Dive Review of Koox Diving/The Fives Downtown hotel and reside in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

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Koox Diving/The Fives Downtown hotel and reside: "Cenote dives on the Yucatan peninsula", Nov, 2023, by Denis Collins, NY, US ( Reviewer 4 reports with 5 Helpful votes). Report 12841.
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 main reason I went on this trip was to dive the cenotes on the Yucatan peninsula. These are freshwater caverns (not caves) that are located all over the Yucatan. They are one of the main sources for freshwater on the Yucatan. They had been above water for thousands of years over which they developed thousands of stalactites and stalagmites. A quick note - this is not cave diving. They are big, relatively wide open in general and you can see light within 200 meters. I dove a total of three cenotes (Casa or House cenote, Dos, Ojos or 2 Eyes and Dreamgate). They were all about 45 minutes to an hour south of Playa Del Carmen. They are fairly close to Tulum, so that might be a better place to stay if you don’t mind spending a bit more money. We never went below 30 feet in any of the 3 cenotes. The first cenote, Casa cenote was very close to the ocean making the water a mixture of salt and fresh. It’s a beginner cenote they take you to if you’ve never done a cenote before. They want to make sure that you’re in control of your buoyancy and are a decent diver. It has a lot of mangroves around with the roots extending into the water which make it a very pretty location. There’s a small amount of fish life, including some shrimp, but not much other than that. It was a good introduction to Cenote diving. After Casa cenote, we did an ocean dive nearby. It was OK, but nothing very special so I won’t describe it here. The next day we dove two separate cenotes. At the first, Dos Ojos, we did 2 lines, Barbie and Bat Cave. The Barbie line had lots of stalactites and stalagmites throughout the dive. It was really impressive and is what I came to see on my trip. The Batcave line also had a lot of stalactites and stalagmites throughout the dive. Additionally, at one point, you entered an air chamber where there were tons of bats on the ceiling. It was very interesting, but the thing I personally preferred was all of the stalactites and stalagmites. The last cenote we dove, Dreamgate, was my favorite. The stalactites and stalagmites were stunning and present throughout the dive. I really enjoyed this one quite a lot. It was the whole reason I made the trip. There are a lot of YouTube videos and websites giving all types of helpful info on cenote diving. Doing a little research will help your experience. Try to get to the cenotes early before other divers might churn up the silt on the bottom, impacting visibility. One of the things I did on the tourist side was to visit the famous pyramid Chichen Itza. It was very impressive, but was a 2 1/2 hour bus trip from Playa Del Carmen. They stopped at a few places to try to break up the trip, but it was still a long day, about 12 hours in total. You got to spend about two hours at the pyramid, which is well worth seeing, but if you don’t want to spend five hours in a bus in one day, I wouldn’t recommend it. For me it was worth it because that was a pyramid I always wanted to see. I stayed at the Five Points Hotel and Residences which is right in the heart of downtown Playa Del Carmen. It was a nice place that I would recommend.
Websites	Koox Diving
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	all over the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Galapagos, Red Sea and Indonesia.
Closest Airport	Cancun	Getting There	I took non-stop from NYC to Cancun and then took a bus to Playa del Carmen. I had to wait a while for the bus. The first one that showed up only took a few of the many people waiting. I got on the 2nd one. Going back to Cancun airport I took a shared taxi which only cost about $15, including tip. You need 4 passengers, but that didn't seem to take very long. I found this to be a much better option, but it may not be available when you are going from Cancun to your destination.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	75-78°F / 24-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	- Ft/ - M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	I dove several cenotes which are caverns (not caves). You have to be with a certified cave diver and follow a specified line at all times. You should check out any of the many articles on diving cenotes in Mexico to get a fuller idea of what is involved.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
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	[None]

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Dive Review of Koox Diving/The Fives Downtown hotel and reside in Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan

Koox Diving/The Fives Downtown hotel and reside: "Cenote dives on the Yucatan peninsula", Nov, 2023,

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 Koox Diving/The Fives Downtown hotel and reside in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan