This tour maximizes your chances of marine sightings with two thrilling scuba dives at two equally spectacular destinations. Dive the spectacular coral reefs off Playa del Carmen on a 2-tank dive trip that includes a deep dive and a drift dive. You can discover such an amazing new world which you only previously saw in aquariums or on TV. 5 minutes by boat from the Marina and across from Playa Del Carmen, Jardines is a beautiful reef composed of a small wall (2m) where you can find moray eels, angelfish and other fish typically found in the Caribbean. Enter your registered email address and we will send you link to reset your password. Find tickets & tours worldwide. Hotel pickup and drop-off included. Arrecife Tortugas, or Turtle Reef, is a playground for Hawksbill sea turtles. Keep an eye out as we may also see our winter visitors, the bull sharks. Click to confirm your agreement to cookies. Based on our booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, this experience is likely to sell out through Viator. The first step in your selection process should be to check the reviews on TripAdvisor and Google Maps. Large schools with several species of grunts, many pufferfish, Caribbean lobsters, large stingrays, lots ofturtlesand much more can be seen. Before I visited PDC, I was always slightly afraid of being under the water. Learn scuba diving theory, complete a pool session, and do your first dives in the company of an experienced instructor. Book now to benefit from your dives internet rates by sending us your request via our form. A dive with these majestic sea creatures is an experience youll never forget again. The maze of chambers and the geologic formations inside the cenotesstalactites, stalagmites, columns, etc.are a sight to behold, and they can be seen easily in these crystal-clear waters (visibility can be up to 40m!). The Sabalos reef is only a 10-minute boat ride away from Playa del Carmen. The bottom of the boat lies 30 meters deep on the ocean floor and its hull is completely covered with sea fans and corals. Due to the depth, the Pit is recommended for experienced divers. This leads to a better overall experience and more spectacular photographs. To put it simply, diving in Dos Ojos is unlike anything youve experienced before. Playa del Carmen is a popular tourist destination located on the east coast of Mexicos Yucatn Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea, just 60km south of Cancn in the state of Quintana Roo. Then fly above the treetops on a ziplining course. Created by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), this Discover Scuba Diving experience will have you exploring shallow waters in just a day, with an instructor close at hand at all times. A lot of the dive centres in Playa del Carmen work with PADI. Final Words on scuba diving in Playa del Carmen. Here, you can dive in the middle of the beautiful coral formations that rise to the surface. The colourful coral reef is filled with cracks and holes. This worldwide organisation already certified more than 25 million scuba divers and they have more than 6500 dive centres around the globe. Marvel at amazing coral heads and marine life, and enjoy complimentary snacks, fruit, bottled water, and access to scuba equipment. You dont need time-consuming training or expensive certification to experience the vivid colors and magical weightlessness of the underwater world in safety. If you land in Cancun, you can get yourself a private transfer, a taxi or a rental car directly to your hotel in Playa del Carmen. This family-friendly tour comes with a choice of morning and afternoon departure. The underwater topography extends from the shallow reefs to a wide sandy area and then we encounter the next, deeper reefs at a depth of 20-23 meters. Amongst the sea-life you can find here are also green eels and starfish. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. You can also find a Bat Cave in the Dos Ojos Cenote. Common sea creatures you can spot here are stingrays, moray eels, turtles and colourful fishes. Search experiences with increased health and safety practices. Encounters with pelagic species can be expected at these sites; the best-known for this area is the bull shark, which migrates to Playa del Carmen in the wintertime. The C-56 Juan Escutia is a former minesweeper ship that was sunk in 1996 in front of Puerto Morelos as part of an Artificial Reef Program. One of the best things you can do in Mexico is scuba diving in Playa del Carmen and elsewhere on the Riviera Maya. 10 minutes by boat, Sabalos is a magnificent reef with alternating walls of coral, sand and caves. Sometimes I also write some articles for our blog. This also includes Playa del Carmen. With all this, its no wonder that countless visitors fall in love with the Riviera Maya each year. There are other dive spots like sunken wrecks, the Cenotes, (which are primarily found in the Yucatan Peninsula) and the spectacular underwater museum MUSA waiting to be discovered by you. Travel through the Mayan jungle on this action-packed all-day guided tour. Non-divers can also marvel at the beauty of the seabed of Playa del Carmen hiking fins / mask / snorkel. All