Scuba Diving the Cenote Tajma Ha

Scuba diving the cenote Tajma Ha in the Riviera Maya is an amazing underwater experience. You will see stunning light effects and even fossils!

---

The Riviera Maya offers an endless number of cenotes (thanks, mother nature!). Each cenote is special and great in its own, unique way. Tajma Ha is one of those cenotes you will love to dive more than once due to its stunning light beams, its dense halocline (visual effect between salt & fresh water), fossils, rock formations, and overall diversity of light effects.

Note that there is a difference between cavern diving (you can do this with your Open Water certification) and cave diving (needs specialized, technical training). The dive images and descriptions in this article pertain to a cavern dive. Read my Scuba Diving in Cenotes article for more details.

What to Expect When Scuba Diving The Cenote Tajma Ha

Tajma Ha is an excellent first cenote to begin to fall in love with cavern diving due to the diversity you’ll find there.

Add to this that you will also get to experience a halocline, which will look like a horizontal, cloudy barrier where the heavier salt water sits closer to the ground while the fresh water sits on top. Nope, it’s not your eyesight growing blurry—it’s the optical effect generated by these two types of water meeting.

As mentioned in the introduction, when diving in this cenote you will see some stunning, sharp rays of light piercing through the darkness of the cavern making you feel like you’ve entered another dimension.

These light effects are produced by openings in the ceiling of the cavern. You want to make sure you dive on a sunny day to ensure you get the most out of the experience.

One such opening is the Sugar Bowl cenote, at which you will get an opportunity to surface and admire the view from the “outside world” looking in. This is a nice opportunity to relax, talk to your dive buddy and your guide, and simply enjoy the piece and quiet of this corner of the Riviera Maya.

In addition to the light beams, you will have an opportunity to see some fossils as well. Make sure to let your guide know you want him to point these out to you so you don’t miss them.

The image below was also a very interesting sight. It was another light opening, but this time with some heavy vegetation that gave it a green tint.

Looking for more details on diving cenotes? Please read Scuba Diving Cenotes.

What else can do you in Yucatan? Check out The Yucatan Less Traveled.

Need ideas to plan your trip? Check out my Yucatan Peninsula Itinerary.

Dive Details and Tips for Your Scuba Diving Adventure

In this section I will describe some of the technical details of the dive itself from my dive computer, as well as some pointers such as wetsuit thickness.

I recommend wearing at least a 5 mm wetsuit to perform this dive in order for you to feel comfortable during the dive. As with most cenotes, this is a fresh water dive so make sure you plan your buoyancy accordingly, especially if wearing a thicker than usual wetsuit. You need to make sure you get this adjusted prior to starting your dive so you can enjoy the dive, while making sure you don’t damage any of the rock formations.

• Average depth: 50 ft. (15 meters)
• Water temperature: 73F-77F (23C-25C)
• Duration: ~55 minutes

Diving cenotes could appear as an intimidating task. Although you do need to understand the added considerations to have a safe dive, it is very much a doable task. For more insights on how to dive in a cenote, make sure to check out my article on this topic.

Logistics to Plan Your Dive

So how do you begin planning your cenote adventure? Here are some of the ways I’ve enjoyed diving in Tajma Ha and other cenotes in the area:

• Where to stay. Playa del Carmen or Tulum are two great places to stay at and you will be close to the cenotes. Check out my full trip itinerary for this region. Tajma Ha is roughly 30 minutes from Playa del Carmen and 35 minutes from Tulum.
• Guide recommendations. I recommend you bring your mask with you at a minimum. Dive shops will have equipment available, if you don’t own any, or didn’t bring your own. My go to guides when diving in the zone are the following:
  • CenoteXperience – Nico and the team have always been very professional and extremely accommodating to my ever-changing agenda when traveling.
  • Cave Explorations – Harry Gust ([email protected]) is an experienced cave technical diver. I’ve taken my intro to cavern course with him, so I highly recommend him.
• When to visit. You want to avoid the rainy season (June-October), although this is not a must. Always start your dives in the early morning to ensure you have plenty of daylight. This is a requirement for cavern diving.
• What to do @ Tajma Ha. If you’re traveling with others who don’t scuba dive, they can enjoy snorkeling and swimming at the entrance of the cavern. They’ll get to see you surface. 😉
• Other things to consider. There is parking available. There’s a fee to enter the cenote. Generally, your guide will tell you the cost of the entrances, and also the cost of their service. It is safe to leave your belongings and other equipment in your vehicle. Generally, your guide will suggest where to put your items. After your dive, you can go have a meal at nearby Playa del Carmen or drive south to Tulum.

---

Scuba diving in the cenote Tajma Ha is one of those things that you have to experience for yourself. I highly recommend you experience this for yourself! It’s something that you will remember for the rest of your life.

Please do us a favor and help us promote our site on your social media accounts! If you have a Pinterest account, pin one of the images below to your travel boards. It really does help!