Babieca Dive Center

Babieca Dive Center

Important: current status

The Babieca Dive Center homepage currently displays a notice reading "Temporarily Closed... We'll Be Back Underwater Soon." Everything below reflects what the website publishes about the operation, but anyone planning a trip should contact the center directly to confirm whether it is running before making arrangements.

Overview & Experience

Babieca Dive Center is a hotel-based dive operation on Cozumel's west coast, located at the El Cid La Ceiba Hotel on Carretera Chankanaab. It is registered as both a PADI Dive Resort (#21330) and an SSI Dive Resort (#800005), and its published courses are SSI certifications.

The site places the center "just a 5-minute walk from the Most Important Cruise Ship Piers" and describes it as sitting "directly on the Caribbean -- just 200 feet from a submerged plane wreck," which is one of Cozumel's better-known shore-accessible features.

Two staff members are named. Juan Carlos González is the Divemaster and main contact, credited with 25+ years of experience. José Luis Rodriguez is an SSI Dive Instructor with 15+ years of experience who speaks Spanish and English. The center states its aim is to "provide a professional, personalized and safe experience for our customers, adjusting our service to your needs."

Key Features & Services

• Fast, well-maintained boats with an 8-diver capacity, carrying First Aid and Oxygen kits, purified water, fruit and snacks. Larger groups can be accommodated.
• One-tank, two-tank, nitrox two-tank, night and wreck dive trips.
• SSI courses — Discover Scuba Diving, Open Water and Advanced Open Water, all available year-round with one day advance reservation. Rescue Diver, Divemaster and specialty courses are on the price list.
• Equipment rental — fins, mask, jacket, regulator and wet suit, plus dive lights and nitrox tanks.
• Snorkelling trips to two reefs, or to Colombia and Palancar reefs, with fruit, water and sodas included.
• Hotel and dive packages with the El Cid La Ceiba Beach Hotel, including unlimited shore diving tanks and equipment storage.

Published Rates

All prices are quoted in US dollars, and the site notes they are "subject to change without notice."

Hotel-plus-dive packages start at $1,087 USD per diver for 7 nights and 5 days of diving on the European Plan, or $1,159 USD on the All-Inclusive Plan.

Why Babieca Dive Center Stands Apart

The location does most of the work. Being inside a beachfront hotel five minutes' walk from the cruise piers, with unlimited shore diving tanks bundled into the package rates and a plane wreck 200 feet offshore, means a diver can log dives without a boat at all on days between trips.

Practical Details

• Address: Carretera Chankanaab Km 4.5, CP. 77600 Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico, at the El Cid La Ceiba Hotel
• Phone: +52 987 869 1311, ext. 33613
• Email: jcgonzalez@elcid.com.mx
• Website: https://www.elcidbabiecadivecenter.com/
• Social: facebook.com/babiecadivecenter/ and instagram.com/babiecadivecenter/

The site does not publish a founded year, boat length or model, hotel pickup from other properties, cenote trips or underwater photography services. Its homepage currently states the center is temporarily closed.