Playacar is the name of the resort/hotel/condo area just on the south edge of Playa del Carmen. Dennis Weeks' operation is in Puerto Aventuras, which is about 20 minutes south of there. I do not know if they have any kind of pickup arrangement for Playa del Carmen. However, if you are going to be there for two weeks, I think you will want to have a car, so that you can explore the area, so that may not be an issue. Dennis is a great guy and I suspect he's a very good instructor.
I've had significant problems from time to time getting e-mails to and from Mexico, so if you haven't heard anything back from Dennis, try e-mailing again, or PMing him from ScubaBoard.
Cheeky, given that you are coming from as far away as you are, I would STRONGLY recommend you make your arrangements ahead of time. It would be worth a phone call or two. You don't wnat to get down there and find everybody's booked doing guided cenote dives or charters, and nobody's available to teach a class.
You will need to own your own mask, snorkel and fins for class. You can certainly purchase those at a dive shop at home. You will probably have a wider selection than you will in MX, at least from what I've seen of the dive shops in PDC. (Cozumel has more.)
Visibility on the mainland side is not as good as the viz in Cozumel, generally, and may run 30 to 40 feet (or less if the winds are high and the water is rough). You don't have the huge reef structures, but there is a good variety of reef fish. Although it is frequently done, I do NOT recommend the cenotes for brand new divers. For one thing, they really should be respected, and that means excellent buoyancy control and good trim. For another, until you have dived enough to know how you react when something isn't quite right, I don't think you should take the chance of finding out when you are under a hard overhead.
Have a wonderful time -- there are some VERY good restaurants in PDC, if you get tired of all-inclusive food (I did!)
Edited to add: Another recommendation is for the Can Do maps. They are superb resources for navigation and for locating a variety of businesses, especially restaurants.
I've had significant problems from time to time getting e-mails to and from Mexico, so if you haven't heard anything back from Dennis, try e-mailing again, or PMing him from ScubaBoard.
Cheeky, given that you are coming from as far away as you are, I would STRONGLY recommend you make your arrangements ahead of time. It would be worth a phone call or two. You don't wnat to get down there and find everybody's booked doing guided cenote dives or charters, and nobody's available to teach a class.
You will need to own your own mask, snorkel and fins for class. You can certainly purchase those at a dive shop at home. You will probably have a wider selection than you will in MX, at least from what I've seen of the dive shops in PDC. (Cozumel has more.)
Visibility on the mainland side is not as good as the viz in Cozumel, generally, and may run 30 to 40 feet (or less if the winds are high and the water is rough). You don't have the huge reef structures, but there is a good variety of reef fish. Although it is frequently done, I do NOT recommend the cenotes for brand new divers. For one thing, they really should be respected, and that means excellent buoyancy control and good trim. For another, until you have dived enough to know how you react when something isn't quite right, I don't think you should take the chance of finding out when you are under a hard overhead.
Have a wonderful time -- there are some VERY good restaurants in PDC, if you get tired of all-inclusive food (I did!)
Edited to add: Another recommendation is for the Can Do maps. They are superb resources for navigation and for locating a variety of businesses, especially restaurants.
