First time to Los Cabos (Cabos San Lucas) -- basic questions...

[davidbaraff]

I'm going to be there for about 5 days; have some divers and some non-divers. The hotel someone in our group picked out is the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort.

1. Besides renting a car, what are my options from getting from the hotel to Cabos San Lucas for diving, which I believe is about 20 minutes south-west of that hotel? If you're familiar with that hotel, is it very isolated and on its own?

2. Are there any dive-operators in Cabos San Lucas you particular recommend? Conversely, are there any I should stay away from?

3. Any particular dive sites/experiences you'd advise?

4. We're going to be there at the end of August. I manage to get cold in Hawaii in a 5mm; will I die from heat exhaustian if I bring a 5mm along for August there, or should I stick with a 3mm? (There's no place that's too warm for my 3mm, trust me.)

We're very familiar with cold water diving (Monterey, Catalina), as well as Hawaii diving, and divers have dive experience between, hmn, 30-40 dives and 300+. Because there are non-divers, we're probably looking at doing 2 dives in the mornings and then coming back to be with the rest of our group during the afternoon/evening.

Anything else you think would be use to know, lay it on me. Never been diving anywhere in Mexico before.

 

[hakuna]

Hi neighbor (North Bay), I was looking for this info a couple of months ago. We went for 10 days the second week of April.

To get from the airport to your resort you need to exit straight out of the terminal without getting stopped by the time-share people and sucked in. Just ignore them and keep walking. If you are nice person this will be incredibly difficult to do but unless you are fully aware of time share schemes and how to avoid them you don't want to talk to them. You WILL end up with a time-share and lifetime HOA (maintenance fees).

The taxis and the shared vans are outside across the street. Taxis are pricey and the shared vans are fine, so they are a better deal. I think I paid $18 for downtown Cabo San Lucas (Marina). Getting back is as simple as asking at your resort desk. We rented a car in CSL mid trip, but were able to return it at the airport, which was perfect.

I dove with Manta and thought they were excellent. No complaints at all about the dive ops.

Just so you are aware if you are an avid tropical diver the diving in Cabo is "meh". We had whale song on two of the dives I did, so close you could feel the echo-location in your chest. THAT was cool. The wreck at lands end is nice but scattered and I always wanted to see the sand falls. But Cabo is not Cozumel, or even as good as Catalina or Carmel IMHO. Everyone says Cabo Pulmo is awesome and if I went back to CSL I would go. I just didn't want to do a full day trip to get there. I would love to go up to La Paz as well. In this part of Mexico I think it's all about the big pelagic stuff, sharks, etc., and I didn't get to see them. (Well I certainly HEARD them....the whale song as incredible).

I wore a well used 7mm in April with the water temps at 72F so it was probably a 5mm in warmth and it was more than comfortable, but I don't get cold easily. I have no idea for August.

The "local dives" are 5 minutes from the dock and that's Lands End (shipwreck), Pelican Rock (sand falls) and around that same area. Not as good as Monterey IMHO but definitely sealife from a warmer region! I also did a 3 tank dive in the "corridor" which is the region between CSLucas and Los Cabos. Wasn't much more exciting but we didn't get to some of the further/better areas.

The other cool thing would be the sea lion colony which wasn't active when I was there, but if you dive Monterey you are probably not as impressed with seeing them as other people. (Kind of like when everybody goes nuts for a turtle on a dive but you've dove and snorkeled in Hawaii, where they are always around.)

We love Mexico. If you decide to go again and diving is important, it's an easy choice. Cozumel for reef and the Riviera Maya for Cenotes.

That's all I can think of. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. If you want a local restaurant of amazing quality for a decent price and you are going to the Marina, check out El Peregrino. We kept going back. Yelp it.

Gary

 

[ibj40]

I'm going to be there for about 5 days; have some divers and some non-divers. The hotel someone in our group picked out is the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort.

1. Besides renting a car, what are my options from getting from the hotel to Cabos San Lucas for diving, which I believe is about 20 minutes south-west of that hotel? If you're familiar with that hotel, is it very isolated and on its own?

2. Are there any dive-operators in Cabos San Lucas you particular recommend? Conversely, are there any I should stay away from?

3. Any particular dive sites/experiences you'd advise?

4. We're going to be there at the end of August. I manage to get cold in Hawaii in a 5mm; will I die from heat exhaustian if I bring a 5mm along for August there, or should I stick with a 3mm? (There's no place that's too warm for my 3mm, trust me.)

We're very familiar with cold water diving (Monterey, Catalina), as well as Hawaii diving, and divers have dive experience between, hmn, 30-40 dives and 300+. Because there are non-divers, we're probably looking at doing 2 dives in the mornings and then coming back to be with the rest of our group during the afternoon/evening.

Anything else you think would be use to know, lay it on me. Never been diving anywhere in Mexico before.

Our research shows that November is the best month, in terms of Pacific water temperature.

We've been twice, each of the past two Novembers, and dove with Manta. They are a good shop, although one thing we noticed is that we didn't recognize divemasters from one year to the next.

