Carey Dive Center
Carey Dive Center
4.5
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Full view
About
Carey Dive Center PADI Dive Resort #23814 is one of the most well-established and experienced dive shops on the island. We specialize in PADI diving courses, families, groups and private trips. We not only offer diving, but also snorkeling, fishing, whale shark tours and cenote excursions. Gilberto Pat Hoil is the PADI scuba dive instructor and owner at Carey Dive Center. He has been awarded by PADI for 20 years of outstanding service. He is one of the most experienced scuba dive instructors in Isla Mujeres.
Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
338 reviews
Excellent
299
Very good
17
Average
6
Poor
7
Terrible
9
Mr Atkinson
22 contributions
Jun 2020 • Couples
We heard that the Carey dive center would give us one of the best experiences up close and personal with the whale sharks!! Their whole objective was to try and put us on at least a couple whale sharks , but ended up our captain was the first boat on all the other tours that headed out that day to find not just one or two whale sharks.. but close to 50!!!!!! The crew is very knowledgeable and have such a deep passion, love, and respect for the animal.. you can tell they truly love their jobs with a passion and love sharing that experience with the group.. the captain kept an eye out for everyone from above on the boat and the snorkel guide kept everyone at a safe distance with those beautiful GIANT sea puppies!!! Ended the trip with the crew making fresh ceviche on the boat as we docked at a shallow beach!! That was a check off the ole bucket list experience
Written June 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jimcbigsky
Midlothian, TX2 contributions
Jul 2020
Read that the Carey dive center would give us a great and personal experience for our Whale shark trip. They did that and more. With Jesus and Fred they found hundreds of Whale sharks and skillfully placed us right in the middle of then for our snorkeling. Plenty of time to marvel at these magnificent animals. We went to a reef and snorkeled again and of course fresh ceviche! Great trip.
Written July 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AdryanneHicks
3 contributions
Jul 2020 • Couples
I can't express my gratitude to Carey Dive. We did scuba diving and the whale sharks. I am not certified and my husband is. Gilberto was super patient with me and really focused on getting me comfortable. I felt very comfortable and safe during the whole time.
The whale shark experience was AWESOME! We had such a good time. We weren't around any other boats and really got to see some amazing views. The captain and guide really focused on the best for the whale sharks and then gave us some great time in the water.
We will definitely be using Carey Dive as soon as we can get back to Isla.
Can't wait to get my PADI open water certification with Gilberto!
The whale shark experience was AWESOME! We had such a good time. We weren't around any other boats and really got to see some amazing views. The captain and guide really focused on the best for the whale sharks and then gave us some great time in the water.
We will definitely be using Carey Dive as soon as we can get back to Isla.
Can't wait to get my PADI open water certification with Gilberto!
Written July 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hailey D
3 contributions
Jun 2022
Carey Dive Center was recommended by my hotel, and I did the Discover Scuba Dive. It was a great experience! Granted, I do not have any other dive shop experience to compare it to, but Gilberto and the guys were wonderful! When I went in on Friday to book for Saturday, Gilberto was patient in explaining different options and showed me that the weather would be best on the water on Sunday.
On Sunday, he explained and demonstrated how all the equipment worked, then we did a skill test in super shallow water. I was really grateful that his English was so good, since I don't speak much Spanish. It made understanding everything much easier, and made me feel safe and comfortable that I wasn't missing anything. He was patient with me when we descended, and helped me when I was having trouble equalizing my ears. He always stayed nearby, and I felt like he was keeping me safe the whole time.
He took us through the statues at MUSA, which were so cool! Then we went to a spot at Punta Sur where there are giant sea turtles. What an incredible experience! They were swimming all around us, and so close. We also saw several other types of fish at both dive sites. But the highlight of everything were the dolphins! I couldn't even believe it, but wild dolphins came swimming by us (more than once). What a joy! I will not forget that <3
I can't wait to dive again :-)
On Sunday, he explained and demonstrated how all the equipment worked, then we did a skill test in super shallow water. I was really grateful that his English was so good, since I don't speak much Spanish. It made understanding everything much easier, and made me feel safe and comfortable that I wasn't missing anything. He was patient with me when we descended, and helped me when I was having trouble equalizing my ears. He always stayed nearby, and I felt like he was keeping me safe the whole time.
He took us through the statues at MUSA, which were so cool! Then we went to a spot at Punta Sur where there are giant sea turtles. What an incredible experience! They were swimming all around us, and so close. We also saw several other types of fish at both dive sites. But the highlight of everything were the dolphins! I couldn't even believe it, but wild dolphins came swimming by us (more than once). What a joy! I will not forget that <3
I can't wait to dive again :-)
Written June 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Olivier V
San Francisco, CA19 contributions
Mar 2021
Gilberto runs a good dive shop and has a very personal approach. It was my second time diving with Carey (once in 2011 and now recently). I just sent an email and got instant responses. Great start of the dives!
My girlfriend had PADI OW but was still a bit unsure about her skills and Gilberto offered her to come in a bit earlier in the morning and rewatch some of the videos and took her into the water for a quick refresh as well. This was perfect because there really was no point in a whole refresher dive etc.
