Cenote Diving Mexico

A cenote ( SAY-no-TAY) is a naturally created sinkhole in the Yucatan Peninsula. Cenote comes from the Mayan word: T’zonot, then the Spaniards gave it a Latin twist. 

You sure can !
Most healthy people can swim and snorkel in them.
Open Water certified divers can cavern dive them.
Full Cave divers can cave dive them.

In geology, a cenote and a cavern are the same, both are entrances to a cave.
In diving, a cavern reaches a max distance of 200ft/60m from open water with other specific rules. 
The cave goes beyond the cavern limits & rules and can only be entered by properly trained FULL CAVE DIVERS.

As any activity involving any amount of risk, rules and safety standards must be strictly obeyed.
Divers will receive a full briefing on safety and diving procedures to make sure all divers are knowledgeable and safe at all times.

Divers must be Open Water certified with sufficient experience for the cenotes’ different levels of difficulty.
Divers must demonstrate proper buoyancy and diving skills.
Light from an exit must always be visible.
No more than 200ft/60m away from any open water exit.
No more than 130ft/40m in depth.
No more than 4 divers per Full Cave certified cavern guide.
Have constant physical access to the yellow cavern guideline while in an overhead environment.
No touching or disturbing the cavern environment.

• We arrive at the cenotes around 8h30 am.
• We go on a short surface tour of the cenote area.
• A very interesting and thorough briefing on the history, geology, ecology, culture and safe diving practices will be given.
• We then go on the first dive which lasts around 45 minutes.
• We then have a 30 mins surface interval to soak up the sun and get snacked & hydrated.
• Then on to the second dive which also lasts around 45 minutes.
• We then stop at a traditional local Mexican restaurant to load up on tacos and drinks before returning to our starting point.
• Depending on the starting point and distance to the cenotes, you should be back at your hotel between 3 to 5 pm.

The water temperature is about 76F/25C year-round.
A 3mm full wetsuit is recommended.
A 5mm full wetsuit is recommended for people who get cold easily.

Most cenotes are quite shallow with a max depth of 50ft/15m and an average depth of 25ft/8m. Only 4 cenotes go deeper than 60ft/18m: El Pit, Angelita, Zapote and Kin Ha.
Dive time vary from 30 to 60 minutes.