Scuba/Snorkeling - location suggestions please.

Doubledown

Doubledown

Active member
I am trying to plan a nice long (4 day/3night or 5day/4 night) weekend getaway for late October/mid November. My fiance and I both enjoy snorkeling and are looking to get scuba certified and want to go to a nice location to do this.

Any of you veteran scuba/snorkelers have a recommendation for locale?

I have been looking into the Mexican Riviera Maya and Yucatan Penninsula and there are so many places it's dizzying.

Thanks
 
I have been to the Riviera Maya several times, and love it there. my favorite is the Xpu Ha palace, and I have stayed at a couple other places that where nice also. The Xpu-Ha was not your typical, big, white waterfront resort, I absolutely loved it there. Instead of the hotel you stay in bungalows of sorts, and the top unit, overlooking the ocean was great. (http://www.palaceresorts.com/Resorts/XpuPalace/Index.asp). There are several palace resorts there, and if you stay at one you can also get in to all the other one's, which are all a shuttle bus ride away. Now, I am only an amateur snorkeler/diver, but I thought the diving was good. I took the intro to Scuba diving class with my wife. It consisted of 30 minutes of video, an hour in a pool, followed by a 45 minute dive with a certified diver, up to 40 feet deep. I felt completely safe. I went back the following day by myself, and the instructor took me down to 60 feet.
Now, I went to cozumel over new years, and the island was really messed up from the hurricane. I am not sure how the reefs fared, but I would really do my homework before I booked anything, I had a friend go out that way earlier in the year and the place they stayed at was "under construction". Good luck, and have fun!

Patrick
 
Patrick - that place looks fantastic! When did you go? The press releases said it was reopened only in June of this year due to damage from hurricanes last year.

Puffer - I'll call you after work.

Thanks
 
I love St. John. Although the entire Caribbean reef is in a decimation process, there are short boat-trips you can take -- less than an hour -- from the island to great snorkeling and diving. Idyllic location, the island is terrific. Honeymooned there over Thanksgiving in 97 and been back twice since.
 
I went in Sept. of 03 for our Honeymoon, and visited in 04 when we where there staying at the Spa Palace (WIFE'S CHOICE!) It is a very big place, they have bikes you can ride from your room to the various places in the resort, or you wait for the golf cart trolley type thing to drive you there. The food was great, if you go there get the Mayan Coffee, good stuff. I over-used the room service, our house maid person was so tired of bringing my drunk a$$ BLT's at 3am, that's for sure! It is a quieter place for nightlife though, but a trolley to one of the other resorts or the city will take you to any of that. The on-site snorkeling is nothing special, but you do see a lot of fish. In the center of the resort is a brackish pond/lake that you can go snorkeling in or kayaking. The closest city, Playa del Carmen is about a 20 minute cab ride, and is pretty interesting. Yummm 1 dollar Corona!! You can take a fairy over to Cozumel for pretty cheap also. While there we took a cab to Tulum, the only Mayan ruin on the ocean, went swimming with dolphins, the 2 scuba trips, and a snorkel trip...all the vacations since then have had a hard time living up to that one...we did meet some great people there though, and that always helps.

Patrick


Also, I agree with Joel, St Thomas and St John wher both very nice, all though more $$$...I visited them a few times on cruises.
 
We were in Antigua for a week last June - amazing trip, but it seems a bit far for a weekend.

I would like to visit one of the Saints in the future.

How do you all book these trips? I started looking on Travelocity and Expedia and I tried Palace Hotels webpage. Which is easiest?
 
I'm kinda lazy, I know a travel agent and go that route. That way everything is organized, guaranteed etc.
 
In 2 years , next stop home, THE PhILIPPINES then AUSTRALIA.:D
This gonna be a long vacation, 1 mo . every time I go for one.:)

All the corals we keep in our tanks , you will see in this waters, awesome!!
 
For a 4-5 day trip with easy direct flights, I would suggest Cozumel. Best diving in that area and a lot of scuba outfits. There are also a lot of travel packages with all inclusive food/drink.

Cozumel is less expensive than other carribean destinations of the same scuba quality and easier to get to.
If you go, PM me for some scuba referrals.

If you want something more adventurous, we went to Turks & Caicos for our scuba trip last winter and it was fantastic. We rented a house on the ocean and dove/snorkled every day.

Much less crowded (there were less than 50 people on our island while we were there and no other divers) and a slower pace.

I'd recommend taking the scuba lessons here and then doing your final dive certification on vacation. Make sure your destination will do this, but it will leave you more time for R&R.
 
In the Yucatan, cenote diving HIGHLY recommended. A break from the norm of openwater....!!! Not for the claustrophocbic though.

There's tons of small farms and the like you can pay 5 bucks to and dive their land all day.

Though I'd get certified first :D
 
I'll check out Cozumel as well.

How long does the local scuba certification take? That's probably a question for the scuba forum though.
 
Most people I have talked too said to get certified here first. It does take some significant time and $$ though. Do you really want to spend your whole vacation getting certified? I didn't...although I'm sure the diving you do for the cert. there would be a lot nicer than the cert. dives up here!
 
Patrick - that place is highly recommended on the scuba forum and is right next door to the Xpu-Ha Palace (fiance loves the idea of an eco park).

Where would I get certified around here and how quickly can it be done - we are looking to go in mid November.
 
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