Playa Del Carmen in July

[stas]

Hi All,

My dad is going to PDC in July and he asked me to help him plan some diving. He is staying in the Iberostar Paraiso Del Mar. Is this close to PDC? Google maps suggests so but I'm not sure how far away it actually is. Is it reasonable to take cab from there into town every morning? How long will that take and how much would that cost?

As for diving, he wants to spend four or five days just diving the local cenotes. Who would be a good shop to organize this for him?

Thanks for all the help,
Stas

 

[Dirty-Dog]

According to google, there are several hotels by that name in Mexico, and one of them is indeed in Playa del Carmen.
You'll find lots of people here who recommend Ben & Jorge at scorpio divers. I've never dove with them, but their reputation is solid gold.
I've dove with Alvaro from AlwaysDiving.com the past two years. Many sites around Cancun & Playa del Carmen, including a couple cenote dives. He's awesome. I cannot say enough good things about him.

 

[tommydz]

when in playa i dive with playascuba.com. one dive you must do is tortugas. the turtles and tarpin are something to see.my top cenote dives are ,grand cenote, dos ohos, the pit and calavara. have fun.

 

[Ed Hatfield]

Just for the sake of convenience your father would be better served by using the on-site dive shop. The shop is an international chain associated directly with Iberostar and is called Dressel Divers. They certainly wouldn't be my first choice as they cater to the 'tourist' and 'discover scuba' clients. They can't be overlooked because it is sooo much easier to deal with someone right at your resort compared to hauling your carcass (and gear) into town by cab and then making that long drive down the highway to the cenotes.
If he was staying in Playa or even Playacar then there are many more viable options. For right now check out www.dresseldivers.com and see what you think.
I'll be in Playa July 18th to July 25th and plan on doing two days in the cenotes as well. He is always welcome to join our group of 4 but ours is a pretty intense schedule.

 

[stas]

Thanks for the replies everyone. A couple of questions please. Are there any cenotes north of PDC? Along similar lines, are there any dive shops north of PDC (but south of Cancun of course). I really don't want my Dad to dive with the hotel shop and I'm trying to come up with the best alternative for him.

If the answer to the above is no, which shops in PDC will most like be able to acomodate multi day cenote dives for a single person. In other words, who runs the most trips to the cenotes?

Finaly, how much is a 30 minute cab ride approximately (that is how long I'm told it takes t get from his hotel to PDC).

Thank you very much,
Stas

 

[driftwood]

Hi Stas,

There is a hotel locator on Cancun information . Great maps btw.

It seems you are about half way between Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen. 30 minutes seems a bit long, I would call it 20 minutes.

There are cenotes all over the Yucatan. A cenote is simply a hole in the ground that has, or had, access to the aquifer. I can think of two or three, all dry, in downtown PDC. The cenotes that have good diving are all located south of PDC starting right around Puerto Adventuras. One problem you and your dad may face is that a lot of shops have a minimum number of divers before they book a dive. The best idea I have is to dive with Hidden Worlds south of Akumal. They will be your best shot for picking up a dive if you are short of the minimum. Hidden Worlds Cenotes Park Yucatan Mexico Riviera Maya

 

[tommydz]

febuary stayed at grand maya right next to your resort. dove with wetset out of puerto morelos. you can catch a collectivo for 25 pesos to playa or puerto. loco gringo . com has lots of info on the area. the cenotes trip will be an all day event. also the dive shops like you to do ocean dives with them to check your skills. good luck.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Is there any decent shore diving in Playa Del Carmen?

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

In Playa del Carmen it is all boat diving because of the drift, which is normally South to North. There is some shore diving in Cozumel though.

 

[ecodiving tours]

Thanks for the replies everyone. A couple of questions please. Are there any cenotes north of PDC? Along similar lines, are there any dive shops north of PDC (but south of Cancun of course). I really don't want my Dad to dive with the hotel shop and I'm trying to come up with the best alternative for him.

If the answer to the above is no, which shops in PDC will most like be able to acomodate multi day cenote dives for a single person. In other words, who runs the most trips to the cenotes?

Finaly, how much is a 30 minute cab ride approximately (that is how long I'm told it takes t get from his hotel to PDC).

Thank you very much,
Stas

Cenotes in this area are definately some of the best in the world, there are no cenotes for diving north of PDC, there are some incredible ones south of here such as Dos Ojos, The Pit, Chac Mool and for a truly amazing experience Angelita which has a sulphurcline which you can pass through like an imaginary floor.
Im sure there are other dive shops in the area that are the same but we are happy to take a single person for multiday cenote diving to suit your personal schedule.
check out our website for some more information.

With reference to the cab ride i would imagine it would be around 30USD but check with your hotel and see if there is a bus service from your hotel, it would be alot cheaper and if an ADO bus then it is very comfortable and plenty of storage for equipment, the other option is get to the highway and flag down a ´collectivo´, it is like a small van/minibus that will be your cheapest option and the drivers are more than happy to let you know where your stop is.

Hope this helps
Jason
Ecodiving Tours