Frogman Diving- passionate private dive guide and scuba instructor

I love what I do, I keep on learning day by day and use my experience to create a dive experience of a lifetime for you!

  • Home
  • About Frogman Diving Cancun

private service

safety first

best locations

The best dive site can be bad when it is too demanding for your level of experience or crowded. I consider this always before I choose the spot of the day to make the best out of it for you.

As guide and instructor my most important skill is to read my guests and avoid or recognize problems before they can affect safety and fun. Enjoy your adventure safe and sound!

Small groups of maximum 4 divers and affordable private guiding guarantee individual care for each guest. No "cattle diving" - Feel like Kings & Queens!

private service

Small groups of maximum 4 divers and affordable private guiding guarantee individual care for each guest. No "cattle diving" - Feel like Kings & Queens!

safety first

As guide and instructor my most important skill is to read my guests and avoid or recognize problems before they can affect safety and fun. Enjoy your adventure safe and sound!

best locations

The best dive site can be bad when it is too demanding for your level of experience or crowded. I consider this always before I choose the spot of the day to make the best out of it for you.

Frogman Diving Cancun - your private dive guide and Scuba instructor

Who is Frogman Diving Cancun?

Private dive guide and scuba instructor

Hi, my name is Tillmann, I´m German and live since 2015 in Mexico, since 2016 in Canún. I´m a full time TDI SDI scuba instructor,

Let me tell you quickly about my connection to diving and how I became a dive professional:

  • I have a german university diploma in national economics, had a "serious" career in hotel management and was living in the beautiful Engadin valley in Switzerland
  • On my first vacation in tropical regions, Mauritius, I did my first scuba dive followed by my first certification
  • In late 2014 I realized that my actual lifestyle and job was not making me happy. I am very connected to nature and I´m not made to sit in an office - life is more important to me than money
  • I decided to make a change and went in 2015 to Playa del Carmen in Mexico to become a dive instructor
  • Three months and 250 dives later I was a proud PADI specialty instructor, got a job right afterwards
  • In 2017 I worked on the Maldives, South Ari atoll, then in Qantab, Oman, to gain experience
  • Back in Cancun I decided that now  is the time to start my own business - Frogman Diving Cancun was born!
  • In 2020 I continued my education and became a TDI instructor for technical diving. Since 2021 I only teach TDI and SDI, no more PADI
selfi at a cenote

my qualifications


I´m a certified instructor for SDI, TDI, FRTI and I´m authorized to conduct the following courses:

SDI 

level

  • Scuba Discovery
  • Shallow Water Diver
  • Open Water Scuba Diver
  • Advanced Adventure Diver
  • Advanced Diver 
  • Rescue Diver
  • Master Diver
  • Dive Master
  • Assistant Instructor

specialty

  • Solo Diver
  • SDI Sidemount Diver
  • Computer Nitrox
  • Deep Diver
  • Wreck Diver
  • Computer Diver
  • Equipment Specialist
  • Advanced Buoyancy
  • Marine Ecosystems Awareness
  • Night-Limited Visibility 

TDI

level

  • Intro to Tech Diving
  • TDI Nitrox

specialty

  • Nitrox Gas Blending
  • TDI Sidemount Diver
  • Equipment O2 Service Tech

FRTI

level

  • Adult and Child Emergency Care
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Oxygen Administration
Logo Scuba Diving International SDI
Logo Technical Diving International TDI
Logo First Response Training International FRTI

...got some more certifications and qualifications


Besides that I hold several TDI diver level certifications:

  • Cavern Diver
  • Cave Diver
  • Full Cave Diver
  • Stage Cave Diver
  • Advanced Nitrox Diver
  • Decompression Preocedures Diver
Logo TDI certified diver

Frogman Diving Cancun is a registered TDI and SDI Dive Center

I have the necessary permissions to access and guide in all interesting cenotes and the guiding permits for the marine national parks of Cancún and Cozumel.

As professional I conducted more than 2000 open water dives since 2015 and 1000+ cavern and cave guiding dives.

I have been teaching so far 1500+ Discover Scuba Diving programs and certified hundrets of divers from Open Water to dive Master level.

