Advanced Diving in Mexico

Yucatan Peninsula

'Peligro! No pase!' The message on the signs just beyond the entrances to the cenotes is clear: 'Danger! Do not pass!' While you don't need to be a full cave diver to sample the delights of the cenotes, extensive exploration which takes you beyond the light from the entrance does require the correct training and qualifications. The disorientatingly-clear water and lack of natural light mean the cenotes are classified among the more advanced diving in Mexico.

The Pit Cenote (Cenote El Pit) is considered a must-dive for experienced divers visiting the Yucatan Peninsula. Located near Tulum, the site is famous for its halocline and the dead trees emerging from a hydrogen sulphide cloud. The cave also contains bones and the remains of Maya pottery.

The Pit Cenote is located inside the Dos Ojos Natural Park, a short drive south of Playa del Carmen, which is also home to one of Mexico's most famous cenotes, Cenote Dos Ojos, or Two Eyes Cenote. Dos Ojos is accessible for all divers with good trim and buoyancy control, as you are guided around the cavern section - staying within sight of the entrance - by a certified cenotes guide.

For more straight-forward, relaxed dives in the area, Playa del Carmen sits opposite Cozumel, and you can enjoy drift and reef dives with bull sharks and eagle rays on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef.

The Revillagigedo Islands

The diving in Mexico can be described as a tale of two coasts. The colourful Caribbean-coast dive sites of the Yucatan are home to the country's most impressive corals, while the rugged west coast's less-forgiving dive conditions attract a wider array of megafauna. As a general rule, the more advanced diving in Mexico is concentrated on this rugged west coast, and the Revillagigedo Islands (pronounced Rev-ee-aa-he-hee-do) are an excellent example. While there are some less challenging dive sites in this four-island archipelago, the remote nature of the islands leaves them open to the Pacific's mighty currents, and you won't always have somewhere to hide.

Dubbed the 'Mexican Galapagos', the islands are a magnet for megafauna: oceanic manta rays, bottlenose dolphins and humpback whales are all regular visitors, along with ten different species of shark, including whale sharks, hammerheads, silkies, silver tips, ocean whitetips, Galapagos and tiger sharks.

Socorro Island is the largest and most well-known of the islands and is a particular hotspot for the ever-impressive giant oceanic mantas. While the diving is always spectacular in Socorro, the currents can be strong and unpredictable at times, making for advanced diving. In Mexico, the warmest water is on the Caribbean side too, so you may need a five-milimetre wetsuit and a neoprene hood to boot!

Our team of dive travel specialists have dived extensively throughout Mexico, and if you're looking to test your skills with some of the more advanced diving in Mexico, we can help put together the perfect itinerary to suit the kind of challenging diving that you enjoy the most.