First trip to Baja California / Cortez / Los Cabos?

[afieldofblue]

Hello all,


My wife and I are thinking of a radical change of scenery for out next dive trip and are very very interested in the whole Baja California / Sea of Cortez / Los Cabos area for land-based diving - which we don't know much about apart from some pretty amazing footage we've seen online...

We’ve been to Raja-Ampat 5 times (budget diving) in the last couple of years, which is really our favorite in Asia, but feel the need for change, and have been dreaming about the other side of the Pacific for a while.

Our ultimate dream would be Galapagos/Malpelo/Cocos but this is way above our budget unless we don’t dive for 3 years or so to save up for that one trip, which is not in order.

However the prices I’ve seen for land-based diving in the Baja California area seem much more accessible, so I’m wondering if this could work out for a July/August trip next year.

Our main motivation would be to see fish, nothing specific in mind (we’ve never seen hammerheads though, not sure how frequent the migrations are), but we love schools of fish, and judging from the videos I’ve seen from this part of the world it seems really good for that.

Would anyone have recommendations for a good land based dive trip in the area? There seem to be dive centers from way up North to the tip of the peninsula, and some facing the Gulf of California.

We’re less interested in the East/ Caribbean side and would probably focus on this area, 3 weeks or so. We're used to roughing it and care more about diving than confort, as long as it's safe.

Do the dive sites vary a lot, ie is it worth visiting two different bases or is it easier to stay focused on one area and dive more?

And what would be the best bets for some interesting fishy diving in July/August?


Thanks a bunch



ben

 

[Trevor JC Brown]

Hey Ben,

There are a lot of options, far too many to discuss all of them in detail but I'll give you a simple breakdown of Baja Sur, that's La Paz, Cabo Pulmo, San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.

Cabo San Lucas and San Jose Del Cabo are quite close together, less than 45 minutes drive. The diving in Cabo is mostly done out of the marina and there are 5 or 6 main dive sites just outside the harbor. Definitely good for a couple days of diving. There are two other diving areas near Cabo, the Corridor and the Gordo Banks. Both can be dove with outfits from Cabo San Lucas but you can also dive out of San Jose Del Cabo as it is a little closer.

Cabo Pulmo is off the beaten track but offers some unique diving, one of the few community managed marine parks in Mexico. There are some rules, including a 50 min max bottom time but the marine life is very healthy. Best way is to rent a car and drive out there, there are no taxis in Cabo Pulmo and to get a driver to take you out there is a lot of pesos.

La Paz is known for the sea lion colony, it's natural and artificial shipwrecks, El Bajo for the hammerhead sharks, Isla Cerralvo for it's soft corals and of course the whale sharks which can be seen about mid-august to mid march, sometimes longer.

It would of course be best to dive all the spots for the variety, I think you would end up doing the same dive sites over if you spent more than 4 or 5 days in any one place.

I would definitely try and visit later in August, the summer is very hot here in Baja and there is not a lot of tourism which makes diving at the further sites a little more difficult for the dive centers with small groups.

 

[afieldofblue]

Hi Trevor, and thanks a lot, this is very useful info and quite motivating I must say!

I'll definitely look into the sites and try to make it work. We have to be back in Europe in early September at the latest though, so we'll be braving the August heat. Cabo Pulmo sounds worth the treck.

Are the hammerheads in El Bajo a rare seasonal occurence or is seeing them common?

Thanks again

ben

 

[kumimonster]

I'm about to pack up and leave cabo pulmo this morning.
It's been wonderful here and you'll definitely enjoy it.
But do pay attention to the weather: August can bring hurricanes as well as heat!

 

[afieldofblue]

Great thanks! Hurricanes? Wow, that's good to know. I was stuck in a typhoon in Okinawa a few years back, not fun, and lots of impact on the underwater world for a week or so...

 

[JamieMc5280]

How is the diving late July early August? Considering this year.

 

[kumimonster]

How is the diving late July early August? Considering this year.

It's much, much better if you take additional divers with you. Preferably ones that respond to you on ScubaBoard ;-)

hah!

It should be nice though.
It'll be HOT. (and the water warm too!)
Hurricane seasons starts a bit more mid-August but you might still get some thunderstorms.

I remember being there in August and the nights stayed pretty hot too. A/C is going to cost and not all places have it so check to see if it's available when you look for lodging.
:-D