The 14 Best Dives in Playa del Carmen

1.Scuba Diving in Cenote Dos Ojos from Playa del Carmen

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 453 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) Our pick

Meet at 8am in Playa del Carmen for a small-group scuba outing to Cenote Dos Ojos. With guides such as Pepe, Don, Alexis, and Ana, you’ll complete two routes, often the Bat Cave and Barbie Line, using provided equipment. Expect careful safety checks, clear briefings, snacks, lunch, and a return around 2:30pm to 3pm.

“Don was awesome— experienced and knowledgeable, kind and patient, and so fun to spend time with. Booking with Dani was a breeze and she was super helpful. Dos ojos was such a once in a lifetime dive!”

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2.Scuba Diving in Cenote Kukulkan from Playa del Carmen

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 370 reviews · 7 hours (approx.)

Meet at 8 am in central Playa del Carmen for a small-group scuba outing to Cenote Kukulkan and a second cenote. Remi and the multilingual guide team provide equipment, safety checks, two underwater routes, snacks, and lunch. You need Open Water certification, recent experience, and must bring no underwater camera.

“We had a fantastic time diving the Cenotes with The Cenotes Guy guide Remi. It was beautiful, safe, exciting and amazing in every way. We would highly recommend this tour for all divers.”

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3.Discover Scuba Diving & Beach Club with Transportation In Riviera Maya

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 239 reviews · 45 minutes (approx.) · from $150

At Maroma Beach near Playa del Carmen, you’ll learn basic scuba skills, practice in shallow water, then explore the Mexican Caribbean with a bilingual guide. Carlos, Alex, Juan, Ivan, and Ursula are among the instructors praised for calm, patient coaching. The package includes equipment, insurance, beach access, water, and shared hotel transport.

“First time scuba diving for both of us and we chose the right people to do it with! Carlos, Alex, and Juan were incredibly helpful and positive. We immediately got our friends to book an excursion with them. We only had one person become afraid in our group, but the divers encouraged the person into diving still with the perfect amount of attention needed.”

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4.Two reef discovery dives with professional instructor (no experience necessary)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 103 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $150

Start at Tank-Ha Dive Center with an SDI instructor, complete online study and pool skills, then head by boat to two Playa del Carmen reefs. Groups are limited to four, with gear, water, and pool fees included. Expect depths up to 40 feet and up to an hour underwater at each site.

“Fantastic experience! The instructor I had was a great teacher and it was obvious he really enjoyed what he was doing. He took great care with the morning learning session; he was very patient and thorough. There were two dives in the afternoon, and I had great difficulty getting comfortable out in the ocean on the first dive. Rather than being a problem for the whole group, I went back to the boat and missed out on the first dive. For the second dive, my instructor literally took me by the hand and spent the time with me getting me comfortable and successfully getting me to dive. I can't thank…”

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5.PADI Discover Scuba Diving Program in the Riviera Maya

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 67 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $126

Start with a short classroom briefing and pool session at Pro Dive International, then head by boat to a Riviera Maya reef with an instructor beside you. Guides such as Alex, Nicole, Anna, Jordan, and Toby have helped first-timers gain confidence, including children age 10 and up. Hotel pickup is available in much of the Riviera Maya for an extra fee.

“An incredible experience. With a clear structure and emphasise on safety at no point did I have concerns. The team were welcoming and friendly and Nicole was a great dive leader. A small group size made sure we were supervised all the time and it was clear that we had to be able to complete safety drills in the pool before we were going to go out on the dive boat. The reef was incredible and I would recommend putting your hand in your pocket and buying the video and images taken off your dive as they are a great quality and memory of a fantastic morning.”

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6.PADI Discover Scuba Diving in Playa del Carmen

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 61 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $135

Meet at Hotel Riu Yucatan for a short PADI theory lesson, pool practice, and a boat trip to a local reef. An instructor stays with you throughout the ocean session, where you can see tropical fish, turtles, octopi, and sea anemones. No prior scuba experience is needed, but comfort in the water matters.

“Terrible experience. The training is for less than an hour and is very rushed. The practice "tank" is actually a 3ft resort pool in which we were taught to breathing and hand signs for about 20 minutes. There was no pool lesson on equalizing pressure etc. We spent more time waiting for the boat to arrive than on the lessons itself. I felt very uncomfortable after the lesson and chose not to go into the ocean. My husband went and within 10ft in the ocean felt ear pain and couldn't complete it. This would've been identified if the practice tank was deeper. We spent a lot of money for nothing...…”

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7.Cozumel Dive Package – Certified Divers from the Riviera Maya (4 dives)

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 51 reviews · 2 days (approx.) · from $378

You’ll complete four guided scuba sessions over two days, starting with Riviera Maya reefs and continuing in Cozumel Marine Park. A professional guide handles the plan, ferry travel, and reef briefings, while lunch is included on day two. The package suits certified open-water divers who want a compact reef trip with groups capped at 12.

