Fav dive place in Mexico?

[heaveninawetsuit]

A few friends and I want to go to Mexico this summer. I've always been skeptical going to Mexico because the handful of stories I've heard about diving down there have never been a "wow" experience. Any recommendations on where to go and places to stay? Thanks!

 

[DeltaWardog]

Cozumel. Stayed at Villablanca (cheap, clean, staff is awesome) and dove with Dive with Martin (cheap, fast boats, staff is awesome). The reefs were incredible. Thumbs up all around.

We were (still are) newbies and perhaps easily impressed.

 

[georoc01]

A few friends and I want to go to Mexico this summer. I've always been skeptical going to Mexico because the handful of stories I've heard about diving down there have never been a "wow" experience. Any recommendations on where to go and places to stay? Thanks!

Living in Denver, I do enjoy going to Cozumel. If you enjoy warm water diving, its one of the few places you can get to in the Caribbean with a direct flight from here.

Wow experience? I'm not sure how to define that, and it probably depends on your experience. Compared to diving in Colorado? Every dive is a wow experience. Compared to the Great Barrier Reef? No, its not probably at that level. But the water is warm, the vis is great with plenty to see with easy drift diving.

As far as where to stay depends on what you are looking for. If you want an AI with a great beach close to the reefs, go for a place like Hotel Allegro or Iberostar. If you like to stay close to town, I've been staying the Hotel Cozumel.

 

[Tjack]

Cozumel is probably the best diving in all of Mexico. The entire east coast of the Yucatan peninsula from Isla Mujeres to Xcalac on the Belize border has diving. Cenote cavern diving in the Yucatan is unforgetable. Playa del Carmen and Tulum are both popular with the euro backpacker set and give access to both Cenote and ocean diving. Have fun

 

[Waterskier1]

I've only been to Cozumel once, and while the least favorite of all my dive destinations, it is very good. As Tom says, the reef there runs all the way down to past Belize, and is second only to the Great Barrier Reef. Also, I really enjoyed the Cenote diving. I think Cozumel is probably the best base for scuba diving. A day trip for 2 to 3 Cenote dives on the mainland is very doable at little extra cost. We caught the ferry in the morning, the dive op picked us up at the ferry dock on the mainland and took us for the dives and returned us back to the dock.

My dislike of Cozumel is the fact it is in Mexico, and doesn't directly have anything to do with the actual diving or quality of the reef or aquatic life. Questionable water, questionable government (although it's not quite as bad on the island), and a second language are among my dislikes. I also don't think that Mexico appreciates the tourists for anything more than the money they bring. This is in contrast to other Caribbean dive destinations where I came away with the feeling that the people really wanted me to have an enjoyable vacation and dives, even after they had my money.

As you can tell, those dislikes are very personal in nature. It won't keep me from going back, but it just isn't number one on my list. The real benefit is it is less than a 3 hour flight from Denver. Not like 8 hours to Bonaire, for example. So both airfare and lodging are relatively inexpensive compared to other locations in the world.

 

[Jasonmh]

A few friends and I want to go to Mexico this summer. I've always been skeptical going to Mexico because the handful of stories I've heard about diving down there have never been a "wow" experience. Any recommendations on where to go and places to stay? Thanks!

It certainly depends on your point of reference of course, but I would say there is some opportunity for some wow moments. I really enjoyed the diving in Coz, clear warm water, easy diving, plenty to see... On the mainland we dove Totugas off of Playa Del Carmen, counted 86+ turtles on 2 dives, all types a sizes. Holbox is to the north of there, with the opportunity to see whale sharks (have not done this myself, and assume there are better and worse seasons to see whale sharks). The cenotes on the mainland were a huge hit on our last trip. We took the ferry over from Coz, and did one day of diving there. It is a very unique experience, with gin clear water and viz as far as you can see, beautiful caverns and formations. Everyone was wishing we had scheduled more than 1 day there. There is pretty good reef diving at spots up and down the coast there. Alot will depend on what you are looking for, but we had a great time.

 

[mweaver40]

I just got back from Cozumel. I did it on the cheap and stayed in town at a B&B I also used "Dive with Martin". Cozumel seems like a great dive value. I had a good time and since I am new to diving it all seem great to me. Only issue with "Dive with Martin" is if you value comfort a lot. They do very small groups with small fast boats early in the morning. I liked it but my daughter would not have been happy. You can get wet in the boat which can make you cold and you take some pounding from the waves and boat speed. Captains are very good but they can't miss every wave. On the other hand you get a lot of freedom from the DM due to small group size but they still act professionally and do their best to keep you safe. WOW is relative. Corral is not what I had heard it used to be before the big hurricane but the shallows are still very colorful. Lots of sponges, large turtles and cave like canyons. Lots of dive choices. A few sharks, large barracudas and some small rays. Also did Cabo in Sept with Amigos Del Mar. I liked it and visibility was plenty good enough for me but the dive sites were crowded. Fish and eels were really nice. Marine sanctuary down at the end of Baja is a nice dive and nearly deserted but takes a whole day to drive down, dive and come back from Cabo.

 

[H2ODoc]

I also don't think that Mexico appreciates the tourists for anything more than the money they bring. This is in contrast to other Caribbean dive destinations where I came away with the feeling that the people really wanted me to have an enjoyable vacation and dives, even after they had my money.

I have to disagree with you on this point - at least from my experience with the particular dive shop that I used. We have been there twice now with Blue Angel dive shop and I never once felt that they were just trying to get our money. The divemasters always seem to be friendly and enthusiastic about finding neat things under water, and are always there to help setup your gear, etc.

I'd say many of the shops on Coz have a similar good attitude - just check the regional forum under Cozumel on Scubaboard. Dive with Martin, Living Underwater, Blue XT Sea, etc. are highly regarded on that forum and I think they might change your mind about that.

I'll go further and say that the service in the restaurants is also better than most restaurants here in Colorado. They genuinely seem to want to please.

YMMV!

 

[Waterskier1]

I have to disagree with you on this point - at least from my experience with the particular dive shop that I used. We have been there twice now with Blue Angel dive shop and I never once felt that they were just trying to get our money. The divemasters always seem to be friendly and enthusiastic about finding neat things under water, and are always there to help setup your gear, etc.

I'd say many of the shops on Coz have a similar good attitude - just check the regional forum under Cozumel on Scubaboard. Dive with Martin, Living Underwater, Blue XT Sea, etc. are highly regarded on that forum and I think they might change your mind about that.

I'll go further and say that the service in the restaurants is also better than most restaurants here in Colorado. They genuinely seem to want to please.

YMMV!

My statement was for travel and vacationing in Mexico in general, and was not directed at any specific dive shop or the dive industry in general or any specific city. I felt this way in restaurants, the hotels, taxis, the shops, basically in general. This opinion is formed from vacationing in many different Mexican cities; not just Cozumel. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

 

[Tigerman]

I was in Mexico last summer diving Cozumel, Cancun and Cenotes...
The cenotes is BY FAR what I liked best.
On a good second is actually cancun and Cozumel was far too crowded for my taste.
Cozumel has HUGE reefs, cancun had more fish and sharks and the cenotes i just lack word to describe. Theire weird, in an AWSOME way.