I just did my intro to freediving with Amancay after several years of emails back and forth, with a…read morevery considerate Antonella!, until I finally didn't need to cancel. Andrea was my instructor, and he was the best - very patient, clear, knowledgeable, fully present with each person as we prepared and dove. The cenote we dove in was gorgeous, and a safe place to practice. This was a really good first experience - now I need to apply it in my snorkeling and then perhaps continue with further levels. I can highly recommend him and Amancay.

Got to dive with Amancay for 3 weeks. I was already a certified freediver so I joined them for…read moretraining sessions in the Cenotes and bull shark dives. In that time I got to observe them instruct many different level 1 freediving classes. I was continually surprised at their high standards and quality of their courses. The instructors are highly knowledgeable in relating freediving theory to the students in ways that was comprehendible to everyone. For freediving the most difficult thing to overcome is not the meters, but equalization. Amancay has more than a bat-belt of tricks, techniques and exercises that get even the trickiest of ears to depth. Beyond the training; the staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. They are constantly rotating between cenotes so every day feels like a new adventure! Thank you Amancay Freediving for making my stay in Playa full of epic dives, smiles and laughs

I had a wonderful first diving experience with Dive Life. I honestly couldnt have asked for a…read morebetter dive. My girlfriend and I had been shopping around Playa Del Carmen for a good dive shop that wasnt too expensive. They were actually more or less all the same price so we went with a dive instructor our hotel hostess highly recommended, Fran(cisco). Everyone at dive live was super tranquillo. We arrived filled out paper work and came in 930am 2-days late for our class and dive. We went to a nearby dive pool that starts off about 5 feet and they gradually goes to 10feet. Its important that I note I am an ok swimmer and my girlfriend cannot swim. She is a fish out of water when she is in the water. Fran was excellent in making us both feel comfortable but especially her. It was really nice. He took his time and made sure we understood everything. He taught us how and when to deflate and inflate how to clear water from our facemask and what to do in case our mouth pieces got knocked out under water. After the training which lasted about 1-1.5hours we got in the car met up with some other divers that were going out diving with fran (who were expert divers themselves out on vacation). We took a small boat out to the le jardin reef (the garden). Got our stuff on and dove in. The first dive was about 30 meters and it was great. We saw rays, schools of fish, a stone fish, some shrimps, clown fish, red snappers, groupers etc. it was really cool and fran was close by to direct us where to look and when to and how to control our buoyancy. We came up after about 35 mins and the boat came to pick us up. We then sailed about 20 mins north to another reef and went down again. My gf had some problems with her goggles fogging up and it was really bothering her I saw her start to panic a little but Fran and his intern Oscar were there and helped her calm down and defog her goggles. It made me feel really relieved. That dive was about 50 meters deep in open water. We saw even larger rays some huge eels and more schools of different kinds of fish. Over that reef had less fish. But still a good amount and we got to swim through a little cave! That dive lasted about 42 mins. We accomplished a lot more than I expected on our first dive and it went very smoothly thanks to Fran and his well trained (Fran has actually trained a bunch of dive instructors that work at other dive shops) team. The expert divers we were with also had a great time. I would highly recommend him to anyone that is new or even expert divers looking to see the best of the area whether it be the cenotes or pdc or cozumel.

You'll dive in a safe, professional, family-like environement where the people are incredibly…read morepassionate about what they do and are motivated to share their love for diving with others. For us, it was like diving with some new friends and on top of that, enjoying the best diving places of Yucatan! As backpackers for months now, we used to dive in many places. Dive Life was the best price quality we have found in Playa, everything was professional and easy. Franck took good care of us, and all we had to do is to enjoy the amazing dives on Cozumel reefs! We have found back the taste of the last dive we did in Thaïlande - Similan Island... Paloma and Oscar were awesome, nothing to compare with these PADI center factories, it was also awesome to share some beers together after our dive! We highly recommand to dive with them!

