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Scuba Forum / Scuba Locations / September 2004Scuba Diving in Cancun
Hello, I am going to Cancun in about a week (hopefully no Hurricanes by then). I have never gone snorkeing or scuba diving before, so I am exicited about it. I will be staying at the Bahia Principe Tulum in the Mayan Riviera. I have some questions.. - Is diving in Cenotes different from diving in the Ocean? How does the experience differ? Just wondering which one to pick, if I could only afford to do one. - Which dive shops would you recommend? Thx in advance. Bijoy >Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >the experience differ? Just wondering which one to pick, if I could >only afford to do one. In the ocean, you f.ck up, you die. In Cenotes, there are more ways to f.ck up. Don't worry, though. All you'll get will be a discover scuba type "experience". They'll teach you "just enough" and put you in the water for 20 minutes at 20 feet. >- Which dive shops would you recommend? > >Thx in advance. > >Bijoy  Signaturedillon When I was a kid, I thought the angel's name was Hark and the horse's name was Bob. > Don't worry, though. All you'll get will be a discover scuba type > "experience". They'll teach you "just enough" and put you in the > water for 20 minutes at 20 feet. But they'll take the client to places that are 60' for 30 minutes - which is absofuckinglutely enough to be not only dangerous to the newbie, but even more so for everyone around him/her. Even better, they manage to get their clients to actually pay for their own demise. <giggle> Signaturejer email reply - I am not a 'ten' "All that we do is touched with ocean, yet we remain on the shore of what we know." -- Richard Wilbur > But they'll take the client to places that are 60' for 30 minutes - which > is absofuckinglutely enough to be not only dangerous to the newbie, but > even more so for everyone around him/her. Even better, they manage to get > their clients to actually pay for their own demise. <giggle> If they're that deadly, their clients must be dying all the time. When was the last resort course death you can remember? >>But they'll take the client to places that are 60' for 30 minutes - which >>is absofuckinglutely enough to be not only dangerous to the newbie, but [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > If they're that deadly, their clients must be dying all the time. When was > the last resort course death you can remember? Actual death? Lessee... it's been a few years... La Paz, '99 IIRC. But I'm not on the Darwin Notification List for resort scuba losers either. I have witnessed my share of near death events in a number of locations. A coupla weeks ago in Coz, a resort loser lost his weight belt after having decended to 75', and if a coupla other divers hadn't been just above, well... you can imagine the mess that woulda been. Signaturejer email reply - I am not a 'ten' "All that we do is touched with ocean, yet we remain on the shore of what we know." -- Richard Wilbur > Actual death? Lessee... it's been a few years... La Paz, '99 IIRC. But > I'm not on the Darwin Notification List for resort scuba losers either. I > have witnessed my share of near death events in a number of locations. A > coupla weeks ago in Coz, a resort loser lost his weight belt after having > decended to 75', and if a coupla other divers hadn't been just above, > well... you can imagine the mess that woulda been. I have near-death experiences all the time when diving. Why should newbies experience anything different? >>Actual death? Lessee... it's been a few years... La Paz, '99 IIRC. But >>I'm not on the Darwin Notification List for resort scuba losers either. I [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I have near-death experiences all the time when diving. Why should newbies > experience anything different? I wouldn't know, Greg - you're the one having them, you tell me. Signaturejer email reply - I am not a 'ten' "All that we do is touched with ocean, yet we remain on the shore of what we know." -- Richard Wilbur A resort course graduate at 75 fsw...I think that's outside of the PADI recommendations. As I recall, with a new OW you're not supposed to go below 60 feet. >>> But they'll take the client to places that are 60' for 30 minutes - >>> which is absofuckinglutely enough to be not only dangerous to the [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > belt after having decended to 75', and if a coupla other divers hadn't > been just above, well... you can imagine the mess that woulda been. >A resort course graduate at 75 fsw...I think that's outside of the PADI >recommendations. As I recall, with a new OW you're not supposed to go >below 60 feet. Nonetheless, it happens, and not that rarely. SignatureJason O'Rourke www.jor.com >>Hello, >> [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >"experience". They'll teach you "just enough" and put you in the >water for 20 minutes at 20 feet. it's more than 20 feet and can be longer than 20 min. >>Don't worry, though. All you'll get will be a discover scuba type >>"experience". They'll teach you "just enough" and put you in the >>water for 20 minutes at 20 feet. > >it's more than 20 feet and can be longer than 20 min. In Mexico it could be 80ft on a sharply descending wall! SignatureJason O'Rourke www.jor.com >- Is diving in Cenotes different from diving in the Ocean? How does >the experience differ? Just wondering which one to pick, if I could >only afford to do one. Diving in the Cenotes is cave/cavern diving. Yes it is different. The first difference is that you cannot return directly to the surface in an emergency; you must deal with the emergency underwater and the swim back to the entrance. The second difference is that the only light you have comes from the lights you bring with you -- and they can fail -- and the backup lights can fail too. The third difference is that even if you have light, silty conditions can result in zero visibility. In eather case, you need to be able to get out without being able to see. Before you do this, get training that will teach you how to reduce the chances of an emergency, and also how to deal with one when it does occur. Cave diving is much more dangerous than open water diving. Those who dive in cars without the required training have a suprisingly good chance of becoming statistics. No amount of Open Water training and experience can prepare you for the very different dangers of cave diving. Never dive beyond the limits of your training and experience. (Except