Cave diving in the cenotes of the Riviera Maya
Safe, personalized cavern and cave training, guided cave dives, CCR and technical programs in the most decorated caves on Earth.
Cave training born in the Riviera Maya
Founded by Alessandra Figari, Cave Training Mexico takes recreational, technical and CCR divers into the cenotes, from the first cavern dive to full cave and instructor level.
TDITechnical DivingInternational
Three ways into the underwater world
Cavern & cave guiding
Open water certified? Dive the cavern zone with a guide. Cave certified? Explore our highly decorated caves.
Discover the tours
Cave courses
From Cavern Diver to Full Cave. Classes start every day or week, depending on what you need.
See the courses
CCR & TEK
CCR and technical programs on Poseidon MKVI and Evolution rebreathers.
CCR programs
From the cavern zone to full cave
Three levels, each one building on the skills of the previous one.
Cavern Diver
Your introduction to the overhead environment, always within sight of daylight.
02Requires Cavern DiverIntro to Cave
Out of the cavern zone and into the cave. Combine it with Cavern Diver in 4–5 days.
03Requires Intro to Cave · 18+Full Cave
Advanced cave dive planning and skill perfection through real cave penetration.
See where you'll be diving
Crystal-clear water, sunbeams cutting through the cavern and passages decorated by thousands of years of stalactites and columns.
Our underwater playground
From Puerto Morelos to Tulum, jungle sinkholes open onto the longest underwater cave systems in the world.
Where the jungle opens into the caves
Every cenote is a doorway. Behind it, kilometres of flooded passages decorated with stalactites, columns and white limestone.
Everything for your dive trip
- Cavern to Full Cave certifications (TDI, IDF, IANTD)
- CCR certifications (TDI, IDF, IANTD, PADI)
- Cenote diving tours, from single divers to groups
- Customized cenote snorkel trips
- Open water diving and training
- Expeditions to ruins
- Gear and equipment
- Instructor training
- Information on hotels and restaurants
From Puerto Morelos down to Tulum
Dozens of cenotes along the coast of the Riviera Maya, each one a different world below the jungle.
News from the dive center
Recreational, technical and CCR
We take care of recreational, technical and CCR divers and training.
More caverns to dive
New sites from Puerto Morelos down to Tulum.
Cave diving for certified divers
Safe and personalized guided cave diving is also available for certified cave divers.
Promotions
Ask for our current promotions at cavetrainingmexico@gmail.com
Swim your heart away
At Cave Training Mexico, we know about the amazing connection that happens when you go underwater and explore a whole new world. Let us guide you on that journey.
Our staff of certified SCUBA instructors will help you move from novice to advanced skills, keeping you safe all along the way.
Our story
Founded in 2001 by Alessandra Figari, Cave Training Mexico is the result of one amazing adventure that started off the coast of the Riviera Maya.
Let us help you discover the beauty of the cenotes and their mystery. From classes and excursions to special events hosted by our experts, we're here to connect you with the underwater world.
Never been in the cenotes? Don't worry. Alessandra Figari and Peter Broger work with new divers and swimmers, and with clients of all ages. We've taken families on full snorkel trips across the Riviera Maya, and helped couples get SCUBA certified before diving the cenotes with us. Let us help you prepare for an adventure like no other.
The people who take you underwater
Alessandra Figari
One of our first SCUBA trainers, Alessandra has extensive experience teaching everyone from beginner divers to cave, tec and CCR divers and instructors. The caves have always had a special call to her.
Peter Broger
He started out as a freelancer and is now one of our instructors. He specializes in CCR programs, as well as any diving activity that keeps him enjoying bubbles.
Other staff members
A group of instructors trained by us, who help out when we have extra work or big groups visiting.
Twenty-five years in the cenotes
Guiding and training divers in the cave systems of the Riviera Maya, from Puerto Morelos down to Tulum.
Outfitted to help you make a splash
- Transport: Toyota Tacoma with A/C
- Dive gear: SEAC, Dive Rite, Dive System and Apex
- Tanks: 80 cf and 40 cf AL tanks, CCR aluminium and steel tanks, scrubber and O2
- Rebreathers: Poseidon MKVI CCR and Evolution CCR
Cavern to cave
Complete your scuba experience in Mexico with a cenote cavern tour if you are open water certified, or a cave tour in our pristine caves if you are cave certified.
Both programs are among the most spectacular and unforgettable experiences you will ever have while diving.
Visibility is around 200 ft / 60 m: you will feel like you are floating in the air, surrounded by rock formations (stalactites, stalagmites, columns) immersed in the water.
If you are already a certified cave diver, we will take you into our highly decorated caves, probably second only to the Abaco caves. With shallow depth and no current, we can plan long dives with no decompression.
Because our caves are fairly shallow and have many different passages, we usually plan one stage cave dive or two cave dives in a day in the same cave system.
Cavern to cave / Cavern guiding
Cenote & cavern diving
Have you ever dived somewhere so clear you feel like you are floating in the air? Isn't that amazing?
Diving the cenotes and caverns of Mexico, you will see rock formations (stalactites, stalagmites, columns) millions of years old, immersed in clear water in the middle of the jungle. How many people can say they have done this? You can, and you can tell your friends all about it.
