Manchones
Conditions & tides
Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model
Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
Manchones lies off the southern coast of Isla Mujeres, in the Quintana Roo waters off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The reef, Arrecife Manchones, sits within a national marine park and is also home to the MUSA underwater sculpture museum, a collection of submerged concrete figures placed on the seabed alongside the natural coral formations. It is a shallow site with a maximum depth of around 9.4 metres, rated a beginner dive with light current and good visibility over a reef bottom, making it an easy trip from Isla Mujeres or Cancun for divers and snorkelers alike. Angelfish, barracuda, eagle rays, lobster, nurse sharks, parrotfish, and sea turtles are commonly encountered here, and divers have also reported moray eels, octopus, pufferfish, snapper, stingrays, and wrasse around the reef.
AI overviewMarine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
AngelfishAngelfishConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
Eagle rayEagle rayConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Nurse SharkGinglymostoma cirratumConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
WrasseWrasseReported here · unconfirmed
Sea turtleSea turtleConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
LobsterLobsterConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
StingrayStingrayReported here · unconfirmed
Moray eelMoray eelReported here · unconfirmed
Atlantic Sergeant MajorAbudefduf saxatilisReported here · unconfirmed
Slippery DickHalichoeres bivittatusReported here · unconfirmed
Bluestriped GruntHaemulon sciurusReported here · unconfirmed
Atlantic Blue TangAcanthurus coeruleusReported here · unconfirmed
French GruntHaemulon flavolineatumReported here · unconfirmed
West Indian Fuzzy ChitonAcanthopleura granulataReported here · unconfirmed
Grey AngelfishPomacanthus arcuatusReported here · unconfirmed
Caribbean Spiny LobsterPanulirus argusReported here · unconfirmed
ParrotfishParrotfishConfirmed present · 4 independent sources
BarracudaBarracudaConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
Nurse sharkNurse sharkConfirmed present · 4 independent sources
SnapperSnapperReported here · unconfirmed
OctopusOctopusReported here · unconfirmed
PufferfishPufferfishReported here · unconfirmed
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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