Manchones Reef

Manchones Reef is part of the Parque Nacional Costa Occidental de Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún y Punta Nizuc, the federal marine park that covers the bay between Cancun and Isla Mujeres. It sits off the southern part of the island, in water sheltered from the open Caribbean by the island itself, which is why it is so often diveable when other sites are not.

The reef

Manchones is a long, low reef rather than a wall. One operator describes more than 800 m of reef, and divers usually see only a section of it on each dive. Coral heads and ridges rise a couple of metres from a sandy bottom at about 8 to 12 m, separated by sand channels where rays feed. The structure includes brain coral, boulder corals, sea fans, sea rods and sponges. Elkhorn and staghorn coral still grow in places, although both have declined across the Caribbean, and Hurricane Wilma in 2005 damaged many shallow reefs in this area.

Because the reef is shallow, there is plenty of light and colour, and air lasts. Dives of 50 to 60 minutes are normal for relaxed divers. The sandy channels make natural navigation lines, and the guide can easily bring the group back to the boat or finish with a short drift if the water is moving.

Some shops split the area into named sections, such as Manchones 1 and Manchones 2, or give nearby patches of reef their own names. If you dive with more than one shop, you may well visit "different" sites that are really neighbouring parts of the same reef system. Our page on Isla Mujeres dive sites covers the other reefs around the island.

The Cross of the Bay

On the sand near the reef stands the Cruz de la Bahía, the Cross of the Bay: a bronze cross about 3 m tall, placed as a memorial to people who have lost their lives at sea. Published depths for it range from about 9 to 12 m. It is now covered with growth and is home to small fish. Divers often stop for a moment at the cross, and some shops organise group dives there on anniversaries. Treat it as a memorial: look, photograph, and keep your hands and fins off it.

MUSA at Manchones

Part of MUSA, the Museo Subacuático de Arte, sits in the Manchones area. The underwater museum began installing sculptures by Jason deCaires Taylor and other artists in 2009 and 2010, using marine cement designed to be colonised by corals and sponges. Its best-known installation, the large group of standing figures called The Silent Evolution, is in this area at roughly 8 to 10 m. Many trips combine the sculptures and the natural reef in one dive, or do the reef as the first dive and the sculptures as the second.

The sculptures were also meant to draw visitors away from the busiest natural reefs. After more than a decade underwater, many are thick with growth and fish, and the faces have changed a lot from the early photos.

Marine life on Manchones Reef

Turtles are the star. Green and hawksbill turtles feed on the reef and in the seagrass nearby, and most guides expect to find at least one. Big schools of French grunts, white grunts and yellowtail snappers hover over the coral heads. Look for parrotfish, angelfish, sergeant majors, trumpetfish and barracuda, southern stingrays on the sand, and nurse sharks resting under the larger ledges. Lobsters and moray eels hide in the holes, and at night the reef brings out octopus and hunting crustaceans. For a wider look at the area's animals, see our Cancun marine life guide.

Who Manchones Reef suits

Almost everyone. It is a standard site for try dives and Open Water course dives, for refreshers after a long break, and for second dives after a wreck. Experienced divers enjoy it too, especially photographers, because shallow depth means long bottom times and good light. If you are new or returning to diving, start here, then read our guide to Cancun dive sites for beginners for what to try next.

It is also one of the most visited sites in the bay, so expect other boats on busy mornings. Small groups and early departures help.

Tips for diving Manchones

• Ask for Manchones as the second dive of a two-tank trip if your first is deeper. It makes a relaxed, low-nitrogen finish.
• Get your weighting right. Shallow sites show every buoyancy problem, and the coral is only a metre or two below you.
• The park fee and park rules apply here: no gloves, no touching, no feeding, and restrictions on sunscreen in the water.
• If the wind is up from the north, the bay can get choppy on the way out, even when the reef itself is calm.
• Ask your guide to point out the cross and the sculptures if you want to see both. Not every route passes them.

Depths and names here come from published operator and park descriptions, which vary. Your guide's briefing on the day always comes first.