Cenote and cavern diving is open to open water divers with good buoyancy control. You will use normal recreational gear, while your guide uses double tanks to provide extra air if ever needed.
Water temperature is around 75 °F / 25 °C, so we suggest at least a 3 mm full-length wetsuit. Each guide takes a maximum of 4 divers, making a team of 5. Our guides are highly trained and know the caverns of this area very well.
You will get a briefing on the cavern formations and how they came to exist, and an in-depth briefing on proper cenote and cavern diving techniques. In the water, your buoyancy, air pressure, lights and equipment will be checked.
The cavern zone is an overhead environment where natural sunlight is always visible. Maximum penetration is 200 ft / 60 m, maximum depth 70 ft / 21 m, minimum visibility 50 ft / 15 m. There are no restrictions, and all dives follow the rule of thirds.
Cavern to cave / Cave guiding
Guided cave diving
For all divers certified from Intro to Cave to Full Cave. Penetration depends on the certification level of the divers.
Bottom time is based on the rule of thirds for gas consumption. Maximum 3 divers per cave guide.
The Yucatán Peninsula may hold the largest underwater cave systems in the world, with a huge variety of dives: from delicate formations and white walls to dark tunnels, from crystal-clear water to haloclines and green water stained by tannic acid.
The Mexican cave systems are extremely complex. Mainlines are often hidden from the open water, and many passages are hidden away from the mainline. A guide optimizes your time by showing you the most interesting lines and the most recently discovered cenotes. Some cave systems can only be dived with a local guide.
Our caves are famous worldwide for
Courses
Certifications from Cavern to Full Cave with TDI, IDF and IANTD. Classes start every day or week, depending on what you need.
Cavern Diver
The starting point: dive safely in the cavern zone, with the exit always in sight.
Course detailsIntro to Cave
The first level of cave training. Combine it with Cavern Diver for 4–5 days of training.
Course details
Full Cave
Advanced cave dive planning and execution across different cave systems.
Course detailsPrerequisites and limits
| Course | Prerequisites | Gas & penetration | Tanks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cavern Diver | Advanced Open Water | No deco, exit always visible | Single or doubles |
| Intro to Cave | AOW + Cavern Diver | Max 1/6 of doubles | Doubles (backmount or sidemount) |
| Full Cave | Intro to Cave, age 18+ | Rule of thirds, max 40 m | Cave configuration |
The Cavern Diver course is open to all certified divers who want to enjoy the cavern zone of the cave, and to those starting out with the goal of reaching the Full Cave level.
During the course we teach you new techniques to safely enjoy the cavern zone. Beyond diving the cavern area, by the end of the course you will have developed ideas and techniques you can apply to other diving environments.
Courses / Level 02
Intro to Cave
The first level of cave diver training: out of the cavern zone and into the cave.
This course can be combined with the Cavern Diver course for four to five days of training and a great learning experience.
Once you have mastered the exercises required at this level, the skills you learn will let you safely enter the cave zone.
Courses / Level 03
Full Cave Diver
The third stage of the cave diver development program: advanced planning and real cave penetration.
You will be trained in advanced cave dive planning and in the practical execution of dives in different types of cave systems and scenarios you may encounter as a cave diver.
The course expands and critiques the skills you developed in the Cavern and Intro to Cave programs. The emphasis is on dive planning and skill perfection through actual cave penetration.
Open water execution
8 cave dives with a minimum accumulated bottom time of 240 minutes at 3 different sites. At least 1 site must be a location not used during the Cavern or Intro to Cave courses.
Divers entering the cave program without Cavern / Intro to Cave certification need 16 cave dives with 420 minutes of total bottom time, excluding decompression.
CCR & TEK
Recreational, technical and CCR training with certifications from TDI, IDF, IANTD and PADI.
Our CCR and TEK programs
Contact us for the full details of each program: prerequisites, duration and schedule.
Equipped for rebreather diving
- Poseidon MKVI CCR and Evolution CCR
- CCR aluminium and steel tanks, scrubber and O2
- Peter Broger, instructor specialized in CCR programs
- Alessandra Figari, teaching cave, tec and CCR divers and instructors
TDITechnical DivingInternational
Other activities
Snorkeling trips in the cenotes and the open sea, for families, friends and non-divers.
Cenote snorkeling & Tulum ruins
One day snorkeling in the cenote and visiting the Mayan ruins of Tulum.
Ask for detailsWhale shark snorkeling
Swim alongside whale sharks and mantas on a must-do tour off Cancún. Whale sharks arrive in our waters every year from early June to September.
After snorkeling, the tour continues to Isla Mujeres for a beachside lunch. Transport from Cancún and the Riviera Maya and the park permit are included in the price.
Ask for details
Talk to us
Tell us what you want to dive or learn. Write via the form or message us on WhatsApp.
Request info
- Contact
- Alessandra Figari
- Address
- Avenida CTM entre Avenida 25 y 20, Playa del Carmen, Q. Roo, Mexico
- Phone / WhatsApp
- +52 984 876 2139
- cavetrainingmexico@gmail.com
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