Explore Natural Treasures of Banco Chinchorro
For many years, there have been a few intrepid divers who have ventured beyond the Mexican Caribbean’s famed outer reef for dive adventures.
But those few who have made the journey to Banco Chinchorro have been rewarded for their efforts by discovering the best kept secret in the Caribbean!
Banco Chinchorro is the western hemisphere’s largest coral atoll, but the 2.5 hour boat ride to reach it and the scarcity of permits, means that those who have visited its reefs form an exclusive club.
View Pricing The atoll sprawls across 800 square kilometers and showcases close to 200 shipwrecks, some dating back hundreds of years. The expansive nature and natural beauty, along with the spectacular variety of marine life is simply breathtaking.
Diving on the Chinchorro reef you will find a large variety of coral species, including black coral at unusually shallow depths and many other species of soft coral that are found sporadically in small quantities on the Great Maya Reef are vibrant and abundant in Chinchorro, as well as all kinds of tropical fish, rays, eels, conch, and giant sponges. Not to mention the fact that as an offshore reef, a large animal encounter is always around the corner!
Our dive and snorkeling trips to Banco Chinchorro include a stopover on Cayo Centro, a small island with a tiny community of resident fishermen who live there periodically throughout the year. There is also a saltwater crocodile population as well , with over 400 individuals calling the mangrove forests of Banco Chinchorro home.
We offer day trips for either diving or snorkeling. We require a minimum of 6 divers or 8 snorkelers. The best time of the year to dive Chinchorro is during the summer months when the seas are calmest and we typically have daily access. Normal departure time is 8:00 AM. Our trips combine diving or snorkeling with an onshore surface interval and on foot tour of Cayo Centro (Central Caye).
A two tank dive trip with a surface interval excursion to Cayo Centro is $275.00 USD per person. A full day snorkel trip with a surface interval excursion to Cayo Centro is $185.00 USD per person.
We also offer multi-day and custom excursions, part of the 2010 revision of the management program was to allow overnight or multi-day trips, which were illegal before. This allows us to visit areas of Chinchorro that were impossible to access with the previous day-trip only rules. Please drop us an e-mail for a custom quote.
Chinchorro2 tank air plus Island / Fisherman camp visit and lunch break
Chinchorro3 tank air plus Island / Fisherman camp visit and lunch break
Additional Chinchorro Tank
Banco Chinchorro Overnight
Our prices include tanks, weights and weight belt, snorkel vest (in the case of snorkelers), snacks, sandwiches, soft drinks, water, and the biosphere entrance fee and bracelet. All our prices are in US dollars (we will convert to pesos if you would like to pay in national currency). All taxes are included. Prices subject to change without notice.
Our Happy Clients
Certificate of Excellence
I recently dove with my teenage son and daughter at XTC Dive Center and had an incredible encounter with 2 manatees, a school of about 60 huge tarpons and lots of beautiful marine life and incredibly healthy and beautiful coral.
The dive team is super pro. The ambience is great. Xcalak us incredible!
We look forward to coming back as soon as possible!
100% recommended.
I did my Open Water Dive Certification with XTC Dive Center and it was amazing! Great place, people and service!
Excellent dive experience. Beautiful water! We saw HUGE tarpon. The dive masters Josie, Wendy and Myra are great.
Excellent dive experience. Beautiful water! We saw HUGE tarpon. The dive masters Josie, Wendy and Myra are great. The entire staff was great to work with and really took care of us. I really can’t say enough about how much we enjoyed the experience. We are planning another trip here in September. Can’t get back soon enough.
We loved our stay at the XTC Dive Centre, and their Flying Cloud hotel for our dive trip. Francisco made our check in and dive arrangements ahead of time for us., and looked after everything we needed.The accommodations were great, right on the beach and we woke up to some really fantastic sunrises each morning.
The diving was excellent, the entire Team of DiveMasters and Instructors are what made our trip so memorable for us. They have an excellent Dive Centre and looked after all of our equipment and diving needs. We can’t wait to return!
We didn’t really know what to expect when we headed out to Xcalak..we only knew we wanted to spend time in an unspoilt rural Mexican village with plenty of vitamin sea 😉 good diving and a welcoming environment. At XTC diving center we found exactly that..A gorgeous bar infront of the ocean with easy going staff, a super comfy room surrounded by palm trees and white sand and a highly professional and knowledgeable diving team who were always ready for a drink and chat. We had a terrific stay and will definately be back! Many thanks and Hasta Pronto!!
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