ACTIVITIES IN
PLAYA DEL CARMEN
No wind? Plenty to do.
Bull sharks, cenotes, Cozumel reefs, snorkeling and fishing, organized by the PDC Kiteboarding crew.
Hotel pickup · Trusted local pros · Diving, snorkeling & fishing
No wind? No problem
If there’s no wind, you don’t pay
Kitesurfing depends on the wind. If we cancel your lesson for lack of wind, you don’t pay for it, and you can switch to another board sport or book one of the activities below.
Some activities we run ourselves; the rest are run by members of the PDC Kite Club, trusted professionals and friends of the house. Hotel pickup is included.
Board sport · Mayan Water Complex
Wakeboarding
Private lessons at the cable park. The best crossover for kite students.
Board sport · Private lake + boat
Foil Clinic with Boat
Learn hydrofoil control towed by our own boat, no wind needed.
Scuba diving
Diving trips
For certified divers. Marine park fees, dive gear, boat and guide included.
Diving · Playa del Carmen · Nov–Mar
Bull Shark Dive
Every winter, female bull sharks gather off Playa del Carmen, just a short boat ride from the beach. On this guided dive you kneel on the sand and watch them pass a few meters away, with a full briefing and strict safety procedures. The season runs roughly November to March, the same months as kite season.
- Season: roughly November to March
- Certified divers with 15+ logged dives
- 3 hours · 2 tanks at around 20 m (66 ft) · hotel pickup
- Marine park fee, dive gear, boat and guide included
More details
The dive starts with a detailed briefing on shark behavior and our procedures. We descend with the current, regroup on the bottom and swim to the observation point. There the group forms a line and kneels on the sand for about 15 minutes while the sharks come and go. If air allows, we finish in shallower water, where sharks often keep cruising around. We ascend with safety stops at 12 and 5 meters (40 and 15 ft).
Bull sharks can reach close to 3 meters (9–10 ft). Respect is the core of this dive: we observe them in their own habitat, without chasing or touching them, and your guide keeps the group tight and calm the whole time.
The sea has to be calm for the boat to go out. If the port is closed, we move the dive to the next good day.
Diving · Riviera Maya cenotes
Cenote Diving
Dive into the flooded caverns of the Yucatán jungle: crystal-clear fresh water, beams of light, stalactites and columns formed over thousands of years. Cavern dives stay within reach of natural light and follow a guideline, so they’re open to certified Open Water divers. Private tours, with sites chosen to suit you.
- Open Water certification
- Private tour · cenotes vary by day and level
- Hotel pickup included
More details
The Yucatán Peninsula sits on a vast limestone platform that was once a coral reef. When sea levels dropped during the last ice age, rainwater slowly dissolved the rock and carved one of the largest underwater cave systems in the world. Cenotes are the openings into that system.
Cavern diving keeps you in the zone where natural light still reaches you, following a fixed guideline behind your guide. That’s why an Open Water certification is enough; full cave diving, beyond the light zone, requires specific training.
The day starts with a full orientation on the cavern environment, buoyancy, light signals and guideline procedures. Expect light beams cutting through the water, stalactites, columns, fossils in the walls and, in some cenotes, a halocline where fresh and salt water meet. There’s no reef fish or coral here: it’s a different kind of beauty.
Diving · Cozumel
Cozumel Reef Diving
Cozumel is famous for its walls: vertical drop-offs into the blue, huge sponges and drift dives along reefs protected by the Cozumel Reefs National Park. The boat leaves directly from Playa del Carmen, no ferry needed. Two dives, one deep and one shallow, back in Playa by midday.
- Open Water certification
- 2 tanks · back by midday
- Boat from Playa del Carmen · hotel pickup
- Marine park fee, dive gear, boat and guide included
More details
Cozumel’s reefs are part of the Mesoamerican Reef, the largest barrier reef system in the Western Hemisphere. The combination of wall dives, clear water and gentle drift is what makes them special: you let the current carry you along the reef past sponges, coral, turtles, nurse sharks, eagle rays and schools of reef fish.
We pick you up at your hotel and the boat departs from Playa del Carmen to the marine park. The first dive is the deeper one, around 45 minutes. During the surface interval you relax on the boat while your guide gives you feedback for the second, shallower dive. By midday you’re back in Playa.
Diving · Puerto Morelos
C-56 Wreck Dive
A 56-meter (184 ft) World War II minesweeper, sunk in 2000 as an artificial reef off Puerto Morelos. She sits upright on white sand at about 27 meters (90 ft), covered in soft coral and patrolled by jacks, groupers, morays and a resident barracuda.
- Advanced Open Water
- Half day · 2 tanks
- Hotel pickup or meet at Puerto Morelos dock
- Marine park fee, dive gear, boat and guide included
More details
The C-56 started life as USS Knave, a minesweeper launched in 1943. The Mexican Navy bought her in 1962 and later renamed her Cadete Juan Escutia. In 2000 she was sunk inside the Puerto Morelos Reef National Park to become an artificial reef.
