Riviera Maya, Playa Del Carmen

[scarefaceDM]

Has anyone been to the Occidental Allegro Playacar resort, Riviera Maya? ( Playa Del Carmin) I am looking for resort info and also a dive op on the resort or in the area. I also heard that Catalonia Yucatan resort. is a nice place, anyone have info about the dive ops in that area?


any info - feed back would be appreciated.

Many thanks

 

[bwetter]

I stayed there at the beginiing of Oct. with my wife and 2 other couples, only 2 of us did any diving ....
Hotel - i really enjoyed the beach, food and the drinks ... entertainment was so-so / Friday night buffet was outstanding ... tip at the beach bar and you will get better service
Diving - we hooked up with GeoFish and really enjoyed that ... did 2 ocean dives and then got hooked on the Cenotes ... spent the rest of the week diving multiple different Cenotes..
I have dove Cozumel multiple times and would recommend that side of the reef over the Playa side but if staying on the mainland ...nothing beats the Cenotes
Playa del Carmen - is a set fee ($5) taxi ride from the Hotel, my wife and the other non-divers would go into town and the really enjoyed that ... the area around the Hotel is very nice ... little shops across the street // Chichen Itza (sp) i understansd is also a nice place to visit for the Ruins
Hope this helps ...
in short .. thumbs up for the Hotel and GeoFish

 

[Carlos Danger]

If you do not need AI or beachfront, then I can certainly recommend Mosqitoblue. Very nice place, and more centrally located.

Playa Del Carmen Hotels | Mexico Resorts | Mosquito Blue Hotel & Spa, Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

 

[RU4SKUBA]

Look at the Iberostar Tukan if you were interested in Playacar. Dressel Divers operates out of their resort and they have a decent facility. I didn't dive with them, but I was there doing my PADI Instructors Examination and did the confined water skills and demonstrations in their pool.

Pro Dive Mexico out of Maroma is a good choice if you want to do reef dives and cenote excursions but stay outside the city. They have a PADI Career Development Center and just started a technical diving program, so lots of course options. The Catalonia Playa Maroma is a cool resort and they utilize a shuttle to pick up people every morning for dive trips, so transportation isn't an issue.

The dive op running out of the Grand Mayan and Mayan Palace isn't bad, but its pretty small and I don't recall if they do excursions to the cenotes. Probably do.

Inside of Playa around Calle 40 there are a couple cool resorts on the beach (Las Palapas and Mehekal) and it looked like half the dive op fleet anchors their boats in this location... so lots of options for the customer. Walk up the beach to the Cannibal Royale and say hi to Marta... very cool little bar/restaurant with a DJ and an unbeatable view and a cutie-pie waitress.

 

[dougr52]

Has anyone been to the Occidental Allegro Playacar resort, Riviera Maya? ( Playa Del Carmin) I am looking for resort info and also a dive op on the resort or in the area. I also heard that Catalonia Yucatan resort. is a nice place, anyone have info about the dive ops in that area?


any info - feed back would be appreciated.

Many thanks

i stayed at the occ grand xcaret which is a sister resort to the occ allegro in july, the dive op there is barracuda something, i can't remember exactly.. i dove with geofish, really great guys... cenotes are incredible, ocean diving is better in coz !!

 

[TSandM]

We toured the Catalonia as part of setting up a Yucatan trip for our dive shop. It's a nice property, and right on a very pleasant beach. There are two dive operators right in Puerto Aventuras (walking distance from the Catalonia): Dive Aventuras, and Aquanauts. Both have good reputations. My husband has dived with Aquanauts (although under prior ownership) and had a good experience with them.

PA is a pleasant place to stay, very quiet and safe, and if you decide to vary your diet from the all-inclusive offerings, there are a number of restaurants within easy walking distance . . . which means margaritas without worrying about the policia!

 

[scarefaceDM]

thanks folks. We will be going to the Catalonia resort instead. It is more to the wife's liking and closer to all she wants to do.

Departure is Feb 20th...the dive op I email is diveaventuras. I am just waiting on a little info.

Slight EDIT.I had to rearrange my departure...so leaving January 9th instead....could not pass up the 900$ savings...will use that for..well other adventures...

 

[TSandM]

Nils, the owner (I think) of Dive Aventuras, is a good guy and an active cave explorer. Have him take you cenote diving!

 

[scuba driver]

I can recommend SCUBA S.COOL, is a small operation own and run by mexicans, Rodolfo and Hector, they are very nice gays, I spent three days diving with them and was really fun, they do all kind of diving always in small groups, no more than six divers, and always adapt to your schedule and budget, I did the bull shark, cenotes and a couple of reef dives, the bull shark was the best so far.
contact them at info@scubascool.com.mx

 

[SouthSideScubaSteve]

Has anyone stayed at Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya Hotel & Spa and more importantly, dove with them?

Also, are there other dive operators in the area one could dive with if they didn't want to go thru the resort?

Any feedback woudl be greatly appreacaited!
SSSSteve