Diving the Cancun Underwater Museum

Since we eloped and didn’t really take a honeymoon I decided to surprise Daniel for his birthday with a quick weekend getaway to Cancun, Mexico.

One of the many perks of being a flight attendant is getting to fly for free! Obviously this means that spontaneous and surprise trips are so much easier and cheaper!  

On the agenda for the weekend was relaxing on the beach with a piña colada in hand, spending lots of quality time together, eating our weight in tacos, and diving the beautiful, clear waters of Cancun.

I booked a SCUBA trip and we were fortunate enough to experience the unique and one of a kind, Cancun Underwater Museum. 

Cancun Underwater Museum

Girl scuba diving in cancunPin

What is the Underwater Museum

The Cancun Underwater Museum, also known as MUSA, is a unique, artificial reef created by the British sculptor Jason Taylor along with five other sculptors from Mexico.

It was opened in 2010 and houses over 500 sculptures, all submerged at different depths in the ocean.

Since it opened, it has been a hot spot for snorkelers and scuba divers as well as a safe haven for many different varieties of marine life. 

What is the Purpose of the Cancun Underwater Museum

MUSA was created to benefit the protection of coral reefs in Cancun. With so many tourists annually, the reefs were struggling to remain healthy and full of life. 

All the statues in the Cancun Underwater Museum are made from a pH-neutral cement, so that coral, algae, and seaweed are able to grow and develop on it easily. The statues also consist of holes, which allows the marine life to colonize and feed off the coral. 

Over time, all the statues will be covered and unrecognizable as the shapes they once were.

It will be a sanctuary for many different species of fish, sea turtles, and other marine animals. The Underwater Museum has been set up as a way for art and artists to help save the ocean. 

Man diving the Cancun Underwater MuseumPin

Great Dive Tours to Experience MUSA

We chose to go with a company called Manta Divers for our day under the sea and it was a wonderful experience.

My husband, Daniel was only recently certified to scuba dive and I hadn’t been diving in several years so I felt slightly nervous.

Our guide, Rachel, gave us a complimentary diving refresher in the pool before we went out to the ocean and it made me feel so much more relaxed!  

Couple on the boat in Cancun Mexico. Going to dive the Cancun Underwater Museum also known as MUSAPin

We got a ton of individualized attention and were able to take our time underwater with our guide pointing out all the different marine life to us. 

Here are some other diving tours that take you to the Underwater Museum of Art in Cancun (MUSA).

Our Diving Experience 

We loved getting to experience the Cancun Underwater Museum as it is something we had never seen before.

While it has only been submerged for just over a decade years, there is already so much life and growth on all the statues, and it was already home to a ton of marine life. 

It was amazing to get to see how art can be used in many different ways, not only to illicit emotions but also help our environment.

Love for the Ocean

Growing up in Florida, I grew a love for the ocean that hasn’t stopped even though I now live in a landlocked state. 

When I was young my mom would take my siblings and me to a non-profit sanctuary for injured turtles. Here they helped nurse them back to health until they were ready to be back in the ocean. It was one of my favorite places to visit and one of the first things that started my love and respect for the ocean and it’s reefs and marine life.

Most of my childhood I wanted to be a marine biologist, while this didn’t happen I still feel my happiest and most at peace when I am in the ocean.

How Can We Help our Oceans and Reefs? 

So how can we do our part to help protect the reefs? I asked my dive instructor and she gave us some of the best things we can do to observe these beautiful reefs safely.

Some of the things she told me were:

  • Never touch the coral
  • Make sure the sunscreen you are using doesn’t have harmful ingredients for marine life
  • Never throw trash in the ocean
  • Pick up any trash you see while diving
  • Never take anything from the reefs to bring home as a souvenir.

It takes coral decades or longer to create reef structures, so let’s all do our part to help protect them the best that we can!

If you have the chance, you should definitely add seeing the Cancun Underwater Museum to your bucket list, you won’t regret it!

Scuba Diving In Cancun Mexico at the Cancun Underwater MuseumPin

What are your favorite dive spots?

Thanks for pinning!

The Cancun Underwater Art Museum was developing in the waters around Cancun, Mexico to help the reefs. The artwork is from pH neutral cement so that coral and seaweed can grown on it. It is made to be a sanctuary for many different species of marine animals. MUSA is a great place to snorkel or SCUBA in Cancun!Pin

Emily 

Thanks for sharing!

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