New diver - Need advice

[DiveDoll]

Hi!
I'm new to diving, and just got open water certified last month. A friend and I are going to Playa del Carmen and staying at the Occidental Xcaret in Dec. Any advice on what to do while we're there? I've heard the cenotes are amazing! We plan to dive at least three days, maybe more. What do you think? Any advice is appreciated!

 

[firstdive2005]

Hi Welcome to the board! And congrats on your new certification.
First of all start diving in open water before you go to the cenotes, you need to practice your skills first, walk dont run. Going to overhead environments is quite dangerous and on a lighter side can be harmful to the formations in the cenotes. For now there is so much to experience in the ocean. There is a lot to see and a lot to learn. Do you remember which way your valve faces when putting on your bcd? Believe me, if you do now, you can forget that very easy and feel inadequate when you try to put on your regs. I say this to just give you a little shot of patience in trying to do to much too fast. You are going to have a blast diving in that area. There are many shop to use. Ben Mooney from mayan aqua dive is a lot of fun to dive with. A lot of divers will give you advise in this area. If you decide to go to Cozumel for a day dive try Scubamaucozumel. Opal will make sure your day is extraordinary. Diving over there is really cool. I hope you have a great time learning your new skills. O ya make sure you have a 6ft safety sausage for your ocean dives. Maybe try and get in the pool at home and practice deploying it. Get good at that. And mask removal. seeya maybe one dive, kev

 

[TSandM]

DiveDoll, I'll second what firstdive has said. The cenotes are amazing -- but they are also irreplaceable, and a certain amount of buoyancy control and awareness of your body underwater really is a prerequisite for diving them.

But there is plenty of great stuff to see in the ocean! I don't know the specific dive ops that would be optimal for where you are staying, but I'd highly recommend taking the ferry over to Cozumel a day or two and going out with an operator there to do some drift diving. The water is amazingly clear, and there is a ton of life.

 

[Supergoose]

I would wholeheartedly second that TS, Cozumel is fantastic. I'm not sure what the policy here is on linking dive operators, but if u want one Divedoll, pm me and i'll give u the link

 

[Jewls]

I too am going to Playa Del Carmen, I'm leaving in a week and a half for Thanksgiving vacation. I just received my O/W certification in September so this will be my first set of ocean dives. I found a great dive shop in PDC and plan to do 2 of my 3 dives with them. I plan to do 1 tank afternoon dives since this is essentially my first time diving in the ocean. I'm a little nervous about depth and the 1 tank dives go about 40-50 ft or so. They will also do a thoughrough eval of my skills and weight before I go out, which is important to me and some of the other dive shops I've inquired about just seem in it for the fun and not so much safety. (Btw, and this is just my opinion.....Watch out for shops that conduct Bull Shark diving, IMO, it's not safe for the newbs and not good for the environment. There's quite a few in PDC and it's Bull Shark season.)

Also, I would suggest snorkeling in the Cenotes if you want to visit and experience their wonder. I think it's a great intro on what to expect if you want to scuba the Cenotes in the future.

 

[kokanee]

I did my first post-cert dive in Cozumel; it was amazing and well worth the ferry ride. I was nervous about the drift and the wall dives but all the dive masters (as well as other divers on the boat) were extremely helpful. Consider heading to Cozumel for a few dives before getting into the cenotes. Also, we loved Xel-Ha. Have fun!

 

[DiveDoll]

Thanks to all of you for sharing your expertise. People on this forum are so nice! First Dive, I cracked up when you asked if I remember which side my valve is on. I'm not sure I do! Not sure if I remember anything I was taught. Just hope everyone will be patient with us. The thought of being weightless in that gorgeous environment makes it worth all the effort. Maybe we'll see you in PDC!