Costa Maya diving?

[skittl1321]

Can anyone recommend a good dive operator in Costa Maya. We've been referred to Gypsea - but wanted to know what else people recommend, or if they are the ones to go with.

 

We are looking to an operator who will cater to newbies- we'll only have just done OW cert.

[Capt_BJ]

consider two data points that are before you now . . .

 

1. Your post has been here for nearly 24 hours with no replies . . . .

 

2. You probably noticed that the cruise line does not offer a SCUBA excursion in this port.

 

Both of these are strong indicators . . .

 

I've been certified for 40 years and have 15 sport dives in the last 60 days (just back from a week on Cayman) and have been active for a long time . . .

 

I've been to Costa many times and have never considered a dive trip there . . . it is just not on any of my lists of places I want to dive.

 

JUST MY OPINION but as a newly certified diver I'D recommend you stick with a trip in a much more 'new diver friendly' environment like Grand Cayman or Cozumel. And at that I press Cay over Coz.

 

I went to Cay' with newly certified dd just to build her skill level - she's an internship in Roatan for the summer tagging sea horses and coral species audits - 4 dives a day plus giving lectures on reef preservation.

 

here she is about to drop for her first nite dive, her 7th dive over all

 

[Laurie S.]

I answered him on Scubaboard, which is the referral he is referring to in his post. Costa Maya is a wonderful place to dive and it most certainly is good for beginners. I first dove there for my seventh and eighth dives and had no problems at all. I've been back two times since and we plan on going back again for a couple of weeks.

 

If you have been to Costa Maya and haven't dived there, you are really missing out on a great opportunity.

Edited May 14, 2013 by Laurie S.

[Capt_BJ]

while I might consider a dive there in the future

 

my experience with off the main line operations in MX would still make it a NO recommendation for a new diver - they won't know safe from not.

 

I worked ships in the Carib' incl MX ports for 25 years and just would want some more experience b4 I'd send someone to an out of the way place ESP in MX . . . to wit, getting DD as many dives as we could get in during a week trip - boat, shore, nite and day, ideal conditions and not so . . . b4 she heads off to Honduras

 

 

sea pool at Sunset House where we entered for the prev' pic dive . . . it was closed at this time but a couple of divers had gone in anyway and the police and sea rescue had been called in . ..

 

40 plus years as a life guard makes me more safety conscious than most however so ....

 

it is JUST my opinion.

Edited May 14, 2013 by Capt_BJ

[skittl1321]

2. You probably noticed that the cruise line does not offer a SCUBA excursion in this port.

 

Actually, Costa Maya is the ONLY port that the cruise line offers a SCUBA excursion- Roatan, Cozumel, and Belize they are only offering Discover Scuba. Our cruise is awhile out, so this may change, of course.

 

However, through the cruiseline, the dive is $149 pp for 2 tanks. We ae paying $80pp for two tanks in Cozumel, which is why I prefer booking independently.

 

Laurie S. did indeed post the rec for Gypsea (nice to see you on CC too! BTW- I'm a she.) I'm just trying to see if other people have anything to say about it. The operator we booked with in Cozumel seemed to be very easy to find lots of people with recommendations- but of course, Cozumel is a dive destination, whereas Costa Maya is a cruise destination. And most cruisers are not divers.

 

I would love to know what makes Costa Maya not "new diver friendly" are there no shallow dives available? I've heard down currents in Cozumel can be quite scary, so I've asked our operator if dives with a bottom are available- is this not an option in Costa Maya?

 

We are also considering Roatan, but since we want to snorkel, I'm having a hard time giving up that port, I hear it is some of the best snorkeling in the world... Plus the dives are also considerably more expensive than what the Cozumel dive cost, so I'm not sure we want to spend the money. We did find one operator that does a one tank dive later in the day, and we might do that.

[Laurie S.]

I don't understand why someone would say Costa Maya is not new diver friendly, either, especially having never dived there. There is some drift diving there, but it's not a fast current. In fact, my seventh and eighth dives there were drift dives down to 70 feet and I had no problems. My other visits there were not drift dives and on both occasions, Gypsea had student divers on board. My fiancé and I were allowed to dive on our own, however, which was great. He's an MSDT and I was a DM in training. We were down to 100+ feet plus, having the time of our lives. Catherine kept the students above 60 feet and she was able to see us most of the time, too.

 

Personally, having dived Cozumel twice and watched new divers struggle with a moderate current, I would never recommend Cozumel for a new diver.

[skittl1321]

Personally, having dived Cozumel twice and watched new divers struggle with a moderate current, I would never recommend Cozumel for a new diver.

 

We booked with an operator who was really highly recomended. She knows we are brand new, and these will be our first non-quarry dives. I'm waiting until after we finish the OW class to ask her more specific questions, but she said she has beginner dives for us. Because I know downcurrents in Cozumel are so bad, I'd really like to confirm that the places we are going have bottoms (I know there are dive sites in Cozumel that do) and not places where we have to just 'stay' at a certain depth but could go down 5x lower...

 

If she can't accomodate that, we'll probably just cancel and either find a new operator or not dive there for our first dives (or maybe my husband will, but I won't. He is a very very strong swimmer. I'm a decent one, but more of a water treader.)

 

Cozumel is the place our local dive shop recommends most, so I know it is possible for a beginner to dive there, but I also understand a beginner can get in trouble there!

 

We just really would like to dive there because the snorkeling was so fabulous last year we can't imagine how great it will be deeper down.

