1. Location: XTC is based in a small, sleepy fishing village called Xcalak, which borders the Caribbean Sea to the east and Chetumal Bay to the west. This makes us part of a unique, extremely connected and bio-diverse eco-system made up of 15 miles of protected coral reefs, mangroves, rivers, lagoons and bays. It certainly is a nature lover’s paradise! We are at the center of the Great Maya Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world so the Scuba Diving around Xcalak offers incredible diversity. The area offers a wide range of geological features, walls, canyons etc. as well as a great marine life biodiversity.
2. Dedicated Tec Diving facilities: Although Xcalak is unspoiled by development, XTC is a state-of-the-art dive center with a dedicated Tec area, modern filling station and hotel/restaurant on-site. It is also one of the only dive centers in Mexico to have a classroom, swimming pool AND open water dive sites all in the same center, so being remote doesn’t have to mean that we’re lacking. We also offer our divers the highest quality in rental equipment, so what more do you need?!
3. Top-quality training: As a PADI 5* Instructor Development Center and TecRec Facility, XTC training is the highest standard in the industry and backed by PADI who are undoubtedly the World leaders in training within the diving industry. We offer the full range of Recreational, Professional and Technical courses with experienced Instructors and Instructor Trainers. If you care about quality training, being environmentally sensitive and you love quiet, un-crowded places where you can connect with nature… then XTC and Xcalak may be just the place for you.
4. Simplified pricing: Unlike all Tec Diving facilities, we are committed to making sure that all of our Tec divers and Instructors meet the course performance requirements in a calm, comfortable and repeatable manner and that you have the capabilities to plan and dive in similar conditions to those in which you did your training. Tec diving has additional inherent risks, when compared to recreational diving, and we want to minimize these additional risks as much as possible by making safe, confident Tec divers. This means is that our training is performance-based, not time-based, so all of our training is done on a daily rate and the courses have an “average duration”. You will be quoted based on the average duration and your Instructor will discuss with you if they feel that additional training days above the normal duration are required in order to meet the performance requirements comfortably. Additional training days are billed according to the price list.
Options from Cancun airport to Xcalak:
Xcalak is located 400 km south of Cancun airport; it takes about 5 hours to drive on well-established roads. We can organize a taxi to pick you up from outside the terminal area holding a sign with your name on it. Prices are for the car/van, not per person and must be confirmed by the Reservations department. Alternatively, there are some reasonable car hire companies should you wish to hire a car and drive yourself. Remember that Xcalak is only a small place though, so the hire car will be fairly obsolete when you are at XTC.
Options from Chetumal airport to Xcalak:
Xcalak is located 200 km from Chetumal airport, it takes about 2 hours and 45minutes drive. We can organize a taxi to pick you right outside the terminal area holding a sign with your name on it. Prices will need to be confirmed by Reservations beforehand.
You’ve may have read terrible stories about Mexican drug wars or seen other negative stories in the media. In reality, this violence is for most part limited to drug related violence and does not exist in the “tourist parts” of Mexico.
The Yucatan Peninsula survives on tourism and negative publicity makes for less tourism, so generally speaking this area is quite safe and very well patrolled by police.
Of course, in every area there can be thefts and robbery taking place, as in most places around the world.
Taking precautions is never a bad idea, including:
- Avoiding walking alone in unlit areas
- Using official taxis
- Leaving valuables in a safe place (including at the dive center, consider a dry bag)
- Not keeping valuables in open view.
Although Xcalak is incredibly isolated and quiet, it is still a good idea to take precautions.
In the Training section you will find the prerequisites for each course. Your Instructor will also send you a document with all the information for your course, including these prerequisites. If you haven’t received this just ask or if you do not meet all of the requirements for beginning the course please let us know so we can work out what we need to do to get you started.
We do not include accommodation with the courses or dives, but we do have a small beachfront hotel on-site with sea views, air conditioning, hot water and various bed options. Please ask us for more details or have a look at the dedicated website: https://flyingcloudhotelxcalak.com/
We are incredibly lucky that Xcalak offers year-round diving opportunities. Visibility is affected more by the wind than it is by the time of year so you will be pleased to hear that there is no better or worse season for visibility.
Water temperature ranges from 24 – 30 Celsius throughout the year so needing a thick wetsuit is never a necessity! Most dive sites are accessible at all times of the year, but occasionally trips have to be cancelled if wind conditions mean that safety is an issue.
There are many independent blogs and resources that you can look at to check on the weather in the Riviera Maya area, but generally speaking it is divided into the rainy season (which runs from May to October) and the dry season (which runs November to April). The 2 months with the most rain are normally September and October, but this is also when the wind is usually lower.
However, global warming is changing weather patterns and forecasts in the Caribbean are never all that accurate… when a forecast says rain there’s no need to worry, it could be all over as quickly as it started!
XTC Terms and Conditions
XTC Dive Center reserves the right to cancel for any reason and will give a full refund.
To formalize the reservation in any of the activities and / or excursions that we offer, we must receive 50% of the total amount before your arrival and 100% of the amount for the hotel.
Cancellation with notification 14 days before
If canceled, the amount paid will be returned.
Cancellation with notification within 14 days prior to arrival
Your deposit will not be refunded (50% of your activities and 100% of the hotel).
Individual bookings
All activities must be paid 50% at the time of reservation. Total amount is due on arrival in cash only. If the person wishes to use another method for payment this should be taken care of in advance. Bank fees are to be paid by client.
Group bookings
All activities must be paid in full 24hrs before the activity takes place. Special payment terms for group bookings must be arranged in writing prior to group arrival. If payment is not received on time, XTC Dive Center reserves the right to cancel the whole booking and charge above cancellations fees. Bank fees are to be paid by client.
