My wife really enjoyed our vacation last month in Playa del Carmen. Her favorite activity was the snorkeling. Now she wants to go scuba diving and see even more fish. Is there a place that's famous for snorkeling/scuba diving and that has a rich marine life?
Please recommend a place for snorkeling and scuba diving
- Thread starter Dari
- Start date
Zeze
Lifer
- Mar 4, 2011
- 11,395
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I had an amazing time with my wife in Riviera Maya (10-15 mins from Playa del Carmen).
We didn't go snorkeling but we had an awesome time in the all inclusive.
That is all.
Oh, there is a natural waterpark called Xel'ha. This isn't your 100% open-water snorkeling, but they turned a natural basin into a beautiful park... I had a great time snorkeling there.
http://www.xelha.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xelha
Map with snorkel spots:
We didn't go snorkeling but we had an awesome time in the all inclusive.
That is all.
Oh, there is a natural waterpark called Xel'ha. This isn't your 100% open-water snorkeling, but they turned a natural basin into a beautiful park... I had a great time snorkeling there.
http://www.xelha.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xelha
Map with snorkel spots:
Last edited:
I had an amazing time with my wife in Riviera Maya (10-15 mins from Playa del Carmen).
We didn't go snorkeling but we had an awesome time in the all inclusive.
That is all.
Oh, there is a natural waterpark called Xel'ha. This isn't your 100% open-water snorkeling, but they turned a natural basin into a beautiful park... I had a great time snorkeling there.
http://www.xelha.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xelha
Yeah, this is exactly where we went. The price (2 people for 2 parks) was shocking at $374 because I thought Mexico was cheaper but she really really enjoyed Xelha. The other place we went had the zipline thing where you went from tower to tower. Xelha is really beautiful and the all you can eat restaurants made it that much better.
Right. 2 persons, 2 parks (over 2 days).
EDIT: Just checked my cc statement. It was $354.
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mmntech
Lifer
- Sep 20, 2007
- 17,501
- 12
- 0
In Aruba, there's the sunken wreck of the Antilla you can snorkel and scuba dive to. It was a German cargo ship scuttled in 1940 to avoid capture. It's in pretty shallow water. Done it about 10 years ago. It's formed an artificial reef so it's neat to visit.
My cousin is in Half Moon right now, staying with a school friend whose family own a place at the resort. I'm sure it's nice and all but I'm concerned at the fact that they warned her, before going, not to talk to the local men. Is this how things are in all the Caribbean?
ringtail
Golden Member
- Mar 10, 2012
- 1,030
- 34
- 91
For scuba, one of the best places on earth is the California Channel Islands...the American Galapagos. Meeting place of south vs north currents...more mixed species comingle than maybe anyplace else on earth...everything from Blue and Humpback & Gray whales to elephant seals, sea lions, harbor seals, stellar sea lions, many kinds of rays, etc.
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California's Santa Barbara Channel is the original birthplace of the worldwide commercial diving industry, in late 1800s due first to the formerly prolific abalone that were here, then later due to the offshore oil industry that was first started here in the earlier 1900s that later shifted to Gulf of Mexico Texas and to other countries.
Not so great for snorkling, which is happier in tropical places. Water here is pretty cold year round. I like snorkling in Fiji even more than on the Great Barrier Reef because it's warmer, closer, just all-round nicer. So for great snorkling fly to Nandi or Cairns (then drive up to Port Douglas). For some of the best scuba in the world (and finest dining and wineries and theater) fly to Santa Barbara.
link 1
link 2
link 3
California's Santa Barbara Channel is the original birthplace of the worldwide commercial diving industry, in late 1800s due first to the formerly prolific abalone that were here, then later due to the offshore oil industry that was first started here in the earlier 1900s that later shifted to Gulf of Mexico Texas and to other countries.
