Playa del Carmen in April- Recommendation?

[joerunnr]

I am with a group of guys to dive a few days in April, 2010. I have been to Cozumel many times and want a small fast boat with great service and knowledgeable staff, but I am not familiar with shops in Playa. Do you have any recommendations about Dragonz Divers? Can you recommend a particular shop if we are staying in Playacar? Thanks for the help. Joe from Pueblo, Colorado.

 

[NUT4REDWINE]

Yo joerunnr,

Just back to the Montreal snow after Holiday dives in the Riviera Maya with the family. Plenty of shops in PDC. Check the locogringo (.com) site, the things-to-do/see, then scuba diving. Click on "LG Dive Shop listing" at the bottom and check for dive shops in PDC.

Not sure about the type of dives your looking for but Dragonz did a perfect job at customizing dive packages for me and my family. The owner Gonzalo personally look after all my cenote/cave dives. He is a true gentleman, well educated, extremely competent and very professional. He is a major and well known player in the local diving community - check his bio on his website. For myself (ex-pro), I was able to relax and have all the fun I should on rare vacation days. His pricing is very competitive as he operates a diving club, not a store front shop where nobody buys anything but t-shirts anyway... From my experience, I heartily recommend his services.

I am not sure about fast boats but you can contact him - he will reply and kindly refer you to other shops if he cannot accommodate you. He spoken English is far better than written but overall communications were excellent.

Enjoy your dives,

 

[CenoteXperience]

A very good and professional dive shop in town is Phocea Riviera Maya, located in down town, just by the beach. If you are staying in Playacar, most of the resorts there have dive shops, but the prices are higher than down town.
Cheers

 

[SCUBA 10]

Scuba 10 is another great dive shop in Playa del Carmen. It's relatively new (only about a year old) but because we are a fairly small dive shop, the service is great and the staff here are very friendly and helpful. We offer a number of different dive tours including bull shark dives, night dives, cenote dives (about a 1/2 hour drive away), and dives in the nearby Cozumel. We also offer dive certification courses if you're interested in anything like that. Best of luck with your trip!

 

[landonnin1]

cx divers , I dove with them last year I stayed in Cancun and they came to me from Playa del Carmen for 2 days .Marco is a very great guide and instructor.prices are very good and include gear. You can contact them here on the board ,you will speak to Darik he is the business end and Marco is the diving end. when I go back to Cancun or go to playa this year I will use them for sure

hope this helps
Matt

 

[jcbreitbach]

I would second the recomendation of Scuba 10. My wife and I dove with them in Sept. and will be with them again in April as well. Great operation and the best dive masters in the area. See ya soon Jerry.

 

[driftwood]

I am with a group of guys to dive a few days in April, 2010. I have been to Cozumel many times and want a small fast boat with great service and knowledgeable staff, but I am not familiar with shops in Playa. Do you have any recommendations about Dragonz Divers? Can you recommend a particular shop if we are staying in Playacar? Thanks for the help. Joe from Pueblo, Colorado.

Playacar is south of the main tourist area in PDC. Depending on which resort, could be a short walk or a short cab ride to get to a shop in PDC. Also, all the beaches in Mexico are public property and it is pulling teeth to get a permit to build a dock. Because of this the local shops use much smaller boats than dive operations in Cozumel. If you are lucky, your boat will have an overhead canopy. If you are looking for the type of dive boats common in Coz, your best shot will be the shops in Puerto Adventuras where they have a marina.

Locogringo is a great site that mostly is geared to the Akumal area (about 45 minutes south of PDC). Playa del Carmen info is the best site I have found for PDC. You also may want to get the maps of the Riviera Maya and PDC from Cancun information

 

[jonhall]

Staying at the Grand Mayan, Riviera Maya late March/early April. Dressel Divers is a 15 minute walk down the beach at an Iberostar resort. Anyone have any info on the resort and/or the dive shop?

 

[Tracy Lowrey]

My husband and I dove Yucatek Dive shop out of Playa Del C last year in Aug. We dove 6 or 7 dives with them, including a couple of Cenote dives and and an all dayer to Holbox Island to dive with the Whale Sharks. Would dive with this shop again in a heartbeat and would recommend it to anyone.

 

[wcbdiver]

I am with a group of guys to dive a few days in April, 2010. I have been to Cozumel many times and want a small fast boat with great service and knowledgeable staff, but I am not familiar with shops in Playa. Do you have any recommendations about Dragonz Divers? Can you recommend a particular shop if we are staying in Playacar? Thanks for the help. Joe from Pueblo, Colorado.

Hi

I live in playacar. All the shops are close, I have never been diving with Dragonz Divers, but I have been diving with alot others, some I would recommend, some I would not. Scuba Playa and Phocea are the shops that I recommend, not sure what scuba playa website is, but phocea's is Phocea | Centre de plongée sous-marine Padi | Playa del Carmen | Mexique, and both are next door to eath other, and I seen a post that says that larger boats are not used because of the beach, which is not true, phocea uses a large boat and drives it very close to the beach, thats what a great captain gets you, skill. Have a look at there nice boat that is one there website. I hate those little boats with no first aid oxygen on board, and back roll into the water is not for everyone. And getting back into the boat with those small boats, and no ladder system, you better be in great shape, as I am, but my wife is not srong enough to do it. Please feel free to ask me anything you wish, I am a commercial surface supply hardhat diver, as well as a divemaster, and I have nothing to gain as I am not in the business of recreational diving.

Take Care...Play Safe

John