What thickness wetsuit for Cenotes?

[ddavin]

I will be going to Cozumel this summer (June) and plan on diving one or more Cenotes. What thickness wetsuit will I need? I hate hauling a 5mm (or more) down there if I won't need it.

 

[CamC]

I was just fine for back-to-back dives in a 5mm shorty in April - but I'm Scottish. Everyone else looked to be in at least a 3mm or 5mm full suit.

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

I wear a 7 mm, but that's for at least a week or ten days of diving, with at least four hours of dive time a day. Toward the end of the trip, I'll don a hood; my husband goes a step further and wears a hooded vest under his 7 mm. If you're planning a handful of 30-minute dives, you can probably get away with less exposure protection.

 

[Charles2]

I was there in June 2015. Two dives per day. The water temperature was a pretty constant 72°F. I was very comfortable in a 3mm fullsuit but most others wore 5mm.

 

[scubadada]

My son and I went over to the mainland from Cozumel and did a couple of dives at Dos Ojos. The water was 76-77 degrees. We wore our full 3 mm from Cozumel and added a 5/3 mm hooded vest. We very comfortable on the two 50-55 minute dives.

If I were going to do a lot of diving in the cenotes, I would probably dive my 5 mm full suit and have my hooded vest around, just in case.

 

[Ayisha]

I was fairly ok in my 3 mm full wetsuit for the typical 50 minute or so guided dives, but some other people were quite cold in theirs and wished they had brought their 5 mm. I had brought my hood and gloves, but didn't feel I needed them. If I were doing more than the 2 dives or more days in the cenotes, I would probably wear at least my hood and gloves if not a 5 mm or hooded vest with my 3 mm.

It all depends on your tolerance and how well your exposure protection fits. It's one of those borderline dive environments between just comfortable and slightly cold.

 

[kimbalabala]

We'll be there mid-June and it hadn't occurred to me that it might still be chilly. I'm including a link to a website that shows the water temps by month in Cozumel. If it doesn't work, the site is called SeaTemperature.info .

Sea temperature Cozumel in June. Cozumel sea surface temperature in June. North America Quintana Roo Mexico.

 

[Ayisha]

The cenotes are the same temp year round. They are a mix of fresh water and salt water and a bit cool year round.
The surrounding jungle however, will be hot, hot, hot and likely buggy.

The sea temps will be nice and warm, and you can wear whatever you would normally wear for warm water diving. I like to wear a full 3 mm wetsuit for protection from jellyfish, etc., but some people will be comfortable in a skin.

 

[johnnywulff]

I will recommend a full 3mm for Cozumel and add a 3mm shorty that you can rent for Cenote two dive per day and just in case bring a hood lite traveling

 

[driftwood]

I dive a lot in Spring Lake, San Marcos. Same karst aquifer formation, just no overhead cover. Constant 72 degrees year round. Picked up a good 5mm full suit and comfortable for better than a hour. One difference is that we are working in Spring Lake and the cenotes are low and slow.