Diving Cancun Review

[Paddler_46]

Seasons Greeting Ya'll,

Margo and I are back from our diving vacation in Sunny Cancun, Mexico. If you are newbies like we are, you might want to consider a diving vacation to Cancun, the great Gringo Resort.

We carried our own gear to Mexico, feeling that it would increase our comfort level if we dove with our own gear. We dove with Solo Buceo after reading positive comments about them in the Rec.Scuba newsgroup. Diving in Cancun is drift diving, which was something new for us. Solo's fleet of boats ( three I think ), two 20 footers with outboards and a 24 footer inboard diesel. We went out on the 24 footer, usually with 4 to 6 divers, 2 DMs and a Videographer. The first dive was usually around 55 ft and the second dive of the day was about 40-50ft. Visibility varied from 40 to 75ft.

Our dive master with Solo Buceo was a young fellow named Marko, he was a great guide. He took the time to show us things we would have probably missed, lobsters in hidy-holes, crabs and large conch. He coaxed a very large green moray eel out of its lair, the critter was a least 7 ft long. On each dive as we gathered on the sea floor, the ever watchful Barracuda would form a ring around our group. They would stay about 10 yds away and escort us through their domain.

We enjoyed diving with Solo Buceo, they are a good group of people. They are located only 15 to 20 minutes away from the dive locations. The downside of Solo Buceo was in the winter months their earliest dive time is 10am, with an afternoon dive at 2pm and night dives when they have four or more divers.

We also dove with Aqua World, they offer an 8am dive. Much larger boat, 43 footer?, better equipped. We were fortunate in that we only dove with 4 other divers, 4 DMs and the videographer. We were told that the 2pm dive usually has 18 divers. The day we went out with Aqua World, the Gulf was cooking, 5 to 6 ft seas, we were happy to be on the larger boat! Aqua World took us to the same dive areas that Solo Buceo had shown us. The Aqua World DMs seemed to totally lack the joy of diving. The diving was just a business, get them in, show them around, get them back safe. The only bright spot was the equipment handler on the Aqua World boat. He rigged our gear, and keep a watchful eye on us. He offered assistance to the two divers who became seasick (an icepack on the back of the neck seems to work wonders). We gave him the tip we usually gave to the DMs.

Talking with other divers in Cancun, we found that about half bring their own gear. Almost all take the day trip to Cozumel. Scuba Cancun was another dive operation that was highly recommended by the divers we met.

The nice thing about going to Cancun was there is some much to see and do. We took breaks in diving so that we could do some shopping and also see Xcaret, we highly recommend this day trip. The Mexican people we meet were friendly and most helpful. If you made even a feeble attempt at speaking Spanish, they would bend over backwards to assist you.

Now that we have experienced drift diving, and have 6 salt water dives under our belts, our next Mexican adventure will be Cozumel.

Happy Holidays to all,

 

[Paddler_46]

Just a few things I forgot to mention in the originial post.

If you can manage it based on airline weight limits, we recommend bringing your own gear, at least your regs. It's a pain to haul your own stuff but we saw numerous air leaks on some of the rental equipment.

The water tempature was in the 78 degree range, we dove in full 3/2's and were very comfortable. Some divers were just in shorties, but we did see them sporting goose bumps during the dives.

The coral formations in Cancun were not as large as those we saw on Grand Bahama Island (our first Intro into the wonderful world of scuba), but in Cancun they were swarming with tropical fish. There were numerous swim thrus that the DMs and Videographers lead you through. All captured on VCR tape for $50 a copy. We passed on that, but in retrospect we should have bought one to show our friends and family. Seeings how we blew both of our disposable 47ft cameras.

Bottom time was better with Solo Buceo than Aqua World. The reason being Aqua world under-filled the tanks big time. The max pressure we saw on any tank was under 2600 lbs, most were in the 2000-2400 range.

Being newbie divers, Cancun was a good stepping stone dive vacation for us. We saw new sites, learned more about our equipment, learned how to drift dive (be sure to stick with your buddy, it's easy to get seperated in drift diving), learned the joys of re-boarding the boat in fairly heavy seas (couple bruises earned there), and overall just had a great time.

Best Wishes & Happy New Year !

 

[joewr]

There should be warnings on dive shop ads such as the ones on tabacco products: "The Surgeon General...". And Aqua World would have one! They purport to be the largest dive company in the world and that should be the first warning! We have seen their boats loaded with 20-some divers and it was a sight not to behold! Although we have never dived with them, we did hear from a fellow diver who did: he said it was like a circus. Everyone just jumped in the water and he never did figure out who the dive master was!

But, they are lest costly than the other shops! This may be an example of, "You get what you pay for."

Cancun is definitely like a slice of America! If you want a little more Mexican scene with nice diving, go the extra few miles and visit Cozumel. It is a lot less commericial and has very nice diving. Isla de las Mujeres (Isle of the Women) is more primative than the former two and sports diving on a par with Cozumel. Cheaper digs and less choice of restaurants, etc.

We were about to head further south to Belize, but Hurricane Kieth has made us change our plans. We hear that Placencia has a great whale shark season, but that the accommadations are a little like a Sidney Greenstreet/ H. Bogart tropics movie: i,e, lots of ceiling fans and no AC. The sybarite in my takes pause. Anyone been there?

Joewr