Bucket list experience:
Mayan Riviera, Mexico
The Mayan Riviera offers scuba diving unmatched in variety anywhere else in the world.
The coast is fringed with a long offshore barrier reef dotted with coral islands and with one of just a handful of coral atolls in the Atlantic. The jungle-covered mainland is honeycombed with underground rivers and cenotes, with exceptionally clear water and spectacular cave diving.
You can dive with whale sharks, dolphins and crocodiles, or over underwater art galleries. Sites are rich in species and varied – ranging from spectacular drifts off Cozumel to shipwrecks wrecks galore over the Chinchorro atoll, and while the reef suffers from over-fishing, dive tourism continues to create pressure for the creation of protected areas.
Want more recommendations in this destination?
Destination Guide >Xcalak, Quintana Roo, Mexico
The reefs off Xcalak village in the far south of the Riviera Maya are far less-visited than in the busy north, which means better coral and fewer boats. Alejandro’s is an easy horseshoe-shaped reef with great coral and abundant morays – which are hard to see in the north.
Best for ages: 18+ | £100 | 2+ hours
Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Good for snorkelling or diving (without specialist cave-diving certification), Angelita has an eerie gas cloud in its depths – looking like mist in the water, with a web of submerged trees and stalactites jutting-out, and the occasional crocodile.
Best for ages: 18+ | £100 | 2+ hours
Puerto Aventuras, Quintana Roo, Mexico
This is one of the few cenotes with stalactite-filled caverns you can scuba dive without specialist certification; and it’s easy to reach, just 20-minutes south of Playa del Carmen. There’s plenty of light, spots to surface to air and two huge submerged rooms.
Best for ages: 18+ | £100 | 2+ hours
Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
A stunning cenote with spectacular cave formations and glassy water, passing through caverns encrusted with stalactites. Mind-bogglingly beautiful for both snorkellers and PADI divers.
Best for ages: 8+ | £12
For spectacular coral walls and drift dives head to Cozumel, for wrecks the best location is the remote Banco Chinchorro atoll in the far south off Xcalak village. The reef off the mainland offers easy novice diving, and pretty, turtle-swum coral gardens.
Then there’s the more specialist and adventurous stuff. This includes diving with whale sharks, crocodiles, sailfish, nurse sharks and even apex-predator bull sharks; and cave-diving in the Yucatan’s spectacular cenotes and underground rivers. And not all activities require certificates beyond the basic PADI Open Water.
Diving is easy to organise. There are high quality, English-speaking dive shops on every corner in Cozumel, Cancún, Playa and Tulum. Most offer PADI and other internationally-recognised certification – including in Cave Diving, and ocean diving up to instructor level.
Dives are always cheapest when booked as part of a package, often including accommodation. These are easy to book ahead through dive shop websites.
Diving is good all year round, with water temperatures ranging between 24-29C (75-85F) depending on the season. Cenotes are colder and some require wet suits. However, some speciality dives are seasonal.
Bull shark diving (around Cozumel and Playa del Carmen) runs from November through March; Whale Shark season is from June through September. Scuba dives with sailfish run from mid-December to mid-March.
The rainy season from May through October sees the fewest visitors and dive sites are tranquil. The dry season – November through April, can be very busy, especially around Christmas and New Year. June through October is hurricane season.
Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first
Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico[3.6 miles]
This intimate, couples-focused beach-and-jungle retreat mixes romantic Eden-like surrounds with sharp, modern design. Playa del Carmen is a short drive away.
Official star rating:
Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico[22.3 miles]
Luxurious couples-focused beach pavilions overlooking one of the Yucatan’s few bays, twenty-minutes north of Tulum
Official star rating:
Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico[27.2 miles]
Feeling very Miami, this upscale hotel is split between an urban singles hotel in downtown Playa and an intimate balcony-fronted, ocean-view annexe. Adults only.
Official star rating:
Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico[27.8 miles]
This big beachside resort in the heart of Playa del Carmen offers great value stays with a view and five-star amenities. Great for families, with good facilities for kids.
Official star rating:
Destination guides including or relevant to this experience
Mexico
Talc-white beaches, reefs teeming with life, ruined temples in misty rainforests – the Riviera Maya offers a family or romantic beach holiday with a dash of Indian Jones adventure.
Our writer’s recommendations of other bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first
Mayan Riviera, Mexico[0 miles]
A unique destination for exceptional snorkelling experiences – underwater art galleries, lakes fringed with jungle, cenote sink holes in stalactite-encrusted caverns, plus crocs, manatees and whale sharks.
Best for ages: 6+ | Free | 1+ hours
Mayan Riviera, Mexico[0 miles]
With caverns covered with stalactites, glassy water, terrapins and cave fish, these natural sinkholes offer uniquely spectacular swims, snorkels and scuba dives.
Best for ages: 4+ | Free | 1+ hours
Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico[31.7 miles]
Lily-covered, glassy-clear and filled with terrapins and tropical fish, this cenote near Tulum is easy to reach and fabulous to swim in. Big caverns make for spectacular cave diving.
Best for ages: 6+ | £7
Quintana Roo, Mexico[50.3 miles]
An authentic, atmospheric and less-visited Mayan site, set in lush, wildlife-rich forest. Climb to the summit of the 126ft-high Nohoc Mul pyramid – the tallest on the Mayan Riviera.
Best for ages: 13+ | £5
Other worthwhile experiences near this experience if you have time or interest..
Puerto Aventuras, Quintana Roo, Mexico[4.3 miles]
This big, open swimming hole – set in low jungle and filled with fish is safe enough for small kids, has changing rooms, life jackets and water-entry platforms. It’s easy to reach, sitting right off the main Cancún-Chetumal highway 15 minutes’ drive from Playa.
Best for ages: 4+ | Free
Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico[13.7 miles]
A simple nature-based theme park with a safari-park zoo, a cenote for swimming, a spectacular cave and a rainforest canopy zip-line adventure.
Best for ages: 4+ | £30
Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico[18.3 miles]
A snorkellers’ theme park, comprising a series of broken, crystal-clear bays and glassy streams, teeming with brightly coloured marine life and fringed with low tropical forest. Safe, supervised snorkelling plus swimming with (captive) dolphins and manatees.
Best for ages: 4+ | £80
Playa del Carmen, Mexico[20 miles]
With glassy pools and shallow lagoons offering dolphin, nurse-shark and manatee swimming, tame jungles, and spectacular Mayan dance shows, this huge eco-theme park is a Maya World, and a snorkel-friendly Disneyland.
Best for ages: 4+ | £80
![Cenote Dos Ojos [swimming, snorkelling & scuba diving]](https://familyhotelfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/Yucatan-Cancun-and-Tulum-Cenotes-Dos-Ojos3-SH.jpg)
![Swim in a cenote [snorkelling & scuba diving]](https://familyhotelfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/Yucatan-Cancun-and-Tulum-Cenotes-lead-SH...jpg)
