In January of 2026, I went diving at Palancar Caves with Deep Exposure in Cozumel, Mexico.

I'm approaching 400 dives around the world, and Palancar Caves easily takes a top five spot.

It was nearly an hour of navigating cathedral-like swim-throughs, massive overhangs, and some of the most dramatic underwater topography I've seen.

Dive Site Location

Palancar Caves sits on Cozumel's southwest coast at the coordinates: 📍 20.36578, -87.03020, as part of the Palancar Reef system.

The "caves" aren't true overhead environments but massive coral formations creating swim-throughs, tunnels, and cavern-like passages that let you explore without technical cave training.

You'll need a boat to get here. All Cozumel dive operators know this site, but depending on conditions and crowds they can't promise a given site unless you're with a large group.

Deep Exposure delivered exactly what you want from a Cozumel operator: fast boat, experienced crew, and guides who know how to lead.

Not luxury diving, but efficient and well-maintained. They had camera rinse tanks, gear storage, and fresh lunch waiting for us we surfaced.

What I Saw

To me, the stand out moment was watching a sea turtle approaching from the surface for air, then swim back down directly in front of us and begin feasting. It was completely unbothered by the group.

The Deep Exposure guide also spotted a usual suspect seahorse tucked into the caves structure. Seahorses are a rare find and worth stopping for.

It goes to show how diving with experienced guides will help you get the most of your trip.

In the shallows during our safety stop, multiple stingrays were playing in the sand.

Throughout the dive: hogfish, various reef fish, and the usual Caribbean suspects.

The cave walls were covered in sponges – purple tube sponges, barrel sponges, and various encrusting organisms.

The Swim-Throughs

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Multiple passages take you through the coral formations. Some are wide-open cathedral swim-throughs where an entire dive group can navigate side-by-side.

Others get tighter, funneling you through with just enough space that you need to be on top of your buoyancy and trim.

It had been so long since I'd seen coral formaitons like this, as before this year, a lot of my recent diving had been in Florida.

Marine Park Information

If you're planning a Cozumel trip or just want to connect with other divers, I run a free diving community on Skool where we share dive sites, plan meetups, and talk gear. Check it out here.