Our story

Born in the cenotes.
Drawn to Baja.

Your Instructor Our Home
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How it began

We Started Underground

In 2015 we opened in Playa del Carmen — in the cenotes, flooded limestone caves beneath the Yucatan jungle where the water is so still you can hear your own heartbeat.

That environment shaped everything about how we teach: patient, specific, built around the person in front of us. Students came from everywhere. Many came back. Some stayed long enough to become instructors themselves. What kept them returning wasn't just the cenotes — it was the way we taught.

We're now based in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, on the edge of the Sea of Cortez — what Jacques Cousteau called "the world's aquarium." We moved here because this water is extraordinary: open ocean visibility to 30 meters, marine life that changes with every season, and the kind of blue depth that serious freedivers travel the world to find.

Every year we return to the Riviera Maya for our annual camps. The cenotes are still there. So are our roots.

How we teach

The Calmer You Are,
The Deeper You Go

Freediving is the only sport where relaxation is a performance variable. Tension kills your breath-hold. Anxiety cuts your depth. Everything we teach — the physiology, the equalization mechanics, the rescue systems — is built around one goal: getting you calm enough in the water that your body can do what it already knows how to do.

We work in small groups and adapt to each person's pace, their fears, what they came here to work on. We've been doing this long enough to know that one approach works for one person and completely fails another. Finding each student's way in is the job.

The cenotes taught us that. Still water. Perfect visibility. No current. Just you, and whatever is happening inside your body.

2015 Founded
330+ Five-star reviews
3 Certification systems
Our home

The World's Aquarium

We're based here because no other water in Mexico gives us what Baja does year-round. Cabo San Lucas sits at the very tip of Baja, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez. Two bodies of water, different conditions, different marine life — and an extraordinary diving calendar that runs all twelve months.

The Sea of Cortez side is generally calmer and warmer, ideal for courses and training. The Pacific side brings more energy, cooler water, and different encounters. Between the two, there is always somewhere to dive and something to see.

Jan – Mar
Winter
Whale Season

Gray whales migrate through Baja's Pacific lagoons. Humpbacks return from December. Acoustic and visual encounters with the ocean's largest animals.

20 – 23°C · 5mm wetsuit
Apr – Jun
Spring
Mobula Migration

Hundreds of thousands of Mobula rays aggregate in La Ventana. One of the most extraordinary marine wildlife events in Mexico — accessible to all levels.

22 – 26°C · 3mm wetsuit
Jul – Sep
Summer
Warm Blue Season

Peak water temperature, best visibility. Whale sharks appear. Resident sea lion colonies year-round. Ideal conditions for courses and depth training.

27 – 31°C · 1–2mm
Oct – Nov
Autumn
Baitball Run

Striped marlin hunt sardine bait balls off Magdalena Bay. Sea lions, dolphins, and humpbacks join. The most intense wildlife event in the Sea of Cortez.

25 – 29°C · Best visibility
What we stand for

What We're Actually Here to Do

Honest Instruction

We train people to become safe, self-reliant divers. That means a certification at the end — but more than that, a real understanding of your own body in water.

Genuine Safety

Safety is not a module in our courses — it's the foundation they're built on. Every session, every expedition, every depth dive operates under the same protocols.

Respect for the Ocean

No chasing. No touching. No staging. Our relationship with marine life is built on observation and respect — non-negotiable on every expedition we run.

We were founded by two women and have always had a majority-female team. We're proud of that — and we welcome everyone.

Head Instructor

Founder

10+ Years Teaching
Head Instructor & Founder
Candelaria
AIDA Instructor SSI Instructor Molchanovs Instructor

We built this school around Candelaria. She opened the first cenote sessions in 2015 and has been teaching every day since — across Mexico, New Zealand, Thailand, Italy, Greece, and Spain before bringing it all back to build what Amancay is today.

She has coached students from their very first breath-hold to personal records past 47 meters. She has safety-dived at competitions. She has worked with people who arrived afraid of water and left already planning their return.

She reads people the way a good musician reads a room — adjusting before anyone has to say anything. Her patience with equalization is something students mention constantly across hundreds of reviews. So is her humor.

Candelaria leads all program direction and expedition operations at Amancay.

Mexico New Zealand Thailand Italy Greece Spain

"Cande is right up there in terms of knowledge and passion. I have trained with Alexey Molchanov and Adam Stern, and the level of instruction is comparable."

— TripAdvisor · Advanced Training

"She safety-dived on my personal record of 47m constant weight — previously 34m. I'd highly recommend anyone of any level to work with her."

— TripAdvisor · Level 3 Course
330+ Five-star reviews · TripAdvisor & Google
2015 Founded in the Riviera Maya
1,000+ Divers certified since 2015
GTS Official partner · Girls that Scuba
Dual AIDA & Molchanovs Certified
Get in touch

Ready to Breathe Deep?

We respond to all enquiries within 24 hours.

Email
amancayfreediving@gmail.com
WhatsApp
+52 1 984 250 7107
Instagram
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