Dive site: Barracuda Reef

Type of diving: wall dives, drift dives, night diving; max. depth of dive: 45' - 110'; skill level: advanced, expert.

There is no diving at Barracuda Reef without local guide, while the majority of the divemasters working locally will normally refuse to take you there. The point is dive safety is taken very seriously at Cozumel. If after talking to several dive instructors you still do not feel discouraged, then Yucab Diving Center is where you can find one.

Mariamo Moguel Mendoza, the owner of Yucab Diving Centre, a small dive shop in San Miguel, who was born locally and has been scuba diving for decades since childhood, sometimes agrees to take a small group of 3-5 experienced divers to Barracuda Reef provided there's a signed written permission from the the Port Captain.

The Barracuda Reef dive site is only for advanced divers with experience of drift diving and handling complicated underwater currents, because, though not permanently, the currents at the Barracuda Reef, besides being diverse and sometimes unpredictable, can also be rather strong and swift, leaving no other option for a diver than just follow their direction with very little controle over them. Even when the weather is good, the surface current still runs 2 to 3 knots.

Another peculiarity of diving Barracuda Reef is that the currents on the surface and at depth may move in different directions, which requires experienced dive boat crew to follow divers during dive and pick them up upon surfacing. The downward currents are especially dangerous on the seaward side of the reef. A diver should be aware that there's a risk of being taken down by a treacherous current to the depth of more than 200 feet before you realize what's happenning, therefore it is strongly recommended to dive on the landward side of the reef only.

Contrary to other Cozumel dive sites, Barracuda Reef is located to the north, while the majority of them are located to the south. With scuba divers going to Barracuda Reef so occasionally, the dive site remains untouched and pristine and offers surely one of the best dives in the world. During approximately 45 min. drift dive the diver is guaranteed the opportunity to watch live coral that is beautiful beyond description, clear waters of Cozumel and outstanding 150 foot visibility adding more to that.

Mind while surfacing that there's a heavy boat traffic is heavy in the Barracuda Reef, so exercise caution.

Marine life at Barracuda Reef includes sea turtles, eagle rays and sharks, moray eals, schools of horse-eye jacks, lobsters, crabs.

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