NovaDiver23
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In mid-august 2007, I made a trip to Cabo, for the most part, to check out the diving. After diving only two days, I can only report that I was not extremely impressed and doubt I will be returning to dive there anytime soon. I do, however, the whole Cabo experience (diving and all) was worth the trip.
-Diving Condition: The weather was a beautiful 90 degrees without a cloud in the sky all week. The first day water temp. was around 75 (which we were told was COOOLD). The very next day, in the same exact spot, the water was in the low 80s. Visibility was about 40-50 feet.
-Diving Operators: I dove with Underwater Diversions both days and was not very impressed. I went to UD because a) they were recommended on this Board and b) because I had gotten a voucher for a free 2 tank dive for going on a timeshare presentation (discussed more below) for use at UD only. UD and all other Cabo dive operations charged 75 for a two-tank dive.
-Diving: The first day, I was told to arrive at 9:00 and upon arrival we departed for the boat (the boat and the shop are right on the marina in Cabo) and headed out to two sites: Pelican Rock and North Wall (note: there are really only 4-5 sites that dive boats ordinarilly go to in Cabo and they are literally RIGHT next to each other - no more than a 5 minute boat ride). There was only four of us and the dive master told us that he was going to be giving us a guided tour. On the "guided tour", however, he wasn't guiding anything as he was too busy taking his own pictures. Rather than wait for him to take an inordinate amount of pictures, I ended up swimming ahead and everyone followed. Pelican Rock was pretty good and had a good amount of marine life (lobsters, stingray, eels, etc.) and the "sand falls". My depth topped out at 70 feet. We next dove North Wall. All I can say about North Wall is that it was OK and not very impressive. My depth here topped out at 50 feet.
I was told by the UD dive shop to arrive at 1pm the next day for diving. Although I wanted to dive in the morning, I said OK and showed up the next day to which I was told "there was no afternoon boat" and they had went out this morning (without telling me, instead taking a boat of cruise ship divers)- a full day of diving wasted. I was told to arrive at 9am the next morning for diving.
The next day, I arrive at 9, and was told I was "too early." The shop was busy fumbling with Discover Scuba divers (taking a separate boat out). An hour later, we got on the boat and departed. The divers on the boat requested we go to Land's End (where we heard you can dive with the sea lions), however, our request was denyed because it was too rough (when, in fact, it was not very rough). We then dove Pelican Rock and Neptune's Finger. Pelican Rock was a good dive, but I was again unimpressed with Neptune's Finger. Equally important to mention is the fact that boats are racing over diver's heads ALL the time. These boats, mainly water taxis taking patrons to view the rock formations, have NO respect for the divers or our safety. To illustrate my point, it took us at least 10 minutes to proceed to the surface after our safety stops because of these boats.
After the less than impressive 2 days of diving, I decided against making any more dives. Also, I decided against a trip to Cabo Pulma after less than stellar recommendations from two divers who just made the trip.
-Other Cabo Tidbits: Cabo is BIG on timeshare presentations. While catching a shuttle or taxi at the airport, you will be bombarded by timeshare salespeople. If you play it right, you can get a good deal. For example, for doing a timeshare presentation at Haciendo Encantada, my fiance and I were given: 1 two tank dive at UD, 2 tickets to a sunset booze cruise, a 30-minute massage, breakfast, 30 dollars for the shuttle ride back to the airport, and tequila. Total package worth about 230 dollars. Although we got a good deal, I would NOT recommend doing a presentation at Haciendo Encantada as the people were VERY rude once we didnt buy and because of age restrictions that they didnt enforce earlier, they almost did not give us our gifts. Also, if you do decide to do a presentation do NOT, I repeat DO NOT, give any money as a "deposit." I gave a $40 deposit at the airport (which I was told I would get back) and it was NOT refunded. (Note: after causally talking with a few timeshare salespeople, I learned their game - they can give up to $300 in gifts to any single person; the catch is that the less they give you, the more they get to keep for themselves because they keep the difference between the $300 and what they give you). In the end, if you play it right, I'm pretty sure you can get at least 3 days of two-tank diving if you do the presentation.
The restaurants in Cabo are priced similar to the US, but the grocery stores are much more expensive.
-Conclusion: I am not saying that Cabo or Underwater Diversion are bad locations/dive shop. Instead, I am simply reporting that I am less than impressed with my Cabo diving and UD. If it means anything, the other divers I were with expressed the same feelings. UD did have a knowledgable staff and were helpful on the boat. The shop itself, however, was slightly unorganized and as stated above, I think the guide should be more interested in guiding us than taking pictures. But this was 1 dive master out of a large staff.
As you may have heard, Cabo is not the Carribean, and I knew this going into the trip. I booked Cabo because their best diving is Aug-Nov and I could only go in August (If I booked Cozumel, I'd be in a hurricane right now). If I could do it again, I would still go to Cabo, however, I don't plan returning anytime soon. In my eyes, this is the type of location you visit once every 10-15 years.
