Travel to and around Akumal

[driftwood]

We have just booked a 10 day trip to the Gran Bahia Principe Tulum for the end of May. This will be mostly snorkeling and visiting Mayan ruins, no diving unless I can manage to squeeze in a dive course (which I would rather not rush). We are going to rent a car for the whole time so we can get around. Just wondering what people here would recommend for a trip over to Cozumel as we would like to do some snorkeling at Palancar Reef. Should we drive and take the car ferry over or would it be easier to park it in Playa del Carmen, take the passenger ferry and then arrange transportation on the Cozumel side? If we go with the latter should we take a taxi or is it easier to rent a car?

Would appreciate any input you guys can provide. Also open to suggestions on good places to snorkel in that area. Thanks!

One place you will want to snorkel is Akumal Bay. The shallow part of the reef is in pretty good shape and there are generally a couple resident sea turtles hanging out in the north end of the bay.

There is a Mayan site that you may not have heard of, Ek Balam. I have been to all the ruins in the area and it is the only one I would spend the time to visit a second time (including Chichen Itza).

If you haven't run across them get the maps from cancunmap.com-Your information source They are worth their weight in gold.

 

[thegrandpoohbah]

One last question, we are intending to buy some light dive slippers/boots and open heeled fins. Which dive shops in the area would you recommend or are we better off ordering online before we go? To me it seems like something you would want to try on first so I am leaning towards buying them there. How are the prices? If online is the better option, which are the more reputable sites? Thank you!

 

[annlaur]

Don't know about dive shops on the mainland. Basic slippers and fins can be found at local grocery stores (Mega, Walmart in Playa del Carmen&#8230 but you won't have much of a choice. So I would order online as it will give you more choice. Scuba Toys and Leisure Pro both have a return policy and a good selection. Plus you won't be wasting vacation time running around looking for what you need.
If you need advice on what to get, you can check the equipment sub-forum.

 

[Thunderfin]

Kixy1, Do any of the dive ops in/around Akumal boat to Palancar or Punta Sur reefs? Also Do you know of a good dive op in Akumal to build a relationship with?
Also: Anyone know if I were to take my rental car to the southern tip of Coz, which resorts or dive shops would happily take on some non-resort guests? I have experienced this problem in the past. Rather boat to the Coz reefs if, what I have read on this forum about the Akumal reefs is accurate (storm damaged and not that vibrant), or as an alternative drive/taxi to dive op near the best spots than take a long boat trip from the downtown Coz Centro/ferry dock.

Seems to me that there would be a demand for mainland excursions to Coz reefs, not sure how rough it is to cross, but it's not that far. Looks like it would sure beat the drive/ferry/drive around

Thanks in advance

 

[annlaur]

I know there are ops in Playa del Carmen that take divers to dive on the Cozumel reefs. Never used any of them, recall Tank Ha being recommanded several times on the board, I'm sure there are others, but don't remember which ones.

With a small fast boat, the trip from Cozumel Centro to the reefs way South doesn't exceed 45 minutes. IMO not worth paying a cab/car rental to drive to a dive op far south (unless of course you are prone to sea sickness).
Ops that leave from a pier close to the ferry in town include Aldora, Blue XT Sea, Deep Blue, Aqua Safari, Living Underwater and (I think) Scuba Du. There might be others.

 

[lthomas132]

annlaur, the nearest city to us where I could do pool dives is hours away so that won't work. A good thought though.

We were planning to check out a couple of the cenotes (Gran and Dos Ojos). Do they charge admission or are they open to the public?

I did 2 dives at Dos Ojos last year; it is open to the public but charge ~2/person. There are 2 cenotes there (Dos Ojos - two eyes). Beautiful!

 

[kelkat]

Hi newbie here! I have a question...I went on a Cozumel diving trip in '87...yes 1987 and we took the air boat to the mainland, Playa I think, and got into a taxi for about an hour drive south. We trudged thru to a slope down to a beach to the surf where we avoided sea urchins to an ~8ft depth for what we were told was a Spanish Galleon wreck. It was not a developed area at that time...probably is now. We all gathered beads and I collected a small assortment of white and green stones. Does anyone know what wreck this might be? I'm curious also how to assess if I might have collected some emeralds which were known to be in part of this wreck? Thinking a gemologist maybe?
Thanks!
Kellye