Any cavern or training course experience with Yucatech?

[scubawife]

I'll be in Cozumel and Akumal in early December and I'm thinking about doing either a Cavern or Intro to Cave course. Has anyone done any courses in Cozumel with Yucatech, or used them as a guide for cenote/cavern/cave dives?

Has anyone done any cavern dives in Cozumel? How do they compare with the mainland?

I could do a course with someone I already know in the Akumal area, but I've heard that Yucatech is very good so I thought I'd check out that options as well.

 

[divingjd]

There is also a shop in Playa called "Yucatek" which is not affiliated with the shop in Coz.

 

[Christi]

I'll be in Cozumel and Akumal in early December and I'm thinking about doing either a Cavern or Intro to Cave course. Has anyone done any courses in Cozumel with Yucatech, or used them as a guide for cenote/cavern/cave dives?

Has anyone done any cavern dives in Cozumel? How do they compare with the mainland?

I could do a course with someone I already know in the Akumal area, but I've heard that Yucatech is very good so I thought I'd check out that options as well.

I can give Herman very high recommendations. He's one of the best in the business.

On the mainland, I would highly recommend Dennis at Diablo Divers.

Just a note, there are no "cavern" dives in Cozumel unless you count the little one at Chankanaab. The rest are full cave...so you would need to be full cave certified or be in trining with a cave instructor.

 

[scubawife]

I can give Herman very high recommendations. He's one of the best in the business.

On the mainland, I would highly recommend Dennis at Diablo Divers.

Just a note, there are no "cavern" dives in Cozumel unless you count the little one at Chankanaab. The rest are full cave...so you would need to be full cave certified or be in trining with a cave instructor.

After trying different guides, we've been using Dennis for our cenote/cavern dives on our Akumal trips. He is our favorite! That's who I was considering for my cavern or cave intro course.

A few Cozumel DM's have spoken very highly of German Yanez, so I thought I'd consider the option. Yucatech's site indicates that they conduct both courses in Cozumel. Hmm, if there's nothing considered "cavern" on the island then I wonder how they do the course?

 

[Christi]

After trying different guides, we've been using Dennis for our cenote/cavern dives on our Akumal trips. He is our favorite! That's who I was considering for my cavern or cave intro course.

A few Cozumel DM's have spoken very highly of German Yanez, so I thought I'd consider the option. Yucatech's site indicates that they conduct both courses in Cozumel. Hmm, if there's nothing considered "cavern" on the island then I wonder how they do the course?

There's the little one at Chankanaab and then I am pretty certain he takes you to the mainland for the rest of them. I am not a cave or cavern instructor...so I am not familiar with all of the training standards. I do know however that if you just want to go dives caverns on the island, you only have the Chankanaab option an it's not all that much.

 

[scubawife]

There's the little one at Chankanaab and then I am pretty certain he takes you to the mainland for the rest of them. I am not a cave or cavern instructor...so I am not familiar with all of the training standards. I do know however that if you just want to go dives caverns on the island, you only have the Chankanaab option an it's not all that much.

I'm just looking for any info or anyone's experience with Yucatech since a few DM's who are also cave divers have spoken very highly of German as a diver and instructor. I don't plan on making caves a regular part of my Cozumel diving (I like the ocean dives too much). This would just be for the course. I'll keep the cenote/cavern trips for the time I spend in Akumal.

 

[ScubaTony]

Christi is right on all counts, (especially German. He is a great guy and very professional cave instructor) except one. There are 2 small cavern tours available in Cozumel. Chankanaab and Areolito (next to Caleta). Niether is very impressive if you compare them to the Cenotes on the mainland. They are small and dark and a little bit technical to dive in for if you are not cave certified. They do offer a totally different kind of diving from what you would find anywhere else if you did want to do a cavern tour and try something totally different from what you have ever seen before. I am not a cave instructor but am cave certified and have done tours Areolito. For those interested in Cave diving/training they are both very diverse and large cave systems. Water temps are 76 in the fresh water and 84 in the lower salt water. The Halocline is amazing!

 

[Christi]

Christi is right on all counts, (especially German. He is a great guy and very professional cave instructor) except one. There are 2 small cavern tours available in Cozumel. Chankanaab and Areolito (next to Caleta). Niether is very impressive if you compare them to the Cenotes on the mainland. They are small and dark and a little bit technical to dive in for if you are not cave certified. They do offer a totally different kind of diving from what you would find anywhere else if you did want to do a cavern tour and try something totally different from what you have ever seen before. I am not a cave instructor but am cave certified and have done tours Areolito. For those interested in Cave diving/training they are both very diverse and large cave systems. Water temps are 76 in the fresh water and 84 in the lower salt water. The Halocline is amazing!

Oh wow! I didn't realize Aerolito was considered cavern I thought it was full cave...good thing to learn. Thanks Tony!

 

[scubawife]

Christi and Tony, thanks for the info.

 

[Hooked4Life]

We used Dennis at Diablo Divers last August in PDC. You can see some pics (not the best but you get the idea) on my web site. Dennis was a great dive master and we had a great cenotes dive experience. I would highly recommend him.