We booked a two-tank dive with Salty Endeavors in Cozumel and came away disappointed…read more The training was weird. Francesco spoke very fast with a strong accent and said upfront that raising hands for questions is not acceptable to him during his training. All four of us struggled to understand him. The first dive was solid, but the second was just average - and we would have much preferred staying on the same reef rather than moving. More concerning were the safety and experience issues. During one dive, Francesco knocked my beginner son's mask off with his fin at around 35 feet. Our son managed to recover on his own (thxs to training from the guide and Dad), but it was a stressful and avoidable situation - especially for a newer diver and experienced guide. We also brought a GoPro to capture the experience, but were told we couldn't use it ourselves. We were told they would handle it and supplement with their phones, yet we ended up with zero photos or videos from either dive. That's probably the most disappointing part - no memories to take with us other than what we can recall ourselves. Overall, not a terrible dive, but far from the experience we expected. The combination of safety concerns and lack of follow-through left us very disappointed.

My partner and I rented a private charter to scuba for half a day during one of the cruise stops…read more This was also my partner's first tropical dive and a revisit to my very first tropical dive many years ago, so I was very excited. Freddy and his captain came to pick us up at the hotel pier on time, and walked us through the sites we were going to dive. Unfortunately, we didn't get to dive at sites that I wanted given the time that we have, but it was still an amazing experience nonetheless. I highly recommend getting a private charter with Salty Endeavors, and will definitely come back to them for a longer dive!

Paulo was the best dive guide I've ever had the pleasure of working with. He was so knowledgeable…read moreabout the area, gave thorough briefs prior to the dive, and was great at communicating under water. Paulo was super accommodating and overall just a wonderful person. I HIGHLY recommend this dive shop and diving with Paulo!!

Me and my husband did 2 dives with Paolo in the Cenotes and it was amazing! Paolo was really…read morepatient to explain all the diving plan to us and all the equipment was good. We did the Barbie line route and the Bat cave and it was really peaceful. It was one of the best dives I did as the Cenotes look like something from another world!

We did the whale shark excursion with Mexico Divers today. I will break the review into two parts…read more The booking process and the actual excursion. Booking process- We walked in - in person - to book the excursion. The employee was very friendly and professional. She explained everything throughly. My only gripe is they charge a 10 percent service charge to pay with a card. When the excursion is expensive - with a group - that charge can add up quickly. We were quoted $30-$35 USD cheaper all over the island. Based on a recommendation, we booked anyway - after walking to find an ATM - this was inconvenient. The excursion- The captain and guide were amazing. They took us out to swim with the whale sharks and we hit the jackpot. We also swam with mantas - which was awesome. On the way back, the captain made pitstop so the group could do a little snorkeling. Everyone loved it. Again, my only gripe was the service charge - if that wasn't there - or if it was around 3 percent - I would give a 5.

Absolutely incredible. My last dive was over 14 years ago during my PADI certification, so this was…read moremy first "real" dive. I had forgotten basically everything! I signed up for the refresher course, which was right before the dive, so it only added an hour and a half to the total time. Marie, my instructor, was AWESOME. She walked me through everything and was incredibly patient. Her positive energy was infectious. I was pretty stressed out during the start of the first dive, and she knew exactly how to chill me out. By the second dive it felt like old hand. Also... the museum and reef were super cool, too :) Highly recommended.

We expected WAY MORE!!! They said it was probably because there was no sun so it didn't looked…read morelight blue AT ALL! Also, for you personal stuff, you should rent a locker at the entrance, because on the other side of the lagoon you could see local people that come in from the land next door without paying, and when we where swimming, we saw they were getting near out stuff so beware. Esperábamos MUCHO MÁS !!! Dijeron que probablemente era porque no había sol, así que no se veía azul claro EN LO ABSOLUTO! Además, para tus cosas personales, debes rentar un casillero en la entrada, porque al otro lado de la laguna se veía gente que llegaba del terreno vecino sin pagar, y cuando estábamos nadando vimos que estaban acercarse a las cosas, así que ten cuidado.

Promueven una hora para cerrar, pero en realidad para de vender boletos una hora antes. Manejamos…read moredesde Cancún para visitar la laguna , y no nos dejaron entrar .

Great company to go and swim with whale sharks. Keep in mind these are only here in season…read more (Starting around June 1st - September 15th) The downside to coming to Mexico to swim with the Whale Sharks is you have to wear those ridiculous life vests, but in Isla Mujeres it's almost a guaranteed sighting. Due to government regulations no free diving . The life vest makes it seem like more of a tourist trap than pelagic adventures in other countries. Still a great experience to be in the water with such magical creatures.

