. There's some nice, easy, shallow reefs where you'll see a lot of marine life.

 

[Code Monkey]

My family just snorkled the cenotes a couple weeks ago and that was a great experience. Even though we all have a bunch of dives under our weight-belt, I still get a little weird about trust me dives in an overhead environment. Snorkling was a great way to address this concern and still see the cenotes. We all thought it was one of the highlights of the trip (in addition to diving Cozumel with Christi).

 

[bgsnmky]

Yea, I would be a little nervous diving the cnotes...So I think we will just snorkel that.

Curious on why Cancun diving would be better for beginners than cozumel.

thanks for all the replies....

 

[Scott Riemer]

I'd say that it's better for beginners because of what I said above. There are some nice, shallow, easy reefs just off shore from the mainland. When we do 2 tanks with DPM, many times the first tank is to 60 feet and the second dive is to 40-45. We also dive the C-56 sunken mine-sweeper at a max depth of 90 ft.

Cozumel can be intimidating. My butthole puckered the first time I swam over the lip of the wall and it dropped off into oblivion. I'm not saying a beginner can't dive Cozumel. But, many times the dives are deeper than any depth you're going to in your class. I remember looking at my computer and realizing I was at 100 feet the first time. And then, there's the current which can be very strong. Bouyancy control is very important. Finally, the 13 year-old is a big factor in me recommending Cozumel for another trip when you all have more dive experience. IMHO