OT - Scuba/Snorkeling Mexico

EDJFA

New member
Any of you guys ever done any diving in Riviera Maya? Taking the family there in August and I want to know if I should try to get Scuba certified before I go or if the snorkeling is good enough to not have to worry about it.
 
I have been snorkeling there 2 times and it was pretty cool. Scuba is a whole different experience, so relaxing and different. If you don't plan on diving a lot then I would just take their quick class but if you plan on going a bunch of different places then I would take a certifying class.
 
Been there scuba diving several times. Snorkling doesent come close to scuba. As our instructor from TGADC told us, snorkling is for people who like to work. scuba is for lazy people.

Best story I have from scuba is last time we dove in cozumel, they had the mini sub full of tourists going past us. was fun sitting there and waving at them as we drifted past.
 
I love to snorkel. In some places I've been I actually prefer it over SCUBA but Mexico is not one of those places. There are some decent snorkel spots but the diving, particularly in Cozumel is quite good. If I was you, I would get certified before you go. For something a tad different, look up the Underwater Museum of Art and inland cenote dives as well.
 
For snorkeling.....go to Puerto morales, it's south of cancun and north of cozumel. It's the 2nd largest reef in the world.

Steve
 
I'm not sure if I snorkeled the same spot as sbeason but it was really cool. I did the snuba thing in Belize this past November and now wish I at least did that if not scuba in Mexico.
 
For snorkeling.....go to Puerto morales, it's south of cancun and north of cozumel. It's the 2nd largest reef in the world.

Steve

FWIW, it's a great tourism promo but when "they" say it is the 2nd largest reef in the world they're actually referring to the entire Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which stretches from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico all the way south to Honduras. Mexico really only has small bits of this system the vast majority is actually in Belize.
 
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I was spoiled with the ease of snorkeling on St. John last summer. I could literally walk 30 feet from my room door and be in the water with a coastline reef just a short swim away.

I met a guy who is an instructor at Midwest Scuba here in St. Charles. The chiropractor next door to my office sent him over to look at my tank. Of course he recommended getting certified here before I go down there. He also recommended the cenotes dives because they're different.

We're actually staying in Playa del Carmen at the Grand Velas. They offer scuba tours that you can take. I'd love to get my wife and kids certified too, but I'm not sure they're ready for that quite yet. Anyway, I've got a protein skimmer and some other tank stuff to buy. Gotta keep the priorities straight.

Thanks for the info. Also interested in what other sights are worth seeing down there.
 
Yeah, you're going to have a hard time finding snorkeling spots like St. Johns anywhere near Playa. If your expecting that, you will be sorely disappointed. There are some dive shops in Playa that will take you straight out to many of the Cozumel dive sites, it will save you a lot of valuable vacation time over taking the ferry. Cozumel is mostly drift diving though so depending on the current that day it can be a bit overwhelming for many beginners.
 
What other spots do people recommend snorkeling in Riviera Maya...I'll be there this June, staying at Dreams Puerto Adventures.

I've heard Akumal is a good place to snorkel, especially for sea turtles. Not sure if it's true or not though.
 
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