What a great experience! My family and I couldn't be more pleased with the whale shark expedience…read morethat was provided. The boat ride to get to the sharks can be long (approx. 1 - 1.5 hours) but worth it. Our guide Felipe explained what we can do and what we cant do once we get to the whale sharks. Once a whale shark was spotted, the captain dropped us in the water, perfectly positioned to see the whale shark. Once we returned, we stopped at Playa Norte (some the prettiest water I have ever seen in my life) and they made some fresh ceviche for everyone on board. What a great day and I would recommend their services to anyone.

Absolutely stunning open cenote. It's one of those places that make you take a step back and admire…read morenature and all of its beauty. It was pretty busy when we went, but there's plenty of space all around. You can tell the people who work here really care about the preservation of this space and wanted to take care of it. The guide was very nice and made sure we knew all of the safety precautions before getting in. There are a few entry points and areas to jump in. We left our stuff laying around and it was very safe. Definitely have snorkels ready so you can see all of the beautiful fish. Try and find the blue lobster!

Great price and generous conversion rate here. The Cenote is beatiful and not too busy the two…read moretimes i've been. The cliff jumping is also a huge plus.

If I could, I'd give zero stars. Leo will request either a partial or full payment of your trip in…read moreadvance, confirm when and where. Then your trip will never happen and you are out your money. It's sad to post this. My husband and I have been spearfishing with also for almost a decade, and the first nine years were great. This year we were concerned by reviews but having known him personally thought there had to be more to the story... there isn't. Your money will just get stolen.

A complete crook. Leo Waltman of spearfishingtoday.com repeatedly pushed me to purchase and make a…read more50% deposit through Paypal . When he cancelled the trip due to bad weather he promised me a refund. I sent a request through Paypal for the deposit refund which he messaged me he would send. He never sent the refund and quit responding to requests. I have hired a local attorney to help get back over $1900 he stole.

I had a wonderful experience with Scuba Tulum. I visited one afternoon to ask about their dive…read morepackages. I booked a two tank cenote dive for the following day. When I arrived the next morning I was told they were running just a little late and was taken next door for a complimentary coffee while I waited a few minutes. Frederico was my dive master. He was a great dive master and also was a wealth of knowledge about the local area. What really put Scuba Tulum over the top was when I went back the following day to ask for recommendations on where to watch some American football games. I was given some great recommendations and had an enjoyable time watching the games. They really went above and beyond. Thank you Scuba Tulum!!!

I'll start with the positives - our dive master for the cenotes dives at Dos Ojos was excellent…read more Knowledgeable, patient, safety oriented and very helpful. Now for the downsides: 1) I asked in my emails if this is PADI shop & I was led to believe it is. It is not. The owner is a PADI instructor, however, he couldn't get certification for his shop. We found this out after our reef dives 2) Our dive master for the reef dives seemed very inexperienced & no familiar with the area. He swam very fast, didn't wait for the group - there were only 5 of us. We did not have any time to linger and explore for the small things. He was very interested in finding big fish, which there were very few. He also went into several dark caves in the coral which were dead ends and we ended up having to turn around and come back out. 3) When gearing up my dive buddy & I always do a safety check. He told us not to touch our stuff - this felt really unsafe and several of us ended up having some issues - not enough weights was the biggest problem because he literally argued with us that we didn't need as much weight as we said. 4) We had 5 divers and 4 snorkelers - they took us out on a boat that barely held the people and equipment. No orientation to the boat, where are life jackets, etc. No water on the boat for us to drink. 5) The website says $55USD for cenote snorkel that inclues lunch and cenote fees - both the divers and snorkelers had to pay our cenote entrance fees and there was no lunch. They had bananas and water. 6) On the 1st day they were late picking us up so we stressed that on the 2nd day we had to be back at our house by 1:30 as someone was arriving from the airport. On the 2nd day they arrived 30 minutes late and I missed the 2nd cenote dive because I had to go back to the house to meet the person. I was still charged the full price even though it was their fault I missed that dive. 7) Finally, they were supposed to bring a credit card machine on the last day so we could pay. They forgot it. The owner randomly showed up at the back door late one evening without warning. We are a group of women and that was a very uncomfortable feeling. He should have used the front door and notified us (he has our phone number and emails) of when he was going to show up. The waters off of tulum are gorgeous - clear, colorful, lots of sealife. The biggest reason I could not recommend this shop is because they are misleading in that they are not PADI certified.