New here and looking for some advice for diving in the Cancun area

[Darren B]

Afternoon people

Nice to join the community and I would really appreciate some advice please.

I'm travelling to Cancun in mid-November for a week with divers and non-divers. The divers are all experienced and looking to dive 3 of the days. We are considering Cenotes one day, Bull Shark diving (which I understand is off Playa Del Carmen) on another and either Isla Mujeres or Cozumel for a final day.

Any advice you can give will be gratefully received, however I have a few specific questions if anyone can help:

1. Do we need to book in advance or can we just wait until we arrive and visit a few different dive outfits to see who we like the look of?

2. As we are staying in Cancun, a daytrip to Cozumel will be a long day. I've heard Isla Mujeres has decent enough diving. Is Cozumel worth the trek for a day or would Isla Mujeres (given its proximity to where we are staying) be a better choice.

3. Any dive operators or sites people would particularly recommend?

4. Anybody been Bull Shark diving in PDC, would you recommend it and will we be in season (14-21st November)?

Many thanks for reading my post. Any help would be great.

D

 

[Bratface]

I just got back from Playa on Sunday. My friend owns a dive operation down there and we did three days of cenote diving and a day trip to Cozumel. Going to Cozumel is definitely worth it but since you are staying in Cancun, it's about an hour's drive to get to the ferry. Cabs are ready to take you to the dive shop.

To answer your questions:
1. Look online at the different dive ops in the area you are staying. Read reviews about the shops on TripAdvisor. Call them up and ask your questions. It's worth it to find the right dive shop with fewer people on the dive, amenities such as lunch or snacks, etc. Keep in mind that during high season, shops may get booked up quickly and standards for cenotes are four divers per guide.

2. Cozumel has 200 ft viz, drift dives and a huge variety of sea life. I've been there several times but never to Isla Mujers so really unable to help.

3. My friend's dive op is Scuba Freedom in Play del Carmen. Here is their web page: Scuba Freedom | Playa del Carmen, Mexico. They also have a Facebook page and although they have been in business for a year, both are excellent divers, very experienced and full cave certified. They have dove in many countries as you can see when you view their page. She speaks English, Spanish and Japanese. There may be some logistical problems with you in Cancun but if you meet them at the ferry, they will take care of getting you to Cozumel. We left for the cenotes at 0745-0800 every day. It was a 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive to get there. When you arrive at the cenote, there's more time spent with briefing, gearing up and getting in the water plus breaking down and packing up, so add that to your time frame. Two cenotes we dove were way back in the jungle and the gear was lowered on ropes. Worth every minute. We did two cenotes each day but you could just dive one and that would save time.

4. I don't like bull sharks.

PM if you have any other questions I can answer for you.

 

[Darren B]

Many thanks for your help.

I'll check out your friend's dive operation.

 

[Oldbear]

If you want to party and enjoy "surface" water sports then Cancun is great. Not the greatest for diving. If you want really great diving go to Cozumel.

 

[Darren B]

Thanks for your advice Michael

 

[Oldbear]

You're quite welcome. I suggest plan a few days in Cancun as it can be a very fun place. Plan a few days in Playa...also a fun place with better diving, especially the cenotes. And plan a few days in Cozumel with some spectacular diving.