Today she rests upright, keel on the sand at around 27 meters (90 ft), with the deck at about 20 meters (64 ft). Soft corals cover the hull. On deck you’ll often see schools of bigeye trevally hunting, plus large wrasse, groupers and morays. Look up for eagle rays, and watch for the resident barracuda near the wheelhouse.
Currents can be strong, so this dive is for divers comfortable at depth. Experienced divers can ask about a guided penetration into the engine room.
Get certified
Diving & freediving courses
No experience needed.
Course · Coco Beach
PADI Open Water Diver
Get certified in the Caribbean. The PADI Open Water Diver course is the world’s most widely recognized scuba certification and lets you dive with a buddy anywhere in the world. Theory, pool skills and open-water dives with a PADI instructor, at your own pace.
- No experience needed
- 3–4 days
- Pool training and open-water dives at Coco Beach
More details
The course has three parts. Theory covers how pressure, equipment and your body work underwater. Pool sessions at Coco Beach are where you practice the core skills in calm, shallow water: clearing your mask, sharing air, controlling your buoyancy. Then come the open-water dives, where you put it all together in the sea off Coco Beach.
Your instructor adapts the pace to you. Buoyancy takes a few dives to master, but the first time you relax and just float in the blue is something most divers never forget. Once you’re certified, the rest of this page opens up.
Course · Cenotes
SSI Level 1 Freediving
Learn to dive on a single breath. In two days you’ll work on breathing, relaxation, equalization and safety, then put it into practice in a cenote. The SSI Level 1 Freediver certification lets you freedive with a buddy to 20 meters (66 ft), anywhere in the world.
- No experience needed · minimum age 12
- 2 days
- SSI Level 1: freedive to 20 m (66 ft)
- Hotel pickup
More details
Freediving is diving in its simplest form: no tank, just one breath and your own calm. Over two days you’ll combine theory and practice at your own pace: breathing and relaxation techniques, the physiology of breath-holding, equalization and, above all, safety and buddy procedures.
In the water you’ll learn diaphragmatic breathing, efficient finning and how to descend and ascend relaxed, in the clear, still water of a cenote. On completion you earn the SSI Level 1 Freediver certification, recognized worldwide.
Snorkeling & fishing
Snorkeling & fishing
For everyone in your group, divers or not.
Snorkeling · Playa to Tulum
Cenote Snorkeling
Swim in the sacred sinkholes of the Maya: crystal-clear fresh water, light beams and dramatic rock formations. A full-day trip in small groups with private transport and a guide who shows you the best spots. No diving experience needed.
- No diving experience needed
- Full day · pickup 8:30 am, back around 4 pm
- Small groups, private transport
- Lunch not included
More details
Cenotes are natural sinkholes that open into the underground rivers of the Yucatán. For the Maya they were sacred entrances to the underworld; for you, they’re some of the clearest water you’ll ever swim in.
We pick you up at 8:30 am anywhere between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, in private vehicles instead of crowded vans. On the way, your guide briefs you on snorkeling technique, safety and cenote rules. At the cenote, your guide shows you the easy entry and exit points and takes you to explore the rock formations and the light. After a lunch break you have free time to swim before we drive you back.
Snorkeling · Puerto Morelos
Reef Snorkeling
Snorkel the Mesoamerican Reef in the Puerto Morelos Reef National Park, protected since 1998. The reef is close to shore and the water is calm: brain and elkhorn coral, sea fans, parrotfish, blue tangs and often turtles and rays. Great for beginners.
- No experience needed
- Half day · ceviche lunch included
- Hotel pickup
More details
In Puerto Morelos the reef runs unusually close to shore, and since 1998 it’s been a national park with strict rules: you can only snorkel it with an accredited guide, a park wristband and a life jacket. That protection shows underwater.
We pick you up at your hotel and drive to the Puerto Morelos pier, where you get fitted with a life jacket and fins and a briefing. A short boat ride takes us to the reef. Back on land, we finish with fresh ceviche for lunch.
Fishing · Coco Beach
Fishing Boat Tour
Head out with a local captain and fish the deep blue water off Playa del Carmen. Trolling for whatever is running that day, depending on the season. No experience needed. A good plan for a no-wind day, for families or for the non-kiters in your group.
- No experience needed
- Full day · up to 6 people per boat
- Hotel pickup · boat departs from Coco Beach
More details
Just beyond the reef, the sea off Playa del Carmen drops into deep water where pelagic fish hunt. We pick you up at your hotel, take you to Coco Beach and head offshore with a local captain and deckhand, who handle the rigging and help you land the fish.
As with all our boat activities, the sea has to be calm enough for the boat to go out. If the port is closed, we move your trip to the next good day.
How it works
Book in three steps
- Message usTell us your dates, how many people and the activities you like.
- Confirm your spotWe check the sea, the season and availability with our team and partners. Activities are paid in advance to secure your booking.
- We pick you upHotel pickup on the day. You just bring your swimsuit.
Ready for a day out?
Send us your dates and what you’d like to do. We’ll put the plan together.