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Dive Review of Tank Ha/Barcelo in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Riviera Maya

Tank Ha/Barcelo, Jul, 2006,

by Betsy Baste, NC, USA . Report 2826.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 2 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments We stayed at the Barcelo Resort in Riviera Maya and dived in Playa del Carmen. The Resort was exceptional in design, accomodations, food and especially service. We will go back many times, and we do NOT like resorts. Above all, the people, the service and the commitment to personal attention was outstanding.

However, Dressel Divers facility at the resort was severely lacking. After numerous attempts to dive with them, we got too frustrated and finally gave up trying to dive with this company. Before leaving for the trip, I contacted the corporate office of Dressel in Spain. They assured me as an SSI instructor, I would have no problem certifying my 20 year old daughter on this trip with Dressel. When I arrived at the site, it was another story altogether. The staff at Dressel continued to put restrictions on our ability to get in the water with them. The main one was that we would have to pay for their certification course. This made no sense as I am an instruction with a million dollar liability policy.

I found Tank Ha dive facility in Playa del Carmen, and they were incredibly accomodating, and were able to meet all our needs for me to certify my daughter, including the use of their pool for a quick refresher of skills. They took us on a short ride to incredibly fish-rich reefs. I never saw so many scorpion fish in a week of diving, and we only dived with Tank Ha for 2 days. We also saw huge turtles and barracuda. Didn't see the pelagics I expected to see, but that was fine with my new-diver daughter. The cenote trip with Kenny was incredible. I would love to go back just to get my cave certification with Tank Ha. Groups were limited to 4 people, perfect. The halocline and the cave formations have got to be seen to be believed. After our dives, my daughter thought her purse was stolen from the cubbies at Tank Ha. The staff helped us look everywhere and were very helpful. Luckily, she had left it in a dinind room at the Barcelo resort, and it was returned to the front desk with only the money missing.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Hawaii, Bonaire, California, Florida, Bahamas
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas choppy
Water Temp 80-85°F / 27-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 0
Water Visibility 50-75 Ft/ 15-23 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Follow leader in cenotes, limit 4 people per group. Excellent dive briefing for ocean and cenotes dives.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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