Cheap place in carribbean/Bahamas/st. Thomas etc area with great diving for newbie?

[Damselfish]

The other dive destination that might have shown pyramids in ads would be Belize.

I think Bonaire would be a good place to get certified. The Florida keys, while no shore diving, could be another good option. (You'll pay more to boat diving, but lots less for the plane ticket.) There are other areas of Florida that have a fair amount of shore diving that might work too.

Or yeah, maybe someplace in Roatan.

 

[johnnyscience]

Ahh found the place I was talking about in the ad in Scuba magazine:

Riviera Maya

Anyone know more about this place and the diving?

This would be an awesome trip to do for scuba and checking out the ruins...

 

[diversteve]

That is Tulum - post #7 above. Same picture is on the linked Wikipedia page. So it's mainland Mexico - generally called the Playa area or Mayan Riviera. Typically you fly into Cancun and then get transportation (bus or car) down to that area.

Just a little offshore from there is Cozumel. Tulum can be done from Cozumel as a day trip - a couple of the dive operators offer it as part of their pkgs. One used to go there with their boat (Scuba w/Allison) - not sure if they still do.

Cozumel has slightly better diving since it's offshore - less runoff etc. means clearer water.

Cozumel also has a lot of deep drift diving (100' +) not suited for a new diver.

It is however very affordable, one of the best dive deals in the western Caribbean. You can often request shallower dives and there is some shore diving at a couple of the resorts - Scuba Club Cozumel and Hotel Villablanca are two of them. Hotel VB also has 3 on-site dive operations so you could pick one for your referral. Last year my friends stayed a week at Hotel VB, room/flights were $700 with an Orbitz discount. Diving/food was extra. It's a long walk to town though.

You're "dual-certificationship" is called a referral. Your PADI shop will give you a referral form to be completed by the shop where you decide to do your dives. It's easier if it's a PADI shop also. Expect to pay slightly extra to complete your cert dives compared to regular dive pricing.

Some of the Bahamas can be pretty pricey - Nassau for ex. - and there's no shorediving there. And your boat dive choices are limited to three dive operators. One of them - Stuart Cove's does cater to new divers - and you'd probably see sharks on some of the dives. No pyramids either - unless you count the waterslide at Atlantis...lol

 

[lmorin]

How about this from J Lyle?? It is found during a shore dive from Scuba Club Cozumel and discussed on Scuba Board.

 

[johnnyscience]

ok so I take it this "Riviera Maya" is referring to a long line of coast which makes up many cities, which includes Tulum & not just a particular spot?

There seems to be a few options around the Riviera Maya/Tulum/Cozumel/Belize area.

Plus belize would be cool because it has that crazy blue hole and if it has ruins/pyramids, that would top it off.

I really want to include the Ruins/Archeological sites into the trip as thats a major fascination for me.

And from what I can understand, all of these ruins that are down around that area lay in the Tulum region? Is that correct?

Or are there other places up along the coast within this Riviera Maya/Tulum/Cozumel/Belize area?

I used google maps to check distances between all of these cities,

From Tulum to the center of the Island of Cozumel, its roughly 40 miles - seems like a reasonable amount of distance to hit both places within a 7-10 day trip.

From Tulum to Belize City its roughly 193 miles - which seems like that could also be done as a day trip, stay the night & dive again the next day.

Now I realize these distances are just a straight distance measurement & doesnt give true mileage once you factor in hills, twists, turns etc on the road, but still seems do-able. And someone had even mentioned there may be a LDS that caters to a Tulum/Belize day trip.

It might even make more sense to fly to Belize for the first few days & then finish the remainder of the trip at Tulum/Couzmel since they are so close to each other.

Any advice on this since we have started to narrow it down?

Am I talking an expensive trip here?

I would assume if I could take bus' most of the way, that should help keep down on the cost no?

