Whale Sharks, Cenotes and Cozumel advice please!
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wknight0691
Registered
Hi there,, I would suggest you go down to the Akumal area as generally the diving there in the ocean is nicer than Playa. Also its far closer to all the commonly used Cenotes.
Very easy to book a Whale Shark tour for a day,, its a long day but well worth it!.
There are a few dive ops to choose from in the Akumal area but I'd suggest trying Blue Ex[erience Diving. Owed and run by English folks. The groups are small and they really look after you.
As for Cozumel,, have a look at someone like Blue Angel,, they have a small dive resort and great diving too.
Good luck
Very easy to book a Whale Shark tour for a day,, its a long day but well worth it!.
There are a few dive ops to choose from in the Akumal area but I'd suggest trying Blue Ex[erience Diving. Owed and run by English folks. The groups are small and they really look after you.
As for Cozumel,, have a look at someone like Blue Angel,, they have a small dive resort and great diving too.
Good luck
wknight0691
Registered
Hi,, all depends on what you want really,,,Have you ever done Cenotes before? In Dos Ojos and Chac Mool its easy to do 2 dives in a morning and then there are several others close by that can be done as single dives. 3-4 days would get you round some of the best without any problems.
Worth doing a couple of dives in Akumal as well as there is lots to see. Here is their web site www.blueexperiencediving.com
A full day would take care of the Whale Shark tour and then when its time to go to Cozumel,, well the ferry is just 30 minutes from Akumal area.
Have a look at Grand Sirenis as they often have good deals,, also check out Akumal Beach Resort. Really nice place and always sems to get great reviews. Alternately ,, depending on the budget, there are options like Villas Tortugas as well,,, plenty to choose from round the area and I'm sure you'd be able to get a decent package at that time of year.
Good luck and have a great time
Worth doing a couple of dives in Akumal as well as there is lots to see. Here is their web site www.blueexperiencediving.com
A full day would take care of the Whale Shark tour and then when its time to go to Cozumel,, well the ferry is just 30 minutes from Akumal area.
Have a look at Grand Sirenis as they often have good deals,, also check out Akumal Beach Resort. Really nice place and always sems to get great reviews. Alternately ,, depending on the budget, there are options like Villas Tortugas as well,,, plenty to choose from round the area and I'm sure you'd be able to get a decent package at that time of year.
Good luck and have a great time
Mike
Contributor
Pack light, it's Mexico, all you need are 2 swimsuits.
With apologies ahead of time, but that's absolutely absurd and I can't imagine you'd find another person to agree with that statement. The general consensus by multitudes of divers about the diving in Akumal is the exact opposite of what you're stating.
A quick search of this website using the search feature in regard to Akumal will be very beneficial to anybody considering a dive vacation there. The best feature of Akumal when it comes to getting in the water would be snorkeling in Akumal bay. There are always a ton of turtles there and you can see some old spanish cannons, but diving?????? No way. Diving the Tortugas dive site out of PDC for only 10 minutes would blow away a weeks worth of diving the fish-less, coral-less almost non-existent reefs around Akumal.
I've been researching the various resorts in PDC and Akumal and I quite fancy the idea of "adults only", therefore I'm narrowing it down to Secrets Maroma or Secrets Silversands. From the reviews it looks like the Maroma is better. Any geographical or otherwise advantages to one over the other that I'm missing? Also, can anyone recommend a tour operator for the Isla Mujeres Whale Sharks tour (not Holbox) that will actually pick up from Secrets in PDC?
bigbluemarble
Registered
Ecocolors is one of the original tour operators for whale shark trips and they offer the one-day trip. I believe it is cheaper if you book directly with them. Pick-up for the trip is about 6/6:30AM and you get back around 3:30 or so. It's a long day, but worth it if you don't want to overnight in Isla Mujeres & lug your gear around. However, Isla is a nice place to just relax for a few days.
As for Akumal vs. Playa diving, have to agree with Mike. It is better in Playa - good variety of marine life, hard & soft corals, etc. All Playa dive shops (including the one at your hotel, if they have one) offer cenote trips so it's pretty easy to arrange these dives no matter where you stay. FYI, the taxi syndicate has laws making it illegal for dive operators to pick up at all-inclusive hotels so you have to arrange transport yourself if you go with a dive shop in Playa proper.
The ideal number of dives in the cenotes is up to you. Like many divers, you may find them amazing w/ unlimited visibility, incredible formations... just an unearthly experience & want to see more of them. Other divers enjoy the cenote tour and are glad they did it, but prefer the more colorful ocean dives. Some are uncomfortable with the fact that it is an overhead environment & darker than open water diving. Other considerations are having good buoyancy control (need to go up and down while following the natural contours of the cavern) & no problems equalizing (need to equalize more often on these dives). BTW, the cenote water can have a high mineral content as well as tannic acid on occasion so it's a good idea to rinse your gear with fresh water after diving cenotes.
As for Akumal vs. Playa diving, have to agree with Mike. It is better in Playa - good variety of marine life, hard & soft corals, etc. All Playa dive shops (including the one at your hotel, if they have one) offer cenote trips so it's pretty easy to arrange these dives no matter where you stay. FYI, the taxi syndicate has laws making it illegal for dive operators to pick up at all-inclusive hotels so you have to arrange transport yourself if you go with a dive shop in Playa proper.
The ideal number of dives in the cenotes is up to you. Like many divers, you may find them amazing w/ unlimited visibility, incredible formations... just an unearthly experience & want to see more of them. Other divers enjoy the cenote tour and are glad they did it, but prefer the more colorful ocean dives. Some are uncomfortable with the fact that it is an overhead environment & darker than open water diving. Other considerations are having good buoyancy control (need to go up and down while following the natural contours of the cavern) & no problems equalizing (need to equalize more often on these dives). BTW, the cenote water can have a high mineral content as well as tannic acid on occasion so it's a good idea to rinse your gear with fresh water after diving cenotes.
dive pro
Contributor
Hello MissDoo.
If you wish to base it in Cancun and from Cancun do Whale Sharks, Cozumel, Caverns, and for a personalized, private service, please click on the website and shoot us an email
Happy Diving
If you wish to base it in Cancun and from Cancun do Whale Sharks, Cozumel, Caverns, and for a personalized, private service, please click on the website and shoot us an email
Happy Diving
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