under the supervision of an appropriate instructor.) SignatureCharlie Hammond -- Hewlett-Packard Company -- Ft Lauderdale FL USA (hammond@not@peek.ssr.hp.com -- remove "@not" when replying) All opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily my employer's. > Diving in the Cenotes is cave/cavern diving. Yes it is different. There are operations that take people snorkeling in the cenotes. There is no penetration of the overhead. To the OP, scuba in the cenotes is for more experienced divers. For snorkeling or a "discover scuba" experience, there is way more to see in the ocean. The dive shops on the beach in Akumal are ok. I don't know any of the others down there. al Xel-ha is great for snorkeling as well. >> Diving in the Cenotes is cave/cavern diving. Yes it is different. > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > al > Xel-ha is great for snorkeling as well. I'll second that. Sorry folks but I strongly disagree. Xel-ha and Xcaret are two of the biggest tourist traps in the Yucatan Peninsula. How they get away with charging $50 for admission for what they offer is beyond me. I don't know about you guys but I have snorkeled fantatastic locations in the Caribbean, Hawaii, among others and Xel-ha is definitely not on my short list. > > Xel-ha is great for snorkeling as well. > > I'll second that. I am sure that there are even better places in the world that you have never been to, but take a close look at the subject of the thread, see the word "Cancun"? > Sorry folks but I strongly disagree. Xel-ha and Xcaret are two of the > biggest tourist traps in the Yucatan Peninsula. How they get away with [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >> >> I'll second that. > I am sure that there are even better places in the world that you have never > been to, but take a close look at the subject of the thread, see the word > "Cancun"? Quite right. I've been snorkelling in some fantastic locations in the Caribbean, in the Southern Pacific Ocean and SE Asia. Xel-ha was still one of the better snorkels I've ever taken for seeing fishies. And there it was . . . right near "Cancun". ;^) Correction accepted. However, I still stand by my statement that Xel-ha and Xcaret are two of the biggest tourist traps in the Yucatan peninsula. Did you really think that the $50 admission price you paid was worth it? Just curious. > I am sure that there are even better places in the world that you have never > been to, but take a close look at the subject of the thread, see the word [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >> > >> I'll second that. > Sorry folks but I strongly disagree. Xel-ha and Xcaret are two of the > biggest tourist traps in the Yucatan Peninsula. How they get away with > charging $50 for admission for what they offer is beyond me. I don't know > about you guys but I have snorkeled fantatastic locations in the Caribbean, > Hawaii, among others and Xel-ha is definitely not on my short list. I've not been to Xcaret. I know it to be a man-made park. Xel-ha is not a man-made park, it is merely exploited by man. :^) In any event, I didn't pay anything near $50 to get in, but then it was a few years ago. I have warm feelings towards Xel-ha because I saw such a tremendous amount of undersea life, including a barracuda at close range . . . that immediately upon my return home, I signed up for scuba lessons, and I've never looked back. :^) > > Sorry folks but I strongly disagree. Xel-ha and Xcaret are two of the > > biggest tourist traps in the Yucatan Peninsula. How they get away with [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > In any event, I didn't pay anything near $50 to get in, but then it was a > few years ago. The years haven't changed anything. I was in Cancun last month and while I did not go to Xel-ha, I was told entry only was $10.00 US. For 50 bucks you can get transportation, lunch and entry from Cancun, P del C, and most surrounding areas. I took my dive gear but was just way to happy laying around on the beach and being served at my command.....or at least whenever I put the flag out :^) > Hello, > > I am going to Cancun in about a week (hopefully no Hurricanes by > then). I have never gone snorkeing or scuba diving before, so I am > exicited about it. I will be staying at the Bahia Principe Tulum in > the Mayan Riviera. FWIW, and IMO, you should stick to snorkeling, especially if you have never done that, either. My advice: 1) Snorkel this trip, get familiar with using a mask, breathing through a tube, getting around with fins, etc. 2) Go home, get certified by a dive cert agency (PADI, NAUI, PDIC, etc.). 3) Go back (consider Cozumel) and dive, dive, dive. Oh, and one diff with cenotes - the water is much colder. Gordon in Austin > Oh, and one diff with cenotes - the water is much colder. Not really. I dove Cancun in July and the water was an astonishingly cold 74 degrees at 30 feet (whereas Cozumel, on the same trip, was 81 degrees). The cenotes are only a couple degrees colder than that. > > Oh, and one diff with cenotes - the water is much colder. > > Not really. I dove Cancun in July and the water was an astonishingly cold > 74 degrees at 30 feet (whereas Cozumel, on the same trip, was 81 degrees). > The cenotes are only a couple degrees colder than that. Really? I've been swimming in a couple of cenotes near Chichen-Itza, and the water was pretty cold, much cooler than what I was used to around Coz. Gordon in Austin > Really? I've been swimming in a couple of cenotes near Chichen-Itza, > and the water was pretty cold, much cooler than what I was used to > around Coz. I thought that Dos Ojos was kept at exactly 72.0 degrees by means of ancient Mayan magic, but upon Googling for a cite to back this up, I discovered that others have reported the water temp at 76-77 degrees. Perhaps the magic is stronger out by Chitzen-Itza than it is near Tulum. >I thought that Dos Ojos was kept at exactly 72.0 degrees by means of ancient >Mayan magic, but upon Googling for a cite to back this up, I discovered that >others have reported the water temp at 76-77 degrees. Perhaps the magic is >stronger out by Chitzen-Itza than it is near Tulum. The salt water layer at Dos Ojos was pretty warm when I was there. But tricky to stay in - was weighted for fresh water. SignatureJason O'Rourke www.jor.com > The salt water layer at Dos Ojos was pretty warm when I was there. But > tricky to > stay in - was weighted for fresh water. I overweight myself for all conditions so I'm never tricked. |
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