What would be the most economical way to set this trip up? (Flying in to which airport would be cheapest, taking bus/boat to which city etc)

Also, lmorin, how large is that J Lyle pyramid? Is that diver far away from it so it makes him look large in comparison, or is he right up on it & its actually a mini, artificial pyramid?

Thanks.

 

[robint]

If you are interested in visiting the Mayan ruins on the Mexican Yucatan, you need to order this:
Mayan Adventure map & travel guide
this shows all of the ruins within a day trip of Playa del Carmen.

No, all the ruins are not in Tulum.
Tulum is one Mayan city in the Mayan empire that was in the Yucatan and central Mexico for over 1000yrs. It is one of the smallest of the cities, from the end of the era, so no where near as impressive as most of the others. It is nice to visit due to the fact it is on the coast, so very picturesque. It is easy for tourists and tour buses to reach so it is very busy. Coba is further in the jungle nearby and very impressive. Chichen Itza is several hours away and the most famous of all of the Yucatan ruins.
I have photos and videos of my trip there : Mayan Ruins - Chichen Itza
as I say in my report... It is best to spend time on Cozumel for diving, then spend time on mainland to visit the ruins. Trying to do them both from one point means lots of time wasted traveling back and forth.
the maps are very helpful: cancunmap.com-Your information source


If you plan to go to Belize, be aware that the diving and the ruins are in completely different locations. You should plan to spend a part of trip on the outer islands, like Ambergris Caye for diving, then a few days on the mainland for visiting ruins. There are tour groups that leave from the islands for day trips to ruins but they are all day travel, long travel, but it can be done.
A good website for info is here: Belize Vacations, Tours, Resorts, News, Hotels, Travels, Flights, Weather, Maps, Real Estate
or check with some of the individual dive shops for packages.

robin

 

[johnnyscience]

Thanks for the info & pics Robin, they were great.

Any idea if there is something online for free like taht Mayan Adventure Map & Travel Guide you linked to?

Ok so it seems that trying to do Cozumel/Tulum AND Belize all in one trip seems like its going to be a bit much traveling in order to hit all the sites. (And more traveling means less diving!)

For now I'll say that Belize will have to be a separate trip & I'm going to focus on Cozumel/Tulum & that general area for diving & ruins.

If I was just going to focus on that region, what ruins are available that are close by other than Tulum?

I could fly right into Cozumel couldnt I instead of flying into Cancun?

Would it be more expensive to fly in to Cozumel over cancun though?

Someone else had suggested to focus on Cozumel for diving & take the fairy into the mainland around Tulum & surrounding cities for ruins.

Is there a preferred time of year to visit this area? Or is it pretty much all good all year round?

 

[diversteve]

its actually a mini, artificial pyramid?

that one...look at the fish in the foreground.

 

[johnnyscience]

that one...look at the fish in the foreground.

Ahh yeah, I'm not really interested in artificial pyramids, I'd like to explore the real thing.

Seems like there is a lot to offer down around the Riviera Maya though... just need to narrow it down even more with my latest set of questions in my last post...

 

[the4brewers]

johnnyscience,

Cozumel flights are typically higher. You will get a better deal going into Cancun, but you will need to add a bus ride to Playa and the Ferry to Coz to that.

I have a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo w/ pool on the beach in Akumal that I can rent you real cheap (recession special - $75 a night/non holiday). Things have been slow...usually rents for $180+.

You are w/in walking distance of 3 dive shops, one of which I got my cert at many years ago. You can do reef dives off of Akumal or you can hit Coz for a 2 tank which I do often and that only burns 3/4 of a day R/T.

The Tulum ruins are 30 minutes south (pics in previous post), or there are several others w/in 1-1/2-3 hours (Coba & Chichen-Itza).

FYI... We are doing Akumal to Ambergris Caye for a week of dives in Feb. and you burn about a day taking the bus from Tulum to Chetumal...taxi or bus to Corozal...puddle jumper Corozal to San Pedro.