Banco Chinchorro / Mahahual, January 2024 - lots of questions :)

[globetrotter]

I am planning a trip to the Yucatan this coming January (2024). I've been many times, but never south of Tulum. I've wanted to dive Banco Chinchorro for almost 20 years, but life happened. Now, the kids are certified, and this is finally the moment.

There are four of us, and my kids are new divers. They've got 10 dives each from our trip to Bonaire last year. Will BC present any challenges? I'm not comfortable putting them in strong currents yet. Also, my youngest is 12, so he has a depth limit of 18m for now. Are the BC dive sites deeper than that? I am contacting Amigos del Mar; they seem to have a good rep here on the boards. Plus, their boat looks comfortable

What do y'all think of the conditions at BC? Healthy corals and marine life? I ask because Cozumel makes me sad these days…so many fond memories from years ago when the reefs were amazing. Does anyone have any recommendations for places to stay in/around Mahahual? How about food? Does anyone have any favorite restaurants? Lastly (sorry for all the questions), does anyone think a few nights in Bacalar is worth it? The lagoon photos are stunning, and the cenote swims look fun. I'd like to take the kid's cenote diving, but I just started researching that.

Looking forward to your replies!

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

well, if you google banco chinchorro, this is the first picture that comes up.

I'm sure its fine, though.


In all seriousness, though. A good friend of mine dove down there a couple of years ago and said it was fantastic. Except for the Disney cruise ships. But he said you just avoid downtown when they disembark. He loved the restaurants and general vibe of Mahahual. Plus you can drive to Belize!

 

[Vikram14]

Planning to go to BC in December from Mahahual; also diving with Amigos del Mar and planning to end trip with a stay in Bacalar!

 

[gwklein]

XTC Dive Center in Xcalak also goes to BC when the weather is good. Xcalak is the last town in Mexico before the Belize border. I was there is February a few years ago and got to go to BC. The conditions are generally not good in January/February so I was lucky. It was a long boat ride out to BC. We did three dives and had a tour of the small town, most of which seemed to be floating since there was not very much land. At least two of the dives were under 60 feet. The third was slightly deeper but you could have stayed shallower if you wanted to. Did not do the croc snorkel but saw others doing it. Did not see any crocs while diving but there were many waiting for the fisherman to clean fish in town and throw them the unused pieces. The crocs were very used to people and did not appear threatening at all.

Even though the weather started out good, on the return trip a thunderstorm popped up and the conditions became very, very rough. There was nowhere to take shelter between BC and the mainland. Some of the divers got pretty sick on the way back. I would highly recommend XTC for diving and I really enjoyed BC; however, I would question going again in January/February.