Early March trip to the Baja Peninsula

[DK_Scuba]

Hello everyone, my GF and I are flying into San Jose del Cabo Feb 28th and staying in Baja until march 9th and wanted to know where we should all go for diving. We are both very experienced cold water divers from Canada and need an escape from the cold winter and Baja is the only area of Mexico my GF has not been before.

Currently we have 4 nights booked in Cabo San Lucas and plan on diving Gordo banks and the area around Cabo San Lucas/San Jose.

Is it worth staying multiple nights in Cabo Pulmo or La Paz at this time of year? We definitely will snorkel with the La Paz whale sharks but we are unsure if we will do that as a day trip from San Lucas or not.

Our main interests are larger pelagics and as many sharks as possible. But have no interest in sea lions as we dive with very large/very playful sea lions at home weekly.

Thanks!

 

[Manuel Sam]

If large pelagics are what you are after, I think that the unanimous suggestion here will probably be to do a liveaboard to Socorro unless you plan to come back in the future for that. Most Socorro trips are 9 days long. If you could find a March 1 departure date that is available or change your dates by a few days, that would work. But if you are locked on doing the Cabo area, yes, in my opinion, doing multiple days in Cabo Pulmo is not a bad idea at least from a diving standpoint.

 

[DK_Scuba]

If large pelagics are what you are after, I think that the unanimous suggestion here will probably be to do a liveaboard to Socorro unless you plan to come back in the future for that. Most Socorro trips are 9 days long. If you could find a March 1 departure date that is available or change your dates by a few days, that would work. But if you are locked on doing the Cabo area, yes, in my opinion, doing multiple days in Cabo Pulmo is not a bad idea at least from a diving standpoint.

Thanks for the response Manuel, I have actually dove Socorro aboard the Quino El Guardian January of last year and it was magical! So I will definitely have to redo that trip in the future. This trip is equally for a getaway relaxation and for diving so I think it'll be just what we need.

 

[Manuel Sam]

I see. In that case, these are the places in the area that I know has big stuff:

La Paz, aside from the sea lions that you do not need to see, and the whalesharks that you already plan to snorkel with, has a divesite called El Bajo where schooling hammerheads might sometimes be seen. BUT.....I am told that it's not like in Socorro or Cocos where you sit and wait for them to show up - you have to go out and look for them. Also Fall is a better season for them. To me, this is a shot in the dark.

Also in La Paz is a divesite called La Reina that is known for mantas. BUT, Summer is when they see them there.

Cabo Pulmo has bull sharks and the biggest school of jacks I've ever seen. But the divesite with arguably the best chance of seeing bulls is El Vencedor, and with the way Park officials allot divesites, you need to be there several days to improve your chances of diving it. I've never been there in March, but I've had better luck with the bulls in November than in February.

Lastly, Gordo Banks, you are already doing.

This is not to say that you can't see big stuff diving in Cabo and the corridor between Cabo and San Jose. The waters between Cabo and La Paz are like a highway for big stuff like whales, dolphins and even orcas. I just wouldn't bet on it.