Dive Review of Akumal DIve Shop/LAs Casitas condominiums in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Akumal

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Akumal DIve Shop/LAs Casitas condominiums, Nov, 2010, by Dennis Jacobson, CO, US ( Reviewer 6 reports). Report 5773.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food	N/A
Service and Attitude	N/A	Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was my fourth trip to Akumal. We have come to love the Las Casitas condos right on the water, and the Akumal Dive Shop has a wonderful staff of divemasters, instructors, and captains. They offer three one tank boat dives daily, plus night dives when there are adequate sign ups, and of course, the world famous cave dives. I appreciate the locker facilities, which are very up to date, and the small but adequate boats mean no huge groups. On this trip we were offered a special treat, a bull shark dive at Playa del Carmen, in which NO FEEDING was involved. My dive buddy and wife, Debbie, and I do not agree with feeding. So we were excited when we learned of this dive, in which the sharks are located and drawn in by sound of plastic bottle rubbing. We went on the dive (a party of four plus a DM and a tag along photographer. Unfortunately, as can happen, the sharks did not make an appearance. Though I admit I was initially upset at having spent the time and money for this disappointment, we learned the next day that fishermen in the Playa area had killed 8 or 9 bull sarks (the group we intended to see) so the reason for our disappointment was clear. The dive shop made a generous concession on the cost of the excursion, even though it was not requested. They are a class operation. Lion fish have gotten to the Mexican Carribean, and were seen on every dive. However, the reef looks healthy and tropical fish were abundant. We also saw a few good size Grouper, eagle rays, sting rays, yellow sting rays, and of course, green turtles in abundance. We also had a few hawkbills and one huge loggerhead. Snorkeling in Akumal bay is a treat for any turtle lover. They are always seen there. The diving here is great, but the operation is very much do-it- yourself. That is why we love it. The pace is leisurely above and below the water, and competnet divers are given plenty of room to do their thing while less seasoned divers are treated to escorted diving by attentive divemasters. Akumal is the opposite of the massive all inclusives, and an antidote to crowded diveboats and crowds on the reef. Many dives were 4 on the boat, and only once did we have to tolerate a full boat of 8. I have not written up Akumal in the past because I want it to stay like it is, not crowded. But the people there deserve a public expression of thanks and endorsement.
Websites	Akumal DIve Shop
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Fiji, Hawaii, Florida Keys, Bahamas, Southern California, Bonaire, Cozumel, Cayman Islands, St. Kitts, Saba, Statia, etc.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, surge
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	small groups stayed together, honoring the depth and time limits set for each dive, but it was not restrictive
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	This is a low-tech, one tank per boat trip operation, and photographers are on their own, whihc ifs fine with me, and I am one.

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Dive Review of Akumal DIve Shop/LAs Casitas condominiums in Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Akumal

Akumal DIve Shop/LAs Casitas condominiums, Nov, 2010,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Akumal DIve Shop/LAs Casitas condominiums in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Akumal