Playacar Scuba advice

[cheekydollar]

Hi All,

I am planning to visit Playacar in last 2 weeks of November this year to do the PADI open water course and would be really grateful for some advice!

Firstly - what will the conditions / visibility / water temp be like in mid/late November?
Can you recommend a dive school?
Any other general advice?

Thanks!!

 

[dive pro]

Dennis Weeks has a great Op in Playa car he is "Pez de diablo" on this board and operates Aquanauts in playa check him out, he has great comments on this board

 

[dive pro]

Here are links to Dennis' operation:
Diablo Divers - Home
http://www.aquanauts-online.co

And a link to Pez de Diablo thats Dennis on this board:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/members/pez+de+diablo.html

He is good, hope this helps

 

[Scuba Brian]

i take a trip every year over thanksgiving to Playa Del Carmen, here is what you will find under normal conditions, 85degree F water temps, 100 to 125 ft vis, the summer currents are still a little strong so you drift diving will be quicker than is feb, or march. If you go to the cenotes the water temp. will be 70 to 74 degrees F. The vis. will be 100ft plus. Hope this helps

 

[zeagle911]

I have travelled twice to playa from the U.K
Both times I have dived with Al from alwaysdiving.
Fantastic bloke, knows the Cenotes and Cozumel like the back of his hands.
Has a lot of great stories. Trust me you would really like this man and will probably end up being great friends.
You can check out his web site riviera maya professional scuba diving, cave, cavern, open water, experienced dive master, playa del carmen, cancun. buceo profesional en la riviera maya, buceo de caverna, mar abierto, playa del carmen, cancun.

Have a great time, I love it there

 

[cheekydollar]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Really looking forward to it all now!

If you have any other advice for a couple of newbies that is worth mentioning, please do!

Actually, would you recommend buying a face mask of your own, or any other equipment?

Thanks!

 

[DET]

If you have any other advice for a couple of newbies that is worth mentioning, please do!

Actually, would you recommend buying a face mask of your own, or any other equipment?


Advice I would add is to do your class and pool portion prior to your trip and get a referral to do the open water portion while down there. By doing so you don't spend precious vacation time studying.

Also, owning your mask, fins and snorkel are the norm in the states for dive training. Being that you are going to a resort or dive shop specializing in daily boat trips, they may provide those items.

 

[cheekydollar]

We were considering doing a referral course, but we will be there for 2 weeks, and the full course in mexico costs the same as just the refferal here in London! So we figured we have the time to do the course in mexico, and it will bbbe cheaper!

 

[cheekydollar]

Hi all,

ive tried contacting both dive schools via their website but not heard anything back for over a week now.

Is it uaually ok just to turn up at a dive school and get booked on a course for the next day or so?

thanks

 

[Mark Duddridge]

Hey Cheeky!

I'm going to Playa Del Carmen in January. Is that the same region as "Playacar?"

If it is, I've been in contact with Phantom Divers, Nautilus Divers, Manta Divers, Aquanauts, and Dive Shop Mexico (all located I think in the PDC area). All of them were extremely prompt in responding to my queries (within 48 hours).

Unless I receive feedback from people on this forum that Phantom Divers isn't a good dive op, I'll definitely be going with them. They seem very friendly, they've been extremely prompt and thorough in their replies to my questions, and their rates are extraordinarily good. I just checked, and they are offering the PADI Open Water Diver Course for $370.

Hope that helps, and have a great time!