Explore Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen is a popular tourist destination located on the east coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea, just 60 kilometers/37 miles south of Cancún in the state of Quintana Roo. Playa del Carmen arguably has some of the most diverse diving of anywhere in the world. It is a great place to visit to take advantage of the abundant cave-, wreck-, shark-, and reef-diving opportunities, and the spectacular diving at Cozumel Island is just a 40-minute ferry ride away (or just 20 minutes, if you take the luxury ferry!). Not only does Playa del Carmen offer shallow reefs, it is also home to a complex system of cenotes—around 10,000 of them! Cenotes are exposed pools of water that are part of an underground network of interconnected bodies of groundwater. Cenotes form when limestone bedrock collapses, leaving natural sinkholes behind. Cenotes have great visibility because the water comes from filtered rainwater and thus has very few suspended particles. This feature makes cenotes a great diving environment, not to mention the underground cave systems and features that can be explored as well.

If cenote diving is not your cup of tea, there are also shore dives and daily boat trips out to wreck- and drift-dive sites. Encounters with pelagic species can be expected at these sites; the best-known for this area is the bull shark, which migrates to Playa del Carmen in the wintertime.

Dive shops and dive resorts are aplenty in Playa del Carmen; some specialize in trips to cenotes, while others like to focus on the marine sites. Since Playa del Carmen is close to various culturally significant Mayan ruin sites such Tulum, many of the dive resorts offer land excursion packages to these destinations as well. If you feel like you need a break from the nonstop diving, exploring the remnants of ancient Mayan cities may be just the thing you’re looking for. If, as a non-diver, you find yourself on vacation in Playa del Carmen and decide you don’t want to miss out on Playa del Carmen’s underwater realm, dive shops offer certification courses and Discover Scuba Diving as well. Liveaboard dive operators are not common, since all dive sites are either shore dives or are only a short boat trip away from shore.

Courses and Events

Dive Activity

Diving in Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen boasts world-class cenote-diving opportunities, what with its 30 plus dive-able cenotes. Playa del Camen also has dive shops and resorts that operate daily tours to visit these cenotes. Diving in cenotes can range from easy, shallow (5 meters/16 feet) dives that are always within sight of natural light, to technically challenging, deeper (15 meters/49 feet) dives that have divers swimming through cave systems. If cenote-diving is not your cup of tea, Playa del Carmen offers wreck-diving, such as the “Mama Viña” site, reef-diving, and shark-diving as well. Playa del Carmen is well known for its bull shark sightings in the winter, drawing divers from all over the world.

Top Wildlife Sightings in Playa del Carmen

As bodies of brackish water (a mixture of freshwater and salty seawater), cenotes are inhabited by a different group of organisms than the nearshore reef environment. Cichlids, catfish, and shrimp can be found swimming among the stalagmites. In the wintertime, bull sharks and other migratory pelagic megafauna like to hang out near Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. Sightings of eagle rays, loggerhead and green turtles, stingrays, lobsters, eels, groupers, and angelfish are common year-round.

Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 200

Moray Eel

4.7k Sightings
J
730
F
465
M
347
A
313
M
211
J
211
J
348
A
357
S
268
O
284
N
583
D
577

Bull Shark

2.6k Sightings
J
626
F
340
M
128
A
15
M
1
J
4
J
2
A
12
S
9
O
44
N
677
D
697

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 27

Barracuda

1.7k Sightings
J
215
F
170
M
134
A
178
M
95
J
110
J
165
A
134
S
126
O
99
N
150
D
156

Green Turtle

1k Sightings
J
138
F
89
M
82
A
38
M
78
J
67
J
112
A
108
S
60
O
71
N
84
D
93

Hawksbill Turtle

310 Sightings
J
30
F
39
M
17
A
10
M
15
J
12
J
48
A
29
S
53
O
20
N
16
D
21

Loggerhead Turtle

281 Sightings
J
17
F
24
M
42
A
33
M
33
J
14
J
20
A
24
S
32
O
28
N
0
D
14

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 80

Stingrays

4.3k Sightings
J
718
F
484
M
336
A
246
M
183
J
158
J
239
A
284
S
192
O
191
N
627
D
637

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 90

Angelfish

3.6k Sightings
J
520
F
358
M
229
A
279
M
196
J
188
J
288
A
295
S
254
O
232
N
396
D
381

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 100

Parrotfish

3.2k Sightings
J
466
F
314
M
223
A
253
M
171
J
165
J
264
A
232
S
218
O
177
N
349
D
323

