Scuba in Costa Maya?

Looking at a couple of Royal Caribbean itineraries that stop in Costa Maya. I'd like to know if anyone has any recommendations on scuba excursions. I searched here but didn't find any posts newer than 2011.

Royal offers a shore excursion and I see some older posts about diving from the Maya Chan resort.

Any thoughts?

Hi! I am cruising here in February and also was trying to find diving info. Please let me know if you learn anything!

There's a place called Dr Dive that gets very good reviews. I was considering doing a discover scuba with them

Hi! I am cruising here in February and also was trying to find diving info. Please let me know if you learn anything!

I have not yet visited Costa Maya, but will be doing so for the first time this March. I have arranged dives through Mar Adentro. I will be doing a two dives since I am certified and seven members of my family will be doing a Discover Scuba course through them that day. Their communication with me has been outstanding. Oscar will respond to every need you have within 24 hours. They have amazing write-ups and their pricing is better than practically any other port I have seen.

One of the best things about them for our group of 20 is that they are located right on Blue Kay (which you can read about on this forum) and you go there between dives for your stop to enjoy the food and drinks there on the beach. This is where my family who is not diving will hang out while the rest of us dive.

Check them out with the address and reviews below. By the way, tell them RussLomas mentioned them to you (maybe he will give me a discount;)

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g499450-d4185835-Reviews-Mar_Adentro_Diving-Mahahual_Costa_Maya_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

I've heard Mar Adentro is good. So is Doctor Dive next to Ya Yas. That's who Canadian divers I know who do land vacays there use. And there's a couple who have a diving operation next to No Hoch Kay, forget the name, Nomad, maybe. But they're a nice couple, with a great dog that likes to go along and one of the diver guests I talked to who was staying in Mahahual, said they were excellent. I only saw 2-3 divers plus 2 crew on the boat.

My husband did a Discover Scuba with Gypsea Divers when we were in Costa Maya on 2/2/17. He was very pleased with the entire experience.

This was the 3rd time (in 3 years) that he'd gone diving and he said this was the best time he had. A lot of fish, a great reef and a very pleasant instructor.

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Three weeks til we sail and will be trying Mar Adentro. I will try to remember to report back to this thread when we return. We have 9 doing the Discover Scuba and I myself am certified and will do a couple dives with them as well.

Russ Lomas

How was the scuba diving with Mar Adentro? We're going in Oct and my wife doesn't scuba. I was thinking about setting up a dive through them if my wife could enjoy the beach there while I was diving? Did you go out on a boat or was it a dive from shore?

I've heard Mar Adentro is good.

Do you know how to get in touch with Mar Adentro crew? I have tried to find a website and unfortunately, I can't seem to locate one. Is Mar Adentro the name of the person and maybe they have a different name for the dive company?

My husband did a Discover Scuba with Gypsea Divers when we were in Costa Maya on 2/2/17. He was very pleased with the entire experience.

 

This was the 3rd time (in 3 years) that he'd gone diving and he said this was the best time he had. A lot of fish, a great reef and a very pleasant instructor.

 

 

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We have contacted Gypsea Divers for a Discover for our family too. Can you tell me where they took your husband for his dive and was there a lot to see?

They went out by boat to the reef. He was thrilled with all of the fish and the reef. Instead of wading into the water, as all of the other Discover tours he had done, they did an actual dive from the boat into about 40 feet. He said they were a distance from shore and the water was super clear.

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They went out by boat to the reef. He was thrilled with all of the fish and the reef. Instead of wading into the water, as all of the other Discover tours he had done, they did an actual dive from the boat into about 40 feet. He said they were a distance from shore and the water was super clear.

 

 

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Ehh, that's what scares me. Going off by boat with equipment and then trying to get back onto the boat with the equipment. I would never be able to do that. :(

Hopefully I can find a place that goes from the shore. How do they do your skills if you are not at the snore in shallow water? :confused:

Ehh, that's what scares me. Going off by boat with equipment and then trying to get back onto the boat with the equipment. I would never be able to do that. :(

 

 

 

Hopefully I can find a place that goes from the shore. How do they do your skills if you are not at the snore in shallow water? :confused:

Don't let the boat scare you. There is typically a ladder down into the water and the dive staff will help you up by taking the equipment from you.

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Don't let the boat scare you. There is typically a ladder down into the water and the dive staff will help you up by taking the equipment from you.

 

 

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How do you get in the water? I have seen divers sit backwards and lean and go off the boat. That would probably freak me out. Do you get in the water first and then put your equipment on? I can't imagine doing that in the water. How deep is it where they take discover divers?

