We were in Cancun for the week (we come every other year or so) and decided to take advantage of our location and go on a few dives. We search TripAdvisor and Scuba Cancun showed up pretty reliably with some great comments so we decided to give them a try. We are glad that we went with them!
We were staying at Royal Cancun which is literally across the street so it was incredibly convenient for us. We went on a shipwreck dive and then we did a cenote dive. I'll talk about them each separately. The shipwreck dive is a 2 tank dive (one is shipwreck and the other is reef). We booked online and then confirmed by phone when we arrived in Cancun. Our dive was in the morning (reporting at 9:20AM) where we signed in. Bring your dive card or at least your certification number. Sign in and start getting sized for the equipment you don't have. Our shipwreck dive had 4 people plus the dive master. He did a very thorough step by step once over how we planned to get to the bottom. It took about 20-30 min to drive off the coast to get there. Cancun has very quick moving currents so you have to keep that in mind. If you miss your opportunity to get to the line or if you don't descend quickly enough, you'll miss your opportunity to get to the site. Just... listen to directions. This dive was incredible. At 80 ft we arrived at the minesweeper ship that they purposefully sunk to allow substrate for reef growth. Tons of fish and really cool especially for myself since this was my first shipwreck. Once you're down there, it was an incredibly easy swim. Second dive was a drift/reef dive (again, current moves quickly). We got to see some pretty neat stuff.
The best dive, IMHO, was the cenote dive. Cenotes are freshwater sinkholes only found in the Yucatan peninsula so this experience is unique to this area. Online, it is listed as cavern diving. It's not cave diving which you would need special certification. Unlike caves, there are areas where there is light that penetrates through and you can surface if you need. However, if you are claustrophobic, this might not be the place for you. Although you can also book this one online, we did it in person since we had questions. Our dive master Chris was, as you would expect, a master. He is everything you'd want in a leader for a trip like this. He is knowledgeable. He is patient. He is calm. He speaks both English and Spanish fluently. You arrive at the dive shop at around 7:20AM and then you drive for about 2 hours out to the cenote. There are several you can go to and we went to Taj Maha (kinda named after Taj Majal). The water is crystal clear but cold. There are tiny fish that nibble at your feet. Jump in and it's the most refreshing experience. You get another debrief there giving you step by step instructions on how to dive here. You do have to really know how to achieve neutral buoyancy. Although 50ft is the max depth you are yo yoing up and down to avoid hitting the ceiling and stirring up silt on the floor that can create visibility issues. That being said, if you follow directions, it's not a bad dive. Really incredible. At points, you feel like you're floating in space. It's completely dark around with a single beam of light penetrating the ceiling shining onto the floor. I am so glad we did it. This was also a 2 tank dive in the same cenote and you get to see a lot of different things.
They supply the BCD, regulator, O2, fins and mask. Obviously, you can bring whatever you want that's your own. They will help you build the system unless you're there to train. Remember to bring your own towels and like most diving trips, you should already be in the clothing you want to wear into the water. For the ocean dives, no wet suit is required. They have shorties but no regular wetsuits but we went about it without any extra layers. For the cenote, they will give you a long wetsuit and a shortie ... they also provide you lunch as part of the experience. Remember to bring money for tip afterwards (15% of the total price of the experience is where I aimed for... not sure if that is accurate).
The more I think back on the last week, the more I value having gone on these 2 trips; the cenote in particular. If you're looking for a great dive with a great company, this is a good place to start. I did Solo Buceo before and didn't have as great of an experience. Here the dive masters were excellent. read more