Etrance Dos Ojos

what I offer

As Frogman Diving Cancun I offer my services as private TDI SDI scuba diving instructor, dive and snorkeling guide for ocean and the Cenotes of Yucatán peninsula. I´m based in Cancún and offer pick up in the area of Cancún, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen down to Puerto Aventuras.

I also write a blog about diving related topics, locations, nature, especially in the region of the Mexican Caribbean, my favorite place to be.

Below you find a selection of my services:

Punta Cancun

check out my highlights

Swim with whale sharks!

How about a swim with the biggest fish in the seven seas? Every summer from June - September in the waters of Cancún!

Scuba dive in a Cenote

Have you been for a scuba dive in the middle of the jungle? Drop into the mystic Mayan underworld - no cave training necessary!

TDI Cavern Diver 

You tried diving in a cenote and want to get more? This course teaches you the skill set and knowledge for cavern diving!

My Blog

Do you want to know how to improve your air consumption or why there are so many whale sharks in Cancún? Check my blog!

The journey to happiness - how  I became a dive instructor

I was not born in a scuba family, I actually started quite late to dive and it was a long journey until I ended up doing what I´m doing now. I call it the "journey to happiness" because before this part of my life started, something was missing. 

Breaking with all my career plans and a complete change of my lifestyle was the necessary step to find my true profession.

My first job plan at the age of four inspired by Jaques Cousteau

My very first connection to scuba diving was already as a kid before I was able to read. My father brought a collection of Jaques Yves Cousteau books from the library, including the title "Sharks". In the middle of the book was a section with pictures that I was watching - and then I wanted to know more. Now my bedtime storys were the expeditions of Cousteaus´ "Calypso" rather than Grim´s tales.

My best friends father at that time was scuba instructor of the local life guards and stored the whole gear of the club in his basement. We loved to look through it and my friend explained me everything he knew.

We played in our garden shark tagging with selfmade spears and scuba cylinders build from washpowder barrels.

I was sure one day I will become a marine biologist and explore the seven seas. But somehow I lost track.

bull shark diving playa del carmen

35 years later - me diving with bull sharks November 2015 Playa del Carmen

Too young to dive

Unfortunately at that time I was still too young to try scuba diving. I learned to ski, later skateboarding and was never really in vacation at the ocean where diving was offered. Also I was into music and learned some instruments.

After school I studied national economics and finished it with the German Diploma degree.

Up in the Engadin valley

I finished university but my plans to become a consultant for environmental economics didn´t worked out, so I decided to take some time out and work as waiter and ski instructor in the Engadin valley in Switzerland.

After my first winter I didn´t wanted to leave and took a job offer as second general manager of a small hotel and already after a few month I got promoted.

Having a beer after skiing, Diavolezza, Switzerland 2012

I never forgot about diving

No matter what I did, I never lost my interest in diving and underwater life. I watched every documentary I could get, read books, I always had mask, snorkel and fins and used them sometimes in our cold German lakes.

In 1993 I was for vacation with my family on Comino, a small island between Malta and Gozo. Here I could have done a scuba certification but they wanted a check from a physician, no doctor on the island, everything too complicated, chance gone. But hell I was snorkelling there...

At university I focused on environmental economics, especially economic impacts of climate change. Also here I kept a connection to nature.

My first dive in Mauritius

The time out as waiter evolved into becoming general manager of the small sport hotel I worked for. I thought I had made it, a cool position and living where others go for vacation. I really liked living in this beautiful mountain valley.

Now that I had not to spend money for ski vacations I focused on a new experience: tropical waters!

I went to Mauritius, an amazing island in the middle of the indian ocean and there it happened that I did my first dive.

It sounds very stereotype, but this moment changed my life.

my first dive

Blurry selfi from my 2nd dive ever - no camera allowed on the 1st

I know the fear before the first dive

I still remember every second of this experience. When we went with the speedboat out of the lagoon behind the protection of the barrier reef, huge waves rolled in. So far no problem, I have no issues with motion sickness. Also backroll into the water was easy. Then I was floating at the surface, up and down with 4-5m waves. I can see the island - walls of water - I can see the island - walls of water. I was peeing my wetsuit. The instructor looked into my eyes and knew what was going on. He told me to put my head in the water and look down. 

