cburdick1
Contributor
Hi Everyone,
My wife and I visited Puerto Vallarta June 23-28 2019 and based on recommendations here on SB, went diving with Puerto Vallarta Ocean Tours.
I communicated with them prior to our trip via email. We made a reservation for 2 days of 2 tank dives and received a 20% discount for booking multiple days in advance. We paid a deposit via PayPal and the balance on our first day in US Dollars. Prices were very reasonable.
The boat departs from Playa Mismaloya, which is about a 45 minute car ride from the Marina area, less if you are travelling from central PV. We took a taxi and it cost 300 pesos (about $16 USD).
We met the boat about 8:45 and were on our way shortly after 9. Our crew consisted of Alex, Alex (yep, two guys named Alex), our captain Alejandro and Marc (divemaster and head honcho). They have Cressi wetsuits, fins, masks reg/octo weight-integrated BCD's for those who don't bring their own gear. The gear is in very good condition, except for Marc's dive boots... that's another story. On both days we split into two groups of two divers with a guide. I dove with Marc on both days.
Our first day took us to Majahuitas, a 30 minute boat ride to the south and included sightings of seahorses, octopus, stonefish, nudibranch, spotted eagle rays, and plenty of eels and octopus and an anemone below the thermocline in some chilly water. Our second dive was at Mismaloya South and included spotting a group of 4 spotted eagle rays that were close enough to touch. Both dives were very pleasant and Marc proved to have a knack for spotting little critters amongst the rocks.
Day two took us to Los Arcos for our first dive. It was much warmer than the previous day, so we geared up in the water (thanks integrated weights) which was much more comfortable than sweating your ass off in a wetsuit while sitting on the boat. Dive 1 included spotting many of the same critters as the first day, but also included a swimthru, and visit to an underwater monument to 3 divers who were lost at Los Arcos. Our second dive was at Mismaloya Iguana and included a sighting of Jawfish, Coronet fish, boxfish, a school of Lookdowns, and a school of Yellowtail Surgeonfish.
Though we have no experience with any other dive operator in PV, I would certainly recommend PV Ocean Tours. We plan on diving with them again next year when we visit PV.
My wife and I visited Puerto Vallarta June 23-28 2019 and based on recommendations here on SB, went diving with Puerto Vallarta Ocean Tours.
I communicated with them prior to our trip via email. We made a reservation for 2 days of 2 tank dives and received a 20% discount for booking multiple days in advance. We paid a deposit via PayPal and the balance on our first day in US Dollars. Prices were very reasonable.
The boat departs from Playa Mismaloya, which is about a 45 minute car ride from the Marina area, less if you are travelling from central PV. We took a taxi and it cost 300 pesos (about $16 USD).
We met the boat about 8:45 and were on our way shortly after 9. Our crew consisted of Alex, Alex (yep, two guys named Alex), our captain Alejandro and Marc (divemaster and head honcho). They have Cressi wetsuits, fins, masks reg/octo weight-integrated BCD's for those who don't bring their own gear. The gear is in very good condition, except for Marc's dive boots... that's another story. On both days we split into two groups of two divers with a guide. I dove with Marc on both days.
Our first day took us to Majahuitas, a 30 minute boat ride to the south and included sightings of seahorses, octopus, stonefish, nudibranch, spotted eagle rays, and plenty of eels and octopus and an anemone below the thermocline in some chilly water. Our second dive was at Mismaloya South and included spotting a group of 4 spotted eagle rays that were close enough to touch. Both dives were very pleasant and Marc proved to have a knack for spotting little critters amongst the rocks.
Day two took us to Los Arcos for our first dive. It was much warmer than the previous day, so we geared up in the water (thanks integrated weights) which was much more comfortable than sweating your ass off in a wetsuit while sitting on the boat. Dive 1 included spotting many of the same critters as the first day, but also included a swimthru, and visit to an underwater monument to 3 divers who were lost at Los Arcos. Our second dive was at Mismaloya Iguana and included a sighting of Jawfish, Coronet fish, boxfish, a school of Lookdowns, and a school of Yellowtail Surgeonfish.
Though we have no experience with any other dive operator in PV, I would certainly recommend PV Ocean Tours. We plan on diving with them again next year when we visit PV.
