Cenote Diving in the Riviera Maya

For further information or to book a service, please contact :

diving@hotellatortuga.com

No other area in the world boasts as many underwater caves as the Mayan Riviera in the Yucatan Peninsula's Caribbean coast. Playa del Carmen is the ideal location to set up a base for your vacation for a memorable cavern diving experience.

Cenotes, found only in this part of the world, are freshwater pools in the jungle with access to vast underground cave systems. The word "Cenote" is pronounced, say-no-tay and is derived from the Maya "Dzonot", which means “sacred well”.
Cenotes have very slow-flowing currents and crystal-clear fresh water.

Cenotes are open to any certified diver from OWD level and up. Dives are led by extremely competent dive guides who are specially trained to dive in cenotes. They follow a defined pathway marked and delimited by a guideline fixed to the bottom.
Depth is usually in the range of 9 to 17meters.
The current is slow and can be divided into upstream and downstream according to its direction.

No special equipment is needed, as 12-litre tanks and wet suites (5-millimetre) are commonly worn with a water temperature usually around 25 degrees Celsius. Usually divers get in the water from a platform excavated from the rock.

All this makes for a very easy and comfortable diving experience -one that you will never forget!

Among the most spectacular cenotes are Ponderosa, Dos Ojos, Grand Cenote, Chac Mool, Carwash and Angelita, all within a short trip from Playa del Carmen.

Cost: One Cenote Double Dive: USD$120.00

Series of Three Cenote Double Dives: USD$320.00

If you wish to go on only one dive, please let us know.

Cave diving

Cave diving, compared to cavern diving, means further penetration into areas beyond natural daylight. Extensive training is required, as is special equipment.

"Cavern Guides" are certified Full Cave Divers who also hold Open Water Dive Masters level or higher.

These qualified professionals must be outfitted with complete Full CaveDiving Equipment, Oxygen Tank/First Aid Kit, have successfully completed a "Cavern Guide Program" and display authorized identification.

Safety limitations for cavern dives:

Divers must always remain:

• Within the Natural Daylight zone
• A maximum of 60 meters/200 feet from the surface
• A maximum depth of 21 meters/70 feet
• A minimum visibility of 15 meters/50 feet
• In large passages where at least 2 divers can comfortably pass through
• Within the "no decompression limits"
• Within "Arms Length" of a guideline that leads back to the open water
• Within the warning signs
• Using the air management "rule of thirds" and existing with a minimum of 60 bar/900 psi
• At a ratio of no more than 4 participants for "Cavern Guide"

Cavern and cave dives include:

• Transportation to and from the Playa del Carmen dive shop
• Certified cave dive guide (maximum ratio of 4 divers to one guide)
• Tanks
• Weights
• Dive lights
• Cenote entrance fees
• Refreshments
• A sandwich

Cavern and cave diving locations:

Cenote Angelita

Only for experienced divers at an minimum Advanced Open Water level with a minimum of 50 logged dives

• Location: 17 kilometers South of Tulum
• Opening Hours: daily from 10 am to 5 pm
• Facilities: None
• Distance from gear-up to water: a 5-minute walk through the jungle

The name means "little angel" and there may not be a better way to describe this magical dive site. This atypical cenote does nothing else but dip straight down - to 200 feet/60 meters! Fresh water with unlimited visibility makes up the first 100 feet/30 meters, while a mystical layer of hydrogen sulfate separates the salt water layer that makes up the other half. This layer in the middle appears as a dense cloud from the top and as a strange-colored hue from the bottom. A once-in-a-lifetime dive!

Cenote Car Wash

Location: About 37 miles south of Playa del Carmen, then five miles inland on the highway to Coba
Opening Hours: daily from 9 am to 5 pm
Facilities: Restrooms, parking area, picnic lunch area (no restaurant), and gear tables

Distance from gear-up to water: a short 15-foot walk

Divers enter the water through the roots of large trees, which, as in a fairy tale, take you to a strange and different world.
Here you can experience both cavern and cave dives.
The cavern dive unfolds as you enter through the roots, and continues into a large decorated gallery.
Rooms and galleries are found in the cave system both upstream and downstream.
Ask your cave guide about the Room of Tears, Adriana's room, the White Room, the Drain, and many more.

