Cancun side · north end of the hotel zone
Punta Cancun Reefs
The Punta Cancun reefs are a group of shallow sites off the elbow of Cancun's hotel zone, from the knee-deep-feeling El Bajito to the deeper Punta Cancun reef, and they are the closest diving to most hotels.
Punta Cancun is the corner of the "7" that Cancun's hotel zone makes on the map: the point where the beach turns from facing north into the bay to facing east into the open Caribbean. The Punta Cancun reefs lie around this point, inside the same national marine park as Manchones and Punta Nizuc. Shops in the hotel zone often run their reef dives here because the boat ride is so short.
The area
The reefs here are low patch and ridge reefs over sand and seagrass. On the bay side of the point the water is sheltered and shallow. Around the point and on the open-sea side, depth increases and the current picks up, which is why the deeper reef carries more big fish. Names and boundaries vary from shop to shop, so the sites below are the ones most often named in operator descriptions. Ask yours which ones they actually run.
| Site | Typical depth | Character | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Bajito | About 3–5 m | Very shallow, sheltered patch reef | Try dives, nervous divers, snorkellers |
| Chitales | About 6–11 m | Staghorn coral, seagrass, gentle drift | All certified divers |
| Santo Remedio | About 10 m | Coral reef on the Cancun reef system | All certified divers |
| Punta Cancun | About 15–16 m | Deepest reef here, larger residents | Certified divers comfortable with some current |
Chitales
Chitales is just off the northern end of the hotel zone and is one of the most popular reef dives in Cancun. Operators quote depths from about 6 to 11 m (20–35 ft). It is known for its staghorn coral, one of the Caribbean's threatened branching corals, and for the seagrass beds beside it, where green turtles graze. The water often moves gently along the reef, so many dives at Chitales are easy drifts: you descend, let the current carry you along the coral, and the boat picks you up at the end. That makes it a good first drift dive. Our guide to Cancun drift diving explains how those pickups work.
Expect French grunts, snappers, parrotfish and butterflyfish around the coral, rays on the sand, and turtles in the grass. Keep well off the staghorn: it breaks easily and grows back slowly.
El Bajito
El Bajito ("the little shallow one") is described by operators as the reef closest to the coast in Bahía de Mujeres, with a maximum depth of only about 15 ft (5 m) and usually little current. That makes it one of the gentlest sites in the area. It is used for try dives, first skills practice and snorkelling. Experienced divers often find it too shallow to be interesting, but for anyone nervous about the ocean it is ideal: you can see the surface the whole time and the bottom is never far away.
Santo Remedio
Santo Remedio is a coral reef dive of around 10 m on the Cancun reef system, offered by several shops as one of their standard two-tank reef sites. Like Chitales, it has coral heads and sand, reef fish and turtles. It is a useful alternative when the more famous sites are busy.
Punta Cancun reef
The reef off the point itself is the deepest of the group, at around 15 to 16 m (about 50–55 ft). It is where operators say the larger reef residents gather: bigger groupers and snappers, barracuda, and occasionally rays and nurse sharks. Being on the corner between the bay and the open sea, it gets more water movement than the sites inside the bay, so it is best for divers who are comfortable with some current. It pairs well with a shallower second dive at Chitales or Manchones.
The two Mexican Navy wrecks, the C-58 and C-55, also lie off this part of the coast in deeper water. They are advanced dives and are run as separate wreck trips.
Tips for the Punta Cancun reefs
- Hotel-zone shops can often get you here in minutes. Ask if your hotel's beach is a pickup point.
- On a drift, stay with the guide and carry or ask about a surface marker buoy.
- North winds in winter make this side choppy. The open-sea side can be rough when the bay is calm, and the other way round.
- Park rules apply: a park fee, no touching, no gloves, and restrictions on sunscreen in the water.
Site names and depths vary between operators. These are typical published figures, not measurements. Follow your guide's briefing.