New Divers - Best Place to dive in Mexico

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act005

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My wife and I got our OW certification last March in Bayahibe, DR. This year we are looking to head somewhere in Mexico for a spring trip in early February. We did our 4 cert dives and a night dive there. This summer we did a quarry dive and decided that we may be vacation divers :)

My point here is that we are total newbies and are wondering where in Mexico would be a good place to dive. We want to be able to enjoy ourselves without feeling like we picked a place that was too advanced for us. The current thought was Cozumel, but after reading some on the board, I'll admit I'm worried that may be too much.

No mater where we dive, we plan on hiring a private DM so that we feel comfortable and dive within our limits.

Is there somewhere better suited for us than Cozumel? Is the pacific side better - like Cabo or Puerto Vallarta? Or should we just go to Coz and stay on the easier sites.

Thanks!

Adam

P.S. - My wife's dream is to be able to see a turtle under water, so if that helps....
 
Got a PM telling me I'd be OK in Coz - I think I let the horror stories of down currents get to me.
 
Welcome on board act005

I can't comment on the diving off the Pacific Coast as I wasn't a diver when I visited there. However, I would *guess* that side in general has less visibility, colder water and more surf that the Mexican Caribbean.

The places I dove in the Caribbean are Cozumel, Mahahual (also spelled Majahual and called Costa Maya by cruise ship people) and Isla Mujeres.

The dives I did on Isla Mujeres were really easy. Shallow, good vis, no current that I recall, lots of fish but no impressive coral.
The island, located right off Cancún, is very easy to access, lots (too many ?) of hotels in all price ranges, restaurants, shops, nightlife… Beautiful beaches as well. Great place if you like partying. If not, stay away from "town" (the North tip of the island). No cruise ship but lots of (drunk) day trippers from Cancún.


Mahahual is located much further South and has a very different feel. I was there 6 years ago (since the place was hit by hurricane Dean and is rapidly developping, it might have changed a lot), back then it was a very relaxing stretch of paradise… I stayed several miles south of town, so wasn't bothered by the cruise ships (except for the 5 minutes when the ATV group roamed in front of my hammock). Not much to do besides diving, snorkeling (which you can do from shore) and other water/nature activities. Shops were mainly open when the ships were in town. You can visit ruins and go to secluded beaches if you rent a car.
That's where I got certified. Most of the dives I did were 5 minutes from shore on a small boat and between 30 and 70 feet. Great vis, little current, very easy. The reef was beautiful, lots of healthy fans and corals back then (don't know if that has changed) and a good variety of fish and other sea life. I think I had 3 turtle sightings in 2 weeks of diving, though. That also could have changed a lot. One way or the other.
Here are a few pictures I took a couple miles South of Mahahual in 2005 so you get an idea of what it looked like :
http://picasaweb.google.com/annlaur75/Mahahual2005?feat=directlink
There are some nice hotels/bungalows on the beach, and a few very good restaurants, but as you can see it is still pretty remote and quiet.


Last but not least : Cozumel, aka the dive Mecca of the area.
The visibility and coral architecture are amazing and it offers a great diving experience. If you dive Punta Tunich/Yucab (usually a 70 - 50 feet depth dive, if I recall correctly), you are more than likely to see a turtle or two or more. As a matter of fact, I think I saw a turtle on almost every diving day in Cozumel.

The downsides are that the currents can be swift (not that big of a deal, but drift diving, while very enjoyable, takes a bit of getting used to). Also, most ops do 2 tank morning dives, with the first typically starting below 70 ft (sometimes below 90 ft), which is where the most impressive "coral mountains" are. There are swimthroughs as well (short tunnels through the corals) that many people love to dive through.
With your experience so far, you probably shouldn't attempt those dives. Staying 20 feet above the group or going around the reef on your own while others explore a swimthough is not an option because the currents might get you separated.
You are wise to consider hiring a private DM, but you should also research your op carefully and make sure their boat will take you to the shallower reefs on ALL dives.

Now the upside is that Cozumel has a lot of dive shops, so you're likely to find one that suits your needs, professional DMs and instructors, several recompression chambers on site (one never knows), divers everywhere so you can easily meet people with common interests.

The island itself has something to offer for almost everyone, with a very touristy waterfront (full with duty free shops, cruise ships, bars&#8230:wink:, a very Mexican town with great restaurants and friendly locals, all inclusive oceanfront resorts away from town, and a beautiful wild (East) coast with sandy beaches and heavy surf.


Of course I haven't included all the options for diving on the Caribbean, only the ones I personnally experienced. And this is just my opinion. You might also want to research Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, or even Cancún.
Considering you are new to the sport, I'd suggest you don't necessarily look for the most beautiful reefs right now (I'm sure you'll have other opportunities to go dive in Mexico), but focus on your comfort level and on what you are looking for in your vacation besides diving.

