Playa del Carmen

I'll be in Playa del Carmen in January, does anyone have
recommendations for diving sites or diving organizations there? I'm a
pretty new diver, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Falynn

Absolutely......

I can't say enough good things about the Abyss Dive Shop..
http://www.abyssdiveshop.com

THe people are friendly and very professional. Dive groups never number
more than 6 people at a time.

While there, make sure that you dive Tortugas Reef (tons of turtles), and
do a cenote dive - it's a unique experience.

When in January will you be there? I'll be going back there for the week
of Jan 20.

How does the diving in Playa del Carmen compare to Cozumel - should one take
the ferry over to Cozumel and dive there instead? I dove a cenote once and
it was unique but not something I'd want to do every day.

<jpw@ever-america.com> wrote in message news:3f60c991$1@news.sentex.net...
> Absolutely......
>
> I can't say enough good things about the Abyss Dive Shop..
> http://www.abyssdiveshop.com
>
> THe people are friendly and very professional. Dive groups never number
> more than 6 people at a time.
>
> While there, make sure that you dive Tortugas Reef (tons of turtles), and
> do a cenote dive - it's a unique experience.
>
> When in January will you be there? I'll be going back there for the week
> of Jan 20.

In a nutshell, Cozumel has more spectacular coral, but the dive sites in
Playa tend to have more interesting marine life. In January I'll be doing
one day in Cozumel, and yes, I'll be taking the ferry over. The folks at
the dive shop set it all up. And no, the cenotes aren't something you'd
want to do every day, but onnce is a definite must.

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 21:05:17 -0500, Joe English
<joeenglish@accessus.net> wrote:

>jpw@ever-america.com wrote:
>> In a nutshell, Cozumel has more spectacular coral, but the dive sites in
>> Playa tend to have more interesting marine life. In January I'll be doing
>> one day in Cozumel, and yes, I'll be taking the ferry over. The folks at
>> the dive shop set it all up. And no, the cenotes aren't something you'd
>> want to do every day, but onnce is a definite must.

>More interesting marine life - I don't think so.

I tend to agree with jpw. I did a day trip from Cozumel over to Playa
a few years ago, and we dived just north of the pier in Playa, and
then off Akumal. On the second dive we ran into a school of tarpon
that split around us, and kept coming for a good 5 minutes. They have
to number well into the hundreds. I've never seen that many large
fish at one time.

We also saw several HUGE turtles on the first dive.

The reef itself wasn't NEARLY as impressive as any Cozumel site. But
those tarpon are a lasting memory.

My definite impression of diving on the Playa side is "more big
stuff", and faster currents. I'd go back in a flash if the
opportunity presented itself. Maybe we just got lucky.

--
Remove preceding and trailing X from username for replies
(Sorry, but I'm SICK of spam...)

jpw@ever-america.com wrote:
> In a nutshell, Cozumel has more spectacular coral, but the dive sites in
> Playa tend to have more interesting marine life. In January I'll be doing
> one day in Cozumel, and yes, I'll be taking the ferry over. The folks at
> the dive shop set it all up. And no, the cenotes aren't something you'd
> want to do every day, but onnce is a definite must.
More interesting marine life - I don't think so. Think about a dusk
dive at Punta Tuniche - especially if the current is slow. I have seen
lobster there the size of German Shepherds and not puppies either. Crabs
and lobsters plentiful it was unbelievable. The octopi were all over
the place, squid and sea horses. I have dove all over the caribbean ,
with plenty of night dives(my favorite) nothing compares to the marine
night life at Cozumel.....

The diving is good in PDC, you can also take the boat over to Cozumel and do
a dive. and I would recommend as your last dive, to do the Cenotes, They
require good bouyancy and you should have that down towards the end of your
trip. Besides it is somewhat of fresh water, and your gear gets a good
rinse at the same time Pick a dive shop that has friendly knowledgeable
people. Have fun diving, I'm leaving tomorrow for Cozumel and a week of
diving.




"Falynn Bilyk" <falynnbilyk@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:6edbb5e6.0309111010.8b2fcd4@posting.google.co m...
> I'll be in Playa del Carmen in January, does anyone have
> recommendations for diving sites or diving organizations there? I'm a
> pretty new diver, so any help would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Thanks!
>
> Falynn