Field note ·
Cenote diving: the certification each cenote asks for
The CREER level, required card and depth for every cenote on our Tulum map, with the nearest stay to each one.
A cenote dive is an overhead dive. There is rock above you, not open water. Near Tulum, CREER, the regional cave diving committee, gives each dive cenote a level from 1 to 4. The level sets the card you need and the cenotes you must have dived first. Our map has 13 cenotes, grouped below by level, each with its depth and the closest stay we list.
Short version.
Level 1 (6 cenotes): Open water certification with a guide, minimum age 15 and recent diving beyond your course.
Level 2 (3 cenotes): Open water certification with a guide plus a previous dive in a Level 1 cenote.
Level 3 (3 cenotes): Advanced Open Water or equivalent required, plus previous dives in Level 1 and 2 cenotes, with a guide.
Level 4 (1 cenote): Advanced Open Water or equivalent plus previous dives in Level 1, 2 and 3 cenotes, with a guide.
Level 1: 6 cenotes
Dos Ojos
Cavern dive, CREER Level 1: open water certification with a guide, minimum age 15 and recent diving beyond your course. Two sinkholes joined by a decorated cavern; the Barbie Line (Level 1) runs past big stalactites and stalagmites at 8 to 10 m, and the Bat Cave Line (Level 2) surfaces in a dark air dome with roosting bats.
Casa Cenote (Cenote Manatí)
Cavern dive, CREER Level 1: open water certification with a guide, minimum age 15 and recent diving beyond your course. Open-air river cenote winding through mangroves just across the road from the sea at Tankah, 2 to 7 m deep, where fresh and salt water mix and sea turtles and juvenile barracuda turn up.
Car Wash (Aktun Ha)
Cavern dive, CREER Level 1: open water certification with a guide, minimum age 15 and recent diving beyond your course. Wide open pool with lily pads and aquatic plants that turns green with algae in the rainy season, leading into a spacious, decorated cavern with a halocline near 15 m, on the Coba road west of Tulum.
Kukulkan
Cavern dive, CREER Level 1: open water certification with a guide, minimum age 15 and recent diving beyond your course. In the same park as Chac Mool, about 25 minutes south of Playa del Carmen; stalactite galleries and columns to about 14 m, with light entering at several points along the line.
Chikin Ha
Cavern dive, CREER Level 1: open water certification with a guide, minimum age 15 and recent diving beyond your course. High-ceilinged cavern with stalactite curtains, soda straws and a pronounced halocline, max about 12 m; often paired with neighbouring Crystalino. CREER notes it closes Saturdays in low season.
Eden (Ponderosa)
Cavern dive, CREER Level 1: open water certification with a guide, minimum age 15 and recent diving beyond your course. Semi-open jungle cenote about 20 minutes south of Playa del Carmen with wide, well-lit cavern passages and a halocline, max about 12 m; good for mixed groups of divers and swimmers. CREER notes it closes Saturdays.
Level 2: 3 cenotes
Calavera (Temple of Doom)
Cavern dive, CREER Level 2: open water certification with a guide plus a previous dive in a Level 1 cenote. Three skull-like holes in the roof throw light columns into a dome cavern with a sandy bottom near 15 m; entry is by ladder or a jump through the main hole, just outside Tulum.
Chac Mool
Cavern dive, CREER Level 2 when entered via Little Brother: open water certification with a guide plus a previous Level 1 cenote dive. Two pools linked by a wide cavern with sunbeams through ceiling holes and a strong halocline at 8 to 10 m.
Tajma Ha
Rated CREER Level 2 (open water plus a previous Level 1 cenote dive, with a guide), but CREER currently marks cavern tours here as not recommended because sediment from a nearby excavation made the cavern line unsafe. Known for ornate formations such as the Sugar Bowl chamber, to about 15 m.
Level 3: 3 cenotes
The Pit (El Pit)
Deep cavern dive, CREER Level 3: Advanced Open Water or equivalent required, plus previous dives in Level 1 and 2 cenotes, with a guide. Open shaft inside Parque Dos Ojos with a halocline near 15 m and a hydrogen sulphide cloud around 30 m; midday sunbeams are strongest from about 11:00 to 13:00.
Nicte Ha
Deep cavern dive, CREER Level 3: Advanced Open Water or equivalent required, plus previous dives in Level 1 and 2 cenotes, with a guide. Descent through a lily pad garden into a decorated cavern to about 12 to 14 m; shallow water near the plants can be hazy with organic particles.
Angelita
Deep cavern dive, CREER Level 3: Advanced Open Water or equivalent required, plus previous dives in Level 1 and 2 cenotes, with a guide. Deep open cenote about 15 minutes south of Tulum; a thick hydrogen sulphide cloud at about 30 m looks like a river, with sunken trees poking up through it.
Level 4: 1 cenote
Dreamgate
Cavern dive, CREER Level 4 (expert): Advanced Open Water or equivalent plus previous dives in Level 1, 2 and 3 cenotes, with a guide. Very densely decorated cavern to about 13 m with a halocline near 10 m; formations sit close, so tight buoyancy control matters. CREER lists the cave zone as closed, cavern open.
Rules on every guided cavern dive
Cenotes are overhead dives: guided cavern only, cave beyond the light. Under the cenote diving rules published by CREER, the regional cave diving committee whose manual was written with local operator associations and the major cave training agencies, a guided cavern dive stays within natural light, within 60 m (200 ft) of the nearest surface point and no deeper than 30 m (100 ft), with at most 4 divers per guide (3 at Level 4 sites) and no dives starting after 4 pm. Going past the light zone is cave diving and needs a cave diver certification. Single-tank cavern diving is only allowed at designated cavern sites with a qualified local guide, even if you hold a cavern certification. Each cenote charges its own entrance fee, paid at the site: 200 to 500 pesos per diver at the main dive cenotes, plus a camera fee at many.
Water and season
Water: 24-26 °C. Visibility: Often 30 to 40 m inside the caverns; rain can briefly reduce it near entrances. When to go: Year-round. November to April is the dry season with the most reliable visibility; June to August brings the strongest vertical sunbeams at The Pit; September and October are the quietest and cheapest.
The Tulum and the cenotes page puts all 13 cenotes and 8 stays on one map.