Short trip to Cancun/Playa Del Carmen - Need help

[cruzbound]

Hi there,
We will be heading to Cancun at the end of August for short diving trip and I am still trying to work on the logistics and hope I can get some help from the group who have been there. We will be flying into Cancun and I am trying to decide on where to stay - Cancun or Playa Del Carmen - thoughts? What dives should we do? I want to dive one day in Cozumel and I was considering a day at the Cenotes - are the Cenotes worth it? We are not cave certified but I have been told you do not have to be. We have penetrated a few shipwrecks and went into one cave once in Hawaii. For the third day of diving (if we don't go to Cozumel twice), is the diving better in Cancun of the Playa Del Carmen area (for reef / wall type diving)? Any suggestions for dive operators in Cancun and Playa Del Carmen? Lastly, we would like to try to avoid renting a car.

Thanks for all the help.

cruzbound

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

I would stay in Playa and south. You will be a lot closer to everything. The cenotes are definitely worth it. You don't have to be cave certified to do cenote dives but you have to have excellent buoyancy and use non silting fin kicks.
I definitely will recommend Nicolas from CenoteXperience Nico is a great guy and a excellent cenote guide.
On Cozumel, I would recommend ScubaTony Scuba Diving Instruction, Cozumel Mexico or Living Underwater offers a personalized, fun and safe Cozumel diving experience!. If you stay south of Playa most all dive op's will pick you up and drop back at your hotel for your cenote dives

 

[alwaysdiving]

Hello Cruzbound, my name is Alvaro Gonzalez, I've been teaching and conducting divers for over 32 years in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Riviera Maya (Cenotes), we do dive trips everyday with no more tan six divers for ocean dives and four for cenotes, regardless you decide to staying, we would love to take care of you with your dives, send me an e-mail or a PM to make a good dive plan, Cancun has lots of sea life on the reefs and the two shipwrecks we have, Cozumel, instead, has huge coral structures, both places we do drift dives.
In Cenotes we do two tipe of dives, Full Cave dives and Cavern dives, the difference betwin the two is the sun light, if you can see sun light you are in a cavern if you penetrade in a way that you don't see the sun light, then you are in a cave, there is not a chance you can get to a cave accidentally because caverns are marked with yellow lines, must of the cavern dive operations we have the experience and skills to make this dives SAFE, EASY AND FUN, to have access to cenote dives you don't need to have a full cave certification, there is more about dive experience, as long as you can control your bouyancy you'll be OK, an OW certification is good, this is a dive where there is no current, no waves and the best visibility you've ever experienced, it's an over head environment however it's incredible, take a look here to give an idea about it Scuba Dive Cozumel with AlwaysDiving.com | Chach Mool Cenote - YouTube
Best regards to all.
Alvaro

 

[MMM]

Another alternative would be to simply come and stay in Cozumel. Once you hit Playa del Carmen, it's a 45 minute ferry ride. No cenotes but great diving with lots of excellent operators that will pick you up at your hotel (if you stay in town or south) so no need for renting a car, especially if you pick an operator who rinses and keeps your gear between dives.

 

[cruzbound]

Thanks for the input. I am still trying to decide exactly what to do - one day of Cenote diving and two days of diving in Cozumel or all three days of diving in Cozumel. I know who we will use in Cozumel but I am trying to decide if the Cenotes are worth it or not. I am a little nervous about it because I read on the board about the robbery there. Any suggestions?

Also, what about driving in Mexico, what is it like? We will be flying into Cancun and will need to get down to PDC and the ferry to take us over to Cozumel. I did find Cancun Shuttle that seems somewhat reasonable but a rental car is even cheaper but we are not sure if we want to chance driving. Any advice would be appreciated. I haven't picked a hotel yet but I think in Cozumel it will be Allegro Cozumel or Occidental Grand because our dive operator can pick us right up from there.

Thanks for all the help.

cruzbound

 

[MMM]

If it were me, I would just do all 3 days in Cozumel. If you were going to be there for a few weeks, I would might do a cenote day, but for the very short period you are down there, it is too much too-ing and fro-ing for me. Then you also don't need to rent any cars or worry about getting around. The bus from the airport (located right outside the terminal) to Playa del Carmen is very easy to take and costs about $10 p.p. one way and you get dropped about a block from where you catch the ferry. Much easier than trying to drive yourself, drop a rental vehicle off etc. etc. Gazillions of taxis waiting on the other side to take you to your hotel. Although the further south you are staying, the more your taxi will cost. Head over to the Cozumel forum http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/ and take a look at some previous threads on the topic (usually referred to as the "bag drag"). I will see if I can find a thread and give you a link.

Last I read, 3 of the 4 banditos had been captured (and likely already convicted and sent to jail, since it is such bad tourist PR). I haven't heard of any more robberies but that doesn't mean there haven't been any. Make sure you don't leave ANY valuables in your vehicle and that it is left unlocked.

---------- Post added April 6th, 2014 at 11:31 AM ----------

Found it. Cancun Airport to Playa del Carmen/Cozumel by ADO Bus

 

[Mike]

Driving in the Cancun/Playa/Cozumel area is pretty easy, especially if you're already used to driving in a big city then you're over experienced and will find it's very tame, if you're from a small town then some of the driving in the congested parts of the cities might make you nervous. The one thing is being careful of the speed bumps (Topes), they can come out of no-where and bite you if you're not paying attention, especially at night. Nothing like going 55 mph and hitting a mexican speed bump!

 

[lamarpaulski]

I would suggest you simply stay in Cozumel....just got back and you need way more than 3 days to exhaust the great diving. See if you can extend.

 

[cmulvaney]

I wish you were there a little longer so you might want to plan this for next time. There will be a next time. If I can only stay a week, my girlfriend, dive buddies, and I plan for 4-5 days of Cozumel diving followed by 1-2 days of Playa Del Carmen/Cenote dives. It is amazing how several freshwater dives can make your gear smell fresh, clean, and new again. I fly into Coz and stay there for the beginning of the trip. Check out of the hotel and take the ferry to PDC. I check into the hotel in PDC and usually do an afternoon dive followed by a morning or two of cenote diving. I fly out of Cancun to go home. So 2/3 in Coz and 1/3 in PDC.

 

[PARADISE HUNTER]

While I completely agree that the diving is much better in Cozumel over the mainland ocean dives, I think your trip is a bit short for that much running around. If you are doing the bag drag to Coz, then just stay there and enjoy three days of diving. If you are going to stay on the mainland, stay in Playa. The whole vibe is much better that Cancun, imo. If you choose the mainland, I would dive the first two days in Coz and leave my gear there overnight with the dive op. Dive you last day in a cenote and let that be your fresh water rinse. Cenotes are definitely worth experiencing at least once.

Driving is no big deal, don't think twice about it.

The cenote safety has been a hot topic here, but I think the chances of a problem are very small. I have dove them several times and would not think twice about doing it again.

Have fun, but stay longer next time.

PH