Dive Review of Maya Palms dive operation in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/A few miles south of Mahahual

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Maya Palms dive operation, May, 2010, by Ronald Bailey, VA, US ( Contributor 18 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 5569.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The best thing about the diving was the health of the corals. I saw no dead corals and no algae growth. Most of the corals were soft corals as seen many years ago in the Bahamas, a true coral garden scene. Unfortunately there were strong on shore winds which created very large waves, especially considering the size of the dive boat. After the first dive, the second dive was scrubbed by the divers. The next day also had strong winds and no dives. But to the credit to the resort and managers, three dives were done per day, instead of two, for the rest of the week to make up for the missing dives. Tanks were filled at or above 3000 psi. We did see some turtles and large green moray eels. But the fish were sparse except in a few spots. Because of the winds, we did not get to dive some to the further south reefs except for one day. Also because of the winds, we did not get to do any shore diving. The resort grounds were well kept and had a Mayan look. No complaints about that. The food was good and divers were always asked if they wanted snacks, drinks, etc. While we were there only a total of 5 guests/divers occupied the resort. Three divers for part of the week and two other divers arriving for the remainder of our week after one diver left. If you go, be aware that the resort only runs air conditioners from about 5 pm to about 4:30 am. So if guests plan on retiring to their rooms for an afternoon nap and cooling off, as their own literature says you can do in their air conditioned rooms, that becomes a problem. The resort runs on generators during those evening/night times and on batteries during the day which will not allow for rooms to be cooled off. Also, the ceiling fans make a loud noise when running on batteries so your sleep is usually interrupted during the switch over. The rooms have a tendency to become warmer and stuffy after, so trying to continue sleeping may be a problem. The resort and people living in that vicinity really need to have the Mexican government extend electricity a few more miles south to the Maya Palms area. Since there were only two people working during slack guest periods, the manager and assistant manager, not counting grounds crew, the times for dinner were as late as after 10 pm. Their own literature says dinner is served promptly at 7:30 pm. So be prepared to eat late. They did bring in extra help as when some people got off of a cruise boat and come down for the day. They really need a dedicated kitchen staff. While I would go back again, I would be hesitant about bringing guests that would be expecting air conditioned rooms and a firm dinner scheduled time.
Websites	Maya Palms dive operation
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Roatan, Bahamas, Turk and Caicos, Fiji, Hawaii, Palau, St. Croix, Florida Keys, Exumas, Saba, St. Kitts, Belize and Bonaire.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, dry	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	80-84°F / 27-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50-80 Ft/ 15-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]Above 132 feet
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	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	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	There was plenty of shelf space in the rooms to easily store camera gear and set it up, etc. As the boat was small, there was no special set up for U/W photographers other than handing you your camera once in the water.

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Dive Review of Maya Palms dive operation in Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/A few miles south of Mahahual

Maya Palms dive operation, May, 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 Maya Palms dive operation in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/A few miles south of Mahahual