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MexicoTraveling to Cancun, Cozumel, Akumal, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Ixtapa or another local island? Want to find out more about that dream vacation? Well, it's all here so come, join us!
We are staying in Playa Blanca, Half Moon Bay in June. We were so excited about diving but have read very disheartening reports about how poor the diving is now in Akumal and how damaged the reefs are. We are planning to dive with Dive Adventures, we have two certified divers and our three teens who have finished the bookwork and will be certifying there. Do you recommend Dive Adventures? Do you book in advance or can you negotiate a better price in person with pesos? Also considering Hidden Worlds, did you dive there or snorkel the cenotes? Is the diving considerably better than the snorkeling there?
Thanks for any help, we are so excited for this adventure, but anxious for any inside information we can have before arriving.
I wouldn't take your newly certified teens to do a cenote dive. Enjoying those dives really does require good buoyancy skills and a reasonable comfort level with your diving.
Akumal will be a great place for first ocean dives. It's mostly shallow reefs and the diving is done as single tank trips. As for the health of the reefs.... those of us who have done a lot of diving there over several years have certainly seen the changes. For divers who've never been to Akumal before, well, it's all relative to your previous diving experience. Some will be disappointed and saddend by the state of things and others will get up from the same dive and rave about how great it was. Everyone's perception base-line, as well as their expectation, will vary. Go with an open mind and no expectations then make up your own mind.
Whatever diving your family does, make sure to also plan to do a bit of snorkeling in Akumal Bay (there's a resident turtle population), Yal Ku Lagoon and Half Moon Bay. HMB is the most challenging to snorkel since it's less protected, shallow quite a ways out and in areas the coral is pretty close to the surface, but, when we stay in a condo on HMB we see lots of rays and turtles come really close into shore.
Hope you have great trip!
This member has said "Thank you." to scubawife for this useful post:
Do you recommend Dive Adventures?
I am not a big fan of Dive Adventures. Mainly because the owner keeps now a fishing boat and well as a dive boat in HMB which is against the law. When I was down in April, DA had even rented out fishing equipment to 2 guys that were fishing off the beach in front of La Buena Vida until one of the locals went down to the guys and told them it was not ligal. NO ONE at DA or La Buena Vida mentioned this to the guys. I realise this sounds picky, but HMB is supposed to be a designated ecological zone w/ no fishing or boats allowed. If you really care about the reef then you follow these rules and do what you can to help perserve it. Yes, the reef is not what it was 15-20 years ago, but it is still spawning grounds for many fish and turtle nesting.
There are 2 other dive centers in Akumal, both in Akumal bay: Akumal Dive Center (by Lol Ha restaurant) and Akumal Dive Shop (by the arches). Both of these were started by locals, have web sites and good dive masters. If I had to pick I would prefer ADC, only because I know them better.
Do you book in advance or can you negotiate a better price in person with pesos?
Prices are pretty much the same between all 3. If you pay in cash you can get a 10% discount. You really don't need to book in advance (except for the day before of course). It is always better to pay in pesos just because of the exchange rate.
Also considering Hidden Worlds, did you dive there or snorkel the cenotes? Is the diving considerably better than the snorkeling there?
I completely agree w/ Fishwife, do not take newly certified teens. But going snorkeling there is a wonderful experience. There are many cenotes that can be dove or snorkled, most of which are being bought up by a company called All-tournatives (sp). Hidden Worlds is still locally owned. 2 others that are good are: Dos Ohos and Grand Cenote. Dos Ohos is be Hidden Worlds and Grand Cenote is a few miles down the road to Coba.
Visibilty was only around 50' due to some rain before we got there and heavy surf from high winds that lasted the entire trip. Diving was called off one day do to the high southern winds.
Pretty funny..... only in the Maya Rivera will 50' visibilty be a "bad" dive.....
Pretty funny..... only in the Maya Rivera will 50' visibilty be a "bad" dive.....
I never said it was a "bad" dive. Please read the post again.
But since you brought it up.....50' vis can be considered bad visability in a lot of places. But low vis alone does not make a bad dive. In the case of Akumal, it was the lack of sea life and diseased coral that were the dissapointments.
I never said it was a "bad" dive. Please read the post again.
But since you brought it up.....50' vis can be considered bad visability in a lot of places. But low vis alone does not make a bad dive. In the case of Akumal, it was the lack of sea life and diseased coral that were the dissapointments.
Dont take offense....I was being sarcastic... Meaning only in Cancun, will 50 feet mean "bad" because where Im from, 20 feet is a blessing...
I never said it was a "bad" dive. Please read the post again.
But since you brought it up.....50' vis can be considered bad visability in a lot of places. But low vis alone does not make a bad dive. In the case of Akumal, it was the lack of sea life and diseased coral that were the dissapointments.
The lack of sealife was what disappointed me about cozumel as well. Cancun had much more sealife when I was there last year. The report from that trip can be found somewhere on this board for more information. I also dove Chak Mool and thats definetly oe of the weirdest experiences Ive had. Its something wrong about jumping into what seems to be a pool of murky water in the middle of the jungle and find something like that :o (We where the first ones there in the morning and the water had a thick layer of dust and stuff on it that you couldnt even see through)
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I wonder if periodic short term exposure to risk can decrease your longterm risk of accidents. I hope it does..
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