Puerto Aventuras is a resort town on the Riviera Maya coastline in the Mexican State of Quintana Roo that is nestled between Playa del Carmen (25km to the north) and Tulum (40km to the south), with the island of Cozumel just 25km across the waterway. 

Aside from great scuba diving just offshore and surrounding Cozumel, Puerto Aventuras is also known for its world-class golf course, marina, and deep-sea fishing opportunities. 

Puerto Aventuras is slightly off the beaten path of Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Akumal, and Tulum as far as diving goes. As a result, the dive operators in Puerto Aventuras are much smaller and more accustomed to taking out smaller groups of divers for trips. These trips normally go out to sections of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which runs along the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula and is the second-largest barrier reef system in the world. These sections of the reef system can be reached in just 5-10 minutes by boat, and consist of diverse landscapes such as deep canyons, crevasses, and tunnels. The mild current just offshore from Puerto Aventuras is suitable for beginner divers, though areas with heavier current can be easily accessed by boat as well. The dive shops and resorts in this area offer certification courses as well for those who are eager to learn how to breathe underwater during their vacation. 

While there is no bad time to visit Puerto Aventuras for your dive vacation, certain seasons are better than others for seeing specific types of marine fauna. For example, the cooler waters of the winter months (25-28ºC, or 78-82ºF) attract more pelagic species such as bull sharks. During the warmer months (May through September), Green and Loggerhead sea turtles arrive onshore to nest and lay their eggs on the beaches.

Puerto Aventuras offers diving opportunities for novice and experienced divers alike. Beginners should stick to shallow reef dive sites, which are found in the Inner and Middle Reef sections, and experienced divers can find greater depth and wall-diving at the Outer Reef section. The Mama Viña wreck dive is also an exciting spot for advanced divers. 

Puerto Aventuras is home to a whole host of marine species, ranging from reef-dwelling macro critters to pelagic megafauna. A common sight on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef are lobsters, crabs, groupers, angelfish, stingrays, eels, sergeant majors and various other colorful tropical fish. Many different types of sea turtles, such as Loggerhead, Green, and Hawksbill sea turtles, as well as eagle rays, like to hover around the reef’s edge. 

Playa del Carmen is known for being the final destination of annual bull shark migration, so occasional bull shark sightings farther offshore from Puerto Aventuras are not uncommon. 
 

Beautiful dive sites dot the section of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef that is closest to Puerto Aventuras. These sites can be divided into two sections: those in the north and those in the south. The northern sites, such as “Pedegral”, showcase macrofauna and fish more than the sites in the southern section do. “Pedegral” is a long reef dive that ends in a series of coral reef “islands”. The maximum depth at this site is 20m, and the current can be strong. Sea turtles and moray eels can be spotted here, and in the wintertime, you may see a bull shark. 

“Castillo Bajo” is also a shallow site, but with rocky formations as the main attraction, instead of coral reefs. Keep your eyes peeled for seahorses, they are small and camouflage well!

For deeper reef dives, head to the dive sites on Outer Reef, such as “Chan Yu Yum”. At this site, divers can follow along a deep slope that bottoms out at a maximum depth of 30m. The currents at this site are strong, so it is best not to get in the water unless you are an experienced diver. If you are able to travel a little farther to dive and want to go deeper, the Mama Viña wreck just off the coast of Xcaret is a good option.