Cenotes recommendation needed

[gkornfeld]

My son (13) and I are newly certified and we want to do a cenote while visint Coznumel ....We plan a few days on the mainland.. The excusion doesn't have to be pure diving - exploring, tubing, diving etc...

What do folks recommend?

Thanks
Gregg

 

[Lenmonster]

I don't think a cenote is necessarily a good choice for a newly certified diver. You MUST have good buoyancy control, and while you can usually see some light, it IS an overhead environment. Bad buoyancy will just kick up silt and possibly damage the caverns. I did do a cenote relatively early-on, and they are wonderful (and I can't wait to do one again), but be aware that you have to be comfortable in the dark with a cavern ceiling between you and the surface.

 

[halocline]

One thing I would recommend is to make sure that you don't exceed your or your son's abilities by diving in an overhead environment if you are newly certified. I don't mean to be presumptuous, but most new divers, especially kids, are probably not ready to dive in the cenotes, even with a guide. Snorkeling in one is an excellent idea.

But diving in them requires excellent buoyancy control and comfort/confidence with being unable to immediately ascend to the surface. While the cenote cavern zones don't require specialized training and equipment, they are not what most people would consider beginner-appropriate. There are exceptions, and you guys may be among those, but it's not the general case.

 

[scubadada]

The cenotes are not a beginner dive for reasons that have been pointed out. I would reserve these dives for after one has has a reasonable amount of experience.

Good diving, Craig

 

[gkornfeld]

This is really good points. I was hoping there was a beginning one that would work. If you were to snorkel...do folks have a recommendation.

 

[deborahdelamar]

Of course, you can snorkel & swim in a cenote and enjoy the experience without diving. For this, I think you & your son would have a blast at Hidden Worlds Cenote Park near Tulum. For great examples of cave formations and a brief history, take the tour of the (mostly) dry cave Actun Chen (also spelled Aktun Chen with or without spaces between the words) near Akumal.

 

[driftwood]

I completely agree with the other posts regarding new divers and cenotes. The problem is more than just being comfortable in an overhead environment. Cenote dives are slow dives. Hard for new divers to maintain their position in the water column while moving at a snails pace. In addition the water in the cenotes is cold, around 75 degrees. I recommend a 5mm wetsuit. This is a problem because cenote dives are shallow dives and your suit doesn't have enough pressure to compress.

The best excursion for snorkeling in a cenote is offered by a company call alltournatives. They take you back off the highway to a cenote that you can penetrate well past the light zone with snorkel gear. They would be my first choice. Hidden Worlds is another good alternative as are the day trips by Yucatreks. Any of the three will provide you and your son a very memorable day.

http://www.alltournative.com/
http://www.hiddenworlds.com/
http://www.yucatreks.com/

 

[firstdive2005]

Hi gkornfeld-it would be wise to not do cenote diving right now at your current experience level. Deb has given great instructions for Hidden worlds at Akumal. Trust me it will freak your son out to do all the adventure stuff they have. Bring your mask and snorkel, good running shoes. That is the safe thing to do for now. have fun with your son. kev

 

[Offroad]

My wife and I dove Dos Ojos and Bat Cave with Victor at Hidden Worlds last summer and very much enjoyed it. I agree that you need to be very comfortable diving and have good bouyancy skills for this type of environment.

The snorkeling at Dos Ojos is great and you would still get to experience the beauty of the Cenotes this way. There is also ziplines, skycycles and the Jungle Buggy rides are also fun. The Tulum Ruins are just a short distance away as well, we just waved a Colectivo down to get there and back.

 

[TSandM]

I would second the recommendation for contacting Alltournatives. They have contracts at several very nice sites to snorkel. You can get a real sense for how beautiful the cenotes are that way, and if you like what you see, you can plan a diving tour trip for when you have a bit more experience under your belts.

There are also cenotes where you can simply drive there and pay a small fee to swim. Cenote Eden is one of these, and a beautiful open water basin with emerald green moss and brilliantly colored cichlids, as well as other small fish, and sometimes even eels. Cenote Cristal is another beautiful pond to swim, as is cenote Mayan Blue (across the road). You can have a lot of fun in the cenotes without diving. Just bring mosquito repellent!