My wife, two daughters, and I just returned from a 5 night trip to Isla Mujeres to see whale sharks and scuba dive. We were not disappointed. Enrique, who owns and operated Enrique's Unique Dives, was our dive choice. He was fantastic! I wanted to make the right choice because my daughters (ages 14 and 17) and wife had not been out diving in 2 years. Not only did he watch out for our safety and well being, but his warmth and smile made us feel more like family than clients. I was amazed that every other diver that went with us over the 3 days we dove were repeat customers who came back especically to dive with Enrique. Folks from Washington, Oregon, Brussels, and Canada came back to Enrique because they knew what we found out. He's the best! Also, normally we take our own gear when going on dive trips. But, wanting to get by on carry on, we decided to use gear provided by Enrique. It was all in perfect working order, and we had absolutely no problems. In fact, the only thing that went wrong was my daughters mask strap broke (which was ours, not part of his gear). Enrique gave her his mask to use and we continued on without any worries. He really did a great job and you'd be doing yourself a favor to check out is web site or face book page.
He also helped get us on the Ixchell II for their whale shark snorkeling trip. I choose this trip specifically in hopes of getting to see and jump in with a whale shark or two. When we made it out to the spot where they'd be gathering we saw more whale sharks then we could count. We were able to snorkel in small groups with them as the whale sharks swam by, under, around and over (if you swam down) us. A truly remarkable experience, only enhanced by the helpful crew on the Ixchell II. Afterwards we went to a nice reef where we snorkeled while the crew made fresh shrimp ceviche for all of us. Knowing my youngest was not a ceviche fan, Enrique arranged for chicken sandwiches as well. They provided soft drinks and beer with the meal and it was one of the best memories of my life. You can contact them at
Ixcheltour_islamujeres@hotmail.com.
The boat was comfortable, fast, with twin 225 outboards and a working radio. All things to consider when heading out into the open ocean to find the whale sharks.
Finally, they were clear on the rules about not touching the whales sharks or the reefs, which preserves both and something I'm not sure all of the other boats did. I was glad because both need to be protected and I appreciated the fact they demonstrated this awareness. They were great, but we were not overly surprised since Enrique recommended them.
Isla Mujeres is a great little island that divers have known about for years. The whale sharks that arrive in June and leave at the end of August are a rare and wonderful experience which I highly recommend to anyone with interests in seeing these beautiful animals. Have fun and enjoy!
