Scuba Playa Dive Shop

So first some background about me and my diving experience: I had been diving for approx. 9 years - but no more than once per year average. Open Water certification with fairly okay skill and experience level - but I wanted to improve and develop.

About them: PERFECT for me!! After our six dives with Scuba Playa, both my friend's and my skill level went from average to excellent. In fact, when we moved from Playa to Cozumel, I sailed through my Advanced Certification course - with my instructor telling me I was in his top 1% of students - which I attribute ENTIRELY to Jalel, Alberto, Carlos and Eric's incredible leadership, professionalism and focus on helping us improve, even though we were just there for recreational diving.

From the first moment we went in to Scuba Playa to make enquiries, Jalel put us completely at ease. He is knowledgeable, funny, friendly and professional. He enquired about our experience and interest, answered all our questions, and explained in detail what to expect from each dive.

Through Scuba Playa we were able to do two first-time dives: cave-diving (the cenotes) and night-diving. Carlos (cave-diving instructor) and Eric (night-dive instructor) were fantastic instructors and their pre-dive briefings were thorough and detailed so that we knew exactly what was expected of us, and how to deal with the unique situations.

Jalel and Alberto were our favourite instructors. They were both patient, friendly, smart, attentive, professional, knowledgeable and FUN. They expected us to be able to check our own gear on the boat, but took the time to go through everything with us and explain any corrections as well as tips and techniques. Their pre-dive briefings covered absolutely everything, from clarifying team hand signals, to gauging our comfort levels and describing what wildlife we should look for. The result was that we felt completely confident in ourselves and them, and were therefore able to have an amazing experience underwater. As mentioned above, I think my experience with them single-handedly took my skill level from fair to excellent.

All in all, Scuba Playa is an excellent establishment. Everyone is helpful, accommodating, professional and really fun. Although the diving in Cozumel is world-renowned, my friend and I both agreed that we would choose Playa again, not Cozumel, simply because of our experience with Scuba Playa.