Cancun May 28 - Jun 4th

[dive pro]

ben with mad is the way to go. I posted a few days ago about experience with them. My recommendation is to not use manta divers. There are other reputable operations (scuba cancun for example) but ben's the way to go. He provides transport door-to-door only if you're in the hotel zone. I was not and he did not for me. They are quite professional and offer great service.
I was there a few weeks back and a full 5mm was what was recommended to me and i wore it. It was slightly warm and the water has warmed since then. I don't know your tolerance for cold so it's a difficult thing to answer but i always wear exposure protection and recommend others to do so.
The wreck was awesome but the currents were strong (i was horizontal because of currents during my hang). The reefs are beautiful but if you can get a wreck in, i'd say go for it if you enjoy that. Again, your preferences may dictate other things. Do know you are not supposed to wear gloves in the marine park. Watch for the fire corral (no fun).

Last and most important, have a great time!!!

Hola from Cancun my name is Miguel I work with Manta Divers I am a Padi Specialty Instructor working on my MSDT and have been an instructor for over 10 years, I am also an SSI instructori. and now working on my TDI SDI cross over, I have close to 6000 dives all over the world specifically on this areas and have done over 600 certifications at all levels.
even when you are recommended by a diver less than 7 months certified....and got an AOW certification merely weeks after getting the OWC (who another dive op did not pick up down town cancun even when we did on our owners personal car and booked him a cheap hotel downtown with no previous notice one day to the next,), not to dive with us, a choice is to call us toll free Manta Divers! Cancun! Cenote! Cozumel! Selvatica Zip Line! - Home and design your own dive package depending on your needs specially if you are not diving tomorrow, if you would like to check the thread "cancun good and bad operations" there is a better explanation about this diver that seems to be in a quest to try to give us bad comments; on this board there are several comments on the services provided by manta divers, an american family owned small personal service operation, feel free to pm or email me for more information if you need to, we really do not mind getting business or pushing it on this board where i post opinions to help and advice divers, our business comes from other sources and we have plenty.
I can also tell you that BEN at mayan aqua dive is an awesome instructor,and a great guy, he really cares for people and specially his divers, I have known him for quite a while, they really are a great operation. We do not pick up divers door to door to lower the price to our divers a little, but we do pick up door to door for caverns and cozumel dives, sometimes a 5 min bus drive can mean a better price...but that is just us. If i may be of service let me know
and whoever you dive with i wish you a great experience
a 5mm wetsuit is too much for this areas EVEN WHEN WATER IS THE SAME 79 TO 81 DEGREES AS SEVERAL WEEKS AGO, ALSO THERE ARE NO FIRE "CORRALS" HERE, THERE IS FIRE CORAL AND HYDRA THAT CAN CAUSE A LITTLE PAIN LIKE POISON IVY, usually a 3/2 is good enough, if you go to cozumel a shorty is fine, caverns are a little colder about 75degrees but a long 3 will do.But it all depends on your tolerance to cold, our cancun dives last about 45 to 50mins. The wreck dives about 30min total. Even if you do not use us and would like to know more info please do not hesitate to ask.
About your questions on wich are the best dives, we offer you dives in cancun 50 to 60 feet, wreck dive in cancun 80ft. cavern and cozumel dives, but like i mentioned before, if you wish, call us toll free and we will be glad to explain the different dives we can offer you, tanks and weights we provide for you and you get a discount for having your own equipment.You can design your own dive package depending on your own needs and experience. We do have wetsuits for you as well. The Grand Oasis is merely 5 to 7minutes away from us and I can offer you a free pick up for the same dive price.
Hope this info helps

 

[HJeffreyM]

I dove with Ben at MAD last December. We were out of the hotel zone (closer to the Mayan Riviera) but he made sure we had a safe reliable ride to/from his location. My wife and I were getting our AOW certs. On the last day, when we were supposed to demonstrate our navigation profficiency, there were high winds and the harbor was closed. Even though he had to cancel the other scheduled divers that day, Ben made sure we found a safe cove and took us there so we could complete our certs.

There were so many things Ben and his crew did to make our dive experience safe, easy and enjoyable, I cannot even recall them all. But, just to name a few:

• My wife's ears clear slowly. Ben assigned one of his DMs to descend with her alone.
• These are mostly drift dives. Ben's boat crew was highly profficient at getting drift divers in/out of the water.
• We dove with MAD over three days. They took excellent care of our equipment and stored it all for us at their shop.
• Most dives are videoed. There was no pressure to buy the CD (although we did, it was really good!).

Ben and the whole crew seem to really love diving and showing off the underwater envionment in Cancun. His briefings were excellent and we always "planned the dive and dived the plan." They all went out of their way to point out any hard to see critters as well as the big ones. Their boat is very comfortable and was not at all crowded on any day I was there.

So if you want to dive in Cancun Ben Mooney and Mayan Aqua Dive is definately the way to go.

 

[ManBearPig]

I will be heading to CUN in 6 days! I will be diving with Ben, but do have a question on the Cenotes. I do not have overhead diving experience (or very little), thus is doing a cenote a good idea? In prep for the trip I have read all of the scuba literature I can get my hands on, but most of it has been DAN studies, so I don't know if that has started to make me more conservative or what, but I want to ensure that I do not dive beyond my abilities.

 

[ippy01]

ManBearPig (great name! I'm a SP fan as well),

Just got back from Cancun and did a cenote dive with MAD. Unless you are really claustrophobic I think you will be fine. There was light visible during most of the dive, but even in the true overhead environments it was never too tight. I recommend going for it as it is a very cool experience.

 

[Spratman]

The most critical skill in cenotes is your bouyancy. You don't want to be banging off the ceiling damaging it or stirring crap up on the bottom. If you can do that, you won't have a problem.

 

[ManBearPig]

Good info guys! I will play it by beer and see what happens.

 

[Spratman]

I'm a lager guy and DOS XX is very good. I don't care for the Modesto or Sol, well hell, Corona Light either. But everything is is great! Have a great trip!