Freediving Intro for Beginners in a Cenote in Tulum Mexico

There is a reason Esteban has a perfect 5-star rating on Google Reviews. After taking lessons from various instructors around the world, I can confidently say Esteban is in a league of his own. While other courses left me wondering about the "whys" and "hows," Esteban provides a wealth of knowledge and incredibly detailed, technical feedback after every single dive. He has a supernatural ability to notice tiny movements in your throat, ears, and nose, suggesting small tweaks that become absolute game-changers for your apnea practice. We even brought friends from the US who historically couldn't even "pop" their ears on flights; after three sessions with Esteban, they were fully equalizing and diving! Whether you are a total beginner or an experienced diver hitting a plateau, I "aggressively" recommend this school. Plus, getting to explore a wide range of beautiful cenotes each day was the icing on the cake. Thank you, Esteban!

When I first began freediving, I struggled significantly with equalization, a hurdle that felt almost impossible to overcome. Fortunately, I met Esteban. He possesses a rare level of intuition, noticing the smallest physiological details in his students and pairing them with a genuine care for their success. Esteban went above and beyond, dedicating extra time to troubleshoot my specific challenges with a vast toolkit of tailored exercises and resources. His patience and expertise completely changed my trajectory; by our third session, I was comfortably diving to nearly 40 feet. If you are a beginner looking to explore the underwater world, Esteban is the instructor you need. He doesn't just teach a skill—he invests in your progress. I will definitely be returning for more classes. Thank you, Esteban, for helping me unlock this new superpower!

I trained with Esteban for five sessions in Tulum, and the experience completely changed my relationship with freediving. Before working with him, I had only a limited reference point for what I could do underwater. Over the course of those sessions, I ended up more than doubling my personal depth. Esteban has a calm, grounded presence that makes you feel safe from the very first dive. His instructions and feedback are clear, precise, and always focused on technique and safety. There is no ego, no pressure, just structured progression and intelligent guidance. I'd say he made me genuinely fall in love with this sport. It stopped being just something interesting I was trying and became something I want to keep doing and improving at. If you are considering training in Tulum, I can’t recommend Esteban enough.

I worked with Esteban across two days. Both were group classes but the 2nd class didn't have anyone else. I was really impressed that he still kept the class, giving me essentially a private class for no additional cost. He's a great instructor. I had never dove more than a few feet before. By the 2nd day, I had dove to 12m and had an absolutely amazing experience. To be deep in the cenote looking up and seeing the trees was incredible, not to mention that I had somehow learned to stay calm under pressure. Esteban is firm but kind. He won't let you develop bad habits and watches everything with attention. He catches all opportunities for improvement but only provides coaching for certain things so one doesn't get overwhelmed. Can't wait to dive again and I'd work with him again too.

I had a great time practicing my freediving skills with Esteban in Anjelita cenote. I am a Level 1 Diver so it really helped me to dive with an experienced diver who corrected my mistakes and showed me how to improve my freediving skills. I do recommend Freedive Utopia for this activity.

Esteban is an incredible coach!! The way he approached the theory and technical aspects of freediving was clear and informative, he was able to explain everything to a beginner in simple language which will give you a feeling that he really has incredible knowledge about freediving and has no problem passing it on to people of all ability levels. Freediving was more of a head game than I ever could have imagined which can feel a bit intense to a complete beginner. However Estebans calm and professional demeanor gave me the confidence to trust the process and my ability to dive, and his emphasis of learning every diving technique with proper form was truly incredible becuase it gave me the impression that he really cares about the progress of his students and that he is an incredible diver himself.... I really appreciate the 'do it properly or don't do it at all' mindset, it really is the best was to effiecntly learn new disciplines. Beyond all that, the whole experience was really cool. If you're curious about freediving, get a good coach! You will save so much time and effort in your learning, and you will feel like you have a guardian angel next to you on every dive. Oh and i forgot to mention, he's a great photographer! Cheers Esteban, All the best

Esteban has a way of teaching freediving that allows us to understand the real foundations of the sport and allows us to excel without the pressure to do so. It was an unforgettable experience, a learning about ourselves and certainly what marked our passage to Tulum! Thank you for all Esteban.

Esteban is fantastic. I initially took a Level 1 class with him in March 2023, and then returned this year in August 2024 for some additional training days. Esteban has a great way of keeping things fun, but safe too. His class room training is very thorough, and then once you are out in the water he is always watching you and providing incredibly specific feedback on every dive. I've had experience with another instructor who didn't provide any useful feedback at all, so that paled in comparison to what Esteban offers. His passion and patience are unmatched, and he goes out of his way to find creative ways to help you get past whatever block or challenge you may be dealing with. I love diving with him and highly recommend him to anyone who is interested in exploring freediving.

Esteban was a gentleman and highly professional from start to finish. He was encouraging, knowledgeable and very safe. Esteban was a pleasure to dive with and I couldn't recommend him more

Freediving in a cenote has been a bucket list item for a while, but checking it will leave me with a greater sense of accomplishment than I had ever imagined. I took the Freediver Course with Esteban, and was blown away by his knowledge, patience, and teaching talent.His focus on safety gave me the confidence to break beyond my (self-perceived) limits diving, and helped me achieve dive goals that I did not even think possible for myself! Esteban is also an extremely observant and personable teacher. I appreciated that he was able to provide specific and personalized advice to help me improve my dive experience and technique. I had high expectations for a freediving lesson/experience, and Esteban fully exceeded them. Thank you again, Freedive Utopia - for an incredible experience! I can't wait to come back and dive with you again soon!