Diving Playa del Carmen is a great option if you want Caribbean diving but would prefer the amenities and ease of travel you’ll get with Mexico to a remote island destination. Here we take a look at diving Playa del Carmen, and what you need to know.

As far as waters go, you can’t get much more perfect than the Caribbean Sea. Warm, calm, and absolutely teeming with all kinds of exotic sea life, divers of all levels flock to the Mexican Caribbean from all over the world to explore the many fantastic undersea environments this region of the globe has to offer.

Lets go Diving Playa del Carmen. Photo Credit: compaifecundo.

The Best Time of Year for Diving Playa Del Carmen

Playa del Carmen lies in what is called the Rivera Maya and lies a 40 min ride from Cancun.

One of the best things about this region is that the great conditions it offers are a year round fixture. Close to the equator, there isn’t really a summer or winter, and you can enjoy temperate waters ranging from lows of 77 degrees Fahrenheit to highs of up to 85 degrees.

The island of Cozumel barriers the Playa del Carmen area from the open ocean, so you’ll find the water here incredibly still, and visibility excellent – again, all year round.

Naturally, as a hugely popular Mexican resort Playa del Carmen can become very busy during typical vacation seasons, such as during the US summer season. If you want to save money and enjoy less crowded beaches and waters, consider traveling outside of these times.

You will find that there are many dive operators in Playa del Carmen and they will all offer local diving, day trips to Cozumel and of course the world famous cenotes. Dont go with the first dive center you walk into.

Ask around which dive center has a good rep and which dive center best fits your needs. You can also contact us at any given point if you would need advice if you plan to go diving Playa del Carmen or Cozumel.

What Can You Look Forward To When It Comes To Diving Playa Del Carmen?

Diving Palya del Carmen is going to be a mostly boat dive based experience. You’ll need to dive from a boat to get to all of the best sites, and shore diving here is mainly restricted to training exercises with dive schools if you are undertaking a PADI course on your trip.

As you will hear from local divers, diving in Playa del Carmen is not like in Cozumel. But it is definitely worth it. One of the major attractions here are the female Bull Shark who come back to the sandy patches of Playa each year in the winter.

If you are planning to do a dive to see the Bulls of Playa please make sure you know upfront how the dive operator works. Make sure that there is no feeding going on! This is disrupting the eco system. Become a fly on the wall and enjoy nature in full effect.

Drift diving is the order of the day, and you’ll also find opportunities to explore caverns and see larger sea life like tarpon and turtles. If turtles are a creature you definitely want to come into contact with, then diving Playa del Carmen offers you a very high probability of seeing not just one, but loads of them!

What Kind of Depths Are the Best Dives At?

Playa del Carmen has plenty of good dives at shallow and mid depths, so is perfectly suited for beginners or seasoned divers who prefer to stick within the confines of the Open Water certification. If you like to go deeper, there are good deep dives where the underwater landscape drops off at around 80ft.

Other Great Things to Look Out For

Fans of wreck diving can check out the wreck of the Mama Vina, a trawler which sustained serious damage and was subsequently deliberately sunk in 1996. This is a nice wreck to check out, but only really advisable for divers who are comfortable with diving in environments with things overhead.

This doesn’t mean you need to have done a lot of wrecks, as this isn’t an overly difficult one to explore, but some experience in caverns or other areas with overhead environments will certainly help you if you venture into the central corridors. Remember stay always within your limits when scuba diving and do not do anything your are not trained to do.

Playa del Carmen offers a great base for diving the Yucatan Peninsula. When you plan to dive Playa del Carmen make sure you have some extra time to explore the cenotes too.

What are your thoughts about scuba diving in Playa? Let us know in the comments below

This article is published by The Scuba Page, the online magazine for Scuba Dive lovers around the world. The Scuba Page is part of RUSHKULT: the online booking platform for adventure sports. Visit the RUSHKULT platform to book your next Scuba Dive training, guided trip and accommodation.

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