Wherever you end up going, I'd also suggest doing a refresher. You can do it in the pool at your local dive op, but doing it with your private DM will give you an extra opportunity to get to know each other/voice your concerns in a very safe and easy environment and it will give you a feel of the local diving conditions regarding current/vis/water temp/equipment if you're renting/your weighting…
 
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coz. is good diving ok for newbees. cabo is too much $$ for that country. You can go to hawaii for the same price as cabo, and not have to deal with the crap. MUCH safer too.

So Calif. is colder than coz. but it is in the USA. So it's safer, CLEANER, and you keep your money here at home.
 
annlaur and SoCalRich thanks for the feedback.

SoCalRich, thanks for steering me away from Cabo, you are right, a quick look at the hotels made it pretty clear that it was more pricey. That said, I don't know that the water temp in Feb would be warm enough for my wife's taste!

annlaur, thank you for your detailed response - I really appreciate all the detail that you provided and sharing your pictures. I also liked your suggestion of doing our refresher with our DM rather than doing it with the LDS. I think that would be a good way for us to get to know each other and be comfortable with each other. I think just to get warmed up we may do a bouncy clinic here with the LDS and then the full refresher once we get there. I found a few reviews of other dive shops in the forms and I also check TripAdvisor for some reviews. I think I am going to send some e-mails explaining our background and goals and take it from there!
 
Annlaur,
I was just reading about your dive in Isla Mujeres. Do you mind sharing where you stayed?
A shallow dive location sounds great for me.
 
The diving around Cancun & nearby Isla Mujeres would be ideal for beginners. I have always thought that it didn't get the respect it deserved as a dive site.
You can pick the following sites ;
Plenty of diving down to depths of 60ft, or less. A lot of fish & mostly coral heads , little , if any current, no deep walls , can dive with boat anchored, etc., easier on your body & inexperience than Cozumel.
 
Hello act005. Just read your post and thought I would comment, as it is very much the same as my past posts a few months ago.

My boyfriend and I were newly certified here in FL this past May. We decided to take our very first dive trip to Cozumel. We chose this area because of the amazing reviews of the diving, as well as the ease and the low cost of travelling there for us.

We were VERY nervous, being our first time ever diving. I was worried about the currents mostly. I posted numerous questions on TripAdvisor (before I really knew about this site). Got tons of information, and then headed for our trip.

We dove two different times (days), going on a total of four dives. We hired a private DM to accompany us, and I would definitely do this for sure if you are a new diver. We will probably do this a few more times as well until we become better divers.

Anyway, I wouldn't say the diving is easy (coming from the viewpoint of a beginner). The currents are something to deal with, especially being new. However, if you go with a reputable company (we went with Scuba Mau and loved them), and hire a private DM ($50 total for both of you, but an extra $10-$20 for a tip for the both the DM and the boat captain to split), you will be fine. The diving was so incredible, and the currents are fun if you just relax and go along for the ride. We want to go back as soon as we can. There are tons of highly rated dive ops to consider.

One pointer. I would suggest being VERY open with your DM and the dive crew before you get there. Tell them all of your concerns first. We didn't convey our nervousness too much and ended up on a wall dive which really scared my Boyfriend because he couldn't see the bottom and there was a current going on. Our DM was right with us though, and instead of diving the wall, he took us to dive along the top of it instead. It was still very nice, but we want to see that wall next time. Just weren't ready quite yet.

Good luck.
 
Jennfl, thanks for the feedback.

We did decide to go to Coz and have set ourselves up with a shop that only does 6 divers at a time. We were very open about our diving history as well as our goals for our dives with them. They were very receptive and made us feel very secure and welcome. At this time, we are the only two divers they have booked at this time, but since we are still about seven weeks out, I'm sure that will change. Based on how many other divers there are, and what their experience level is we have confirmed that we can add on a private DM for our dives.

We're really excited for our dives and will post a review of our experience with the dive shop when we get back!
 
That's great! I hope you have an awesome time! I forgot to add that on our second dive, our private DM spotted a turtle and grabbed my hand and pulled me against the current in order to get a little closer to it. It was really cool.

One quick thought if you really want to be sure to see turtles....Try a day trip to Akumal. If you have time, it's well worth it. Akumal is about an hour south of Playa Del Carmen. It's a really cool little quaint town and there are two areas to snorkel there where you will see tons of turtles! We stayed in Akumal for nine days a couple of summers ago. The diving is much better in Cozumel, but the snorkeling with turtles in Akumal is really unique. We saw tons!

If you take the ferry from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen and jump on a bus at the Playa Del Carmen bus staition, it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to get there total travel time. You would have to start early probably. The only thing is that I don't believe the ADO bus goes to Akumal exactly. I think you have to get off at a stop right before and then taxi, or take a collectivo the rest of the way. It sounds hard, but it's really not. Especially if you are the adventurous types.

I would also double check to make sure the turtles will be there in February. We were there in June.
 
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