equipment, including tanks, wetsuit, and gear, is included. The water temperatures in Playa del Carmen vary throughout the whole year between 25 and 28C (77 and 82F). We both did the course and enjoyed every minute of it! It was intentionally sunk near Playa del Carmen in 1997 to create a wreck for corals, sea-life and divers. At around three quarters of the way through a dive, youll come across a cavern with a chimney that leads to the top plateau of the reef. To do a Bull Shark dive you need to have either an Advanced Open Water certificate, an Open Water certificate and 25 logged dives, or confirmation from a PADI instructor that you are fit and skilled enough to do this dive. We love to experience the sights and flavours of the world and have been committed to travelling as much as we can for the last 5 years in order to do that. An elongated reef at 10-12 meters is home to a wide variety of Caribbean marine life. During our local diving in Playa del Carmen, youll learn more about the Coral Reefs that are fighting to survive due to the climate change. The Dos Ojos (Two Eyes) Cenote has a documented underwater extent of 61 km, making it one of the ten longest underwater cave systems in the world. Depth 16 meters / 52 feet) which is perfect for beginners. The closest airports to Playa del Carmen are the Cancun International Airport and the Cozumel International Airport. You'll learn the basics of dive theory and technique, try out your skills in a pool, then dive at two different locations on Playa del Carmen's gorgeous coral reef system. In addition to the famous underground rivers and their caves where the cenotes are found, the Riviera Maya also offers a rich diversity of reef dives for those who are interested in the flora and fauna of the sea. But you dont just need to take our word for it. Its one of the absolute scuba diving highlights when youre on vacation in Playa del Carmen. On my dives there I saw there stingrays, flounders, moray eels, lobsters and large schools of fish who were surrounding me. This tour includes entrance fees, a buffet lunch, and door-to-door transport from hotels in Cancun or Playa del Carmen. You are viewing Virtual Experiences in Playa del Carmen. Do you know any other great dive spots around the world? Because of its size, there are two routes through the caverns. The certificate is valid for life, all over the world. Towards the end of your dive, you can find a small cavern for exploration. The coast off Playa del Carmen offers us various fringing reefs. About half-way between Playa del Carmen and Cozumel is Shark Point, a popular dive site that is the main attraction for many divers that travel to Playa del Carmen. Explore the archaeological site of Chichen Itza on this all-day guided tour from Playa del Carmen. Depending on the time of the year and distance from the reef, you might be able to get a glimpse of the bull sharks and even take pictures. Cenotes have great visibility because the water comes from filtered rainwater and thus has very few suspended particles. Make sure that you dont forget your underwater camera. This shallow reef (maximum Depth 12 metres / 39 feet) is called Jardines (garden) because of its abundance of life. Quickly access bookings. Begin with a visit to Tulum, an ancient Maya coastal city that's home to archaeological remains and sandy beaches. Where are the best spots to scuba dive in Playa del Carmen and surroundings? This was one of the reasons why I wanted to learn scuba diving. It is our mission to bring you fantastic travel-related content featuring food, culture and adventure. Pared Verde, or Green Wall, is a shallow reef system located just offshore Playa del Carmen that is known for its colorful underwater landscape. With a depth of 119 meters (390 feet), it is the deepest cenote open to the public in the Riviera Maya. Off the Caribbean coast of Mexico is part of the second largest barrier reef system in the world, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. A local Mayan lunch is included. Its full of spectacular coral formations, sponges and sea fans. factors which can give you a hint that the dive centre is not good: The staff is unenthusiastic about the local Playa del Carmen dive sites, You just have a bad feeling about the place (listen to your guts), The staff is very friendly and it feels like the whole team is one big family. This PADI-designed Discover Scuba Diving course includes all necessary equipment for a hassle-free introduction to the world of scuba. As bodies of brackish water (a mixture of fresh water and salty seawater), cenotes are inhabited by a different group of organisms than the nearshore reef environment. This shows that the divers like to work in this Playa del Carmen dive shop, which is always a good sign, The staff is enthusiastic about Playa del Carmen scuba diving. The water temperatures in Playa del Carmen vary throughout the whole year between 25 and 28C (77 and 82F). This shallow reef (maximum Depth 12 metres / 39 feet) is called Jardines (garden) because of its abundance of life. In this part of the underwater landscape we glide along sections of the barrier reef, some of which are up to 10 meters high. With