Manchones
The classic first reef: shallow, usually calm, with turtles, grunts and a bronze cross on the sand.
Illustrative aerial view
Scuba Diving Cancun: Dive-Site Field Guide
Scuba diving in Cancun is mostly shallow, sunny reef diving inside a national marine park, with a few deeper wrecks and fast drift dives for experienced divers. This free, independent guide takes the area one dive site at a time: how deep each one is, what the current usually does, what lives there and who it suits, so you can tell a dive shop which sites you want rather than taking whatever is on the board.
Dive Site Map
The dive sites cluster in three areas: Bahía de Mujeres between Cancun and Isla Mujeres, the open-sea side of the hotel zone down to Punta Nizuc, and the reef park at Puerto Morelos to the south. Click a pin or a name to open that site's field guide.
- Manchones ReefShallow reef with the Cross of the Bay and MUSA sculptures. 8–12 m.
- Isla Mujeres dive sitesMedia Luna, La Bandera, Cuevones, El Farito and small wrecks.
- Cave of the Sleeping SharksCaves made famous by resting reef sharks in the 1970s. About 18–20 m.
- Punta Sur drift diveFast current off Isla Mujeres' southern tip. Experienced divers.
- Ultrafreeze wreckA broken freighter of about 60 m, roughly 25–33 m deep. Advanced.
- Punta Cancun reefsChitales, El Bajito, Santo Remedio and Punta Cancun. 5–16 m.
- Punta Nizuc ReefThe southern tip of the hotel zone and the park. Shallow.
- Puerto Morelos dive sitesA separate reef park about 35 km south, plus the C-56 wreck.
Featured Dive Sites
Punta Cancun
A string of reefs off the hotel zone's north end, from the very shallow El Bajito to the deeper Punta Cancun reef.
Punta Nizuc
The reef at the southern tip of the hotel zone, shallow and sheltered, popular with snorkellers and new divers.
Isla Mujeres
Ledges, arches and quieter reefs around the island, from the calm west side to the current on the east.
Sleeping Sharks
The caves where resting reef sharks were filmed in the 1970s. A piece of diving history; sharks are now uncommon.
Ultrafreeze
A refrigerated freighter nicknamed El Frío, now broken into sections in cooler, deeper water.
Marine Life of Cancun and Isla Mujeres
These reefs sit at the northern end of the Mesoamerican Reef, and they carry typical Caribbean life: turtles on almost every dive, rays on the sand, nurse sharks under the ledges and big schools of grunts and snappers. Our Cancun marine life guide covers what to look for and when.
Sea turtles
Green and hawksbill turtles feed on the reefs and seagrass and are seen on most shallow dives.
Eagle rays
Spotted eagle rays pass the sand channels, and gather around the deeper wrecks in winter.
Grunts and snappers
Big yellow schools hang beside coral heads and under ledges on almost every reef here.
Nurse sharks
Calm bottom-dwellers that may rest under overhangs by day. Give them space and they ignore you.
How scuba diving in Cancun works
Almost all diving here is by boat. Shops in the hotel zone, downtown Cancun and on Isla Mujeres run two-tank trips most mornings, usually a first dive on a slightly deeper site and a second on a shallow reef. Boat rides are short: most of the reefs in Bahía de Mujeres are 10 to 30 minutes from the dock. Puerto Morelos is a separate trip with its own shops, about 35 km south of the hotel zone.
The water between Cancun and Isla Mujeres, including Punta Cancun and Punta Nizuc, is a federal protected area: the Parque Nacional Costa Occidental de Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún y Punta Nizuc, created in 1996 and covering about 8,670 hectares. That brings rules divers should know. You dive with a licensed operator and a guide, you pay a park fee (usually collected by the shop), gloves and touching are out, and the park restricts sunscreen in the water, so many divers wear a rash guard or wetsuit instead. Fees and rules change, so check the current ones with your operator.
Depth is the main thing that separates the sites. Most reefs here are 5 to 15 m deep, which means long dives, bright colour and easy conditions for new divers. The wrecks and the Cave of the Sleeping Sharks are deeper, and the sites on the open-sea side can have strong current. Our guides to Cancun dive sites for beginners and Cancun drift diving explain which is which.
Water, visibility and seasons
Water temperature stays warm all year, roughly 26–29 °C (79–84 °F), a little cooler in winter. Most divers use a 3 mm wetsuit or a shorty. Visibility on the shallow reefs is often 10 to 20 m and can be more on the outer sites, but wind and waves stir up the bay. Winter cold fronts, called nortes, can close the port for a day or two between November and March, and the Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November. Plan a spare day if a particular site matters to you.
Some of the area's best-known animals are seasonal. Eagle rays gather around the wrecks in winter, turtles nest on the beaches in summer, and whale sharks arrive off Isla Mujeres from about mid-May to mid-September, although they are a snorkelling trip only, not a dive.
About this guide
Scuba Diving Cancun is an independent guide. It is not a dive shop, takes no bookings and sells no dives. Depths, conditions and names come from published operator descriptions and park sources, and they vary: one shop's "Cuevones" is another shop's "La Bandera", and depths are given as ranges because each site covers a lot of ground. Always follow your guide's briefing on the day.
Plan your dives
Pick two or three sites that match your experience before you call a dive shop. New or rusty divers: start with Manchones and the Punta Cancun reefs. Experienced divers: ask about the Ultrafreeze, the Punta Sur drift and the Cave of the Sleeping Sharks. Want a quieter day? Head south to the Puerto Morelos dive sites.
Start with the beginner sites