Dive resorts in Cancun?

[Betty800]

Hi there - I was wondering if anyone could recommend a relatively economical place to stay in Cancun that might be diver-friendly (i.e. with possible rinse stations), perhaps a dive resort. I went diving with Mayan Aqua in early June however I stayed at a somewhat ritzy resort (mostly b/c it wasn't primarily a dive vacation). I want to make another trip back in September, but I don't necessarily need something as posh. All the choices I find on expedia or travelocity are pretty resorty. Thanks for all the help!

[ben@scorpiodivers.com]

hey betty,
you know cancun is big and glitzy resorts, cozumel has the diver friendly hotels/resorts atmosphere, cancun has the all inc. family hotel theme but in the oasis hotels, 4*, nice facilites, all inc. and the oasis playa 2 min beach walk from us i can get rates as little as $65 p/p per night, thats a steal! has to be based on 2 people as a sumplement charge applies if your coming solo.
hey, theres always a hammack in my beach palapa!!
lol

[Terbear]

Betty,

Have never been to Cancun diving but we are thinking about it. We just came back from Cozumel. We stayed at the Wyndham Cozumel Resort and Spa(Fancy name, not as Fancy as it sounds and it was diver friendly and the price was right). Dive shop there is Sanddollar Sports. They are AWESOME. All our needs were met. We were a group of 13 and had a blast. They actually picked us up from a pier closer to our room so we did not have to walk so far. Cozumel diving is the best although it is all drift dives. Punta Sur and Palancar Caves were our favorites along with Columbia shallow. I have heard that there are dive operations close to the hotels in Cancun but have not found a resort with it's own dive operation yet. Let me know if you do. Any help would be appreciated. Good luck.

[Betty800]

Hi Terbear, Thanks for your post - glad to hear you had a good time in Cozumel. My boyfriend and I actually visited Playa del Carmen and had every intention of making it there but Playa diving was superb and we wanted more than anything to check the cenotes, and we just ran out of time! But Cozumel is definitely on our "to-do" list.

Regarding Cancun, I'm not all that familiar with dive resorts, or operations based out of hotels. But if you read the post from the guy before yours, that is a good place to start. Ben Mooney runs an operation, Mayan Aqua Dive, and he is awesome. I had a great experience with him when in Cancun and also with the references he gave me for Playa. Definitely ask him about any Cancun resorts he could recommend if he is busy. If you end up diving with his operation, you'll see some really nice stuff. Good luck!!

Betty

[Terbear]

Thanks for your help. I will do that.

Terri

[Spratman]

TerBear,

Many of the hotels have in-house dive ops. The Royal Resorts and VCI have MAD and Aqua World. That is less of an issue, than getting a good dive op. There are several good ones, but I dive with MAD since I've been diving down there. Actually, before MAD, but that's my personal choice.

Ben has trained me, my son and daughter. This year he'll be training my oldest daughter and other daughters fiance. Excellent service, fast boat and they will not take you to any less than great marine structures. You arrive as a customer and leave as a friend.

Cancun gets a bad rap. The marine life is very good. It's just everyone compares it to Coz. Apples and oranges. I will actually make a trip to Coz this year, just to see what all the hoo-haa is about. I know it has fabulous walls and different topology. I just like checking everything out, so all the reefs I've dove before, always has something new.

The Oasis hotels are solid. I know Ben and Alan (another Brit) book their guests in one of them. Never had any bad reports. $65/night is a very good rate. My resort is like $1500/wk.

I'm sure you'll have a great trip. I'll be down the first week of Sept. For me, I have a timeshare. Otherwise, I wouldn't care. If it has a good bed, hot shower and air-conditioning, I'm golden.

Wish you good weather!