Ever since famous oceanographer and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau revealed Cozumel’s underwater beauty to the rest of the world in a 1961 documentary, Cozumel, Cancun and the Riviera Maya region have consistently ranked among the diving community’s favorite destinations. What the world saw through the late Cousteau’s camera lenses was a natural aquarium beyond compare, with swaying coral gardens, waves of colorful tropical fish, steep walls that fall deep into the ocean floor, sunken galleons and tunnels that seem to go on forever. With a visibility of up to 200 feet, miles of coral reefs, and water so clear that scuba divers seem to fly instead of swim, Cozumel and the Riviera Maya region attract thousands of divers per year.

Cozumel is the region’s most popular scuba diving area, due to the 20 miles of unspoiled, protected reefs just offshore. Divers in Cozumel use the technique of drift diving, which allows divers to drift with the current while exploring a site, the most famous of which is Palancar Reef – with its vast series of caverns and canyons, its marine life and sea coral. The mammoth Santa Rosa Wall is also a favorite dive spot. The slow 2-3 knot current carries divers along on an underwater adventure, while the dive boat follows along on the surface.

Depths along these fabulous underwater locations range from 50 to 120 feet and even deeper. Shallow water formations at 70 to 80 feet , which stretch along a half mile in this amazing underwater landscape, allow divers to sometimes swim alongside large schools of grouper and yellow jack. More experienced divers will want to explore the spectacular coral-covered tunnels of Maracaibo Reef, circling the southern tip of the island. Maracaibo descends to depths of 130 feet or more along its walls. Most of Cozumel’s diving sites are located within the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park, a protected underwater environment, where the Mexican government has implemented a conservation program to keep the reefs in a pristine state, funded by a daily $2 fee from divers. To accommodate the diving and snorkeling enthusiasts, many of the area’s top hotels offer diving facilities, equipment rental and their own docks. Many hotels offer SCUBA lessons for beginners, and dive certification is available from most dive operators. These operators offer certification through the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), a leading certification organization. Many hotels have diving tours that will take divers out twice a day, with a lunch provided by the hotel in between dives. Most dive trips start out at less than $50, and include the equipment rental.

The El Cid La Cieba is a hotel that caters to the diving community, with a private dock and a dive shop on the property. The Occidental Grand, and its sister hotel, the Occidental Allegro also have docks and a full dive shop. There are dozens of boats and dive masters to choose from, as well as over 50 dive shops on Cozumel alone. Many diving tours are also available from Cancun, located just 30 miles from Cozumel. Cancun offers superb snorkeling, as well as diving opportunities, with its calm, clear water and a myriad of sea life waiting to be discovered by the adventurous visitor.

Cozumel and the entire Riviera Maya’s spectacular reef formations and exceptionally clear waters have contributed to make this paradise on the Mexican Caribbean one of the most popular underwater destinations in the world.

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Ever since famous oceanographer and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau revealed Cozumel’s underwater beauty to the rest of the world in a 1961 documentary, Cozumel, Cancun and the Riviera Maya region have consistently ranked among the diving community’s favorite destinations. What the world saw through the late Cousteau’s camera lenses was a natural aquarium beyond compare, with swaying coral gardens, waves of colorful tropical fish, steep walls that fall deep into the ocean floor, sunken galleons and tunnels that seem to go on forever. With a visibility of up to 200 feet, miles of coral reefs, and water so clear that scuba divers seem to fly instead of swim, Cozumel and the Riviera Maya region attract thousands of divers per year.