[vplsh]

When we were in Costa Maya my husband dove from the Maya Chan beach club. My daughter and I spent the day at Maya Chan and they took him diving then back to the beach for lunch and the rest of the day. He enjoyed it, since it was just him and the divemaster.

 

In Belize he always dives with the ship, simply because of the distance to all dive sites.

[skittl1321]

 

In Belize he always dives with the ship, simply because of the distance to all dive sites.

 

So far, there is no ship excursion in Belize. The only one offered is in Costa Maya. (We booked independetly in Cozumel.)

[Laurie S.]

In Belize, dive with Seasports Belize, I've been with them three times now. Very good company and they'll have one to two DMs with you.

 

Yes, there are beginner areas in Cozumel and it is beautiful diving there. On my first trip there, one couple had difficulties with the current and the woman didn't even do the second dive. On the second trip, another OW diver lost control in the current and ended up running into me and yanking the regulator out of my mouth. I don't think she did the second dive, either. Know where you are going, if you're not comfortable with current.

 

On our third trip there we were promised the Barracuda dive but the weather closed the port for diving! Grrrrrr......

Edited May 15, 2013 by Laurie S.

[skittl1321]

I'm looking very closely at SeaSports in Belize. It is quite expensive compared to Mexico, but that means I don't have to give up a great beach day in either Costa Maya or Roatan.

 

I would have to give up cave tubing, but while cave tubing sounds awesome, scuba diving kind of sounds awesomer.

[Middleager]

I dove in Costa Maya in 2006. From the small village of Mahuhaul, it was a very short boat ride to the reef, with slight wall/decent, lots of crevices and very lively colorful coral reef.

 

At that time, there were only a couple of dive shops, including one by Carnival that charged $150 for 2 tanks, while the one I booked was 1/2 that.

 

But soon after that there was a hurricane that devastated the village, and also wiped out piers in Cozumel -- which were then rebuilt.

 

Now when googling Costa Maya scuba diving, several dive ops are listed. In 2006, many reviews for Costa Maya diving said it was great, prestine, and just like Cozumel was like 20-30 ago. So it has sinced developed more, with cruiseships stopping there often.

 

The water was calm, weather was nice, short boat ride with no current or undertow. I hope to go back there diving soon.

[skittl1321]

I think it is likely we will dive with Gypsea. I'm holding off on booking until I have my OW class, so I have fewer things to cancel if it turns out I suck at this :)

[Laurie S.]

Stick with it, you'll love it! :)

[w&k]

I'm looking very closely at SeaSports in Belize. It is quite expensive compared to Mexico, but that means I don't have to give up a great beach day in either Costa Maya or Roatan.

 

I would have to give up cave tubing, but while cave tubing sounds awesome, scuba diving kind of sounds awesomer.

 

We have been to Belize multiple times. The first time, we dove with the ship, and it was pretty good.

 

The second time, we went cave tubing with 'Reggie' when DH had had eye surgery, and could not dive.

 

Next time, and every time since, we've been diving with SeaSports Belize. Awesome! They dive more of the inshore reefs, and they are pristine and beautiful.

 

Save the cave tubing for a trip when you can't dive. It's fun, but once was more than plenty for me. Basically, you hike up a mountain in super-humid 90F temperature, carrying your own inner tube, then float down. We had 6 folks in our own van with a driver and guide, and the rest of the trip was actually better than the tubing.

 

Have a great trip, whatever you decide to do!

 

Wendy

[Big Tillie]

We dove with Maya Palms twice great dive resort about 10 miles from the port in Costa Maya. The reef was in great shape. Nice wall and a lot of swim thrus. We saw a lot of fish.

[Colorado Kat]

another OW diver lost control in the current and ended up running into me and yanking the regulator out of my mouth.

 

That happened to me once as well. Makes a great story. The dive I found gold and then somebody tried to kill me by ripping out my regulator.

 

Inspecting the reef, I saw something shiny. Turned out it was a very pretty gold earring someone must have lost. Then this ditsy female diver tried to pull me towards her dive group by grabbing my arm. When I wouldn't go, her arm ended up hooking my regulator hose and ripping it from my mouth. She recognized me since we had been on the same dive boat the day before. But on the day I was referring to, my DH and I were diving by ourselves. A shore dive. Her dive boat just happened to show up near us. She wanted me to rejoin the group that I was not even a part of.

 

Still use the gold earring as a Xmas ornament.

[omeinv]

I dove with Gypsea there in 2011. I was a new diver then. The diving is quite tame. It's a small operation, but with good equipment, and nice people. You could do far worse for your early open water dives. Good reef dives, moderate depths, and a nice setting. My recollection is it was $75.00 for two tank dives.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[BillOh]

I snorkeled in Costa Maya about 10 miles south of the ship. I found a car battery and about 1000 little packets filled with white powder.

[zen-diver]

If you are looking for a small, reliable and safe dive trip in Costa Maya, go with Nomad Divers! They cater to small groups and are simply the best!!!!

[Middleager]

If you are looking for a small, reliable and safe dive trip in Costa Maya, go with Nomad Divers! They cater to small groups and are simply the best!!!!

There is very little info or review on them. Can you explain what they do and provide, and how they are "simply the best"? (Especially since all of your posts here in CC, are all about how good this op is)

Edited June 26, 2014 by Middleager

[Laurie S.]

I was booked with Nomad Divers once, but the owner had to have emergency tooth surgery and couldn't lead the dive. So she arranged for us to dive with Gypsea Divers, who are great. I actually kept in touch with her for awhile and would dive with her, if Gypsea was fully booked.