Club Cantamar vs. Cortez Club

[treepets]

Hi all. I've never posted a question to this forum, although I always do my research here when planning a trip.

I'm planning a trip to La Paz / Sea of Cortez with my husband for late August for 7 days of diving, and I'm wondering if anyone has had any recent experiences diving with Club Cantamar and Cortez Club? For some reason, reviews are extremely mixed making it very difficult to get a good feel for either place.

We are both experienced divers and we will be bringing significant camera gear along with us. Not so concerned with having a wonderful hotel room as we are with having a reliable and experienced dive operator.

Club Cantamar seems to have some really terrible reviews, but many of the reviews go back 5+ years and I'm wondering if anyone has a more recent experience they can share.

We kind of like the fact that Club Cantamar advertises big boats (with bathrooms on board), but we don't like the idea of cattle-operations. We like that Cantamar includes 3 dives daily in their dive package, whereas Cortez Club charges extra for a third dive.

Cantamar also has a slightly better vantage point for getting to the dive sites, but we are not sure whether this is really a significant reason to choose them over Cortez Club.

We really like the fact that Cortez Club advertises small groups, but we don't know if a small boat will be the ideal situation for diving in the Sea of Cortez. We also like the fact the Cortez Club is closer to the main city area making it easier to go to restaurants etc. for dinner. Cortez Club also does not seem to have such polarized reviews for some reason, which is also a plus.

Has anyone dived with either of these places recently? Any thoughts or insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Salt]

Ditto. Also looking for information. Thinking about taking a dive trip to LaPaz in Fall of 2013.

Most of the reviews of Club Cantamar are dated (2008 and earlier.)

Except for this one, which is a little scary.

Club Cantamar Warning (Nov 1, 2011)
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/400975-club-cantamar-warning-la-paz.html

So has anyone been to Club Cantamar recently? Or to Cortez Club?

 

[treepets]

Since the response to our question on this forum was met with an ocean of silence, and because Club Cantamar never responded to our inquiry about reservations but Cortez Club promptly communicated with us, it made our decision to dive/stay with Cortez Club seem clear. Besides their vastly more impressive attention to a potential future guest (a precursor of what to expect when you actually arrive?), we decided that we'd prefer be closer to the main part of town where there should be access to more restaurants and shops rather than isolated in a stand-alone facility some 30 miles out. Also, although we read reports that Cantamar Club's larger boats are faster and more comfortable for traveling to the remote dive sites, our experiences in other dive locations has led us to the belief that small, intimate-size dive groups are more desirable and anything resembling a "cattle boat" should be avoided. Of course, all of this is opinion based sheerly on our gut feelings as we do not make this dive trip until late summer of this year. We'll post again with our review when we return, but expect you must make your decision long before then. Good luck and good diving!

 

[GrantLaPaz]

Hey guys, I'd say your best bet is going with the cortez club. I haven't ever gone with them, but I've visited their center, and I'm currently getting certified by a good friend who is an instructor there. Everyone there is friendly and helpful; and they have good equipment if you need to use theirs. I haven't been to club Cantamar, but according to what salt said.. I'd definitely choose cortez club.


Hope this helped

 

[Salt]

I still haven't made it there, other than a one day excursion from Cabo San Lucas (through Manta) which was pretty good. It's under consideration again.

Someone else on this board recommended a different outfit altogether called Fun Baja Diving
Fun Baja Diving and Excursions in Baja Sur California

So treepets, how did your trip go? Did you make a good choice with Cortez Club?

 

[george_austin]

It's amazing to me that someone will say - " hey everyone, I would definitely go with dive op A but I've never dived with them, I just have a friend who works there and he's going to get me certified"

really?
I have actually spent 12 days living at and diving with Club Cantamar. I was fortunate to have great weather and conditions. After 5 days, you start going to the same sites you went to on Day 1 but it was a very relaxing week with fun every day. Good food at their restaurant. Shuttle to town regularly. I love La Paz but I would dive with another operator next time

 

[CantamarLaPaz]

We are now present on Scuba Board. Will be happy to answer any questions.

We have amazing boats like the MV Siempre Sí, MV Uno Más, SeaWind II which will promptly put you on the best diving sites on La Paz Bay. They have been freshly refurbished. Also new crews, and investing heavely on our Sports Resort at Pichilingue Bay.

Currently we are fully booked for October 2017, November has some space available.

For any questions you might have you can contact us at info (at) clubcantamar.com