Best Resort and Dive Operator in "La Paz"

[Roddenberry]

I'm heading to La Paz in May (2008) and have had little luck finding consistent reviews on places to stay and good dive operators. If anyone has been there, I'd appreciate any advice on the matter. "Cantamar" seems to be one of the biggest diver operators but from what I've read, the rooms aren't very nice. I'm going with my fiancee and although we're not expecting a 5-start resort but we were hoping to enjoy ourselves above water as well as below. Any feedback would be appreciated.
-ROD



FYI - I did a quick search of the forums for "La Paz", La Paz, Paz ..etc and did not find any other similar or related posts.

 

[buffa2]

We dove LaPaz in October 2006, and it truly was one of the all-time best dive trips we have ever been on. Absolutely incredible diving (whale sharks, sea lions, pilot whales, dolphins, on and on)
However----we stayed at Cantamar, and other than not having any food or water for a week, it wasn't bad. In was the most memoarable trip we have ever been on for several reasons. Whatever you do, though---STAY AWAY FROM CANTAMAR !!FEEL FREE TO CALL ME AND I WILL FILL YOU IN ON THE DETAILS !!! 1-800-898-0054

 

[Rickg]

I'm heading to La Paz in May (2008) and have had little luck finding consistent reviews on places to stay and good dive operators. If anyone has been there, I'd appreciate any advice on the matter. "Cantamar" seems to be one of the biggest diver operators but from what I've read, the rooms aren't very nice. I'm going with my fiancee and although we're not expecting a 5-start resort but we were hoping to enjoy ourselves above water as well as below. Any feedback would be appreciated.
-ROD



FYI - I did a quick search of the forums for "La Paz", La Paz, Paz ..etc and did not find any other similar or related posts.

ewrrod,

The Scubaboard search engine is pretty good but I believe you just found the one area where is doesn't perform very well. That is if you try to do a search on something that is 3 characters or less - in this case "La Paz".

If you do a search on Cantamar, Cortez, Baja, etc you will find other threads that include discussion of La Paz. We were there in '06 and had a good time. The water in May will still be on the cold side. But that also has its good side in that you probably have a better chance to see hammerheads at El Bajo.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/173770-sea-cortez-la-paz-lob-pic-s.html

We spent several nights at Club Cantamar. The rooms there were basic but comfortable. It is a dedicated "diver's" resort. You don't need to stay at their resort to dive with them. You can stay at a downtown hotel and they will pick you up every morning and take you back to the hotel every afternoon. The ride is 15-20 minutes one way.

We went to downtown La Paz for dinner several nights and really enjoyed ourselves. If we were to go back we would probably stay at a hotel in La Paz vice at Club Cantamar just because of more options for eating and drinking.

Hope this helps.

 

[BrewingDiver]

On advice of a regular La Paz diver/instructor/travel agent, we stayed at Club El Moro. The Club Cantamar shuttle picked us up every morning for the 15 minute drive to CC, and we dove with them. I can recommend Club El Moro. Our room was very large, with a separate bedroom. The place is on the very north end of the malecon, but walkable into town for meals. We always ate breakfast at El Moro before diving (they would give us food to go while we waited for the shuttle). Lunch was on the boat, and we either walked or used a taxi for dinner.

I am interested in alternatives to CC for diving, so please let us know how your trip was.

 

[bc1954]

After spending enormous time on the internet I stumbled across a web site that rated all the dive shops in La Paz. Off hand I can only remember that Baja Quest was ranked the highest. With Club Cantamar being a distant 4th. When I get home I will check to see who number 2 & 3 are. So on that note does anybody have experience with Baja Quest as I am going to be in La Paz in May also.

 

[bc1954]

The other two dive shops that were rated higher than Cantamar were Baja Seafaris & Luna Sea Charters. So if anybody has any info on these three places it would be appreciated.

 

[BrewingDiver]

The other two dive shops that were rated higher than Cantamar were Baja Seafaris & Luna Sea Charters. So if anybody has any info on these three places it would be appreciated.

Can you provide the website that shows the ratings? PM me if you prefer. I really liked the diving in La Paz, and would like to return, but am interested in different options.

 

[bikefox]

We stayed at Las Gaviotas. It was great. I'm not sure if you can make a reservation or if it's timeshare only.

We dove with Fun Baja. They were also great. A bit more expensive, but they serve a hot lunch on an island were they have camp setup. I called the owner (Enrique) and got a better price than they list on-line.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Funny thing about club cantamar, they had the best mexi food I have had in june 2006.
the boats are 40 to 50' and are fast, made to go many miles where the diving is great, with the ocean waves, all the other charters had small boats, The divers were probably sea sick, they never even went out to some really great dives.
Haurvei or some thing like that was the captain-cook hot mexican food for lunch, he went around and got pilot whales, dolphins to ride the bow of the boat, So topside was just as fun as under.

Sorry others had a bad time, we had extra days to go sight see, but dove two more days instead, They did'nt charge us for the dives or the three meals a day. The last day of are planned trip, I gave everybody a $100 each, so the captain two dive masters and the cook who only charged us for half are drinks, so when they said stay and dive your last two days if you like.

We were treated awesome, gave a good tip to our crew, and stayed,dove, ate for free.

The morning of the last dive when I tipped them the captain said thanks and said, the other captain will be taking you out, they all set there plans in the morning its the only time you see dthe owner. Our captain was on our boat, The owner asked if we would stay and dive on the behalf of club cantamar.

I read last year in a dive magazine they have that great captain-cook, they all had a wonderful time.

The fisherman will bring in darado and the cook prepares it.
If you like to fish save a day or two they have new grady white look a like fishing boats.

 

[NAIBdiver1]

Wow, we were at Club Cantamar last October and have nothing but praise !!! We had a great time. The food was great, the room was good (2nd floor near the pool). The dive staff couldn't have been better ! We are so looking forward to going back ! Going out to our first dive, my first time in the water with sea lions - someone kicked one of my fins over board. When we got to the site, I was so disappointed that I wouldn't be able to go. The boat's divemaster gave me his fins to use for the day. Every dive the divemasters really knew waht was going on and we had a great time and shot tons of video. If you'd like to see the sealion video I made:
Sealions of the Sea of Cortez - Oct 2007

The rooms close to the road may not be as nice. All in all - it was a great trip and we are going back !

NAIBDiver1