We stay close to the Cabo marina, so both times within walking distance to the dive shop. Never felt compelled to rent a car, good services from the airport, and also good tour guides for off site trips.

We have dived Land's End and Pelican twice, both interesting dives. I agree with the above poster that the wreck is now just scattered pieces, but the structure adds some interest to what would be a featureless sand flat once you dive through or around Land's End.

We've also done a two-tank dive each trip up the corridor, which admittedly were very similar both times, but having spent most of my diving in the Caribbean (certified in '85/'86, first decade of open water dives were off Cozumel) and bring my current dive buddy along much later but we still did our predominant dives there), we enjoy the structural and creature diversity compared to what we have grown accustomed to. We developed our interest in diving the Pacific coast following a couple of trips to Costa Rica. Conclusion being to not discount the Corridor for some unique diving.

We've done the La Paz and Cabo Pulmo add-on's, and would steer you toward Pulmo for a day trip. You just need to make sure that the quota for divers hasn't been met in Pulmo before you head up there (your dive shop should know).

With respect to diving in Mexico versus anywhere else, my suggestion is to go and enjoy.

 

[Katie Storm]

We have a house there. We have dove with dive cabo, manta, banta, east cape explores and nautilus dive tech. We love the guys at nautilus dive tech. Carla is super easy to talk with responds promptly to emails. We have always had a wonderful experience with them.

I would bring a 3 or a shorty for that time of year. May we bring either a 7mm or a 5mm, June 5mm, was September October we typically dive in rash guards. December we dove in 3mm

Dive sites. We both like pulmo. He likes lands end. I prefer corridor sites.

We have have terrible luck with Alamo at the the airport. A lot of people really like catus. We have had the best luck with CaboSUV. Why we like Cabo SUV is they pick you up from the up stairs vs the down stairs where you get hassled.

We would recommend getting the passport. August is considered the off season so you find lots of good deals at restaurants

 

[Dan]

I have been diving there 4 times (3 times to Cabo Pulmo, once in Cabo San Lucas and once to Socorro on liveaboard). For land base trip, I would suggest at least spend a couple of days in Cabo Pulmo.

Checkout cabopulmo.com

 

[Azur Salino]

I dove Cabo many times, with Manta. They are a good operation and conveniently located in front of the marina. I do enjoy diving in Land's End and Neptune's rock. You can see some reef sharks, sea lions and the scenery is pretty. Diving in Cabo, compared to the rest of Baja is probably the worst choice if you ask me. Cabo Pulmo is great for biomass and bull sharks, but there is little topography. I llike rocks and scenery, so I might be a bit biased here
I personally prefer Loreto for diving, lots of variety in dive sites, plenty of life, black coral forests, walls and pinnacles...
La Paz has some superb diving as well, and more variety of proper wrecks.

 

[Laura Tyrrell]

I'm going to be there for about 5 days; have some divers and some non-divers. The hotel someone in our group picked out is the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort.

Hello, I am a local diving instructor and can help you if these questions haven't been answered yet....

1. Besides renting a car, what are my options from getting from the hotel to Cabos San Lucas for diving, which I believe is about 20 minutes south-west of that hotel? If you're familiar with that hotel, is it very isolated and on its own?

We have Uber in town now. Some hotels don't like Uber, keep that in mind. Otherwise it's a taxi or a hotel shuttle. A lot of the hotels in 'the Corridor' do have an isolated feel.

2. Are there any dive-operators in Cabos San Lucas you particular recommend? Conversely, are there any I should stay away from?

All dive operators in town (I have freelanced in many!) operate professionally and with similar itineraries. There are larger dive shops catering to the masses and smaller bespoke operations that will cater to your group (Cabo Private Guide -They will mix divers and snorkelers on the same boat and give you a private dive guide just for your group to optimise air consumption rates and make sure your guide is focused on showing you around and not looking after anyone else).

3. Any particular dive sites/experiences you'd advise?

If the sea lions are under the Arch this is a great dive. Sea Lions, deep pinnacles, ship wrecks and where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific - all on one dive!

4. We're going to be there at the end of August. I manage to get cold in Hawaii in a 5mm; will I die from heat exhaustian if I bring a 5mm along for August there, or should I stick with a 3mm? (There's no place that's too warm for my 3mm, trust me.)

August tends to be warm - mid 70s. You could bring a 3mm and rent a 5mm if you get cold?

We're very familiar with cold water diving (Monterey, Catalina), as well as Hawaii diving, and divers have dive experience between, hmn, 30-40 dives and 300+. Because there are non-divers, we're probably looking at doing 2 dives in the mornings and then coming back to be with the rest of our group during the afternoon/evening.

If you want to organise a mixed excursion let me know. One of the nicer dive sites in the bay is also a great snorkeling location.

Anything else you think would be use to know, lay it on me. Never been diving anywhere in Mexico before.

Expland above for all my answers. Cabo is a great tourist location. Everything here is for you! So everything is made easy. Feel free to send me a private message if you think of anything!