Newbies and Cenotes

[cbursian]

Hi! Our family of 3 is headed to Coz for a week in just under a month (WHOO HOO!!). We are scheduled for 4 days of diving on the island, and are thinking about taking a day and going across to the mainland.

One of the things that we have talked about doing is scheduling a cenote dive while over there. Is this something that is recommended for folks with only a few dives under their belts? Or is it better to wait until we have more experience?

Either way, we'd like to check one out even if we are just swimming around. Any and all advice is welcome!!

 

[Bill Parker]

There are dive shops based in Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, and Tulum
that will take you. They know the caves and should be able to
match your experience and training to a suitable cave. And maybe
exclude you completely - you'll have to ask them. I found a ton
of dive shops on padi.com and I'm sure there are more that aren't
affiliated with padi but you'd have to dig some more to find them. I
used Maya Diving in Tulum:
Diving and Snorkeling in Tulum Cenotes and Reefs and Dive Courses
for two dives last year and it was fun. One thing about cenote dives is
they are spendy. $US130 for two tanks was pretty much the standard I
saw from my research. That's about twice as much as a boat dive in
the Mexican Riveria. Another thing is the Cancun and PDC shops could
only do two or three tanks in day. The Tulum shops could do two in the
morning and two in the afternoon. I'm assuming this is because Tulum is
physically closer to suitable caves but I'm just guessing. But since you
only want to two dives it probably won't matter. Have a good trip!

 

[TSandM]

Please, take my advice, and book with a snorkeling company instead. There are gorgeous cenotes you can snorkel (ask about Pet Cemetery!) and get a real feel for what the places are like.

There are two problems with cenote dives for very novice divers. One is that poor buoyancy control damages the delicate formations, which once ruined, cannot be repaired or replaced. The other is that the cenote tours DO take place under an overhead environment, and if you have any kind of problem or anxiety, you CANNOT surface. Therefore, I think it is highly advisable that divers have done enough dives to know how they react to minor problems, before they enter the overhead.

The cenotes are stunning -- by all means go visit them, swim, and snorkel, and make your plans to come back and cavern dive next year.

 

[BTravlin]

I agree with TSandM completely. You really need more experience, and probably better buoyancy control as well, before diving the cenotes.

You are going to love diving Coz. Have a great trip!

 

[ecodiving tours]

Hey cbursian

It is difficult subject because people will say you always need more experience and they are right about the need to have your buoyancy spot on for the cenotes to preserve these amazing and unique places that can be so delicate.

The decision at the end of the day is yours because there are lots of dive shops that will take you, what i would suggest is do your 4 days of diving and assess your own buoyancy and ask the DM about your buoyancy they might be able to help. Make sure you can gain netural buoyancy and are really familiar inflating and deflating little amounts and in the use of your lungs to go up and down.

In my experience relatively inexperienced divers who have been diving a few days in a row can be better than relatively experience divers who haven't dived since there last holiday.

Also make sure you are comfortable in an overhead environment but other than that there are no currents or swell and the visibility is always great . Take a look at some pics or videos they truly are amazing places that will still be there when you have more experience so good luck on the decision and have a fantastic holiday.

Cenotes photos-Ecodivingtours
Dive the Cenotes I-Ecodivingtours
Dive the Cenotes II-Ecodivingtours
Cenote Film-Ecodivingtours

All the best
Ecodiving

 

[mksmith713]

Being a new diver you might have issues with bouyancy especially coming from the warm SALT water of Coz and Playa to the cooler FRESH water of a cenote.
The difference in bouyancy from salt to fresh water isn't something you'll master in that short period of time.
Add exposure protection to the mix and you'll spend more time WORKING on your bouyancy than enjoying the sites.

 

[DandyDon]

Have you done night dives? Some don't like them.

Go snorkeling with whale sharks, a mind boggling experience...!!

 

[J Easy]

I did a Cenotes day trip from Coz last July. It was fantastic.....for me. For the girl who was also on the dive who only had 7 previous dives ever it wasn't all that great. There were quite a few times where she was stuck to the ceiling of the cavern and the DM had to pull her down and help her adjust her boyancy. Another thing that happened was after we went through the cavern and surfaced in a different opening to check it out, this girl was having some kind of problem where she couldn't descend. She seemed a bit distraught and for a few seconds I thought we were going to have to get pulled out of this hole because of this. We must have waited a good 10 minutes for her to get comfortable to go back down and return to the main entrance of the cenote. I swear I could see the rescue scenarios going through the DM's head! ha ha. In the end she was able to get under and make it back.
If you do decide to do a cenote dive, and you find a shop that will take you, just please be sure that you are comfortable knowing that you, and your family, will be in a dark, fragile, overhead environment. If you have any doubts then I'm sure some of the swim throughs in Coz will introduce you to what overhead environments can be like.

 

[RU4SKUBA]

TS&Ms comment regarding the buoyancy control was excellent, I would take it a step further and apply those same principles when on a living reef, whose inhabitants are all alien creatures --surviving in spite of us-- and the footprints of man do not belong.

Don't touch, don't kneel, don't prod with a stick...

 

[cbursian]

Thanks all for the great responses. I was leaning towards waiting until we had more experience, and this seals the deal. We will have plenty to do with our days on Cozumel and a trip down to Tulum.