Best places to dive in the Yucatan Peninsula

Around Cancún and Isla Mujeres

Best places to dive

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Navy Boat  25 minutes by boat. Explore the inside of this naval vessel from the bathroom to the offices.  Average depth 15 m (45 ft).  Amberjacks and stingrays common. Recommended for advanced divers.  No current conditions reported. Manchones  A 2 km (1 ¼ mile) long coral reef. Widely regarded as the best dive around Cancun and Isla Mujeres. 10 minutes by boat  Average depth 30 m (100 ft).  Full of coral and tropical fish.  No current conditions reported. Cañonero 58  25 minutes by boat. A 54 m (180 ft) long sunken ship.  Average depth 30 m (100 ft).  Schools of snappers, barracudas and goupers common.  Strong current conditions. Media Luna  Nice reef near the surface here. You can dive through channels, arches and bridges.  Average depth 12 m (40 ft).  Lobster and shrimp common everywhere. Cave sharks, jew fish, groupers and other large fish common insidet the caves.  No current conditions reported. Punta Negra  25 minutes by boat. The beginning of the second longest coral barrier in the world.  Average depth 21 m (70 ft).  This is a well recommended site to dive.  Very low current conditions. Punta Sur  15 mins by boat at the south tip of Isla Mujeres.  Here you will see dolphins, and sea turtles.  No current conditions reported. No Name  Name is “No Name,” not that it goes without a name. 20 minutes by boat.  Average depth 25 m (70 ft).  A large variety of schooling fish, groupers, moray eels, eagle rays, barracudas and sharks inside the open caves.  No current conditions reported. Piedra Atravesada  30 minutes by boat.  Average depth 20 m (65 ft).  A great variety of jurel, rays, jewfish, scorpion fish, spiders, octopus, starfish, lobster and parrot fish.  No current conditions reported. Pailas  5 minutes by boat.  Average depth 12 m (40 ft).  A large variety barracudas, gray nurse sharks, turtles, grunts, jurels, yellow jacks, snappers, lobsters, shrimps, lobsters, and soft coral.  No current conditions reported. Cave of the Sleeping Sharks  30 minutes by boat from Isla Mujeres Named after the sharks who come here and remain still.  The sharks are believed to be recieving oxygen from bubbles rising up from underground springs, and therefore do not need to move constantly.  No current conditions reported. El Hondureño  10 minutes by boat. A wrecked 40 m (120 ft) long shrimp boat that sank during hurricane Gilbert in 1988.  Average depth 21 m (70 ft).  Green morey eels, nurse sharks, rainbow parrot fish, cobiafish, groupers, amber jacks, snappers and lobster are common.  No current conditions reported.

While Cancun has some places for scuba diving and snorkeling, by far, the best sites are in Isla Mujeres, Cozumel Island, and around the Riviera Maya generally. The most popular places for diving and snorkeling around Cancun are:

• Punta Nizuc. Where you can swim along the edges of the Great Maya Barrier Reef
• Arrecifes Chitales located by Punta Cancun
• El Tunel Reef
• San Toribio Reef
• San Miguel Reef

Around Playa del Carmen

Around Akumal

Around Cancún and Isla Mujeres

Cenotes and caves for diving around Riviera Maya