
Playa del Carmen offers many options for new and seasoned divers alike. Located in the Riviera Maya between Cancun and Tulum, its reefs are part of the Mesoamerican barrier reef. With many different reef options, there are lots of aquatic adventures to experience for everyone.
Playa del Carmen’s reefs range from fairly shallow (7-12 meters depth) to deeper ones (25-35 meters depth).
You’ll choose from closer reefs like Jardines, La Cueva del Pargo, or Moc Che, or dive in some of the southern reefs. Here you can find the Mama Viña Wreck, Sabalos, Barracudas Reef, or Tortugas in Playa del Carmen.
Today we’ll talk about the latter, a beautiful and huge drift dive named Tortugas. Read on to learn about everything you need to know before visiting this impressive dive site!
Diving at Tortugas In Playa del Carmen
If you’re looking for abundant marine life, coral gardens, and a unique reef to visit, this may be your best bet. Tortugas in Spanish translates to turtles reef, and guess what – you may find some marine turtles while diving here!
The boat drive to Tortugas in Playa del Carmen takes around 15 minutes. We board the boat at Coco-Beach in Playa del Carmen and head towards the south. Upon arriving at the dive site, you’ll get ready to jump in the blue, Caribbean waters and descend to your dive. Be ready to descend, as the current here can get quite moderate sometimes.
Tortugas in Playa del Carmen is a huge reef. It covers depths from 13-35 meters and one feels they can dive here forever. The conformation of this reef allows open water divers to stay within their comfortable depth range, as well as more advanced divers to dive a little deeper without losing out on any marine life.
Quick Info
Location
Tortugas Reef is located some 15 minutes south of Playa del Carmen with the boat. It covers a big area of about 1 square kilometer and is close to Mama Viña Wreck and Barracuda Reef.
Dive Time
The dive time at Tortugas in Playa del Carmen depends on your diving depth and air consumption. On average our dives here last 40-60 minutes. You can also increase your dive time by starting this dive in a deeper spot and slowly swimming up to the shallower areas before ending your dive.
Dive Site Conformation
Tortugas Reef in Playa is a flat reef, more like a coral garden. It stretches over a huge surface ranging from about 13 meters in depth sloping down to around 35 meters. Typical for this reef are the huge barrel sponges all over. Lots of coral and other sponges become shelters for schools of fish and other marine species living in Tortugas Reef.
Requirements
To dive at Tortugas dive site you have to be an open water diver due to the current usually present during this dive. It’s not a typical training dive site for beginner courses, as your buoyancy has to be somewhat under control to enjoy the dive here. But often parts of the advanced open water diver, drift diver, or deep diver are taught here.
What to Expect From A Dive At Tortugas in Playa del Carmen
As part of the Mesoamerican barrier reef, all dive sites in Playa del Carmen feature a bunch of marine life. Tortugas Reef is no exception to this. Apart from the aforementioned barrel sponges and coral gardens, you can find lots of marine species while drifting along this unique reef.
Usually, this will be the first site of two dives. Upon arriving at the dive site and entering the more-often-than-not crystal-clear water, you’ll descend to your dive depth and find yourself drifting over an endless-seeming coral jungle. Staying close to your dive guide will help you spot the lots of species that can be found here.
Marine Life
Often you can find different schools of Caribbean reef fish, like French grunts or Atlantic spadefish. Also, you may spot a huge, greenish moray eel – they’re known to be around! There are other types of moray eels too, but they’re much smaller.
You may find a lobster hiding between reef structures or under small crevices, so keep your eyes open. Often you’ll encounter a southern stingray, some turtles, and maybe even a nurse shark.
When diving at Tortugas in Playa del Carmen during the bull shark season, you might as well find one of these gentle giants passing by. Often barracudas are found motionlessly in the current waiting for some potential prey to pass by.
There’s a very slight chance to see a Marlin hunting his next meal.
If you’re keen on some macro-life, you won’t be disappointed at Tortugas Reef either. You can find many smaller species here, like flamingo tongue snails, cleaner shrimps, arrow crabs, drumfish, Christmas tree worms, and others.
Reefs to Combine A Dive At Tortugas With
Usually, this is the first of two dives, but it can also be a second dive site when you choose to dive Mama Viña Wreck. It’s only available for advanced divers due to its maximum depth, but it’s worth a visit. We talk about this old shrimp boat sunken off Playa del Carmen’s coast in detail on our blog page!
Otherwise, a dive at Tortugas Reef is often combined with a second one at either Sabalos or Barracuda Reefs in Playa del Carmen. Another option is to dive Jardines as a second dive after Tortugas in Playa del Carmen. All of the reef options are unique and different dives, with a bunch of marine life and rather shallower dives. That makes them perfect for a second dive.
SCUBA Dive in Playa del Carmen with Blue Life Diving
There are many reefs, options, and operators when it comes to diving in Playa del Carmen. At Blue Life, we provide you with highly trained professional dive guides that are experienced & knowledgeable about the local reefs. Also, we only work with fully licensed boat partners and high-quality rental equipment for your dives. Our first priority is the safety of all participants.
We offer daily ocean diving trips to the best reefs in Playa del Carmen, Cozumel Islands Marine Park, and the most impressive Cenotes. Get in touch with us for more information about daily trips. If you want to dive for several days, let us create a tailor-made multi-day diving package. Enjoy your vacation and let us take care of the rest!