Snorkeling and diving attract many people to the beautiful Mexican Caribbean. The variety of marine life and dive sites here, accompanied by the irresistible clear turquoise water and year-round sun, make for a prime diving experience.
The Mesoamerican coral reef – second in size only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia – passes alongside the island of Cozumel, making for some great and easy-to-access tours.
If you’re looking to make memories that will last a lifetime, have a look at the diving tours below, each offering unforgettable trips for your next vacation.
Take a Private Charter with Scuba Life on Cozumel
This is the top-rated diving company on Cozumel, an area that boasts some of the best diving in Mexico. Whether you’re a complete novice or an advanced scuba expert, you’ll find something here to suit your taste.
If you’re visiting with a group of friends, this dive company offers private charters. A popular spot with guests is El Cielo Cozumel (The Cozumel Sky), an area off Cozumel’s southern coast that’s home to scores of starfish, tropical fish, and sea turtles.
Private charters with Scuba Life range from $600-900.
Dive a US Navy shipwreck
If you’re an experienced diver looking for something a little different, why not consider diving a naval shipwreck off the coast of Cancun?
Hidden in the ocean at a depth of 80ft is a C-58 vessel, which was originally a US Naval minesweeper. Purchased by the Mexican Navy, the vessel was sunk to create an artificial reef close to Cancun. Recent storms tore the ship in half, making it easier to explore and increasing its appeal. It’s now one of the most popular dives with Mexican Caribbean visitors and locals.
Explore Under the Surface of a Cenote
A cenote is a sunken limestone cave and the Yucatan Peninsula has at least 6,000 of them. They were an important source of water for Mayans and were sometimes used for sacrificial ceremonies. Now, they make for great diving experiences.
On this tour, you can explore two cenotes on the same trip. First, you’ll visit Casa Cenote, an open-air cenote that’s an easy introduction. Next, you’ll move on to one of the most famous cenotes in the area, Cenote Dos Ojos (Two Eyes Cenote). This is a cavern dive in an underground cenote, where you can expect to see bat caves and interesting limestone formations as you explore.
Dive an Underwater Museum
Cancun’s underwater museum, the MUSA (Museo de Arte Subacuatico de Arte), is a clever project designed to protect the nearby coral reefs, by providing keen divers with an alternative man-made diving environment. The multiple sites of the MUSA contain over 500 sculptures. The largest installation is a ‘people-scape’ of over 400 human sculptures shown interacting with the environment around them.
The MUSA is one of the most visited diving sites in Cancun and Isla Mujeres. Since opening in 2010, it has regularly seen over 100,000 visitors each year. It’s suitable for all diving abilities, including novices.
Visit the Cave of the Sleeping Sharks
It isn’t for the faint-hearted, but if you want to get up close to sharks, this could be the dive experience for you.
It has long been thought that sharks can only breathe when they’re moving. So the idea of a cave full of sleeping sharks makes no sense! But scores of marine biologists and divers have visited this special cave, located just off the coast of Isla Mujeres, and have seen the phenomenon for themselves.
The cave is located 65ft underwater, so is suited to more experienced divers. As well as seeing nurse sharks in the cave, you’re also likely to see barracuda, snapper, sea turtles, and angelfish.
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