a maximum depth of 15 metres, it is the perfect dive site for a beginner. One of the most popular courses to learn scuba diving is the PADI Open Water Course. Its depth is about 15 metres (49 feet). Not only does Playa del Carmen offer shallow reefs, but it is also home to a complex system of cenotesaround 10,000 of them! Learn how your comment data is processed. Often youll get already a certain feeling for the dive shop through the reviews. This unfrequented reef is located south of Playa del Carmen, and gently falls between 25 and 35 m deep. Rich in marine life (eels, boxfish, angelfish, flutes etc.) With reefs, wrecks, walls, underwater museums and cenotes you can be sure never to be bored. Because of the sometimes strong current, this dive is recommended for more experienced divers. In the winter months, there is often the opportunity to encounter sailfish or even dolphins in the deeper waters. As a Co-Founder of TripGourmets it is my job and passion to catch all the beautiful moments and places this world has to offer on my camera. Sitting at a depth of 30m in an area with a moderately strong current, this dive is geared towards more experienced divers who hold at least their Advanced Open Water certification. But diving is not only limited to the beautiful coral reefs of Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. Covered with coral and colonized by schools of barracuda, this wreck can be explored, but because of the strong current, this dive is for experienced divers. We offer you an unique chance of being part of our conservation project with different activities besides the diving. Save your favorites. Scuba in Playa del Carmen is spectacular and versatile. This cenote is the perfect spot for first-time cenote scuba divers. Because its low season, youll find the best deals for accommodation and dives. During this course, youll have one day of theory, a morning session in the pool and then four dives in the sea, where youll apply your freshly learned skills in the open water. Were looking forward to hear from you! Rich in color, flora and fauna of the Caribbean, Sabalos is ideal for leisurely enjoying the aquatic life and taking photos. Some years ago, there was only one way to go scuba diving: With a PADI Open Water certificate. Playa del Carmen arguably has some of the most diverse diving of anywhere in the world. and color, this site is very popular with divers that also want to take pictures. Cenotes are exposed pools of water that are part of an underground network of interconnected bodies of groundwater. One of the most awesome things about scuba diving in Playa del Carmen Mexico is that you can do it year round. From December to April is the best time to visit Mexico in general. If you are looking for the ultimate scuba diving thrill in Playa del Carmen, then you have to visit in the winter months. Hotel pick up available from Cancn, Rivera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Aventuras & Tulum A scuba dive down to the coral reefs of Playa del Carmen will reward you with a huge variety of colourful fish, corals, and other lifeforms, like turtles and rays, which swim graciously in the warm water of the Caribbean sea. The Mama Vina is a former boat used for fishing shrimp. However, the quality of the corals is probably better over in Cozumel, so if you are particularly interested in Coral, then check out out Direct-to-Cozumel dive which you might prefer. Only those 18 years old and above are permitted to drive their own ATV. For many people, this particular cenote is one of the favourite places to scuba dive in Playa del Carmen. This shallow reef (around 15 meters / 50 feet deep) is perfect for beginner and novice scuba divers. You'll head to coral reefs up to 55 feet (16 meters) in depth, so that you can successfully complete your PADI, NAUI, or SSI certification. 20 minutes by boat from the Marina and across from Playa Del Carmen, Moc-Che is a dive site located north of Playa Del Carmen. Small groups (maximum four people) mean youll learn plenty about the ocean and its wildlife too. The operator whose product is featured here may pay Viator more. Dive into the crystal clear waters and discover the underground caves and tunnels filled numerous fish species, stalactites, and stalagmites. Safety first. You can roughly divide the year into two different diving seasons: May to November and December to April. Cenote Dos Ojos or Two Eyes are a pair of two adjacent cenotes that, if seen from above, look like two eyes staring into the earth. If cenote diving is not your cup of tea, there are also shore dives and daily boat trips out to wreck- and drift-dive sites. Did You Like This Post? If cenote-diving is not your cup of tea, Playa del Carmen offers wreck-diving, such as the Mama Via site, reef-diving, and shark-diving as well. Its the perfect dive site if you want to test your underwater dive camera! A cheaper alternative is to take the public ADO Aeropuerto bus which brings you for less than USD 10 (around 200 pesos per person) to Playa del Carmen. This time of the year is also one of the cheapest for booking your diving holidays in Playa del Carmen. If you land in Cancun, you can get