Will be on Isla Mujeres for whale skarks... where should I dive?

[rasgoo]

I'm going to be on Isla Mujeres for a whale shark trip in early July and wanted to also do some diving (up to 1 week) before or after. I'm also interested in cultural activities; would love to hear thoughts on that too.

So.. where should I go, where should I stay, what should I see (both under and above water), and what dive operators do you recommend?

(There's an option to extend my trip for for a single day of cenote diving with Ecodiving Tours. Regardless of whether I do that, I intend to spend additional time diving. And opinions on that outfit? Would it be better to do multiple days of cenote diving?)

Thanks all!

PS: Some threads I've already looked at:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/me...entoexperience-angelita-dos-ojos-cenotes.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/414261-cenotes-end-june-beginning-july.html

 

[jfbellemare]

Hi,

I have dived a lot in the last 3 years in Isla Mujeres. Here are a few recommendations:

The best dive shop IMO is Scuba Garrido (::. Scuba Garrido Isla Mujeres .::). Its a small family own dive shop that is very flexible. They will ask you where you want to dive instead of telling you where you will be diving. The boat captain is a legend, he can find a non buoyed dive site just by looking at the island and mainland. I highly recommend the dive site "Shark sleeping cave". There are few wrecks that are nice, I would suggest to do it on nitrox if you can.

If you never dived in the cenote, you have to try. If you go from Isla Mujeres, its a bit of a drive to get there but its well worth the trouble. If you are looking for a nice and easy dive I would recommend Dos Oros or Chiken Ha. If you want an adrenaline rush and you are an experience diver, you have to try "The Pit". The Pit is the most amazing dive you can do in the cenote, you have to jump about 20ft into a hole and then you can dive very deep. My last dive there we went to 180ft. when the dive is done you need to use a rope to get your scuba gear out of the hole.

As for accommodation, I would recommend to rent a condo or a villa depending on how many people you are traveling with. It can be cheaper than an hotel if you stay for a week. you can find them here: The Lost Oasis: Accommodations in Isla Mujeres Mexico. The taxi is very cheap on the isla, even locals use it for transportation.

If you need more info let me know.

 

[Mike]

I was under the impression there is no nitrox on Isla Mujeres.

Does Scuba Garrido allow you to dive your tank and computer or are they on a schedule?

 

[jfbellemare]

Mike, I not sure what you mean by "Does Scuba Garrido allow you to dive your tank and computer or are they on a schedule?"

 

[rasgoo]

Thanks for the recommendations! Indeed, I am definitely trying to arrange some cenote dives.

Also, just to clarify, I'm staying on Isla Mujeres for the whale sharks but I can go elsewhere if my itinerary warrants it. I've never been to the region at all.

Hi,

I have dived a lot in the last 3 years in Isla Mujeres. Here are a few recommendations:

The best dive shop IMO is Scuba Garrido (::. Scuba Garrido Isla Mujeres .::). Its a small family own dive shop that is very flexible. They will ask you where you want to dive instead of telling you where you will be diving. The boat captain is a legend, he can find a non buoyed dive site just by looking at the island and mainland. I highly recommend the dive site "Shark sleeping cave". There are few wrecks that are nice, I would suggest to do it on nitrox if you can.

If you never dived in the cenote, you have to try. If you go from Isla Mujeres, its a bit of a drive to get there but its well worth the trouble. If you are looking for a nice and easy dive I would recommend Dos Oros or Chiken Ha. If you want an adrenaline rush and you are an experience diver, you have to try "The Pit". The Pit is the most amazing dive you can do in the cenote, you have to jump about 20ft into a hole and then you can dive very deep. My last dive there we went to 180ft. when the dive is done you need to use a rope to get your scuba gear out of the hole.

As for accommodation, I would recommend to rent a condo or a villa depending on how many people you are traveling with. It can be cheaper than an hotel if you stay for a week. you can find them here: The Lost Oasis: Accommodations in Isla Mujeres Mexico. The taxi is very cheap on the isla, even locals use it for transportation.

If you need more info let me know.

 

[Mike]

Mike, I not sure what you mean by "Does Scuba Garrido allow you to dive your tank and computer or are they on a schedule?"

Do they let you dive till you are low on air or do they do timed dives? Outfits on schedules do timed dives, they won't let you stay down for 60, 70, 80 minutes. They will often announce during the dive briefing... "this will be a XXX ft dive for 45 minutes or until the first person gets low on air, which ever comes first".

Outfits that let you dive your tank and computer let you dive until you get low on air and call the dive, be it 45 minutes or 90 minutes.

 

[jfbellemare]

They are not on a schedule, they run on mexican time if you know what I mean. But unless you do a very shallow dive you wont be able to do a 90min dive. I would say that my average dive time with them was around 50min to 60min for dives at around 100ft. Its a small dive shop with a small boat, all DM are mexican and instructor is called David and he is from belgium.

---------- Post added ----------

If you only plan to do 1 day of diving in the cenote, its fine to stay on isla mujeres. If you plan multiple days then Playa del carmen is better option, its a lot closer to the cenote.

 

[Mike]

Thanks, I emailed them for some more info.

Last time there we dived with Aqua Adventures. They are definitely on a schedule, 40-45 minutes and they are signaling the end of the dive. Not my type of diving.