Please Help! Playa Del Carmen/ Cozumel

[CANdive002]

Well, Hi all! I’m new around here and…
I’m in need of a bit of advice.


I’m headed to Mexico Feb 5-10 2007, flying into Cancun and staying at the Mayan Palace, Rivera Maya. I have been to the area before, and will be renting a car. I have not been diving in this area before. I was curious if anyone could point me towards a good op- good sized boats, small groups, friendly, efficient, everything one would look for. I do not have many logged ocean* dives (6) but feel very comfortable in the water, and have good buoyancy and very good air consumption. [1yr OW Cert, 4-coldwater quarry and, 6 ocean dives] I will also be renting gear.

I’m hoping someone can point me in the right direction as far as Op’s and specific dives go. Since my other dives have been on reefs, are the cenotes something new, and worth trying? I’ve heard good things. I’m looking for anything from Cozumel -Playa Del Carmen.

Thank-you so much for any advice,
Julie

 

[Clearwater]

First, welcome to Scubaboard!

I think you'll find most of the diver operators in Playa have relatively small boats, but most of the reefs are only 10-20 minutes from town, some literally within swimming distance of the beach. We dove with Dive Mike in October, though I'm sure you'll get recommendations for many others. We had a great time on our six dives there. The first day there were four divers (including us) and Luis, the guide/divemaster. The second day there were only three divers, and on the final day it was just the two of us with Luis. October was a great time to be there, lots of fish, rays and turtles.

The reefs range from ~30 feet to close to 100 feet deep. Some of the dive shops have a book called the "Playa del Carmen Dive Guide Log Book" which has maps of 11 of the dive spots in the area as well as a bunch of cenotes. Have fun!

 

[RussR]

Check out Tank-Ha in Playa del Carmen. They have a good staff (at least did when I dove with them) and they do the reefs of Cozumel from Playa del Carmen. Also do not miss the Cenotes

 

[EvaL]

Hello. In my opinion, the diving is better in Cozumel. You can either try a dive op in Playa, such as Tank Ha, that make trips to Cozumel reefs, or you can take the 25 min ferry to Cozumel (arrive by 8 or 9am) and join any of the good Cozumel dive ops. You'll be done around noon or 1pm and still be able to get back to Playa for lunch. If you're doing this, do reserve/book the dive beforehand and know where the pick-up point (usually a jetty near Cozumel's main town of San Miguel) is. The Cozumel dive ops I like include Aldora, Blue XT, Dive with Martin, Deep Blue and AquaSafari (there are lots more).
Good luck and Dive safely,

 

[karley-rose]

hi, i went to mexico last june and dived in play del carmen and went over to cozumel, we found studio blue very helpful with the cozumel dives as they have a base in playa as well as cozumel so we could book the cozumel dives a few days in advance without going to the island. the instructors there were very friendly and helpful although like said above the boats aren't particularly big! unfortunately we didn't get the chance to dive the cenote's but did snorkle in one, regret don't diving them! have fun whatever you do!

 

[divingjd]

Tank Ha is good in Playa. Their boats are a little bigger than many of the other shops and they still go in small groups. They have a good staff, too. The diving is better in Cozumel, but taking the ferry over from Playa will basically take the whole day. I would say do it one day, but don't plan on going over every day to dive. You will spend so much time going back and forth you won't really enjoy your vacation. In Playa, your dive site choices are often limited by weather conditions. Tortugas is a popular site for the first dive. There are many turtles there, giving the site its name ("Tortugas" is Spanish for "turtles"). Barracuda is a common second dive. It's a shallow spur-and-groove reef with lots of fish and other critters. I could actually dive Barracuda every day and not get bored, because there are so many animals.

 

[jon m]

you can go to akumal (about 30 min drive) and hook up with several dive shops right on the beach... about a 10 min ride to the reef...
also, Mayan Palace has a dive op right on the grounds... i'm not sure if they leave directly from the beach. talk to Sky there, he'll hook you up. however, the price will most likely be higher at the resort , i wouldn't pay more that $60 for 2 dives + gear (unless specialty dives) it might be worth doing, as you'll want to dive different areas (at least we do). with only that many dives, you will be blown away by the diving there! you have to remember , alot of folks on this board have been diving all over the world, and it looks like you have not (me neither)
most importantly, let me know how it was/where you dive... i will be staying (and diving) at the Mayan Palace this May!!!!!!
thanks!!!
-me

 

[yak]

Keep in mind that Playa is generally windy, and many times the harbormaster will close the port to all boats, which means no diving unless you jump on the ferry to Coz or dive the cenotes (which are better than any reef dives in PDC, IMHO). I've been there for week where the port didn't open for 5 days. So it pays to always have a backup plan.

 

[jon m]

playa del carmen is not akumal, is not adventuras, is not halfmoon bay, is not sian kaan...
what i'm trying to say is- if you have a car you WILL be able to find a place to dive as the whole coast is littered with diving spots , some are protected from the wind/swell/current , some are not...

 

[Debbie O]

Newly redesigned boat, that is comfortable, dry, efficient, safety minded staff, specializing in multi-level dives that get the most of your tank and a super lunch on board can be found in Cozumel with Aqua Connection. See the boat and services offered at www.aquaconnection.com