Is Socorro worth the $$$?

[mcohen1021]

but a few of your comparisons i do not find valid... like the kona mantas - thats a canned dive, and we didnt get any dolphins @ red sea. But we did see sharks mantas and dolphins to the point where it was like so normal, we werent getting pumped about it anymore. lol

that being said, I cant believe the trip was 4500, i would have never paid that after only spenfing 2600 to go to socorro.

 

[nippurmagnum]

but a few of your comparisons i do not find valid... like the kona mantas - thats a canned dive, and we didnt get any dolphins @ red sea. But we did see sharks mantas and dolphins to the point where it was like so normal, we werent getting pumped about it anymore. lol

that being said, I cant believe the trip was 4500, i would have never paid that after only spenfing 2600 to go to socorro.

The Mexican government now charges a park fee of around $475 for Socorro liveaboards because, well, we are evidently willing to pay for it. The standard rate for a Nautilius boat is now $3,300 pp for a double, plus $165 VAT, + the $475 park fee + $100 for nitrox. That's over $4,000 right there. The suggested tip is $300, and that's about what I tipped, so $4,300 total. I think there were a few more junk fees that added up to another $100 or so. So pretty close to $4,500.

Which is why I asked in my OP whether Socorro was worth the $$$.

As for the Kona manta dive being a "canned" dive, well, I'm not sure what that means. The mantas are drawn by the lights than illuminate plankton that is already in the water. There is a certain element of predictability to that, but the mantas eat plankton, there is plankton already in the water. On my most recent dive there, I was the last diver out of the water for the evening, and I had very bright dive lights on, so as I was approaching the boat, I suddenly found that I had about a dozen mantas directly under me, doing barrel rolls right under my fins. I stayed in the water for an extra 10 minutes, and it was absolutely unforgettable.

Everyone says that at Socorro you make some kind of mystical connection with mantas. Here is a picture that someone took at Socorro of a manta coming close to me, and you can see that we are making direct eye contact. But I have to say that I couldn't really sense any mystical Vulcan mind meld. For all I know the manta was thinking "that guy sure could lose some weight."

As for dolphins, like I said, I've seen a bunch in the Red Sea and also at Kona itself. I might feel differently about dolphins at Socorro if I'd had multiple encounters there, but I didn't. And at $4,500 a pop, I'm probably not going back for a while. I do have return trips to Kona and the Red Sea lined up for this year, though.

 

[scubadada]

Between 2017 and 2021 I visited Cocos, Galapagos, the Revillagigedos, and Malpelo, the four jewels of the Eastern Pacific. All were fantastic trips.

Trip Report - Cocos, March 27-April 5, 2017

Here is my Undercurrent narrative and a few photos: Reservations: I made my boat reservations through the Aggressor website. It worked perfectly and communication was excellent. My requests for a specific room and nitrox went smoothly. I got a very significant discount on the trip due to an...

scubaboard.com

Trip Report - Galapagos Aggressor III April 26-May 3, 2018

Here is my Undercurrent review of the trip with a few added details. A few photos also, some not so good, but you'll get the idea. I'm quite serious about diving, not so much about photography. Reservations: I made my reservations on the Galapagos Aggressor III directly through Aggressor, and...

scubaboard.com

Trip Report - Revillagigedos on the Nautilus Explorer, May 24-June 1, 2019

From May 24 through June 1, 2019, I traveled on the Nautilus Explorer to the Revillagigedos. RESERVATIONS: I made my reservations on the Explorer directly through the Nautilus website. It is very easy to check availability and to reserve your cabin. Flight reservations were made directly with...

scubaboard.com

Trip Report - The Magic of Malpelo, July 9-18, 2021 on the Ferox

From July 9 through July 18, 2021, I had the pleasure of diving in Malpelo. I dived on a half boat charter with Sten Johansson, aboard Colombia Dive Adventures’ Ferox. This was my first international trip since going to Bonaire in Oct-Nov 2019. Reservations As I was going on a half boat...

scubaboard.com

If you think the Revillagigedos is expensive, take a look at the Galapagos or Cocos, Malpelo is a little less. I will be returning to Malpelo in July. It is likely I will hit the Revillagigedos in 2024.

Of course the Red Sea is a diving bargain, you just have to get there. I had 2 great weeks in 2016.

Trip Report - Red Sea Aggressor April-May 2016

I dived the southern route and then the northern route on the Red Sea Aggressor (RSA) in back to back weeks between April 24 and May 6, 2016. This was my 1st experience with the Aggressor Fleet Reservations and logistics: I was living in Basel, Switzerland when I made this trip. I made my own...

scubaboard.com

 

[O-ring]

This.. I think my Cocos trip was like 3k more than Socorro and I am sharing a cabin with a buddy on Cocos whereas in Socorro I paid the single supplement to have my own room. Like for like it's prob 2x as expensive.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Everyone I've ever known who has gone, and I've talked to quite a few, says a resounding YES!! I don't do trips like this but if I did, the cost vs. value wouldn't be a concern.

 

[nippurmagnum]

This.. I think my Cocos trip was like 3k more than Socorro and I am sharing a cabin with a buddy on Cocos whereas in Socorro I paid the single supplement to have my own room. Like for like it's prob 2x as expensive.

Yep, and that's sort of how I look at the value proposition question generally -- is a trip to Cocos worth two trips to Socorro? I do think it's worthwhile to calibrate expectations in terms of the value/$$$ ratio. Having said that, I'll probably end up going to both Cocos and Galapagos because I've come this far in my diving journey and it seems like those are significant diving "stamps" missing from my collection.

 

[nippurmagnum]

Everyone I've ever known who has gone, and I've talked to quite a few, says a resounding YES!! I don't do trips like this but if I did, the cost vs. value wouldn't be a concern.

Well, now you've encountered at least one person who answered with a resounding MAYBE. Though perhaps I'm just the exception that proves the rule.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Well, now you've encountered at least one person who answered with a resounding MAYBE. Though perhaps I'm just the exception that proves the rule.

Well I don't "know" you so does that really count? Kidding! As I said, I was just sharing what I had heard from multiple friends firsthand. I don't do dive vacations and I definitely don't do liveaboards.

 

[O-ring]

Yep, and that's sort of how I look at the value proposition question generally -- is a trip to Cocos worth two trips to Socorro? I do think it's worthwhile to calibrate expectations in terms of the value/$$$ ratio. Having said that, I'll probably end up going to both Cocos and Galapagos because I've come this far in my diving journey and it seems like those are significant diving "stamps" missing from my collection.

You and me both.. once you do Socorro and start talking about "what next" the convo kind of drifts naturally to Cocos/Galapagos. We actually started planning Cocos on the crossing back to Cabo from Socorro. I'll prob complete the trifecta too just because it seems like the natural thing to do.

 

[scubadada]

Yep, and that's sort of how I look at the value proposition question generally -- is a trip to Cocos worth two trips to Socorro? I do think it's worthwhile to calibrate expectations in terms of the value/$$$ ratio. Having said that, I'll probably end up going to both Cocos and Galapagos because I've come this far in my diving journey and it seems like those are significant diving "stamps" missing from my collection.

Diving the 4 jewels of the Eastern Pacific is incredibly valuable. Personally, I don't compare them so much as consider them complimentary.