Cozumel Diving Guide
Dive Sites, Scuba Classes & Adventure
Updated May 2024
Let’s Go Dive Cozumel.
Scuba Diving In Cozumel
Welcome to the super Blue Water of Cozumel. Towering coral, pleasant temperatures and stellar visibility bless this underwater realm while topside you have friendly locals, good food, sandy beaches and lively nightspots. It's a perfect dive vacation. Regardless of your level of experience you will be in awe of the beauty while diving Cozumel.
Diving in Cozumel is a wonderland of lush walls and high-voltage drifts, where caves and caverns are ripe for exploration. Relax and enjoy the ride as you gaze at the menagerie of creatures bobbing along these Mesoamerican reefs.
Eagle rays, turtles and nurse sharks are common additions to log books after diving in Cozumel. Look closely and you can add lobsters, groupers, stingrays and sergeant majors to your tally. Underwater photographers: if you're after high res coral, Cozumel has it in abundance.
When To Dive In Cozumel
There is no bad time for diving in Cozumel. Water temperatures remain constant year-round 78-85ºF (25-29ºC) and cool only slightly during the winter months of November-January. You can dive approximately 365 days of the year - a glorious long season for divers.
Diving in Cozumel is famous for easy drifts but currents can be strong during the seasonal transition - Far North and Far South sites best suited to advanced divers. Divers choosing to plunge below the surface at this time are rewarded with more sharks and eagle rays.
November-March in particular are the best months for Bull Shark and Eagle Ray sightings. May-September brings warm waters, uncrowded dive sites and generally calm conditions. This is the best time to dive in Cozumel if you like it warm, but diving in the Caribbean Sea is pleasant at any time of year.
Each month the Cozumel Marine Park closes a few dive sites for rehabilitation. For May 2024 the closed sites will be Dalila, Palancar Gardens and Palancar Horseshoe.
Recommended Cozumel Dive Sites
For New Divers, Beginners and Up
These suggested dive sites are excellent for all levels of scuba divers. Cozumel’s crystal clear blue water often provides visibilty over 100’. These shallow dive sites are full of colorful reef fish and spectacular coral with currents that are often mild. Great sites for Open Water Divers, Discover Scuba and all certification levels.
Paradise Reef (Depth 30’-40’)
The currents are typically mild running South to North. Look for schools of reef fish, Sergeant Majors, Grunts, Snappers and Angel Fish. At night we can find Octopus, Lobster, King Crab, and the Splendid Toad Fish. This is an easy shallow dive.
Yucab Reef (Depth 40’-60’)
Yucab reef is full of life and color, with a wide selection of marine life. This is a great second dive and a photographers favorite. Look for Lobster, Octopus, Scorpionfish, Splendid Toadfish, Angelfish, Butterflyfish and schools of Grunts.
Palancar Gardens (Depth 30’-60’)
This is truly a coral garden on the edge of the abyss. Look for Turtles, Sting Rays, Eagle Rays, Grouper, Jacks, Angel Fish, Parrot Fish, Damselfish, Blue Chromis and many more. End the dive in the grassy area home to many Sting Rays and Conch.
Columbia Shallow (Depth 20’-30’)
Its shallow depth and mild currents are great for photography. Most species of tropical fish in Cozumel are present here. The crystal clear water and tropical marine life will give the sensation of being in an aquarium.
Recommended Cozumel Dive Sites
For Experienced Divers
Paseo de Cedral (Depth 40’-60’)
Expect moderate to strong current. Spectacular swim-throughs and coral mounds are home to abundance of fish. More experienced divers may choose to dive the wall and the faster current.
Palancar Bricks (Depth 40’-120’)
The southernmost portion of Cozumel’s most spectacular Palancar Dive Sites. It consists of taller coral pinnacles separated by sandy slopes. There are beautiful swim throughs and tunnels leading in and out of the abyss.
Columbia Deep (Depth 60’-120’)
This is one of Cozumel’s classic wall dives. Columbia is distinctive for its towering coral pinnacles divided by sand chutes pouring into the deep blue abyss. There are many swim throughs and beautiful soft coral sponges of all colors.
Punta Sur Devils Throat (Depth 60’-130’)
Punta Sur is an impressive wall dive on the southern point of Cozumel Island. The most popular feature is a swim through taking down the Devil’s Throat. You enter a narrow tunnel at 80’ and exit at 130’. Numerous other tunnels will bring you back through the coral as you work your way towards a safety stop.
Cozumel Dive School
If you are coming to Cozumel to learn to scuba dive you have made a great choice. Diving in Cozumel has excellent conditions year round with warm and clear tropical water. If you have never dived before we have courses to dive Cozumel without certification, get your PADI Open Water here in Cozumel or advance your dive training with our certified PADI Instructors.
Beginners Scuba Courses
Discover Scuba Diving : Often called the Resort Course or Try Diving. This is a great option to Dive Cozumel without certification. After learning a few scuba skills we will do 2 dives with a PADI Instructor.
Scuba Diver : This beginners scuba course is ideal for a diver short on time. The 2 day course consists of confined water training plus 2 Open Water Dives. After completion your Scuba Diver Certification will allow you to dive up to 40’.
Open Water Diver : This is the full PADI certification course and can be completed in 2-3 days here in Cozumel. The course will start with confined water training plus 4 Open Water Dives in Cozumel with the last 2 dives off our boat in the Marine Park. The PADI Open Water course allows you to dive up to 60”
Continuing Diving Courses
Advanced Open Water : The Advanced course is one of the most fun courses to do here in Cozumel. This scuba course is 5 adventure dives. All dives will be off our boat in the Marine Park. Required dives are Deep, Navigation and you can choose 3 more. We always suggest Peak Performance Buoyancy as well. Did you know that each adventure dive in the Advanced course counts towards the 1st dive in the Specialty.
Enriched Air Nitrox : PADI’s most popular specialty course. Enriched Air Nitrox in Cozumel will allow you longer bottom times and shorter surface intervals. This 2 tank course will be off our boat in the Cozumel Marine Park.
PADI Specialties : Our PADI Instructors can teach most specialties here in Cozumel. Some of the most popular at our Cozumel Dive Shop are Deep, Wreck, Drift, Fish ID and Peak Performance Buoyancy. Complete 5 PADI Specialty classes towards your Master Scuba Diver Rating.
Recommended Dive Gear
Blue Note Scuba has top quality rental gear available however we always suggest to bring your own if possible. Here is the dive gear you should have while Diving in Cozumel:
Buoyancy Control Device (BCD), Regulator with Submersible Pressure Guage, Mask, Snorkel, Fins, 3mm Wetsuit or Shorty Wetsuit, Dive Computer, Dive Light, Surface Marker Buoy, Reel, Lanyard to secure GoPro or Camera, Rash Guard and Hat while on the boat.
Looking to buy new gear I suggest reading the 2024 Scuba Diving Gear Guide and onlinescuba.com for a great selection of all the major scuba manufacturers..