Dive Review-Costa Maya

Dive Review

Date-----------12/15/06

Port of Call--Costa Maya

Dive Shop----Blue Ocean Safari

2 tank dive

Originally our group was going to dive with Dreamtime. But Carnival is now contracted with Dreamtime for their dive excursions. It would be double -almost triple the cost versus on our own or the company we booked with on all our dive excursions. When it seemed we wouldn’t be diving in Costa Maya, I started looking for dive shops and found B.O.S. I contacted Phil & Julie who own the shop and started getting info.

They are a young, up/coming dive shop. They have a small shop adjacent a small hotel on Mahahual. They are a PADI approved dive shop and give dive lessons as well. We got them set up with the booking agency we use and we got our dives set up. If you consider using this dive shop, please realize they are a new dive shop just getting going. They have new equipment but not the biggest shop or biggest boat. But they care and they take care of you. Sometimes communication is limited due to the location on the island. Be patient. If your in a hurry, need a huge boat, then this isn’t the shop for you.

We had 11 divers this trip. They had 2 medium size boat for us. They had canopies which was helpful as on our day of diving, we started with pouring rain. The canopy helped somewhat.

Our dive masters were Rodrigo for our boat and Douglas for the other boat. They also had a captain of the boat. Douglas by the way started Dreamtime and is now helping Blue Ocean Safari get going. This island is virtually untouched thus far. You see jungle, single level homes/buildings. And the reefs are very innocent.

Our 1st dive site was Maya Palms. The plan was to do the deep dive first and then do the shallow dives on the next one. Once again it’s a back roll entry. It’s not a drift dive but when you dive, the boat follows. So it’s there when you come up. The deepest depth on this dive was 103 ft. for me with an average depth of 52. This dive lasted 42 minutes. Parts of the dive were very pretty and other parts (due to a storm the night before) were like the Sahara desert under water. Still lot’s to see. Sponges, coral, parrotfish, French angelfish and a huge lobster. We had some crevice swim throughs too…. They also had a videographer on the boat too…. That was cool… Looking forward to my DVD to watch. It’s the same routine coming back to the boat. Hand off the weight belt and the BC.

For our surface interval they take us back to the little island. It’s lovely there. After our 20 minute rain, it then turned out hot, sunny & beautiful. However, lunch is on your own. No food provided. Though there is a little hut there with meals. I got a Cheese Quesadilla for $5 which seems like a lot until you see the size of it. It was huge.

For our 2nd dive we went to Flamingo. Same entry, a back roll. Our deepest depth was 76 ft. with an average depth of 60 ft. This dive was for 42 minutes. We saw a Stingray and some of the same fish. Again, it was awesome. Good dives, good people.

I enjoyed this dive company. Please note, it’s a bit of a ride to the dive shop area. They don’t yet have official transportation so usually it’s a cab ride there. However, as our group was large, one of the guys doing transportation at the port got us a van. It was $5 per person. You can’t walk it, it’s too far….

I think I covered everything. Any questions, feel free to ask….

Thank you so much for posting! I'm glad you had a great time. We are booked with them for March, so it is great to hear a good review.

Just how far of a ride was it to the Luna de Plata? Is there anything in the area for the non-divers to do while they wait for us? Is it actually in Majahaul, or farther out of town?

Glad you liked the review.... I had a great time....When you go in March, ask Julie for Rodrigo.... He's awesome. A good time to be had by all...

It's probably about 20-25 minute drive. Mostly because Mexico doesn't keep the roads in great condition. It's like a private little Island area. Adults & kids are there on flotation devices, snorkeling, sunbathing.... It's a nice little area with palm trees.... the water is VERY shallow there so you have to be very careful... The reef is close to shore. But it's quite untouched... Thus far that is.... lol......:rolleyes:

Luna de Plata is Mahahual.... The hotel that's there is less than 10 rooms. A little primitive but looks nice... I think you'll have a great time....

OK - I'm confused. My confirmation says to go to the Luna de Plata resort. Do we not leave on the boat from there? My concern is that this is a very short port day for us (7:00 AM - 2:00). I did not book with Maya Palms as we did not want to go so far out from MAhahaul. It sounds as if we are going out there anyway. But the little island sounds great! The dads were going to do the first dive themselves while we moms hang out in Mahahaul with our teens. Then for the 2nd dive, all 11 of us are going out together. Adults diving, teens snorkeling. So maybe our day will look different than yours. I'm just trying to get a grasp on whether we will have time for all that on such a short port day.

Hi,

The Luna de Plata resort is in Mahahual.... It's the same thing location wise...... And yes, you leave on the boat right from the shore there.... The shop, the hotel, the boat are all in the same little area... If you get off at 7am, get the first cab you can find... Or if you have that big of a group, ask the guys doing transportation to get a van for you.... Our group was 10-11 people too.... Remember you have to account for the time to get there, the time for the dive (ave. is 40-60 min), time for your surface interval then getting back out for a 2nd dive, time for dive and such....Call Julie to be sure she doesn't think it's an issue... you should be fine... We had our time as 8-5pm..... We were back at the port at 4pm..... So you'll have to decide if you can get 2 dives in....

Have fun....

Cruzegirl - Phil called yesterday just to firm up some of our details! :)

I asked about the island that you mentioned, and he said a lot of people think they take them to an island, but you were actually just south of Majahaul - not on an island. I also asked if our short port day was a problem and he said not at all. Since we are a fairly large group, they would make our group exclusive (not add others.) He said timewise we would be fine, just hurry off the ship to get there ASAP. We are so excited!!

Thanks again for all of your information. You have been very helpful.

jwmcq,

He's right.... It's not an Island, it's Island like.... Meaning you go away from the little town part of the dock/port area and down or up the coast... I loved it.... Glad he feels the time thing isn't an issue..... But when he says "get off the ship quickly", he means it. lol... It's a long dock/long walk..... Then right to the outside, kind of straight ahead through the shop/pool area.... Don't go to the right of the building which seems the logical thing to do....There's a circle drive in the front going in/out of the park area... That's where you can arrange transportation. Unless he arranges it for you.....

Have a great time....

Here's a photo to show you what may await......lol.....have fun....

Thanks! Your pictures are awesome! Only 80 more days to wait!!! :D

How much did they charge for the DVD?

They charged $65 USD for the video.......