The Mexican Caribbean is a paradise for scuba diving, one of the world's mecca of this exciting sport. One of the luxuries is bathing in open water and living the adventure of diving with the bull shark.

I have had the luck of dive with this solemn animal in Riviera Maya, a colossal experience that I will not forget in my life. That day I did not know that we were going to dive with him bull shark. We were a group of friends, mostly beginners, to do a couple of dives. The instructor, also a friend of the group, decided to take us to Turtles, a diving point of 16 to 25 meters in a reef where many turtles are usually seen. Depending on whether he saw us diving, he would take us to the bull shark or not, and no one knew that. So 10 minutes before I found out that we were heading towards the bull.

Adrenaline rush and very expectant of what awaited us, without time to think more, in 15 minutes I was diving in front of the colossus animal. I was lucky to go with Fausto and other good friends to meet one of the great inhabitants of these waters. I was expecting one of the most wonderful memories of my life.

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Diving with the bull shark in Riviera Maya

All dive centers in Cancun and Riviera Maya sell diving with the bull shark. But you have to know that the activity takes place off the coast of Playa del Carmen. In fact it happens very close to the beach in Playa del Carmen, not more than 500 meters. The amount of marine life that runs through and inhabits this Caribbean Sea is amazing.

Playa del Carmen is one of the most powerful diving destinations. Other options would be to stay in Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Cozumel or Tulum. Playa del Carmen is really in the middle of everything, that's why it is a point that we like to develop the diving activity.

What destinations do we recommend in the Mexican Caribbean for diving

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What is the activity of diving with the bull shark in open water

After descending between 20 and 25 meters on a large sandy area where this is located bull shark colony, we fell on our knees on the terrace waiting for the moment to see them. They did not take long to arrive.

The moment of the meeting and having that animal piece swimming in front of you is colossal, adrenaline is little. The initial nerves as we descended were strangely transformed into incredible peace and excitement with the bulls around us. The group of divers always with their knees down, the instructors calmly protecting the group and the sharks surrounding the group with their impenetrable gaze.

These bull sharks are usually females in gestation period, so they pass the season from November to March in the Caribbean, when the temperature is colder. The curiosity takes them to the divers, in the end we are strangers entering their habitat, they come to see us.

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Many divers come to try the delights of diving in the caribbean sea. Diving with the bull shark in open water is undoubtedly one of the most appetizing candies, a luxury to always remember.

I will not forget the image of the sharks at the bottom of the sandbank spinning while we decompensated before reaching the surface. When I got back on the boat I came out crying with excitement.

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With which diving centers to hire the bull shark in Playa del Carmen

There are diving agencies that are feeding these animals so that they are closer to the diving tourist and get better sensations and photos. In our way of understanding and from what we have learned, it is an erroneous activity that substantially alters animal behavior.

Human greed for life has no end, and we do not realize how much we can modify the environment. Those who understand marine fauna point out that the equation that the bull shark learns by associating food with humans is a bad idea, a bad thing. Feeding wild animals is not a formula shared by everyone, you can change their habits in a dangerous way.

Diving with the bull shark in Riviera Maya

If you are going to do this dive, ask your center if they feed the bull shark. If you are of this mind, the best way is not to participate in these types of activities.

I was lucky enough to dive the bull shark with Vicente Fito from Diving Center Beach, I recommend them totally, with them pure delicatessen.

Good diving,

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Sandra Salvadó Training photographer, traveler by vocation and certified tourism guide by the Government of Mexico. We promote natural wonders and contemporary Mayan culture. Great fan of pre-Hispanic history. Author of the blog and co-founder of The Shortest Path Travel, agency that guides you through alternative paths in Mayan lands. Social and sustainable tourism in the Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas.
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