Where to stay after Playa for convenient diving?

[valechick]

After reading a number of threads on this board in regards to dive ops in the Riviera Maya area, I am in touch with Alvaro from AlwaysDiving. My husband and I are sneaking away for a quick 9 nights at the end of Aug and have already booked the first 5 nights at a luxury Playa resort. I originally planned on diving as soon as we arrived but since we're paying a pretty penny @ the Paradisus La Perla, I thought it best that we relax, eat, and drink as much as possible while there. We would probably do at least one day of local diving there, as I think there are cenotes?

I'm trying to decide where to go/stay for the remaining 4 nights. We are flying in and out of Cancun International and since Alvaro's dive op is in the Cancun area, north of Playa, I was thinking that the diving might be better (aka more time efficient for us in terms of getting to and from dive sites) if we aim to stay in either Cozumel or somewhere north of Playa. Many blogs and threads say that Cozumel is dirty and overrun with tourists and the beaches aren't as nice as Playa. Others rave about it. My husband doesn't drink and we are a bit past the clubbing age so we don't want to land in the Cancun hotel zone either. We love a nice beach and would prefer nothing below 4-star (celebrating our anniversary) hotels. We are also both gluten free so good food is a huge bonus, whether it be local or at a resort. We like to wander in our free time so the hotel doesn't have to be AI but I haven't found many non-AI hotels that are any cheaper.

I am overwhelmed with the sheer number of options and figured it best to get the intel from the more experienced Riviera Maya travelers and divers. Any help, advice or guidance would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you

 

[DandyDon]

I guess you are talking about Playa del Carmen? There are many Playas.

You get the best info on the PDC area on the Mexico forum, and on Cozumel on it's own forum. Downtown and the pier area can both be overrun with cruisers and they may congregate at a few other spots, but they are easy enough to avoid - and Cozumel is not what I'd call dirty. I suppose you can read anything on some sites.

 

[DjDiverDan]

For diving, nothing on the coast can really touch Cozumel. And I would not call Cozumel dirty - I've been going there for 24 years and I love Cozumel; frankly, I think Playa del Carmen is dirtier than Cozumel. Cozumel is not really a beach destination, though there are some nice Beach Clubs - but if you want to avoid the horde of Cruise tourists, that's not the way to go except on Sunday when there aren't any Cruise ships in port. Most of Cozumel is ironstone shore great for diving, not so much for vegging on the beach. If you really want to avoid the Cruisers, there are some very nice resorts farther south, with nice beach areas, and you'll be very convenient to the prime dive spots. Personally, I don't stay at the Southern resorts because those are mostly AI, and for me one of the big draws of Cozumel is the abundance of great restaurants.

 

[TSandM]

It's not entirely clear to me what it is that you want to do.

You are staying 5 nights in Playa, with one day of diving. Then you have four days to dive -- and it sounds as though you want to do it with this particular dive operator? I would ask him where he recommends staying. However, the diving north of Playa does not have the same reputation as either Cozumel or the reefs south of there. (I haven't done any open water diving north of Playa myself -- that's just what I have heard and read.)

If you want the clearest water, you want to go over to Coz. But you won't be diving with a mainland dive operator there.

We have done some open water diving off Puerto Aventuras, and I was very pleasantly surprised at how lush and beautiful the reefs were. PA is also handy to a number of cenotes. There are several dive operators there. We have dived with Aquanauts (but not under the current ownership) and with Dive Aventuras, who did a very nice job of handling our group last October.

I've done a grand total of one open water dive from Akumal, and I was distressed at the poor quality of the reef we saw, with a lot of dead coral and algae-covered reef.

Tulum is a bustling little town, with many dive operators and many lodging options. It also has the Tulum ruins, isn't far from Coba (on the off chance that the weather makes diving unattractive), and is close to many cenotes.

 

[Bubbles below]

I'm staying a week at the Melia in Cozumel and a week at the Mayan Palace Riviera Maya in Mar 2015. I would like to dive the reefs, wrecks, and Cenotes. I believe I would do at least 20 dives w the 2 locations. Im looking for a dive operator near both of my resorts. I heard the Mayan has a dive operator but I cant seem to get a hold of them.

 

[Skittl1321]

but if you want to avoid the horde of Cruise tourists

If you want to avoid the cruise tourists, spend your day underwater. The diving in Cozumel is amazing. The tourists mostly clear out at night, so you can go to dinner in peace. And if you stay at one of the southern AI resorts, you won't see cruisers at all, except maybe one or two on your dive boat (at least that was my experience at the Sabor)

We've been to Cozumel twice and didn't find it to be dirty at all. I can't compare to Playa Del Carmen, but I will say that the beaches in Cozumel aren't amazing- but the reef is!

 

[warmwaterturner]

The only place for me is the Royal. Its all inclusive, not cheap but you can get good deals off-peak and its on the beach!

 

[bluechub]

Did anyone dive the reefs around Puerto Morelos (just north of PDC)? It is a marine park, supposedly in better shape than the reefs around PDC and Akumal?

 

[Sideways]

Look at the Playz vs. PM thread on the first Coz page, I listed some PM and playa sites.

 

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