-Diving Condition: The weather was a beautiful 90 degrees without a cloud in the sky all week. The first day water temp. was around 75 (which we were told was COOOLD). The very next day, in the same exact spot, the water was in the low 80s. Visibility was about 40-50 feet.
-Diving Operators: I dove with Underwater Diversions both days and was not very impressed. I went to UD because a) they were recommended on this Board and b) because I had gotten a voucher for a free 2 tank dive for going on a timeshare presentation (discussed more below) for use at UD only. UD and all other Cabo dive operations charged 75 for a two-tank dive.
-Diving: The first day, I was told to arrive at 9:00 and upon arrival we departed for the boat (the boat and the shop are right on the marina in Cabo) and headed out to two sites: Pelican Rock and North Wall (note: there are really only 4-5 sites that dive boats ordinarilly go to in Cabo and they are literally RIGHT next to each other - no more than a 5 minute boat ride). There was only four of us and the dive master told us that he was going to be giving us a guided tour. On the "guided tour", however, he wasn't guiding anything as he was too busy taking his own pictures. Rather than wait for him to take an inordinate amount of pictures, I ended up swimming ahead and everyone followed. Pelican Rock was pretty good and had a good amount of marine life (lobsters, stingray, eels, etc.) and the "sand falls". My depth topped out at 70 feet. We next dove North Wall. All I can say about North Wall is that it was OK and not very impressive. My depth here topped out at 50 feet.
I was told by the UD dive shop to arrive at 1pm the next day for diving. Although I wanted to dive in the morning, I said OK and showed up the next day to which I was told "there was no afternoon boat" and they had went out this morning (without telling me, instead taking a boat of cruise ship divers)- a full day of diving wasted. I was told to arrive at 9am the next morning for diving.
The next day, I arrive at 9, and was told I was "too early." The shop was busy fumbling with Discover Scuba divers (taking a separate boat out). An hour later, we got on the boat and departed. The divers on the boat requested we go to Land's End (where we heard you can dive with the sea lions), however, our request was denyed because it was too rough (when, in fact, it was not very rough). We then dove Pelican Rock and Neptune's Finger. Pelican Rock was a good dive, but I was again unimpressed with Neptune's Finger. Equally important to mention is the fact that boats are racing over diver's heads ALL the time. These boats, mainly water taxis taking patrons to view the rock formations, have NO respect for the divers or our safety. To illustrate my point, it took us at least 10 minutes to proceed to the surface after our safety stops because of these boats.
After the less than impressive 2 days of diving, I decided against making any more dives. Also, I decided against a trip to Cabo Pulma after less than stellar recommendations from two divers who just made the trip.
-Other Cabo Tidbits: Cabo is BIG on timeshare presentations. While catching a shuttle or taxi at the airport, you will be bombarded by timeshare salespeople. If you play it right, you can get a good deal. For example, for doing a timeshare presentation at Haciendo Encantada, my fiance and I were given: 1 two tank dive at UD, 2 tickets to a sunset booze cruise, a 30-minute massage, breakfast, 30 dollars for the shuttle ride back to the airport, and tequila. Total package worth about 230 dollars. Although we got a good deal, I would NOT recommend doing a presentation at Haciendo Encantada as the people were VERY rude once we didnt buy and because of age restrictions that they didnt enforce earlier, they almost did not give us our gifts. Also, if you do decide to do a presentation do NOT, I repeat DO NOT, give any money as a "deposit." I gave a $40 deposit at the airport (which I was told I would get back) and it was NOT refunded. (Note: after causally talking with a few timeshare salespeople, I learned their game - they can give up to $300 in gifts to any single person; the catch is that the less they give you, the more they get to keep for themselves because they keep the difference between the $300 and what they give you). In the end, if you play it right, I'm pretty sure you can get at least 3 days of two-tank diving if you do the presentation.
The restaurants in Cabo are priced similar to the US, but the grocery stores are much more expensive.
-Conclusion: I am not saying that Cabo or Underwater Diversion are bad locations/dive shop. Instead, I am simply reporting that I am less than impressed with my Cabo diving and UD. If it means anything, the other divers I were with expressed the same feelings. UD did have a knowledgable staff and were helpful on the boat. The shop itself, however, was slightly unorganized and as stated above, I think the guide should be more interested in guiding us than taking pictures. But this was 1 dive master out of a large staff.
As you may have heard, Cabo is not the Carribean, and I knew this going into the trip. I booked Cabo because their best diving is Aug-Nov and I could only go in August (If I booked Cozumel, I'd be in a hurricane right now). If I could do it again, I would still go to Cabo, however, I don't plan returning anytime soon. In my eyes, this is the type of location you visit once every 10-15 years.
