What to do on last day before flying???

[driftin' by]

Not all cenote dives are created equal... We did Chac Mool and Kukulkan in '04 and hit 41 and 48 feet for 53 and 58 minutes respectively with cavern limitations in full effect. Problem is that we didn't exit the water until 3:33 PM.... not too sure it would be advisable to fly within 18 hours of those profiles in conjunction with no deco, repetitive diving over consecutive days. At any rate, with your later departure (lucky) you certainly shouldn't have a problem but it would be wise to check with your op to verify times before committing.

 

[marcus8]

Just got back last week and we did something a little different. We had always gone to check out ruins or maybe dive a shallow cenote. This year, we did the whale shark adventure up off of Holbox. It only runs June - August mostly, but is an utterly spectacular experience. It can be done in one day as we took the 5am ferry to Playa, van to Chiquila, boat to Holbox, food and video, same boat out about an hour to where the sharks have been congregating every day from recent reports. We encountered 7 different ones and were told it was a light day. What a rush it is to swim next to them like that. We then caught a nice meal on Holbox, boated back to mainland and took same van back to Playa. We were on the 8pm ferry going back to Coz. It was THE HIGHLIGHT of our trip that included a week of diving in Coz. The whole package ran us $185 per person using Dive Paradise so it's NOT cheap. That price covered the whole adventure minus the ferry tix between Coz and Playa. I'm sure there are cheaper ways to do it. At any rate, I think it's an extreme adventure and well worth the effort to get there and back in a day.

 

[El Orans]

We did a tour of the island, the Mayan ruins, the lighthouse and some shopping.

 

[bnajdrovsky]

As others suggested, I'd recommend spending the off-gassing day on the east side (a.k.a. the wild side) of the island. There are beach clubs every few kilometers, but not much else, and it's just beautiful. You can get away from all the cruise ship people, street vendors, and just kick back with a nice cold cervesa and relax. I usually like to rent a Jeep, start over at Mezcalito's about noon-ish, and spend then next several hours making my way south toward Rasta's, stopping at Coconuts and some of the other places along the way. It's a whole different vibe then on the touristy side of the island, and a wonderful way to end the trip (and of course get rid of some extra nitrogen... ;-) )

 

[hankthecowdog]

Going to 40' in a cenote is probably not too good if you respect the 24 hour thing. Besides that I have done at least 8 cenote dives, the cavern type and I don't see it as much better than just snorkeling a cenote.

You can hit Hidden Worlds (aka dos ojos and bat cave) just outside of Playa. Take a bus, taxi or Yucatec divers will take you there. See some wonderful stuff by snorkel, all lit up with monster halogen lights. They jungle buggie you to several cenotes and it's a pretty cool day with no dive table guilt. Also ziplines and skycycle.

The only thing that could suck is that it's a family park and you could get in with a group and have to hear 7 year olds crying and whining about the cold water and scary bats.

Then you can come back and wander around Playa, check out the topless beach, nice day for way under $100. Nice webpage at Hiddenworlds.com

 

[bnajdrovsky]

You can hit Hidden Worlds (aka dos ojos and bat cave) just outside of Playa. Take a bus, taxi or Yucatec divers will take you there. See some wonderful stuff by snorkel, all lit up with monster halogen lights.

Hmm.... just dove the dos ojos and bat cave cenotes a week ago. Even though there were plenty of snorklers, didn't see any halogen lights (at least not from below). Maybe they turn them on only at certain times? The bat cave was illuminated a bit, but not super bright or anything. Great dives, even if my Light Cannon decided to go on vacation between the two dives and I had to do the bat cave with a small backup.

 

[OSUcowboyinSPFD]

I agree. Rent a jeep or pay a taxi driver to take you around the island. We like to start at Dzul Ha and snorkel, then go to Chen Rio for lunch and a swim. The fried red snapper is excellent. Finish up with Coconuts, Mezcalitos, and back to town. It is a great day, and you will sleep like a baby.

 

[RonFrank]

We did a two tank morning dive the day before we left on the PM Frontier flight. No issues. You finish by noon, and you don't fly until 3:00pm the next day, so more than 24 hours. Heck, you could likely get away with 4 dives the previous day if you kept the PM dives shallow.

We also enjoyed a very nice evening with our DiveOp, fellow divers, and if memory serves, had a bit more alcohol (OK a LOT MORE) that evening than we had all week. A couple beers a night is my limit when diving four dives a day, but on THAT night, a couple of beers was just the start!

It was a nice way to end the week!

If you don't want to dive, El made a good suggestion. There are ruins there, and the other side of the island is worth a visit. The only downside is that a rental jeep will run about $100 for the day, and an island tour maybe about the same. Seems like a lot when the distances traveled are so small.