There was another couple where the partner was quite fresh and Gilberto and Tomas really accommodated this very well during the dive. They buddied me up with experienced diver of the other couple and then the instructor could guide the two less experienced divers down the rope on the first dive. This way they could make sure they could equalise well, control their descent and be close to an instructor. Once down and everything checked out, we re-shuffled to our own buddies and had a nice dive.
Also, when Carey Dive Center found out we stayed in a hotel with a dock, they sent out the boat to pick us up the next morning rather than having to take the taxi around the lagoon. Great personal touch.
I dove in many places (500+ dives) and found the staff here to take the notion of being an instructor/dive master very serious compared to most generic dive shops. From explanations above water to underwater guidance. Very comforting.
We did 4 dives this time and everything was top notch for a leisurely vacation. We hope to be back some other time.
My girlfriend had PADI OW but was still a bit unsure about her skills and Gilberto offered her to come in a bit earlier in the morning and rewatch some of the videos and took her into the water for a quick refresh as well. This was perfect because there really was no point in a whole refresher dive etc.
There was another couple where the partner was quite fresh and Gilberto and Tomas really accommodated this very well during the dive. They buddied me up with experienced diver of the other couple and then the instructor could guide the two less experienced divers down the rope on the first dive. This way they could make sure they could equalise well, control their descent and be close to an instructor. Once down and everything checked out, we re-shuffled to our own buddies and had a nice dive.
Also, when Carey Dive Center found out we stayed in a hotel with a dock, they sent out the boat to pick us up the next morning rather than having to take the taxi around the lagoon. Great personal touch.
I dove in many places (500+ dives) and found the staff here to take the notion of being an instructor/dive master very serious compared to most generic dive shops. From explanations above water to underwater guidance. Very comforting.
We did 4 dives this time and everything was top notch for a leisurely vacation. We hope to be back some other time.
Written July 29, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Candace R
5 contributions
Jul 2021
We booked scuba diving and whale sharks. We did MUSA and a nearby reef and did advanced dives to a deep wreck and deep reef. Gilberto took care of us. He set us up to do the best dives for what he thought we would like. Our dive groups were very small, 3-6 total people each day. Rudalpho was a great divemaster leading our dives. We saw a couple green sea turtles. Our first day of whale sharks was not so good (can't control the weather!) so Gilberto recommended we change one of our dive days to another whale shark day. Based on his recommendation of what he thought would be a great day, we went and it was amazing! There were so many whale sharks and a couple were just sitting there not moving making it easy to observe them. As a PADI professional, I would highly recommend this group for diving and whale sharks.
Written July 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alan K
4 contributions
Jul 2021 • Family
Took a trip to MUSA and the Manchiones with Gilbert on Friday and had a great trip. Gilbert was able to accommodate a couple of check out dives for one of our group and still lead us through the 2 great dives. He also arranged a top notch Whale Shark trip this same weekend. Will be back.
Written July 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
brucerheins
Los Angeles, CA9 contributions
Jan 2020
Have to add my 5-star review along with all the others here; we did a shallow reef snorkel the first day with Tomas, and ended up swimming through a school of barracuda, along with the large French angelfish, blue tang, a host of others. Were supposed to go Monday on the MUSA snorkel, but Gilberto said the weather was going to be bad so he opened up on Sunday, when they are normally closed, and took us out along with a pair of divers; had a lot of fun with everyone, guide Alex was great; visibility was very good that day, pretty poor the next, so we got the most out of it. Thanks again to Gilberto, Catherine, and all at Carey Dive Center!
Written January 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
gbochicc
San Diego, CA7 contributions
Jul 2021 • Couples
We had a great time diving with Carey Dive Center. Carlos, our dive master, took great care of us. Our first dive was to MUSA, where we saw beautiful underwater sculptures. Our second dive was even better! We saw over 20 large sea turtles, including 3 or 4 mating pairs. This was a very special dive, and we are very grateful to Carlos and Carey that we had the chance to experience it!
Written July 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Browns
9 contributions
Dec 2019
We booked a snorkel trip with our teenage boys and ended up coming back the next day to scuba dive (while the boys snorkeled) because we were so pleased with everyone we worked with (Gilberto, Thomas, Alex). All were easy to communicate with in English, and next time we come to the island, we're going to have our boys certified to dive there. We were more than pleased, both with the dive center and the diving/snorkeling.
Written January 3, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello, We prefer that divers commence their dive trips at our dive shop. But in special circumstances we can pick people up with our boat. If the hotel or private house has a dock that allows private boats to pick up their guests. All hotels and private houses have their own policies so it's best to check with them directly. We don't pick up clients in a motor vehicle.
Thanks.
Written January 14, 2017
Mark D
Decatur, Illinois
WE are a group of 10 and wish to go out on the Whale Shark tour July 18 or 19 on an early tour.
Do you have availablility?
Written July 6, 2016
Hello, thanks for contacting us, yes we do have availability and we can take you. Please go to the Carey Dive Center website and there you will find our contact email so you can email us a confirmation. Thank you.
Written July 7, 2016
Are you asking if there is coral at Isla Mujeres? Of course. Yes.
Written April 15, 2016
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