yourself a. PADI offers further courses which range from underwater photography, There are so many dive centres in Playa del Carmen that it can be difficult to choose one. Because of the rich underwater vegetation, this cenote is also great for underwater photography. PADI offers further courses which range from underwater photography, rebreather courses over various technical courses to dive instructor courses. There are. You also have the chance to find large lobsters and octopus on a night dive. You can comfortably book the Discover Scuba Diving course online. For this certificate, you had to do a multi-day course without even knowing whether youll enjoy it or not. In the wintertime, bull sharks and other migratory pelagic megafauna like to hang out near Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. This old boat, used for shrimp fishing in 1995, was sunk to create an artificial reef. Follow a certified archeological guide on an ancient adventure to sacred cenotes, colossal pyramids and a vast ball court. On the return trip, visit the colonial city of Valladolid. You'lldescend to the coral reef at two different sites and depths, enjoying a 40-minute surface interval aboard the dive boat. After 35 minutes on boat, youll reach the Cerebros Dive Site located north of Playa Del Carmen. My aim was to face my fears and not be afraid of diving anymore. With the Discover Scuba Diving, this changed. Experience one of the worlds wonders without the noise and hassle of crowds on this early access tour. Many pelagic species are drawn toward this area because the water is slightly cooler in the winter months. Our reefs are heathy and we have many fish - particularly compared to the numbers of fish you are likely to see in Cozumel. The wintertime, or December to April, is considered the best time to visit this area of Mexico, so coastal dive sites will be more crowded. Arrive at first time in the morning to take amazing photos with the archeological site almost for yourself, walk along El Castillo and the Pyramid of Kukulcan and learn how this pre-Columbian city played an important role in the Mayan Civilization. Journey to Mexico's Yucatn Peninsula to visit the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza on this full-day tour and experience this incredible archeological site with a local guide. Located 20 minutes by boat and south of Playa Del Carmen, the Mama Via wreck lies at a depth of 28m. For this certificate, you had to do a multi-day course without even knowing whether youll enjoy it or not. Visit the colonial town of Valladolid, stop at a cenote for a refreshing swim and enjoy a typical buffet lunch with vegetarian options. Usually, you can spot some beautiful spotted Eagle Rays who hang around the boat. With a total length of almost 1000 kilometers, the reef offers an almost countless number of dive sites. This famous wall in Playa del Carmen goes 30 metres deep and is a 25-minute boat ride away from the harbour. There is great diving in Playa del Carmen all year round due to the consistently warm seawater temperatures. Then, when youve chosen, you should visit the dive centre and get a feeling for the staff and the gear they are using. Have you finished the theory and pool parts of your PADI certification but still need to get some dives in to get certified? Divers can expect to swim with sea turtles, barracudas, and in the winter, sharks. This site uses cookies. We both did our PADI Open Water certificate there and have several reasons to recommend the place. Hotel transport included. Just make sure to keep an eye on the weather forecast during this time. The area offers the rich culture of the Maya from archeological ruins to culinary delights as well as world class diving inPlaya del Carmen. There is no Wreck Diving Certification needed to explore this fantastic wreck. Drive or ride in a 2-person buggy and follow a guide first into scenic parts of the Playa del Carmen not frequented by tourists, before bouncing and bumping your way into the jungle. Let us know in the comments. We trust every employee of Dune with our lives. Steer a 4x4 buggy for about 18 miles and admire the lush forest scenery during this thrilling drive. What are the best Scuba Diving in Playa del Carmen? These Playa del Carmen experiences are providing additional COVID-19 safety measures: What Scuba Diving in Playa del Carmen are good for avoiding crowds? Where possible we also work hard to match experience levels within each dive group. Visualize the prosperous Mayan empire as you gain insight into one of the ancient worlds most powerful civilizations with captivating commentary from your knowledgeable guide. The prices normally go up and its more difficult to find accommodation. The site has a pretty strong current, and with a depth of 26m, it makes for a great drift dive. I quit my job in October 2017 to travel the world. This makes diving in the Caribbean Sea an absolute joy, no matter which month you choose for your holidays. Visit Chichn Itz, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Ek Balam ad swim in a cenote in one day. The water is exceptionally clear. They are now mostly covered in corals and build a dreamlike display.