Playa del Carmen dive site · Advanced Open Water
Pared Verde is the wall dive you usually cross the channel for. The Green Wall drops away in deep water south of town, a proper wall with gorgonians, sponges and the sense of blue water scale that most divers associate with Cozumel. Eagle rays patrol here in the cooler months. Depth makes it an Advanced dive, and it is the first dive of a two tank morning for divers who want something bigger than a reef.
Small groups, local guides, honest site advice. Based in Playacar, Playa del Carmen. Read our Google reviews
The experience
What you see at Pared Verde
The wall gets its name from the green of the sponges and the deep water behind it. Gorgonian fans reach out into the current, barrel sponges grow to the size of a diver on the face, and the reef top above is home to groupers, turtles and the usual crowd of grunts and snapper. Keep one eye on the blue: eagle rays fly along the wall in the cooler months, jacks and barracuda hunt in open water, and this is one of the sites where the bigger visitors show up.
It is the scale that stays with you. Below the top of the wall the reef simply falls away, and hanging off a drop like that with 30 metres of visibility is a feeling no shallow reef can match.
The dive
Pared Verde is dived as a drift along the face. The group descends to the top of the wall at around 25 metres, sets a depth limit at the briefing and drifts along the drop with the current doing the work, looking into the blue on one side and at the wall on the other. Bottom time is shorter than on a shallow reef because of the depth, so your computer and the guide’s plan set the pace, and the last part of the dive moves up onto the reef top for the safety stop under the surface marker.
The boat follows the group and picks everyone up where they surface. No long swims, no navigation to worry about, just the wall and the blue.
Who Pared Verde is for
- Advanced Open Water divers who want a real wall without the Cozumel crossing
- Divers hoping for eagle rays and pelagics in the cooler months
- Photographers with a wide lens who want gorgonians, sponges and blue water in one frame
- Divers combining it with the Mama Viña wreck for a week of deeper dives
Open Water certified? The Advanced Open Water course takes three days and its deep dive is exactly this kind of profile. If you want to compare a Playa del Carmen wall with the walls across the channel, read Cozumel versus Playa del Carmen diving.
Conditions and what to bring
- Your certification card and dive computer
- A 3 mm wetsuit is enough most of the year; we advise on thickness for the winter months, when the eagle rays are around
- Reef safe sunscreen applied after the dives, not before
- Towel, swimwear and a dry change of clothes
Nitrox is available for certified divers at an extra cost and extends bottom time on the wall. Winter cold fronts can bring a windy day or two, which is why we choose sites daily; the best time to dive Playa del Carmen guide explains the seasons month by month.
Key details
Pared Verde at a glance
- Location
- South of Playa del Carmen, a boat ride down the coast
- Depth
- 25 to 30 metres and beyond along the top of the wall, with the drop below
- Dive type
- Wall dive as a drift along the face
- Current
- Mild to moderate, running along the wall
- Level
- Advanced Open Water
- Marine life
- Gorgonians and sponges on the wall, eagle rays in the cooler months, barracuda and jacks in the blue, turtles and groupers on the top
- Price
- Two tank reef dive 2,200 MXN per diver, including two dives and drinking water
- Season
- Year round. Eagle rays are most reliable from December to March. Water 25 to 29 °C
Good to know
Pared Verde diving questions
What divers ask us before they book this site.
Do I need Advanced Open Water for Pared Verde?
Yes. The top of the wall sits at around 25 metres and the dive runs to 30 metres, so Advanced Open Water is required. The Advanced course takes three days if you need it.
How deep is Pared Verde?
The reef top is around 25 metres and the face continues well beyond 30. We set a depth limit at the briefing and stay along the upper part of the wall.
When can I see eagle rays at Pared Verde?
Most reliably in the cooler months from December to March, when they patrol the wall. Sightings happen at other times but are less predictable.
Is Pared Verde a drift dive?
Yes. The group drifts along the face with the current and the boat follows the surface marker, so there is no swimming against the current and no navigation to worry about.
How does Pared Verde compare with Cozumel?
It is the closest thing to a Cozumel wall on this side of the channel: gorgonians, sponges and blue water scale, a short boat ride from Playa del Carmen. Cozumel walls are bigger and we run trips there too.
What does a Pared Verde dive cost?
Pared Verde is part of the two tank reef morning at 2,200 MXN per diver, which includes two dives and drinking water. Nitrox and rental equipment are available at an extra cost.
Next step
Ready to dive Pared Verde?
Send us your dates, certification level and recent deep experience and we will confirm availability, the meeting time and everything included.
Keep exploring
More Playa del Carmen dive sites
Pared Verde pairs naturally with the Mama Viña wreck for Advanced divers, and with a bull shark dive at Shark Point from November to February. For gentler days there is the Tortugas turtle drift, Moc Che and the gardens at Jardines. The best dive sites in Playa del Carmen guide covers them all.
Dive siteMama Viña wreckThe signature dive: a shrimp boat on the sand at 27 to 30 metres with barracuda above the mast.
Dive siteTortugasThe turtle highway: a relaxed drift at 18 to 25 metres with resident turtles, nurse sharks and rays.
Dive siteMoc CheTwo sites in one: a shallow macro reef and a deep side where bull sharks pass in winter.