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 130

Butterfly Fish

2.6k Sightings
J
403
F
268
M
182
A
215
M
142
J
124
J
205
A
238
S
181
O
127
N
295
D
252

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 3

Trumpetfish

2.3k Sightings
J
392
F
214
M
153
A
155
M
101
J
102
J
187
A
169
S
173
O
131
N
247
D
257

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 130

Pufferfish

2.3k Sightings
J
338
F
213
M
199
A
167
M
111
J
100
J
171
A
212
S
158
O
135
N
230
D
246

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 12

Lionfish

2.3k Sightings
J
318
F
159
M
124
A
131
M
98
J
117
J
237
A
212
S
156
O
133
N
344
D
237

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 85

Surgeonfish

2.1k Sightings
J
351
F
178
M
134
A
176
M
119
J
121
J
190
A
172
S
159
O
103
N
231
D
208

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 25

Boxfish

1.8k Sightings
J
321
F
210
M
128
A
148
M
67
J
73
J
145
A
181
S
123
O
91
N
162
D
170

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 110

Snapper

1.7k Sightings
J
296
F
156
M
115
A
140
M
77
J
90
J
129
A
135
S
136
O
88
N
161
D
165

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 90

Goatfish

1.5k Sightings
J
267
F
152
M
103
A
118
M
76
J
82
J
120
A
125
S
105
O
78
N
167
D
142

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 60

Squirrelfish

1.4k Sightings
J
263
F
123
M
98
A
108
M
56
J
86
J
116
A
100
S
114
O
46
N
154
D
146

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 40

Triggerfish

1.4k Sightings
J
288
F
143
M
77
A
111
M
72
J
65
J
84
A
88
S
105
O
54
N
169
D
151

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 250

Grouper/Basslets

1.3k Sightings
J
272
F
155
M
90
A
98
M
78
J
44
J
90
A
97
S
103
O
61
N
140
D
116

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 150

Sweetlips and Grunts

1.3k Sightings
J
215
F
145
M
89
A
90
M
69
J
61
J
119
A
117
S
63
O
30
N
168
D
137

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 350

Damselfish

1.3k Sightings
J
238
F
141
M
88
A
94
M
75
J
62
J
87
A
109
S
90
O
47
N
132
D
116

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 20

Porcupinefish

1.2k Sightings
J
261
F
120
M
81
A
78
M
64
J
40
J
86
A
108
S
76
O
47
N
116
D
112

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 60

Soldierfish

1.2k Sightings
J
215
F
114
M
81
A
107
M
77
J
48
J
73
A
113
S
82
O
20
N
125
D
104

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 120

Flounder

1.1k Sightings
J
227
F
88
M
62
A
54
M
44
J
43
J
85
A
95
S
80
O
39
N
126
D
124

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 7000

Crab

893 Sightings
J
116
F
99
M
67
A
65
M
34
J
62
J
86
A
56
S
93
O
46
N
87
D
82

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 30

Sand Eel

780 Sightings
J
154
F
66
M
59
A
34
M
39
J
44
J
47
A
91
S
29
O
19
N
111
D
87

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 55

Lobster

741 Sightings
J
158
F
88
M
51
A
62
M
7
J
40
J
37
A
40
S
46
O
43
N
78
D
91

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 40

Jackfish

653 Sightings
J
162
F
82
M
42
A
32
M
27
J
22
J
38
A
69
S
19
O
14
N
92
D
54

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 80

Emperor

510 Sightings
J
162
F
56
M
13
A
5
M
18
J
0
J
44
A
66
S
27
O
0
N
67
D
52

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 60

Spiny Lobster

320 Sightings
J
28
F
31
M
3
A
1
M
4
J
17
J
47
A
16
S
16
O
5
N
98
D
54

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 3400

Shrimp

274 Sightings
J
46
F
21
M
0
A
14
M
0
J
13
J
59
A
10
S
0
O
25
N
51
D
35

The best Months to dive in Playa del Carmen

There is great diving in Playa del Carmen all year round due to the consistently warm seawater temperatures. Temperatures can range from 24°C/75°F in the winter to 29°C/85°F in the summer months, and visibility is also great during all seasons, with an average of 33 meters/108 feet.

The wintertime, or December to April, is considered the best time to visit this area of Mexico, so coastal dive sites will be more crowded. November through March is the best time to see bull sharks, and in general, pelagic species are attracted to this area when surface water temperatures are cooler.

If you are particularly keen on diving in cenotes, it is best to visit between May and September. This is when sunbeams enter cenotes at a favorable angle and illuminate the cave in a way that is highly photogenic!

Dive Centers

Dive Sites