Cenote Chac Mool

• Location: Just 14 miles south of Playa del Carmen
• Opening Hours: daily from 9 am to 5 pm
• Facilities: Restrooms, restaurant, gear tables, and parking area
• Distance from gear-up to water:just down the stairs at either entrance

This is one of the most popular dive locations on the coast. Chac Mool has something for everyone from speleotherms and airdomes on the cavern tour, to deeply penetrating cave dives in both directions, with a maximum depth of 45 feet.
Fascinating visual effects are created where salt and fresh water meet.
Combine this dive with any other dive along the coast and you will see why guides always recommend Chac Mool as a must-do cavern dive.

Cenote Dos Ojos

• Location: 30 miles south of Playa del Carmen, then 2.5 mile along the dirt road at the Ejido Jacinto Pat entrance
• Opening Hours: daily from 10 am to 5 pm
• Services: Restrooms, nearby restaurant, snack bar, and parking area
• Distance from gear-up to water:an easy 1-minute walk down well-built stairs

This location is comprised of two circular cenotes situated very close to each other.
Dos Ojos -Spanish for "two eyes"- is known for its multiple shallow cavern dives, giving divers plenty of bottom time to enjoy this fully-decorated system. Cave divers can plan many different cave dives with their guides in this massive cave system.
There are also large snorkeling areas with stalactites and stalagmites everywhere and easy access for the entire family.
The IMAX movies production team shot footage on location here for their newly-released film “Journey into Amazing Caves”.

Cenote Nohoch Nachich

For cave divers only

• Location: About 30 miles south of Playa del Carmen
• Facilities: Restrooms, restaurant, and gear tables
• Distance from gear-up to water: 250 meters

This is one of the most sought-after cave diving locations in the world.
Access is a little awkward, but that just heightens the jungle adventure atmosphere! This cave divers' dream is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest cave system in the world.

Cenote Ponderosa and Coral Cenote

• Location: About 15 miles south of Playa del Carmen
• Opening Hours: daily from 10 am to 5 pm
• Facilities: Restrooms, shaded picnic lunch area (no restaurant), parking area, and gear tables
• Distance from gear-up to water:an easy walk down the stairs to a platform

Ponderosa is a very large and exceptionally beautiful cenote, home to a wide variety of aquatic life. You can take a short walk just down a path from here to Coral Cenote and see another large collapse with only its sides underwater and a large island in the middle. There are also many cave dives that connect to nearby cenotes and make fascinating routes. The snorkeling is excellent, with plenty of area to explore. If you take a walk around the jungle, you will find many fossils of corals and shells throughout the jungle floor.

Cenote Taj Mahal

• Location: 16 miles south of Playa del Carmen
• Opening Hours: daily from 10 am to 6 pm
• Facilities: Restrooms, restaurant, and gear tables
• Distance from gear-up to water:an easy 1-minute walk down the stairs

Cenote Taj Mahal is one of your “must-do” dives while visiting the  Mayan Riviera.
Guided cavern dives float you down a series of light zones, creating a dazzling underwater laser-like show as divers pass into the layer of salt water below the fresh water.
Keep your eyes open during this dive to admire the stalagmites and stalactites, and discover many shell and coral fossils amongst the rocks.

Gran Cenote

• Location: About 37 miles south of Playa del Carmen, then 2.5 miles inland on the highway to Cobá
• Opening Hours: daily from 10 am to 5 pm
• Facilities: Restrooms, no restaurant, but a nearby store selling sandwiches and other snacks, gear tables, and parking lot.
• Distance from gear-up to water: an easy and very short walk down the stairs

The name “Gran Cenote” does say it all.
This large cenote is one of the most popular diving and snorkeling areas in the Mayan Riviera.
Huge stalagmites, stalactites, and columns are yours to be seen by just plunging your face into the water.

Cavern divers can enjoy this circular-shaped cenote dive as they duck behind and swim through this underwater wonderland. Cave dives are a possibility too! Gran Cenote is one of the most rewarding snorkeling areas for adventurers of all ages and skill levels. The whole family can enjoy themselves in the water here.