Best advise of my life, I saw the reef in the crystal clear water right bellow me and my heartbeat slowed down. WOW!

Head up, look at the instructor, thumbs down (if you are no diver, that means "let´s go down" and is the opposite of bad).

I was in my element, I could see all that stuff I already could name from the documentaries and books. Back at the surface my first reaction was "we need to talk about a certification". My budget just allowed the Scuba Diver, but who cares!

Back in the mountains

Back home I could not stop thinking about diving and planned my next vacation to be a real dive trip to Sahrm-el-Sheich in Egypt, upgrading my certification and then go diving, diving, diving! Next vacation after Sharm was Akumal in Mexico. Next certification level and first Cenote dive, another life changing experience. Until that day I was fascinated but also a bit scared of caves. I expected something different from the dive and got surprised how "cave-ish" it was.

But to pay for that I had to work as manager. And that was not easy. Managing a small hotel means 24/7 on duty. I lived from dive vacation to dive vacation until I could not ignore anymore the fact that I had to change something in my life.

Change of my profession

2014 was the year I came to the point when I had to stop everything, breathe, think and then act.

I had to do a job where I´m in the nature with people, preferable underwater.

Around April 2015 the plan was clear: First go to Playa del Carmen and do my dive instructor in a big facility where I can do lots of diving. And then see what happens.

I sold most of my stuff, quit my appartment, completed my dive gear and landed on the 3rd of July in paradise aka Cancún airport. 

me 2014 in Switzerland

late summer 2014 in my appartment

A new life in Mexico

In the following three month I had so far the best time of my life! Nearly every day I was diving in the Caribbean, all dive sites of Playa del Carmen, some in Cozumel,  different Cenotes. I learned tons of new skills, gained knowledge about all aspects of diving, was surrounded by happy people. 

The deal was that I could go diving whenever there was a free spot on the boat. No matter if I was told that the next day is fully booked, I came anyway at 8 in the morning to see if someone cancelled or if I can join an instructor in his classes. 

If possible I did 2 dives in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and a night dive.

I logged 250 dives from my first to my last day.

Everything fits

After I finished succesful my instructor courses I started as part of the deal an internship in the same company where I did my training. Before it was over I was called in by the HR manager who handed me a contract to sign. And without having a plan my life happened to be amazing! I had everything I needed to be happy. And the best damn street food right in front of my doorstep.

The journey continues

After a couple of month working as instructor in Playa del Carmen I met my girlfriend - now ex. She lived in Cancún so I moved in with her and started working in a local dive shop. It was a complete different type of work, in Playa I was mainly guiding certified divers, now I was teaching mainly try dives.

The experience I gained was pretty amazing, dealing every day again with new guests that never have been diving before tought me so much!

To gain more experience and continue my education I left to the Maldives and headed from there to Oman. After 6 month it was enought, I really had to go back to my mamacita in my casita in Cancún.  

Back home in Cancún

My next goal was to get my full cave certificate to be able to guide in Cenotes. I had the equipment, I found a great teacher and got completely infected with the cave virus!

I started working again for my old employer but realized soon that I had to enroll the plan I hade made during my Maldivean nights: Frogman Diving Cancun, my own business!

I quit my job, bought from my last savings some gear and a pick up truck, got the necessary local licenses, brought my first website online and founded a limited company to make everything in legal order - I´m still a bit German after all.

me and chris at cenote nochoch na chich

aquaman and frogman - my cave instructor Chris and me

Born to teach scuba

I have the best time of my life because I do what I love most, exactly in the way I want to do it, meet amazing people from all over the world and show them how to dive or where to dive.

The expression in your face when we come back to the surface after a stunning dive is worth more to me than any manager salary!

The feeling of success when I helped a beginner to overcome his fears and master a skill is the best motivation for me.

Working with people to give them a great time and infect them with my passion for diving is what makes me happy!

me watching dripstones

I hope one day you will come to visit me in Mexico and join me on my adventures under the jungle and in the sea!

Add Icon
Add Icon

feel free to ask!

0 of 1000
>