Cave diving courses and technical diving on open circuit, Playa del Carmen
Cave diving courses in Mexico, technical courses and guided cave diving in the Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen or Puerto Aventuras area. Alexander Vronsky, IANTD and IDF Instructor Trainer, teaches all cave and technical courses. The standard is competence in the cave, and you get the certification when you meet it.
Included: professional Advanced Technical Dual CCR Cave Diving instructor, hotel pickup and drop-off in Playa del Carmen, doubles or sidemount tanks with EAN32, weights, and the final examination. Not included: Students must bring their own tech/cave level diving gear (requirements will be provided) or rent it, Additional sets of Doubles or Sidemount tanks with EAN32, Stages, Drysuit tanks, Sofnolime, Oxygen, Trimix or Argon fills for both students and Instructor / DPV rental for students and Instructor / Cenote entry fee / Any Rental equipment will be charged accordingly, Foto/Video service, Diving insurance, Camera fee (depend on Cenote policy), Fuel or boat surcharges for remote locations out of Playa del Carmen and Puerto Aventuras areas (as per student request), eLearning materials or/and printed manuals, Certification fee ($60 per card), Tips for instructor.
Technical and cave diving courses in Mexico: days, dives and rates
| Course | Days | Dives | Per day | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fundamental technical skills development | ||||
| Intro to Tech / Essentials / Basic Nitrox Diver | 3 | 6 | $298 / $348 | up to 40% O2 |
| Technical DPV Diver | 4 | 7 | $348 / $398 | |
| Technical diving courses | ||||
| Technical / Advanced Nitrox / Advanced Recreational Trimix Diver | 4 | 8 | $298 / $348 | 51 m / 21-100% O2 |
| Normoxic Trimix / Normoxic Trimix Plus Diver | 4 | 4 | $348 / $398 | 75 m / not less than 16% O2 |
| Trimix Diver | 4 | 4 | $348 / $398 | 100 m / any O2 and Trimix mixes |
| Overhead technical diving courses | ||||
| Cavern / Intro to Cave Diver | 4 | 8 | $298 / $348 | |
| Tech Cave / Full Cave / Adv Cave Multistage Diver | 5 | 10 | $298 / $348 | with Normoxic Trimix: 6 days |
| Tech Cave / Adv Cave Multistage Diver upgrade | 2 | 4 | $348 / $398 | from Full Cave |
| Advanced Cave Sidemount / Nomount Diver | 3 | 3 | $348 / $398 | |
| Advanced Cave Survey Diver | 2 | 4 | $348 / $398 | |
| Advanced Cave DPV Diver | 4 | 4 | $348 / $398 |
Per training day: group of two or more / individual.
Each course page keeps its structure: why take it, who it is for, what you will learn, prerequisites, duration and dives, what is included, equipment list.
Cave diving certification: levels, days and cost
Cave diving certification comes in steps, and each step is one of the cave diving courses in Mexico listed above, with its own days, dives and rate per training day. The rate is for a group of two or more; an individual student pays the individual rate. The certification fee is $60 per card. Doubles or sidemount tanks with EAN32 are included in the price of every course.
- Cavern / Intro to Cave Diver: the first cave certification, 4 days, 8 dives, $298 per training day, $348 individually.
- Tech Cave / Cave / Full Cave and Advanced Cave Multistage Diver: the cave certification with stages, 5 days, 10 cave dives, $298 per training day, $348 individually.
- Advanced Cave Multistage upgrade for divers who hold Full Cave without Multistage: 2 days, 4 cave dives, $348 per training day, $398 individually.
- Advanced cave courses: Sidemount / No-Mount (3 days) and Survey (2 days) for Technical Cave divers, DPV (4 days) for Technical Multistage Cave divers; $348 per training day, $398 individually.
- Cave diving on a rebreather: CCR Cave, CCR Tech Cave and CCR Expedition Cave are in the Rebreathers section, $398 per training day.
The cave diving courses in Mexico follow the rules on cave training sites of CREER, the regional cave diving committee of Quintana Roo (Comité Regional de Espeleobuceo, Ecología y Regulación). The course pages carry the link to the rules.
