Scuba diving on the Caribbean side of Mexico - the Yucatan peninsula - is a great experience! Jacques Costeau classified the Palancar Reef off the coast of Cozumel one of the world's best dive destinations. Shallow reef diving with an abundance of marine life or the vertical drop-offs where you often encounter sharks, rays and even dolphins are only some of the highlights of the local diving. There are also the huge coral heads, some of which are home to breathtaking coral cave systems or - for something completely different - the freshwater caves on the mainland of the Yucatan.

Over the years rainwater has dissolved the limestone formations in the Yucatan to such an extend, that underground rivers have formed and a huge cave system has developed that allows the water to eventually flow all the way to the ocean. Due to ongoing erosion the roof of these cave systems has collapsed here and there, exposing the underground streams to the surface. Cave divers have explored these "ponds" in the jungle, the so called “cenotes” and were able to access many miles of underwater cave systems from there. Since these caves were dry caves at a certain geological period, beautiful formations of stalactites and stalagmites were able to develop, making the Mexican caves the most beautiful and fascinating cave dives in the world.

Being one of the best dive vacation values in the Caribbean, the Island of Cozumel is easy to reach from many North American cities. This year round dive destination offers incredible wall diving, great visibility, amazing reef diving and most of all: easy drift diving.

One of our prefered dive operators in Cozumel is Dive Paradise, the leading dive operator on the island. They have been in business for over 25 years and maintain a fleet of 13 dive boats of various sizes, including some fast-boats. Dive Paradise, a PADI 5-Star Gold Palm facility, picks up from most hotels.