Dive pictures from the Mayan Riviera

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Reef_Geek

That's funny, I'll be in Playa del Carmen at one of the Paradisus the first week of Dec... there must be a sale to Canadians or something for that week...

Haha, yeah, it's called expedia.ca (via Westjet).... We're going up with friends. They can't go up until the Sat. But we are going on the Fri (Nov 29) and saving $300 over their price, but get to stay an extra day. You really have to try all the combinations online to get the best deal...

[Treebeard]

Akumal Bay and Half Moon Bay are not far away. Akumal Bay has lots of turtles but can get very crowded. If you get there early before 9:00 its not so bad. I would not be surprised if your resort runs a shuttle to Akumal Bay. Many of the larger resorts do and it really agitates the people that stay right on Akumal Bay, hence the reason we always stay in Half Moon Bay. Half Moon Bay has no crowds because it is mainly condos. There are lots of fish and coral in Half Moon Bay but not as many turtles. If there is not shuttle to Akumal Bay a cab ride would probably only be a few bucks.

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

I'll be near Akumal (Grande Bahia resort) during the 1st week in Dec. Hope to find some decent snorkeling nearby. Will be trying out my new Olympus TG-2 camera underwater.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Treebeard

Akumal Bay and Half Moon Bay are not far away. Akumal Bay has lots of turtles but can get very crowded. If you get there early before 9:00 its not so bad. I would not be surprised if your resort runs a shuttle to Akumal Bay. Many of the larger resorts do and it really agitates the people that stay right on Akumal Bay, hence the reason we always stay in Half Moon Bay. Half Moon Bay has no crowds because it is mainly condos. There are lots of fish and coral in Half Moon Bay but not as many turtles. If there is not shuttle to Akumal Bay a cab ride would probably only be a few bucks.

Thanks, that's what we heard, too. At our resort, apparently you have to go out about 400 metres to the reef, and depending on surf conditions, might be a bit rough. And I don't want to get run over by some speed boat.

[Jakegr]

I'm going back January 11-18th... unfortunately I'll probably only be able to dive a couple of times this year. I'm going to do the Bullsharks again... I was also wondering if anyone has heard of a Whale shark trip near Playa?

[Treebeard]

Whale shark viewing season runs from June to August. The two most popular places to go for short boat trips to see them are Isla Mujeres and Holbox. We went to Isla Mujeres in late August and swam with 20 or 30 of them. It was about an hour boat ride out with a stop at Isla Contoy on the way back for lunch and more snorkelling.
If you decide to do a summer trip sometime plan for 3 or 4 days stay on Isla Mujeres. It's a nice little island, golf cart is the main mode of transportation for tourists and there is some very nice diving. You can also book whale shark trips from PC but it would make for a long day because you have to go all the way back to Cancun and jump on a boat with at least another 1.5 hour boat ride out to find the sharks.

Originally Posted by Jakegr

I'm going back January 11-18th... unfortunately I'll probably only be able to dive a couple of times this year. I'm going to do the Bullsharks again... I was also wondering if anyone has heard of a Whale shark trip near Playa?

[Reef_Geek]

Originally Posted by Treebeard

That definitely helps.
Doesn't the old Hero 3 also do 1080p at 60 fps? I went to Bestbuy yesterday and they had zero Heros in stock of any kind but I think Amazon still sells the old model. But the + supposedly resolves the battery issues.
Looking forward to seeing your videos when you get back.

I just got BestBuy's email. Their Dec 1st cyber online sale has the Hero3+ for $399.99. Good deal.

[Treebeard]

Thanks for the tip but will have to pass. We decided to get a strobe for our dive camera instead. Heading up to Aquasport today to order it and pick up my brand spanking new nitrox cert card.

Originally Posted by Reef_Geek

I just got BestBuy's email. Their Dec 1st cyber online sale has the Hero3+ for $399.99. Good deal.

[Reef_Geek]

Originally Posted by Treebeard

Thanks for the tip but will have to pass. We decided to get a strobe for our dive camera instead. Heading up to Aquasport today to order it and pick up my brand spanking new nitrox cert card.

Nice! I used to dive pressed steel 100 cubic foot tanks. At 80 ft depth on Nitrox, me and my buddy used to stay down for 45 mins or so... while everyone else who dove with air were already back on the boat and getting sea sick waiting for us to surface. Now YOU can be THAT guy too.

[Reef_Geek]

alrighty... I am broadcasting from the Paradisus in Playa del Carmen (PDC) sipping on apple martinis and snacking on cerviche. I arrived today into Cancun international, got to PDC via ADO bus which dropped me right into the middle of the tourist area... so I thought... hey, why not walk around and see if I can arrange for my dive charters before checking into my resort? I had intended to dive with Dive Mike as some other CanReefers recommended and they had been very good and responsive to some of my email questions. However, I was really intrigued with checking out Cozumel if not for the hassle of the independent travel to Cozumel. A friend of mine found an operation called Tank-HA out of PDC (maybe someone here mentioned too) whose boat takes you right to Cozumel dive sites direct from their shop in PDC. So I thought... hey, let's check out Cozumel with these guys. Well, I walked up to them today, luggage in tow and all, and they set me up with 2x 2tank charters of local PDC dives, 1x 1 tank bull shark charter, 1x 2tank Cozumel charter... all for $315 USD. So, I'll let everyone know how this charter was. Hopefully also have some GoPro videos at the end of this trip.

[Treebeard]

Great! Looking forward to seeing some diving photos and videos. Especially wondering about the trips to Coz from PDC. Thinking it could be a long bumpy ride!
My wife has packed our dive gear but still 23 days until departure.