Trip to Cancun

[jupitermermaid]

I just got back from a week of diving in Cancun. Had a wonderful time! We used Scorpio Divers and were more than impressed with them! They go above and beyond expectations to give you fantastic dives and make you feel like family and/or friends. Jorge, Daniel, and Marc were super nice! They picked us up everyday at the hotel, brought us to the best sites, gave thorough dive profiles, and made us laugh with their stories. The whale shark snorkle is a MUST DO if you have the opportunity. Scorpio Divers can set up everything for you, even though they don't run a boat there themselves. The Cenotes were awesome; and yes, it did make me think about maybe becoming a cave diver if I were younger and had the money. The reef system is fabulous for novice and experienced divers alike. The wreck we went to was incredible, but make sure you have your buoyancy under control to do the swim throughs.

I wore a three mil for the Cenotes (being a Floridean 79 degrees is pretty cool). I also wore it on the wreck, more for protection and depth at 90.' For the Whale Shark and reefs I was fine with my skinsuit.

Have fun! If you go with Scorpio Divers, tell Daniel and Marc Barbara and Sandy say "hi." Also ask Marc if he's still Irish (he'll know what it means....lol)

 

[scubascrump]

Thanks for your response!!

 

[alwaysdiving]

Hi Scubascromp, my name is Alvaro Gonzalez and I´m a dive instructor, I´ve been teaching and diving in this area for over 32 years, I run AlaysDiving, we are a dive shop located on Embarcadero Caribean Carnaval, I´ll be more than glad to take care of you and your partner, we never take more than six divers at the time and in case someone needs special care we provide it to them.
We have more than 16 dive sites in the Cancun area, the deep goes from 30 to 55 ft, we also have a couple of wrecks with 80 ft deep, easy dives with an incredible amount of sea life, in fact, when the weather conditions are good, you see more fish than in Cozumel IN SHALLOW DIVES of course
I always recommend to wear a wet suit, not because the water could be could but, just for extra protection from scratches with rocks or corals.
Take a look of my job in YouTube, just tipe in the search bar "alwaysdiving" and you´ll find some videos about what we do.
You can contact me at alvaro@alwaysdiving.com or you can phone us from USA toll free 1 (888) 229 6110.
Hope to see you soon.
Best regards from paradise and KEEP YOUR BUBBLES UP!!!
Alvaro

My partner and I are headed to Cancun Sept.4th through the 11th. She is newly certified and has not experienced ocean diving. I am a novice diver with only about 20 dives to date. Will she need a wet suit this time of year or just a thin protection type of suit? Also can anyone reccommend any dive outfitters that can show us some good dive sites or do we need to travel to Cozumel. I have heard good things about
Playa del Carmen as well as Isla de Mujeres. I am comfortable in wreck dives, wall dives or reef dives. I want to insure she sees all the wonderful sites down below, but more importantly I want her feeling safe so she enjoys it and wants to do it again soon.
Any inputs would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[alwaysdiving]

Hey Mark, thanks for your words my friend, everything is ready for december,
please give my regards to Sue.

If you're diving in the Cancun area, you owe it to yourself to drop a note to Alvaro at AlwaysDiving.com.

My wife and I have 50+ dives in that area (Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Isla Mujeres, Cozumel and Tulum). We wouldn't bother with Isla Mujeres again.

Cozumel is the better known destination, but that doesn't mean you need to go there.

The sea life is pretty much the same for the Cancun/Playa del Carmen area and Cozumel. I'd say there is actually more fish diving from the mainland.

The reefs off Cancun are shallow (rarely below 55-60 feet) with little current. There are a couple of wrecks in deeper water (~80 feet) that generally also have a fair bit of current. The reefs tend to be fairly flat with short swim throughs. The Lionfish invasion is in full force, but you're allowed to shoot them if you're so inclined, and have the skills to do so without endangering yourself, other divers, or the reef.

The reefs off Cozumel tend to be deeper (100+ feet is common), with less sea life (not to say they're bare because they certainly are not) but with more complicated reef structures. Long swim throughs, caves, etc are common. There tends to be more current off Cozumel. The Lionfish invasion is also going strong there, but you're not allowed to shoot them in the marine park (roughly, the area from the ferry dock around the south end of the island). You can shoot them otuside the marine park, and it seems that most dive ops are happy to arrange trips to the north for this purpose.

And since you're in the area, you have to consider diving the Cenotes at least once. The guided cavern dives are an experience not to be missed. The biggest caution is that you might find yourself addicted, and spending even more money get cave certified...

Basically, I don't think you'll be disappointed in any of the dives in that area.