Prerequisites, as on the course pages
- Cavern / Intro to Cave: AOWD and Nitrox, technical configuration and skills, minimum 30 logged dives
- Tech Cave / Full Cave / Adv Cave Multistage: Intro to Cave, minimum 25 cave dives; Advanced Nitrox for the technical endorsement
- Advanced Cave DPV: Advanced Technical Multistage Cave, Technical DPV skills, 50 cave dives
- Advanced Cave Sidemount / Nomount and Cave Survey: Technical Cave, 50 and 25 cave dives
- Trimix Diver: Technical Diver, Technical Cave or Normoxic Trimix, 200 dives
Equipment for Cavern / Intro to Cave
Sidemount or backmount doubles AL80 DIN with tech-level regulators (long hose). Drysuit with front zipper, 2 pockets and P-valve, or a 5-7 mm wetsuit for 3-4 hours a day; thin hood, 1 mm gloves; wing or sidemount BCD for 2 tanks; primary light (minimum 10 W HID), 2 backup lights; bottom timer or tec computer; wrist compass; Jet fins; mask plus backup mask; cutting device; 120 m penetration reel per team; 2 safety or jump spools; pigtail with 3 arrows and 8 cookies; wetnotes with pencil. Full lists for every course are on the course pages.
Season schedule
Apply individually or with your group and save the group price for one day of classes. Daily transfer from Playa del Carmen included.
| Course | Days | Starts |
|---|---|---|
| Technical Diver / Advanced Nitrox / ART | 4 | 17 Nov 2026, 2 Feb 2027 |
| Technical DPV | 4 | 24 Nov 2026, 9 Feb 2027 |
| Cavern / Intro to Cave | 4 | 1 Dec 2026, 16 Feb 2027 |
| Tech Cave / Full Cave / Advanced Cave Multistage / Normoxic Trimix | 6 | 8 Dec 2026, 23 Feb 2027 |
| Advanced Cave DPV | 4 | 15 Dec 2026, 2 Mar 2027 |
| Trimix | 4 | 22 Dec 2026, 9 Mar 2027 |
Guided cave diving
For certified cave divers, we offer Intro to Cave, Full Cave, Technical Cave, Multistage Cave and DPV Cave diving tours with our experienced cave guides and instructors. 1 Cave / 1 Full Cave or 2 Intro to Cave guided dives per day.
$228 per diver in a group of two to four divers staying at the same place
solo diver, individual booking $278
Puerto Aventuras, Chemuyil, Dos Ojos-Nohoch and Tulum caves areas. Included: professional Cave Diving instructor, hotel pickup and drop-off in Playa del Carmen, doubles or sidemount tanks with EAN32, and weights.
Not included: Additional sets of Doubles or Sidemount tanks with EAN32, Stages, Drysuit tanks, Sofnolime, Oxygen, Trimix or Argon fills for both students and Instructor / DPV rental for students and Instructor / Cenote entry fee / Any Rental equipment will be charged accordingly, Foto/Video service, Diving insurance, Camera fee (depend on Cenote policy), Tips for instructor.
Advanced days
We arrange Technical Cave, Multistage, Cave DPV and CCR Cave diving days individually by the dive profile, logistics, and the required surface and in-water support. Discounts and special prices for groups and dive centers on request.
Rebreather divers: CCR cave guiding is in the Rebreathers section.
Technical ocean diving on open circuit
1 dive per day for certified technical divers. The wall off Playa del Carmen is from the shore on a DPV, without a boat. Puerto Aventuras, Akumal and Cozumel are by boat. Open circuit to 100 m; below 100 m only on rebreathers. Hotel pickup and drop-off from Playa del Carmen, Marine park fee, Technical scuba instructor, Weights are included.
Reefs of Playa del Carmen
$179 per diver
Reefs of Puerto Aventuras
$189 per diver
Reefs of Akumal
$249 per diver
Reefs of Cozumel Island
$279 per diver, plus a one-time $498 equipment delivery
DPV by the rental list: $70 per day, spare battery $40. An additional surcharge for the boat and per DPV day will apply.