Not so great for snorkling, which is happier in tropical places. Water here is pretty cold year round. I like snorkling in Fiji even more than on the Great Barrier Reef because it's warmer, closer, just all-round nicer. So for great snorkling fly to Nandi or Cairns (then drive up to Port Douglas). For some of the best scuba in the world (and finest dining and wineries and theater) fly to Santa Barbara.
purbeast0
No Lifer
- Sep 13, 2001
- 53,444
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i've done a good amount of snorkeling. the best snorkeling i've probably done is in hawaii in maui. both at molokini and right off the shore at black rock. saw some rays and turtles off of black rock, and the water and coral is so colorful and clear in molokini it was amazing. there are tons of places right off the shore you an snorkel in maui too and they have maps you can get in the dive shops. i went to a bunch of sites from the shore, but the best was black rock which was right near our hotel.
i also snorkeled in john pennekamp this past september when i was in the keys and saw a 6ft shark which was pretty freaking amazing. that place is also one of the best spots i've ever snorkeled. the coral down there and gardens of marine plants was amazing. they also had moon jelly's which are really colorful and awesome.
snorkeled a bunch in aruba also which was great as well. saw a school of squid which was cool and some rays along with the usual colorful fish. aruba has a lot of great snorkeling from shore as well, and you can also go on boat tours. barbados was good too but nothing special.
bahamas was pretty cool and they took us to one site that had a bunch of reef sharks down about 25 feet and they had a bait box down there, and it was cool seeing sharks kind of frenzy around the bait box. they never came up near us though.
i've also snorkeled in xel'ha when i was in cancun, and if you thought xelha was awesome, well to be honest it's probably the least impressive place i've snorkeled. it was awesome there, but you just don't see nearly the variety of fish, and hardly any plants and coral. also the brackish water was kind of weird because you had to swim in paths or you looked like you were in blurry water. i snorkeled when i went to xcaret as well which was pretty lame because it was in cenote's and it was too crowded. the best snorkeling i did in mexico was on a boat tour off of the cost of isla mujeres.
i'm going to turks and caicos in may and plan on doing a bunch of snorkeling there too.
if you want more specifics about the tours i took i'd be happy to give you more info. i also have tons and tons of pics because i have an underwater camera. snorkeling is probably my favorite thing to do like ever. i've done it for hours on end before without taking breaks.
it's actually not shallow there at all. it's like 50 or 60 feet deep, but it's cool to see the ship. it's also not really a beginner snorkel place because the water is very choppy there usually, unless you get a really good day. that was the one site that they made everyone wear life vests both times i've snorkeled there, but at least they were the kind you have to inflate so you could basically snorkel without feeling like you were wearing one. but usually the ones that take you to the antilla also go to 1 or 2 other spots as well.
EDIT:
here is a thread i made after i got back from the keys with some pics/vids. the keys really did have some great snorkeling and it's right here in the continental us.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2344566
i also snorkeled in john pennekamp this past september when i was in the keys and saw a 6ft shark which was pretty freaking amazing. that place is also one of the best spots i've ever snorkeled. the coral down there and gardens of marine plants was amazing. they also had moon jelly's which are really colorful and awesome.
snorkeled a bunch in aruba also which was great as well. saw a school of squid which was cool and some rays along with the usual colorful fish. aruba has a lot of great snorkeling from shore as well, and you can also go on boat tours. barbados was good too but nothing special.
bahamas was pretty cool and they took us to one site that had a bunch of reef sharks down about 25 feet and they had a bait box down there, and it was cool seeing sharks kind of frenzy around the bait box. they never came up near us though.
i've also snorkeled in xel'ha when i was in cancun, and if you thought xelha was awesome, well to be honest it's probably the least impressive place i've snorkeled. it was awesome there, but you just don't see nearly the variety of fish, and hardly any plants and coral. also the brackish water was kind of weird because you had to swim in paths or you looked like you were in blurry water. i snorkeled when i went to xcaret as well which was pretty lame because it was in cenote's and it was too crowded. the best snorkeling i did in mexico was on a boat tour off of the cost of isla mujeres.
i'm going to turks and caicos in may and plan on doing a bunch of snorkeling there too.
if you want more specifics about the tours i took i'd be happy to give you more info. i also have tons and tons of pics because i have an underwater camera. snorkeling is probably my favorite thing to do like ever. i've done it for hours on end before without taking breaks.
it's actually not shallow there at all. it's like 50 or 60 feet deep, but it's cool to see the ship. it's also not really a beginner snorkel place because the water is very choppy there usually, unless you get a really good day. that was the one site that they made everyone wear life vests both times i've snorkeled there, but at least they were the kind you have to inflate so you could basically snorkel without feeling like you were wearing one. but usually the ones that take you to the antilla also go to 1 or 2 other spots as well.
