Bull Sharks Diving Center in Playa Del Carmen
If you’re looking for a personalized scuba diving experience in Playa del Carmen Mexico, make sure to check out Bull Sharks Diving Center. This small dive shop has a central location in downtown Playa (Calle 2 Norte) and organizes group trips with an emphasis on marine conservation and coral reefs.
We had the pleasure of diving with Maria, one of the owners of Bull Sharks Diving who took me to see two of her favorite coral centric dive sites. Maria has a degree in marine biology and is very knowledgeable about the local marine life, and can even help you out with on land recommendation for finding the best restaurants, cenotes, and other local excursions.
The coral reef in Playa del Carmen is located only a few minutes from shore, which means a 5-10 minute boat ride out to the dive site. Both reefs we visited, Moc-Che and Shagra-La, where shallow sloping reefs between 8-14m deep.
Both dives have rocky outcroppings covered in flowing Gorgonian soft corals. At times there are small rock ledges and a nice rock archway full of fish at the end of the Moc-Che dive. Between the Gorgonians you can find all sort of smaller hard coral colonies, and I was even able to spot a few rare and unusual species.
The overall health of the hard coral species was so so. There seems to be lots of sedimentation, and some of the corals are suffering because of this. I found a few corals which were infected by a boring sponge, although the sponge didn’t seem to be affecting the health of the coral.
One of the more interesting corals I found was Madrasic pharensis, which is a darker encrusting coral with green blue polyps found under ledges and caves. I found the colony photo above under the Moc-Che archway. I also spotted some pretty mint colored Zoanthids, and pretty pink Porites divaricata hiding between Gorgonian soft corals.
For coral diversity and overall coral abundance, Shangra-La is hands down the best spot. The main reef has serval large colonies of Agaricia each with their own community of smaller fish and corals surrounding each cluster. Look up and in the distance to see large schools of fish.
Bull Sharks Diving only dives with small groups no more than four divers per professional. They offer PADI diving courses, from Discover Scuba Diving up to Advanced level. If you want to make a rescue diver or divemaster course make sure to contact them ahead of time to ensure they have the space to accommodate this request.
Double tank dives in Playa del Carmen start at $80 USD per person, double tank dive to the cenotes start at $130 USD. If you would like to be certified a Discover Scuba Diving course costs $120 USD and includes two dives. The Scuba Diver course cost $280 and the full Open Water course is $400.
Learn the difference between the PADI Scuba Diver and Open Water course.
I would highly recommend this dive shop for the personalized service, and relaxed experience. If you are new to diving, or even a seasoned professional, Maria will make sure to tailor the dive best suited to your needs. Avoid the crowd of larger dive shops and support this small friendly shop in Playa!
Bull Sharks Diving Center is located on Calle 2 Norte, close to the Cozumel ferry. To book your dive contact Maria at Bull Sharks Diving Center.
Full Price List: Bull-sharks-diving-center-playa-del-carmen-price-list-2018
