From East to West, Mexico’s offerings for scuba divers are unparalleled.

Americans reap untold benefits from living between two of the world’s longest friendly borders. But for divers, not much tops the fact that our neighbor to the south offers some of the most fun you can have on a scuba diving vacation, above or below the waves, served up by a welcoming culture, and different thrills on two coasts. From the spectacular walls of Cozumel in the east to the sea lions of Land’s End at Baja’s tip, you’ll find a wide variety of experiences — and can count on lots of options for that post-dive margarita or ice-cold cerveza on either coast.

Mexico took home the following thirteen accolades in the 2018 Scuba Diving magazine Readers Choice Awards:

ADVANCED

1 ) LOST YOUR COW, LADY?
Cenotes are still being discovered in the Yucatan all the time, often when livestock plunges through the peninsula’s thin crust and goes missing. Bones and artifacts of all kinds make the lesser known of these sites — sacred to the Maya — alluring to underwater archaeologists and cinematographers, who usually are cave and technical divers as well.

2 ) GO PRO
Not a tec diver, but you’d like to be? Pro Dive International — with operations on both coasts — has a division dedicated to training, with courses for tec diver, cave diver and scuba diving pro.

3 ) WILD RIDE
Mexico is famous for currents and depth, from unpredictable sites near Cozumel’s southwest tip to outer walls along the entire west coast of the island. That’s mirrored in Baja by sites along the east side of the peninsula that ends at the famous Arch of Cabo San Lucas, where a shallow, sandy shelf used for beginner training quickly drops hundreds of feet — a plunge into darkness that’s as close as you’ll get to feeling like an astronaut.

4 ) GO NORTH, YOUNG MAN
Had enough of the popular — and sometimes crowded — sites along Cozumel’s west side? Head north past unspoiled mangrove forests and the island’s least-developed coast, where you’ll find the legendary Cave of the Sleeping Sharks and, if you’re lucky, eagle rays by the score.

5 ) LIVIN’ THE LIFE
The dive life is thoroughly entrenched at places like Scuba Club Cozumel, the grand old señora of dive-centric resorts on the island, where eager divers return year after year after year. (Not quite that hardcore? Resorts like Cozumel’s elegant InterContinental Presidente also have superior dive operations ready to serve you.)

FRESHWATER

Riviera Maya

6 ) PREPARE TO BE AMAZED
When you think “fresh” in the Yucatan, you think cenotes. Opt for a classic and head for Chac Mool near Puerto Aventuras. It has all the typical cenote features — rocky passageways linking wide, stalactite- studded rooms and sun-filled, vinedraped caverns — and is doable even by beginners. It’s a magical experience for any level of diver.

7 ) THE GREATEST
One look at the entrance to El Gran Cenote near Tulum tells you why all kinds of photographers love the clear waters of the Yucatan’s hidden interior. Inside, the “god rays” often depicted piercing those waters are catnip to magazine editors. (We should know.)

8 ) DIVE WITH THE DEAD
Cenotes are not just passages to the Maya afterlife — in the riverless Yucatan, they still are a primary source of water for remote villages. For the Maya, cenotes were also the home of rain god Chac, and sometimes the site of human sacrifices.

9 ) IT’S NOT JUST FOR DIVING
Many of Riviera Maya’s cenotes are also beautiful swimming holes, popular with locals who are welcoming to visitors, and good for snorkelers. Try the large open swimming area at Kukulkan cenote, very near Chac Mool.

10 ) WORLD HERITAGE SITE
One of the most beautiful freshwater experiences in Riviera Maya isn’t a cenote — it’s a float down a channel dug in part by the Maya centuries ago in present-day Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site of vast, beautiful lagoons dotted with mangrove islands that are home to more than 300 species of birds.

WALLS

11 ) PUNTA TUNICH
Diving the top of this Cozumel wall can be like flying through an autumn meadow, with crazy numbers of endemic splendid toadfish. Near the upper wall, look for turtles and spotted eagle rays.

12 ) PALANCAR GARDENS
A favorite of divemasters, monumental structures of this sponge-filled Cozumel site can seem like a maze, with wide pathways that make it easy to glide through and around the formations as you spiral downward.

13 ) SAND FALLS
Allegedly discovered by Jacques Cousteau, Cabo’s Sand Falls on Mexico’s west side are the product of a 3,000-foot trench that creates a “waterfall” effect as sand cascades over the stair-stepped wall and into the abyss. (Watch your depth here; it’s tempting to stay longer than you should, watching the mesmerizing “falls.”)

CAVE, CAVERN, GROTTO

Riviera Maya

14 ) MORE THAN CENOTES
While cenotes get all the respect, the underwater structure of Mexico’s east coast means you can find grottoes and small caverns tucked into the reef system along many of Cozumel’s west-side dives such as Palancar Caves, and also in some of the island’s less-explored northern sites.

15 ) RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
“Like being in a Gothic cathedral,” says cave instructor Alessandra Figari of Cave Training Mexico about the Yucatan’s most famous caverns, its cenotes. Let Figari show you what all the fuss is about, with certifications that run from cavern to full cave. (They also guide newbies, and snorkelers.)

16 ) SPIT OUT THAT REG
You won’t hear that advice very often in diving, but in many of the Yucatan’s cenotes such as Chac Mool, you can surface in enormous interior rooms where it’s safe to breathe. Stay a bit and examine the amazing formations high overhead.

17 ) FUEL FOR THE RIDE
Get a taste of the Yucatan’s interior on your way in and out of cenote country. Look for roadside stands like delicious Taqueria El Arbolito in Puerto Aventuras, which offers tacos and fresh juices for breakfast and lunch.

BEST OVERALL

18 ) HAVE IT ALL
Do you fancy exploring some of the world’s top walls on Cozumel? Diving with bull sharks off sophisticated Playa del Carmen? Or trekking inland ever so slightly to experience the Mayan underworld in freshwater cenotes? Mexico’s Yucatan region offers all of this, plus big-animal encounters with whale sharks, sailfish, sharks and crocodiles.

19 ) JUST BE COZ
The 30-mile-long channel that separates Cozumel from the mainland is dotted with dive sites suitable for all levels, many close to shore, which makes for short boat rides. Long reef systems such as Palancar — part of the Mesoamerican Reef System, the second-largest barrier-reef system in the world — stretch for miles.

Virtually all of the many resorts strung along the island’s west coast have onsite dive shops, and many have house reefs good for dive or snorkel.

20 ) LOCAL HEROES
Mexico has long had a strong dive culture, including its own Jacques Cousteau: Ramón Bravo, an Olympic swimmer who became famous in Mexico and abroad in the 1960s and ’70s as a diver, author, and underwater photographer and cinematographer. He’s credited with introducing Cousteau to Isla Mujeres’ famed aggregations of “sleeping” tiger sharks.

21 ) EVERY DAY IS FUNDAY
Riviera Maya and Coz help you make the most of your dry days. Choose from day trips to Mayan or Colonial historic sites, nature and aquatic reserves populated with exotic flora and fauna, and shopping that ranges from high-end to bargain bin (bring cash and be ready to haggle). Cap it all off with local restaurants and bars for an authentic Mexican experience.