“ProDive is one of the top companies in the district, covering Cancun all the way down to Tulum. Instructors are excited to share their passion of scuba diving with their customers. Sales and admin on the other hand are a whole different matter. After equalization issues and bad weather, we decided to rest for the couple days left of vacation that we had, and when we visited the dive shop for a refund, they became argumentative and combative. 30 minutes of argument later, and the worst Customer Service on the planet, they were adamant to no refund policy. BUYER BEEARE! We have dives across the planet and would never use…”

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8.PADI Open Water Diver Course in the Riviera Maya

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 47 reviews · 3 days (approx.) · from $602

Train with Pro Dive International in Playa del Carmen through five self-study chapters, five pool sessions, and four guided boat trips. Your course includes gear, certification fees, and reef time near southern Cozumel. Instructors may include Boris, Esteban, Erica, or other multilingual staff. Pickup is available for an extra fee.

“My 11 year old son and I met Alexia and Diana at the Occidental Xcaret. After a trial run with them we wanted to go further and get our certification. What an amazing experience. Karim was very patient with us and helped us learn so much. All the instructors were very friendly and made us feel very welcome. We were lucky enough to see a bull shark on our third dive. My son had a blast and won't stop talking about it. Anytime I'm in playa I will be diving with these folks again. Even if I never dive again, it was worth it. I was scared to even snorkel…”

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9.Scuba Diving in Cenotes

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 37 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $190

Meet Jon, Carol, or another Be Diving guide in Playa del Carmen for two cenote descents along the route to Tulum. Expect small groups of up to four certified divers, about 45 minutes underwater per session, snacks, water, private transport, and cenote entrance fees paid separately.

“Wonderful experience to dive in Casa Cenote with Jow and Carol. There was a crocodile inside the cenote and we could see him there.”

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10.2-Tank Morning or Afternoon Dives in Playa del Carmen certified Divers Only

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 33 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $89

Meet Scuba Libre in central Playa del Carmen for two boat trips to Caribbean reef sites. Certified divers choose an 8 a.m. deeper first session or a noon option with two shallow sessions. Groups are limited to eight, with tanks, weights, guide, boat, and water included. Suni is among the guides praised for friendly, capable supervision.

“The team was great! The time I wanted was not available, but they were very nice in rebooking for the afternoon. The equipment was in good shape and the dive guide was excellent. They also provided us with the complete dive details! I will use Scuba Libre again. Thank you!”

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11.Discover Scuba Diving Course in Playa del Carmen with Two Coral Reef Dives

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 18 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $169

Spend the morning learning scuba basics at Scuba Libre, then make two 40-minute shallow reef descents with a PADI professional. You will use all equipment provided, see coral and marine life, and receive water throughout the day. The course suits beginners age 10 and older, but requires reasonable physical health.

“The instructor Sam was amazing. His explanation of equipment, skills, etc. were amazing. In the actual dive I did not perform very well and it became stressful for me. I was breathing to hard and it was difficult to find neutral buoyancy. However, the ocean was beautiful. My bad, not the instructor and guide.”

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12.Dive into Tulum: Tour 3 Cenotes, from Riviera Maya

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 15 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $39Best value

Visit Yum-Ha, Luna, and Sombra cenotes from Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya, or Tulum. Swim with lifejackets, hear Mayan cultural stories, and share a Mexican meal. Guides such as El Chino and Sara have led this outing, which lasts about four hours and runs in groups of up to 25.

“We had a great guide, ‘el chino’, he was attentive, kept us safe, and he was fun! The food was simple, but fresh and tasty.”

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13.Cenotes 2-Tank Dive in Playa del Carmen/for certified divers only

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 13 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $159

Join SCUBA LIBRE at 8:30 am for a guided two-tank cenote scuba trip from Playa del Carmen. Certified divers travel by car to sites such as Chikin Ha, Dos Ojos, or Jardin del Eden, with tanks, weights, lamps, cenote fees, snacks, and drinks included. Expect a small group of no more than four divers.

“The dive spot was more like a cave than a wide open lagoon. It was a bit scary. My dive instructor seemed annoyed each time I would let him know I was afraid. He wasn't the greatest to be with, which did not make the dive very fun.”

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14.MUSA Diving for certified divers morning dive trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 7 reviews · 3.5 hours · from $137

Join My Deep Life for two guided scuba sessions at Cancun’s MUSA underwater museum and nearby reefs. Certified divers reach a maximum of 30 feet, with equipment, water, hotel-zone transport, and small instructor groups included. Morning departures can be arranged, and guides such as Alfredo have been praised for clear safety support.

“Excelente mergulho, os locais me surpreenderam de tão deslumbrantes, tanto o Musa como os arrecifes. Atendimento perfeito por parte da empresa, uma ótima condução do capitão da embarcação, o Antônio, e um excelente acompanhamento do mergulhador Alfredo.”

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