How do you get in the water? I have seen divers sit backwards and lean and go off the boat. That would probably freak me out. Do you get in the water first and then put your equipment on? I can't imagine doing that in the water. How deep is it where they take discover divers?

You get in with all equipment on and your BC inflated a bit so you stay floating. Either tip over backward or "one giant step" forward depending on the boat. As easy as falling down [emoji846]

As for discover depth I don't know. I am looking forward to a Costa Maya dive on our NEXT cruise. For reference, Cozumel was about 30 feet at the drop point. Then drift along with the current until pickup.

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You get in with all equipment on and your BC inflated a bit so you stay floating. Either tip over backward or "one giant step" forward depending on the boat. As easy as falling down [emoji846]

 

As for discover depth I don't know. I am looking forward to a Costa Maya dive on our NEXT cruise. For reference, Cozumel was about 30 feet at the drop point. Then drift along with the current until pickup.

 

 

 

 

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This just scares me for many reasons. I have the fear of going in and the fins pushing me back and hitting my head or something. I also don't like getting into the water without being able to touch when I first enter. Just something creepy about it. We snorkel a lot and I usually try to find places that have an entrance from the beach over an excursion by boat. But, I will admit that I'm pretty good at "falling down" lol :D

If you go in the water out there...how do they give you the "skills test" for the discover? We have always entered from the beach and did the test in around 5' of water prior to heading out deeper. How would they do it if you are already in deep water? I use this time to get acquainted with breathing under water and probably a little bit of anxiety when I start out.

As a Discover Scuba, we can go to 40 feet but they told us it would only be about 20 feet in the area that we would be in (which is fine with me).

We just had an unscheduled stop in Costa Maya on RCCL due to Hurricane Irma. Since I didn't have time to research anything I just booked with RCCL. We went with a dive shop called Dreamtime. Very professional. Only took 6 of us out on the boat. DM was great. You might want to check with them.

This just scares me for many reasons. I have the fear of going in and the fins pushing me back and hitting my head or something. I also don't like getting into the water without being able to touch when I first enter. Just something creepy about it. We snorkel a lot and I usually try to find places that have an entrance from the beach over an excursion by boat. But, I will admit that I'm pretty good at "falling down" lol :D

 

 

If you go in the water out there...how do they give you the "skills test" for the discover? We have always entered from the beach and did the test in around 5' of water prior to heading out deeper. How would they do it if you are already in deep water? I use this time to get acquainted with breathing under water and probably a little bit of anxiety when I start out.

 

 

As a Discover Scuba, we can go to 40 feet but they told us it would only be about 20 feet in the area that we would be in (which is fine with me).

With your concerns, I think that this may not be the excursion for you to do.

If you have time, you should try to take a scuba course from some place local to you for a scuba cert. If you find out you're not up to it at home, then you can still enjoy something else on your vacation. Another alternative for you might be finding a discover diving excursion from another company at the port where they walk into the water.

If you go out on a boat and get freaked it probably won't be a good vacation day for you. My first dives after getting certified were on cruise excursions and they were pretty fast paced getting into the water and not overly staffed. With discover diving I'd expect them to go slower, but going off a boat might be a problem for you.

I don't want to dissuade you, but make sure that you have the best time possible.

With your concerns, I think that this may not be the excursion for you to do.

 

If you have time, you should try to take a scuba course from some place local to you for a scuba cert. If you find out you're not up to it at home, then you can still enjoy something else on your vacation. Another alternative for you might be finding a discover diving excursion from another company at the port where they walk into the water.

 

If you go out on a boat and get freaked it probably won't be a good vacation day for you. My first dives after getting certified were on cruise excursions and they were pretty fast paced getting into the water and not overly staffed. With discover diving I'd expect them to go slower, but going off a boat might be a problem for you.

 

I don't want to dissuade you, but make sure that you have the best time possible.

Right. We have decided not to do a dive here. My oldest daughter has (since this post) decided to book with her family and child. So, we have decided to do a DSD in Roatan instead. We have located a dive shop that will take the kids in the ocean (to 12') and we will be with them, but go on further. This will take place, starting from the beach, as I wanted. I know from a previous visit that this beach (West Bay) is an awesome snorkeling place, so I can only imagine the scuba. I'm happy about this decision and feel a lot more comfortable now. :)

I know from a previous visit that this beach (West Bay) is an awesome snorkeling place, so I can only imagine the scuba. I'm happy about this decision and feel a lot more comfortable now. :)

Glad that you're feeling more comfortable! Sounds like you're on your way to a fantastic trip with your family. Enjoy!

Glad that you're feeling more comfortable! Sounds like you're on your way to a fantastic trip with your family. Enjoy!

Thank you. I hope so. :)