I want to dive in the cenotes but want to know the difference between cave diving and cavern diving Diving in the cenotes, one could say, is the cornerstone of the scuba diving industry in Playa del Carmen as well as the whole of the Riviera Maya.  To be able to answer your question, I have written this blog post. I hope you stay, read it and enjoy it.  Of course, if you still have any questions, you call always get in touch via email or whatsapp! Let’s begin. What are Cenotes? A Cenote is a natural sinkhole where the ceiling of the cave has collapsed. The word Cenote, which is pron ..read more

Where did all the recreational scuba diving stuff go?! You may have noticed some big changes on our website as of late… most notably, the absence of just about everything relating to recreational scuba diving. Why? you might be asking yourself… Well, the answer is quite simple. COVID-19 took a great big toll on our operation just like it did on everybody. This means that we had to downsize even further. We had to vacate the shop we were occupying because well, after being shut down for months, and the landlord not even cutting us a break with the rent, well, the bills just kept adding up. It ..read more

  According to statistics, there are over 6 million certified divers in the world[i].  When you think about it, there are over 7 billion people alive today, so when you do the math, we are talking about 0.1% of the entire world’s population.   That means that people who actively dive are part of an elite group of individuals who get to see parts of our planet that the other 99.9% of the people in the world never will. If that’s not enough reason for you, here’s a few fun facts. Get a new perspective on how you see the world. Once you’re in the water you’ll have an entirely ..read more

What the heck is Nitrox anyways!? If you’ve been on a dive boat, dive shop or around divers during the past 20 years, you’ve probably heard the term “nitrox” being used a few times.  Maybe you know what it is, but maybe you don’t and were embarrassed to ask what it is. Well, in this post we are going to answer some of the questions you always had about nitrox but were too afraid to ask. So let’s begin with the basic.  What is Nitrox? – Nitrox is a term that refers to any gas mixture that is made up of nitrogen and oxygen. This includes the “regular” (atmospheric) air that we breathe ..read more

What is the “Scuba Discovery” class?  Well, let’s say you’re on vacation.  You’ve always wanted to go scuba diving, but you’re not sure it’s something you want to invest the time or the money for a full certification course.  You want to “try before you buy”.  So you sign up for the Scuba Discovery  (also known as Discover Scuba Diving, Try Scuba Diving, Tandem Diving, etc.) class. During this program, you get a taste of what diving is like.  You should always have a theory session, during which your instructor will go over the basics of the SCUBA equipment, impor ..read more

Cave and technical diving are quite different from recreational diving, and as such, so are the instructors that teach these highly advanced scuba diving courses. There are several things you should always consider before you choose your instructor, and this guide will hopefully help you choose wisely. Is your instructor an active diver? This is probably a bit of an odd question. If he/she is an instructor, obviously they are active divers, I mean, they are diving all the time, right?  Well, not really. A lot of instructors pretty much only dive when/while they are in course.  You ..read more

What is the difference between SDI and PADI? Entry level students often ask us the difference between SDI and PADI. Today, I would like to address that question and the reason we choose to do the vast majority of our recreational diving courses through Scuba Diving International. I have heard the phrase ‘I want to get my padi’ or ‘I did my padi with X or Y dive shop,’ so many times that if I got a nickle each time I hear it, I’d be able to take my wife out for a fancy dinner at least once a week! Today, I want to clear the air, and get rid of any misconceptions or misunderstandings about scuba ..read more

It happens very often. You plan a great vacation with your family to a tropical destination like Playa del Carmen, but you are the only scuba diver in the family.  This puts you in quite the predicament, doesn’t it? How do I spend as much of the vacation time I have with my family, yet still manage to get a whole bunch of awesome dives in during that time?! Fortunately, there are many things that can be done to get you in the water, get you diving and still keep your family happy with you. You can arrange for the non divers in your family to participate in the Discover Scuba program. Thi ..read more