The word Cenote is derived from the Mayan word "Dzonot", which means Sacred Well. Divers from all over the world come to Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya to dive these unique fresh water limestone caves and caverns.

A Certified Open Water Diver can safely enter the cavern part of the Cenotes under the guidance of a Full Certified Cave Diver (max. 4 divers per cave guide).

Cavern diving cannot be considered as an open water dive because it means diving into an overhead environment. Diving in an overhead environment has more risks and therefore requires special limitations.

We stay whitin the limits of the sunlight, with a maximum penetration of 60m/180ft linear from an entrance/exit.

Most cenotes have a permanent installed guideline, which serves as a great reference. If you dive in a cavern area where there is not a permanent guideline then the guide will temporarily install a guideline during the cavern tour.

Because we are diving in an overhead environment, we use different air procedures than when ocean diving. When cavern diving, we need enough air to exit and plan for any unseen emergencies, and use the classic "rule of thirds". We use 1/3 of our air to go in, 1/3 air to come out and we are out with 1/3 of air left in our tanks. This procedure has been an established cave and cavern diving procedure since the early 1970's.

Most cenotes have an outstanding visibility (up to 100m/300ft), and water temperature of is around 26ºC/78ºF but it can vary depending on weather conditions.

Although there is a variety of fresh water critters, the main idea of diving in the cenotes is to admire the stalactites, stalagmites and rock formations. Diving the Cenotes is an unforgettable experience and only available to you in the Riviera Maya in Mexico. For more information about diving the Cenotes, contact us today!