Excursions review in the Riviera Maya: Diving with Maya Dives Dreams tulum Dive centr

[northernflasher]

MAYA DIVING: 8/10

Maya Diving in Tulum: Diving and Snorkeling in Tulum Cenotes and Reefs and Dive Courses

 

We are very new to diving having only completed our Open Water Diver qualification a few months before our wedding.

It was very important for me to feel totally comfortable on my first "real" dive since qualifying and I actually passed up the chance to go diving in Playa Del Carmen because I wasn't comfortable with the itinary.

 

Maya Diving was the dive centre based at our hotel (Dreams Tulum) and we found them to be friendly, patient and knowledgable. We didn't shop around so I dont imagine they were the cheapest option but they are right there on the beach which is just too convenient and we were happy with the service and dives overall and above all I felt very confident and comfortable with our first instructor Daniel.

 

I decided to do a morning pool refresher dive to assess how comfortable I felt with the instructor and get my confidence up before we went into the ocean. Davids aunt Diane also did this as she had completed her theory and pool dives with us in the UK but not completed her open water qualifying dives. Im really glad I did this and definately recommend it if you're a little unsure. It really helped improve my overall dive experience.

David then joined our group at about 11am to go on the reef dive.

 

There were 5 divers with Daniel, a divemaster assistant and the boat captain who is also a qualified diver but stays onboard the boat. We were all fairly inexperienced so I thought this was a good ratio. We did our first backwards roll entry which Diane and I were really nervous about but Daniel was so patient with us and filled us with so much confidence that I ended up being the first to "go"!

 

We did a shallow dive just off the resort called Tankah bay to 13 metres which I really enjoyed. We saw a stingray, the infamous lion fish, a large moray eel, lobsters, crabs and lots of fish.

I found it a really interesting dive with lots of open coral formations to swim through. I enjoyed the challenge of controlling my bouyancy to navigate these and we all managed it with ease.

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Unfortunately I was really sea-sick and myself and another member of the group managed to get sick underwater! Daniel was excellent he really took care of us and although it was scary at no time did I feel panicked, I trusted him totally.

 

I will NEVER, EVER go diving again without taking my seasickness meds!

 

Diane actually completed her 1st qualifying dive on this occasion with Daniel keeping her back as we ascended to complete some of the skills required. She then went onto have a private 2nd dive in a cenote lagoon to qualify her as a scuba diver. If she had more time she would have been more than happy to continue with dives 3 and 4 to qualify her as an Open Water diver with Daniel as her instructor.

 

David and I then went on a second dive a week later. On this dive we had a different instructor, Miguel. He is very experienced but I thought better suited to more experienced divers as he just kind of left us to it and gave minimal assistance. Dont get me wrong he did his job perfectly well I just preferred Daniel!

 

On this dive there were 5 of us again, 2 of the guys had qualified that week with Maya diving and there friend was an experienced diver.

We stayed on the Tankah reef but went to a very deep area. We didnt know we were doing this and Miguel announced it on the boat on our way to the site so although I was really nervous I felt a little tricked into it, like I couldn't back out.

 

It was also my first proper free descent and as we went down into "the abyss" I had a bit of a panic attack at not being able to see the bottom. Miguel was very good and guided me down. Once I was down there I was fine. We went to our limit of 29m but it honestly didnt feel any different to being at 13 metres. Although I was really nervous to begin with I'm really glad Miguel inadvertantly pushed me into this cos now I feel like I faced my fear of deep water.

 

Miguel has seen turtles and several species of shark in the area he took us to but unfortunately no such luck on our day. We didnt really see a lot other than fish and in all honesty other than the experience of going "deep" I actually preferred the shallow dive in terms of scenery and sea life.

 

I would recommend Maya Diving overall and would definately consider furthering my dive career with them.