If you’ve always dreamed of sinking mind, body and fins into the realm of the Maya underworld and the magical Caribbean Sea, getting your hiking boots in the dusty earth of ancient ruins and spending your down time sipping margaritas and watching sunsets in the trappings of luxury, Scuba Travel Ventures is now ready to bring that fantasy to life.
Scuba Travel Ventures, the dive travel leader, is offering an exclusive eight-dive-day, seven-night extravaganza in Riviera Maya, Mexico’s most popular dive destination. It’s an action-packed week worth of diving in cenotes (the mysterious, sunken sinkholes with crystal clear waters which the ancient Maya believed were gateways to the underworld); wreck and reef exploration; visits to pre-historic Maya ruins and even the mangrove-laden Siaan’ kaan biosphere, a UNESCO World Heritage Site near the village of Tulum.
No hablas espanol? No problemo. A bilingual guide is available 24-7. Concerned that while in Cancun you may not get to visit Cozumel? No worries. Scuba Travel Ventures has a day-long excursion included there. Airport transfers in Cancun? That’s covered, too.
Of course, luxury accommodations are provided for the duration. Moments after you land in Cancun, you’ll be ferried to the magnificent Hotel Playa Palms, with its extra comfy studios and suites, where a white sandy beach and the sights and sounds of downtown Playa del Carmen await. If you choose to stay in a premium studio, you’ll enjoy unobstructed ocean views and your own private terrace furnished with a hammock and dining set.
At a welcoming cocktail party on the night of your arrival, your STV hosts will brief you on all the particulars of your upcoming week’s worth of adventures. Your first three dive days include the fishy Mama Vina wreck, a turtle magnet site called Tortugas Gardens, and wall diving off Cozumel Island and Palancar Beach. All the boat rides to these sites, including the ones in Cozumel, take 35 minutes or less. After the Cozumel dives, you’ll be driven around the island in a stylish, old-school VW convertible to San Miguel town and other sites, arriving later that night back in Playa del Carmen.
On your fourth day, get ready for a truly mystical experience as you plunge into the sacred waters of the Maya at fresh water, stalactite and stalagmite-adorned cenotes, south of Playa del Carmen. Don’t have any cavern or cave dive experience? Don’t seat it, as none is needed to enjoy these natural wonders. After these dives, you’ll have plenty to talk about with your dive-mates over lunch in STV’s secret, beachside hidden paradise.
For those of you armchair ecologists, this trip also has something special for you, too. You’ll discover more ancient Maya wonders in a visit to the Siaan’ kaan biosphere, a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Tulum, a sleepy hamlet along the Riviera. The biosphere’s name alone — which in its English interpretation means, “where the sky is born,“ — is an enticing invitation to nature. Your boat will guide you into the tangle of mangroves where the ancient Maya hand-carved a complex canal system to foster a network of trade routes. After your two-hour tour, enjoy a dive on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, with a hearty post-dive lunch of ceviche to eat and ice cold cervezas to drink.
Your last full dive day on your Scuba Travel Ventures trip will be memorable for many reasons. You’ll connect with your inner archaeologist, Indiana Jones-style, as a specialized guide leads you through a thorough exploration of the Coba Maya ruins — one of the most important trading centers of the Maya world. Afterwards, you’ll dive Gran Cenote, a spectacular cavern dive with decorated chambers and air pockets with intriguing coral and seashell fossils.
On your off-gassing day before you head home, spend it luxuriating in your hotel or stocking up on souvenirs for your friends and family members. No doubt, you’ll have plenty of stories and adventures to regale them with — and suitcase full of experiences that will be yours and yours alone.
Call Scuba Travel Ventures today at (800) 298-9009 to speak with a friendly and knowledgeable dive travel professional, or visit www.scubatravelventures.com to learn more about this exclusive trip of a lifetime that has your name written all over it.