EDIT:
here is a thread i made after i got back from the keys with some pics/vids. the keys really did have some great snorkeling and it's right here in the continental us.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2344566
Last edited:
Midwayman
Diamond Member
- Jan 28, 2000
- 5,723
- 325
- 126
Bonaire. Best you'll get in the Caribbean. Lots of shore diving
Cozumel is nice with the drift dives, but not much snorkeling.
Curacao was great.
I hear good things about Roatan Honduras, but have not been.
NuclearNed
Raconteur
- May 18, 2001
- 7,860
- 352
- 126
US Virgin Islands, in particular St. John / US Virgin Islands National Park
read this thread from a few years back:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=13163&highlight=john
read this thread from a few years back:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=13163&highlight=john
Scarpozzi
Lifer
- Jun 13, 2000
- 26,391
- 1,780
- 126
I went drift diving in the ocean off the coast of Isla Mujeres and the coral was all dead.
It was funny because one of my flippers had lost a clasp and I ended up jumping in the ocean a few miles off the coast with no floatation.....just a mask and snorkel. The boat left and I started feeling real lonely.
I saw a few barracuda swimming 5 feet from me....then occasional smaller fish checking me out. If you can find a place that's not been too poluted with tourists, sunscreen, and oil spills...there might be some good dive spots still.
It was funny because one of my flippers had lost a clasp and I ended up jumping in the ocean a few miles off the coast with no floatation.....just a mask and snorkel. The boat left and I started feeling real lonely.
I saw a few barracuda swimming 5 feet from me....then occasional smaller fish checking me out. If you can find a place that's not been too poluted with tourists, sunscreen, and oil spills...there might be some good dive spots still.
BlitzPuppet
Platinum Member
- Feb 4, 2012
- 2,460
- 7
- 81
I went there around 15 years ago and went snorkeling. Was pretty cool, and it was my first time too
.Based on that map I do remember swimming around the "inlet" and watching the salt water mix with the fresh.
Koing
Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
- Oct 11, 2000
- 16,843
- 2
- 0
Belize is cool. Dived the blue hole there and did some other snorkelling as well. They chum the water for small reef sharks lol.
Cozumel was where I got my Naui Open Water. Really enjoyed dives there. Phuket has some nice diving sites but it's far from the US. I saw two Tiger shark so that was bad ass.
Egypt is suppose to be really good for diving. Everyone raves about it.
Koing
Atomic Playboy
Lifer
- Feb 6, 2007
- 16,432
- 1
- 81
Second for Molokini. It's ridiculously busy, but the water is clear and there's a wide variety of wildlife to enjoy. Apart from that, the only snorkeling I've done was in the Galapagos, which was pretty cool, but paled in comparison to the land tours, and isn't available outside of an actual sanctioned Galapagos trip (which I'd fully recommend, but they're expensive and snorkeling/scuba is kind of a secondary activity).
HardcoreRobot
Lifer
- Nov 7, 2000
- 16,403
- 3
- 81
ranking the places ive been diving
top tier: maldives & hawaii (maui/lanai), with maldives being better
second tier, close together but in descending preference
st croix
bahamas
grand cayman
belize
aruba
st. martin
bottom tier-
crappy quarry in virginia in november
top tier: maldives & hawaii (maui/lanai), with maldives being better
second tier, close together but in descending preference
st croix
bahamas
grand cayman
belize
aruba
st. martin
bottom tier-
crappy quarry in virginia in november
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