SCUBA Diving in the Riviera Maya is without a doubt a bucket-list destination for divers of all ages. But when is the best time to visit the Riviera Maya for diving?
Well, if you asked yourself this question already, you’ve come to the right place for answers. In this blog, we will talk about the different travel seasons for ocean diving, as well as the best time to visit the Riviera Maya for Cenote diving and our seasonal marine life highlights!
The Riviera Maya Diving Activities
With the Mesoamerican barrier reef right next to the Riviera Maya, this destination is renowned worldwide renown for its top diving spots and abundance of marine life year-round. It’s nearly impossible to have a boring dive while drifting to the colorful reefs and dive sites, not depending on the different seasons in the Riviera Maya.
What catches travelers’ attention is not only the impressive reefs and coral structures you can find here while diving but also the unique opportunity of diving in Cenotes when visiting the Yucatan Peninsula.
So let’s get into answering when is the best time to visit the Riviera Maya for diving:
When’s The Best Time For Ocean Diving in The Riviera Maya
Mexicos Southeast has different seasons, which affect the quality, visibility, and conditions of our local reefs in Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Akumal, and other places along the coast. But don’t be worried, every season has its pros to come diving in the Riviera Maya.
Optimal Months for Ocean Diving
High Season: December to April
Packing the whole coastline with visitors from all over the world, the months between December and the beginning of April are the absolute high season for tourism in the Riviera Maya.
If you’re planning to visit during these months, it’s highly recommended to book your flights, activities, and accommodations well ahead of time, as there won’t be much availability on either when coming for a spontaneous trip, and the cost is highly elevated due to high demand and limited supply.
Shoulder Season: May to August
Just after April, tourism slows down notably with many visitors and half-time residents leaving to escape the first rains and higher temperatures after the winter season of the year. This is what we call the ‘diving season’.
Many visitors who come to scuba dive in the ocean choose these months, as conditions are usually great with just a few days of stronger winds and easy rainfall affecting the shallower dive spots near the coast. This season is known in the local community to be the best time for Cenote diving in the Riviera Maya.
Accommodation, car rental, and activity costs decrease during these months too, and flights are usually a bit cheaper depending on where you visit from.
Low Season: September to November
After August the Riviera Maya is experiencing its lowest season of the year, lasting from September to mid-end of November. During these months accommodations are much cheaper, you can book most activities up to a day prior and conditions are often affected by rains, strong winds, or even storms and hurricanes.
The visibility in the ocean in shallow and sometimes deeper reefs becomes affected by swell and wind, sand and sediment percolation in the water, and currents tend to be strong along the coast and Cozumels wall-dives.
When’s The Best Time for Cenote Diving in The Riviera Maya
Diving in the Cenotes is a unique activity that lures many divers and is often found at the top of travelers’ bucket lists. One might think that conditions in Cenotes are affected by the years’ seasons, but actually, Cenotes have the same glass-clear visibility, temperature, and conditions year-round.
So the answer to “When is the best time for cenote diving in the Riviera Maya” is all year round.
Of course, taking all the other facts like hurricane season, accommodation availability, and ocean diving into account, most divers want to combine their Cenote dives with other activities when visiting the Riviera Maya, which might affect their choices of when is the best time to visit the Riviera Maya for diving trips.
Seasonal Marine Life Highlights in The Riviera Maya
Apart from the tourist high and low seasons, there are some marine life migration highlights that influence many visitors’ chosen dates for vacationing in the Riviera Maya.
Whale Shark Season
Every year a group of whale sharks migrate along the borders of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, giving us the unique opportunity to observe these gentle giants feeding on plankton and krill. Local tours offer snorkeling with the whale sharks throughout June until mid-September approximately, with the most sightings usually reported during the peak of the season in July and August.
Unfortunately, we can’t SCUBA dive with the whale sharks, as they’re usually found further off the coast in waters that reach hundreds of meters deep. Therefore we can only snorkel with them, but don’t be disappointed, snorkeling with the whale sharks is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interact and observe the largest fish on the planet and as they feed on krill and plankton on the surface, there’s no need to actually dive down to share some precious moments with these gentle giants.
Bull Shark Diving Season
The yearly bull shark migration along the coast of the Riviera Maya offers a great opportunity for shark-affine divers to visit and dive with these majestic marine animals. Bull shark season usually starts around mid-November and lasts until the beginning of March.
An impressive group of mostly female, pregnant bull sharks visit our local waters to spend their gestation period during these months and open up the possibility of diving with them just off the coast of Playa del Carmen.
Most divers wanting to experience this unique dive adventure choose to come during these months to join observation or attraction dives with the bull sharks in small groups with few divers and experienced guides.
You can learn more about the bull sharks and diving with them here!
Visit the Riviera Maya For Diving with DivePoint Mexico
Planning to travel the Caribbean coast of Mexico and visit the Riviera Maya for diving to create some underwater memories? DivePoint Mexico runs daily diving trips to the most impressive reefs around Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, as well as Cenote dives for any level of certified divers at different Cenotes from Cancun past Tulum!
Check out our all-inclusive trips or packages and get in touch to create a bespoke scuba diving package for your visit to the Riviera Maya.
