Still editing GoPro videos. Here's the first one.

GoPro Hero3+ at 1080 resolution, 60 fps. Backscatter 3.1 deep filter.

Depth at 70-80 feet. Off Playa del Carmen Bull Shark dive with Tank-Ha (dive shop)

They were circling pretty close at 6 minutes into the video.

Recommend you click on the settings wheel at the bottom right of player and set the quality to 780 or 1080 HD, as the visibility wasn't exceptional.

http://youtu.be/BSV6f3cmQ-M

here's two dives on the reefs off Playa del Carmen, diving with Tank-Ha.

Visibility wasn't great, not too many large animals. Some neat formations, would have been nice if visibility was better.

Shot with GoPro Hero3+ at 1080 HD 60 fps. Recommend changing the Settings wheel at the bottom right of player to 1080 quality.

First dive was about 105 feet, using deep filter (backscatter flip 3.1). Second dive was about 30 feet and less, no filter used.

http://youtu.be/wiMgwffKarA

This is COZUMEL!!!!
 

This is Cozumel!!!

Tank-Ha is the only dive shop (that I found) out of Playa del Carmen that will go direct with their boat from the playa to Cozumel. Very fast boat! We went to this reef at the southern tip of Cozumel... few boats there, I assume because of the time it takes to get there. Lots of cool swim throughs and columns.

Deepest depth was about 113 feet with the bulk of the time at 90 feet.

I was going to take that sea turtle and nurse shark home... but then I thought... that's crazy, my wife will never let me get a bigger tank.

One of the last clip has a giant Goliath Grouper (previously called Jew Fish) and a giant Parrot fish. Notice how far off they are (incredible visibility)

Click on the settings wheel and change the quality to 1080 HD.
http://youtu.be/Li0Y4WMJOmI

apparently the music by the Talking Heads "Once in a Lifetime" kept this from being played. Usually YouTube let's it go if you simply acknowledge the third party content. So here's the new link with a change in tunes... to ZBB!

http://youtu.be/Llml0Jo2MjU

here's another cozumel dive

http://youtu.be/67l9BtEQYS0

here's all sea turtles right off the beach at Akumal, snorkeling with my nephews

http://youtu.be/4bSNwr7t5s4

Well i was lucky enough to stumble onto this post!
I haven't been to Playa del Carmen for some years-around 12 to be exact.:sad:
A buddy and myself traveled there for many trips usually in november at the tail end the hurricane season. We always stayed at one of Playa's original divers hotels(Hotel Treetops), which i think is no longer there after the big hurricane years back. It was one block from the beach, one block to Tank-Ha, and directly across from Dive Mikes shop at 5th an 8th.
We logged many trips with both shops and found them both to be very safe, professional, and affordable outfits.

It's very sad to hear that Playa's local reefs have been damaged or completely died off.There use to be two really great reefs, one in Playa at Coco beach, which i believe now has a large resort facing that reef. The other reef was at Paamul beach which is in between Playa and Akumal. Both of these two reefs were filled with amazing life the last time i was there!(2002).
Both reefs were thriving with hundreds of varieties of fish and coral, from large angels, schools of powder blues, damsels, sea turtles, sponges, montipori, gorgonian, acropora, to urchins and lobster. We would swim out about 1000m to both of these local reefs with a float bag with water and food, complete with snorkel gear we would spend three or four hours before beaching ourselves for a rest. The life on these reefs was simply amazing and its hard in some ways to believe that they are now no longer. The last time there we did notice however that at both reefs instead of having a single anchor point, there were many more submerged anchor points and also anchor damage was effecting the reef as well. I'm sure the storms have taken there toll on these shallow reefs as well.

I will be taking my mother for a much needed break to either Tulum or Akumal in May, so if anyone knows of some local reefs to snorkel at, further down the coast this info would be greatly appreciated.:biggrin:

There is lots of good diving in Akumal still and the snorkeling is not bad in Half Moon Bay. Consider renting a condo on Half Moon Bay. There is also a small hotel. Check out LocoGringo.com for lots of good info.

Thanks Treebeard
Im looking at akumal and also tulum, and no diving on this trip, prefer a smaller resort with 200 or less rooms.

my last trip was so terrible... I decided to rope my wife into going back with me at the end of March. This time I'm staying at Akumal Beach Resort. It doesn't look fancy, but last time I was in Akumal Bay.... I really liked how quaint it was with the amazing snorkelling right off the beach (within a 45 min snorkel, encountered 6 sea turtles, pod of cuttlefish, 3 or 4 stingrays, 1 eagle ray). All we care about is beach time and snorkel time. I'll try out the (only) dive shop in Akumal on a dive or two. This was actually a last minute decision to squeeze into a trip to a friend's wedding in Florida. Ha! Headed to Florida by way of Akumal! Really, who needs to hang out among all the wedding drama in the week ahead anyway?

Thanks for the info reef geek, its a real toss between akumal an tulum but akumal beach resort is looking really good the last few days!

Went there in beginning of Dec, about same time as Reef Geek. Was very disappointed with the snorkeling. Lots of turtles, but not much for corals, and seas were rough. Stayed at the Grande Bahia, and corals there just off the beach were mostly dead skeletons and branch rubble. I think all the sediment from the resort and beach area development probably killed them.

Guess, I've been spoiled by Maui, which is where we usually go. Great snorkeling everywhere there.

yeah, there wasn't much in terms of reefs for snorkeling. When I was there in Dec, the best diving was in cozumel. Lots of good stuff, especially the deeper dives 80-100ft, but my wife doesn't dive so in March we'll settle for sea turtles... she's got a thing for them (she did a volunteer stint for Pretoma in Costa Rica, see http://www.pretoma.org/).

Here's my video from my favourite dive (Cozumel) from December.

http://youtu.be/Llml0Jo2MjU

Here's my video from snorkeling off Akumal with sea turtles... it's just sea grass beds there mostly, and some reef remnants. It's the sea grass bed that attracts the turtles.

http://youtu.be/4bSNwr7t5s4

Just came back from staying at Akumal Beach Resort. (resort is only 3 stars... but beach and location... 6 out of 5!)

Great snorkeling right off the beach there. Reefs start 30 feet from front of the resort, sea grass bed just a few hundred yards to the north where sea turtles and sting rays graze (yes, I know rays aren't herbivores). I'm guessing that from the beach to about a km out is the reef flat and the fore reef is just beyond the breakers (best reached by boat).

Here's some photos with just my Canon point-n-shoot in an Ikelite housing.

https://scontent-a-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/...75592645_n.jpg

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Co-op hunting:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...13816213_n.jpg

With such great snorkeling that I could do with the wife, I only snuck off for one dive with Akumal Dive Center (about a 4 minute walk down the beach to shop) for a cave dive in the "Taj Mahal Cenote"

Here's a video with my GoPro
http://youtu.be/_HeqGUIgs_c

There's bats at 3:16 in the video. Be sure to click on the wheel at the bottom right of the player to set resolution to 1080p for HD.

http://www.aluxdiver.com/cenotes-riv...8/TAJMA_HA.jpg