Going to Riviera Maya, staying at occidental grand xcaret. Suggestions?

[Rpeiffer]

Going from 5/26 to 6/2. It's just below Playa De Carmen. Any suggestions or information on where there might be some good diving? Is anyone familiar with the on site dive shop?

Guess I've gotta plan at least one trip to Coz? So, any good operators there to use for a day trip?

 

[TN Diver]

My wife and I stayed at Grand Xcaret Feb 2005. We dove with the operator in the park and they were awesome. We dove Tortugas Reef and Barracuda Reef. No cattle boats. The first dive was my wife, myself and the guide. On the second dive, 2 addtional people joined. The dropoff for Tortugas was right in front of the beach of the hotel. You can book the dives at the hotel. It is worth checking into.

 

[georoc01]

I concur. I did a dive with the Xcaret ops and it was just the my gf and I and the dive op. They even had someone to take our pic underwater on the way back. Great dive.

 

[TSandM]

Book a day of cenote tours, no matter what else you do. It's a once-in-a-lifetime diving experience of incredible, awe-inspiring beauty.

 

[yankeenica]

My wife and I stayed at Grand Xcaret Feb 2005. We dove with the operator in the park and they were awesome. We dove Tortugas Reef and Barracuda Reef. No cattle boats. The first dive was my wife, myself and the guide. On the second dive, 2 addtional people joined. The dropoff for Tortugas was right in front of the beach of the hotel. You can book the dives at the hotel. It is worth checking into.

what is the name of the dive operator please?

 

[JUST1RICK]

Going from 5/26 to 6/2. It's just below Playa De Carmen. Any suggestions or information on where there might be some good diving? Is anyone familiar with the on site dive shop?

Guess I've gotta plan at least one trip to Coz? So, any good operators there to use for a day trip?

I was at the Occidental Grand Cozumel in January 2008 and the dive shop there was great (at least for me as a beginner it was) you could probably get a day pass from the Xcaret to use the Cozumel facilities at no xtra charge (I know they had day passes from the Allegro to the Gran d in cozumel and the resort is usually very good about that sort of thing)

 

[andrethediver]

Occidental Grand in Cozumel is awesome - we stayed there in September 2008. Food leaves more to be desired but accomodations are spectacular. Onsite dive ops - Dive Palancar are great and due to the location of the hotel boat rides are short. Make sure you bring lots of mosquito repellent if you're planning to stay overnight.

 

[scubajcf]

Xcaret is beautiful and only about ten minutes from Playa.
If you get a chance to dive the Mama Vina (wreck in 90').
Also, dive the Cenotes. Great experience.

I have no experience with the dive operator in the park, but I would suggest emailing them and letting them know your specific needs and request. Generally speaking, I have found the resort shops, in Playa, are convenient, but their boats tend to be very crowded, dives are "not so deep" and very short.

However, there seem to be a lot of folk who speak differently about the shop at the Xcaret.



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[Merchant.r]

We stayed there a couple weeks ago. It was a cool resort.

We booked 2 days of diving with Jason and Klaus. I managed to talk my other half into a 3rd day of diving. We went through the resort dive shop. They were very friendly. We went the very next morning.

I also agree with TSandM.. see the cenotes!! If our vacation had been longer, we would have done another day there.

Have fun!

 

[Fly Girl]

I'm staying at the Occidental Grand Xcaret in late Feb. It is great to hear what others have to say. My husband doesn't dive, so if anyone else is going to be down there in the same timeframe pls pm me if you are looking for a buddy.

I've spoken with Aquanauts, and they sound really great. I wasn't sure about the operation at the hotel, but from what is here, it sounds like I should look into it. Anyone else have any other insight?

The cenotes sound neat and everyone says to go. Are there any fish/wildlife in 'em?