Meet Monica Hartlief; entrepreneur, traveler, and diver.
Like so many of us that end up here in Playa del Carmen, and the Rivera Maya, we come from all parts of the globe and from all different back grounds, and that is what makes our area so wonderfully unique. Monica’s story is no different and she adds yet another facet to our ever growing international community.

Originally from Holland Monica has been in Mexico for the past 8 years first landing in Merida in 1999 with her former business partner. With her professional background in telecommunications she was a bit of a fish out of water in Merida, but she remedied that by completing a dive instructor program in 1999. She says that there is “nothing like being able to breathe underwater”, and at that point had officially caught the diving bug.

She used to spend weekends in Playa del Carmen, coming down from Merida to hang out and dive the incredible dive spots along the Riviera Maya coastline. For the next 2 years she hopped back and forth between Holland, Merida, and Playa del Carmen, and it was then that she fell for the laid back attitude of Playa del Carmen. She eventually moved to Playa del Carmen full time in 2001, and knew that she wanted to get involved in some sort of dive related business, but she did not really have a set business plan. She continued her dive education adding advanced open water, rescue diving, and dive master to her resume, until she became a PADI Course Director in 2005, and in October 2001 she opened The Dive Company.

The Dive Company is a service oriented agency that also offers access to dive accessories, instructor dive courses, first aid and CPR, as well as travel information and accommodations. Since then she has helped develop and partner in several other local area businesses such as Posada Freud, and ATV Explorer, and she is currently adding to her entrepreneurial empire with a full service property management and catering company.

This newest venture, TDC Management, is a property managemnt company which also includes catering and guest services such as personal shopping and "meet and greets". TDC Management will again be service oriented, but will focus on property mangaement for proeprty owners rather then providing a rental business to vacationers. Not to say that this will not be offered at a later date, but regardless what Monica chooses to do one thing is guaranteed; success! To say the least Monica certainly didn’t need a “set plan” as she continues to succeed as an established business woman in Playa del Carmen. By cultivating a stellar reputation and ethical workmanship she has created a secure place in our ever changing local business market.

You can find Monica in the water, running around town, or working out of Dive Aventuras in Puerto Aventuras. She can also be contacted directly through her website: www.thedivecompany.com or by e-mail at: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

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