4 is Malpelo? Dang...forgot that one.
Is Socorro worth the $$$?
- Thread starter nippurmagnum
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Dan
Contributor
You guys never invite me...so uncool..@scubadada & I will be there again in 6 weeks from now.
Dan
Contributor
Oops. Sorry. Next time!You guys never invite me...so uncool..
How about Galapagos in December? This one: 18-28 December, 2023 Schedules and Prices It still has 7 spots available.
@aquabluegreg can give you a good deal!
Here's my latest trip report for Galapagos:
Trip Report - Diving in Galapagos in October 2022
Summary This is two, back-to-back, eight-day (17-24 & 24-31, 2022) liveaboard trips to Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, with Galapagos Master liveaboard. The itineraries, as shown in Table 1 and 2, include 7 days of diving to a total of 18 dives on each trip. We saw several kinds of sharks (Blacktip...
Augustus
Contributor
Been to cocos 4-5 times back in the 1990s Malpelo twice and 4-5 trips to Socorro. Bang for the buck
Socorro. All three locations are great, but they will cost you. Malpelo had the best shark action BUT the conditions can vary though I think the times to go has been worked out by now. Cocos is great for hammerheads and the Undersea boats are a class act. Socorro mantas and dolphins though you might see schools of hammerheads. If you only were going to go and money was not a factor, I would say Socorro.
Socorro. All three locations are great, but they will cost you. Malpelo had the best shark action BUT the conditions can vary though I think the times to go has been worked out by now. Cocos is great for hammerheads and the Undersea boats are a class act. Socorro mantas and dolphins though you might see schools of hammerheads. If you only were going to go and money was not a factor, I would say Socorro.
I have been to Galapagos twice now. On both trips we saw all of the sought after creatures - whale sharks, hammerheads, dolphins, mola mola, iguanas, bat fish, etc. The first trip had pretty poor visibility, but we had a nice trip regardless and saw amazing things. Good value for money - Maybe. One the second trip we again saw all the cool animals, but the visibility was astoundingly good. Every dive site seemed 10 times bigger. We were blown away by how good the trip was. Good value for money - Excellent.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.
I've been to Socorro 3 or 4 times. The first time we had rotten 10-foot vis at the Boiler, but 100+ at Roca Partida. Subsequent trips have had consistently good to great visibility, good weather, and easy crossings.
My point is that you pays your money and you takes your chances. Repeat visits to the same location may result in wildly different experiences and perceptions. My first and only trip to Coco's was kind of like your Socorro visit. Worst vis they ever saw. Still a good trip despite vis so bad we could not safely dive for three days.
I would suggest that you take it on feedback from others that what you experienced at Socorro could possibly be dramatically better with another role of the dice.
Hi!
Hope it's OK to reactivate this thread.
I also really want to go to Socorro, maybe next year or 2024. I just don't know what the best time would be.
Since I want to include traveling Mexico and spending like 2 Months there, I really need to plan what time is OK with everything.
Between March and May generally seems a good time to travel Mexico. But is it also best for Socorro? I read Mantas will be there all the time. The most important thing for me to see would be the dolphin pods. Although some sharks are nice too of course. Humpack whales would be awesome, but I assume even in season the chances to see them are extremely low during a dive.
I read somewhere that January to March is the best time for dolphins. Is this true or is there still a good chance from April to May to see them also?
Recommendations would be very appreciated, thank you!
Hope it's OK to reactivate this thread.
I also really want to go to Socorro, maybe next year or 2024. I just don't know what the best time would be.
Since I want to include traveling Mexico and spending like 2 Months there, I really need to plan what time is OK with everything.
Between March and May generally seems a good time to travel Mexico. But is it also best for Socorro? I read Mantas will be there all the time. The most important thing for me to see would be the dolphin pods. Although some sharks are nice too of course. Humpack whales would be awesome, but I assume even in season the chances to see them are extremely low during a dive.
I read somewhere that January to March is the best time for dolphins. Is this true or is there still a good chance from April to May to see them also?
Recommendations would be very appreciated, thank you!
Dan
Contributor
I saw more dolphins and more importantly better weather (especially if you are prone to get motion sickness) in January than in May. Check out my trip reports, below:
Trip Report - Socorro Jan 2021 Diving Trip Report
Fantastic report -- thanks for doing it. Also, it is a small thing, but it is really cool that you give credit to each of your photo sources (even the DM whiteboard of the dive site). Thanks for your kind words! The DM’s did excellent job and I like Pato’s drawings of the dive sites. They...
Trip Report - Socorro Real Time Review
Some of us from Scubaboard including myself, @Soloist, @uncfnp and @Nancy MacD will be boarding Nautilus Belle Amie, heading to Revillagigedo archipelago or better known as Socorro. The boat has Wi-Fi access via satellite. So we thought it is a good opportunity to do a Real Time Review (RTR) of...
Manuel Sam
Contributor
I've done trips to Socorro in every month of the season other than March and June. Like the mantas, they are there throughout the season, but there is no guarantee that they will show up, for how long, and how interactive they are.
With that said, as best as I can recall, I've seen dolphins on every trip I’ve done. Those sightings/encounters ranged from a brief, fleeting sighting (once in April and once in May) to hang-around and play-a-little encounters (most other trips), to hang around, play and be touched encounters (once in December). Therefore, as I see it, there is no better month or season for them, altho my best encounters with them have been on November and December trips.
Why those months? This is just speculation on my part - anthropomorphism (attributing human traits to non-humans), if you will. After all, dolphins are intelligent and capable of emotions: maybe because it is the start of the Socorro season, and after not seeing a diver for about 5 months, they get all giddy seeing these odd-looking bubble-making toys. But as the season wears on, maybe the novelty wears off and the divers become ho-hum.
You are going to spend two months in Mexico, with the Socorro trip representing only 10 days out of those 60 days. I think that in addition to trying to pick an optimum time for Socorro, you might want to also consider what else you want to do - whether on land or in-water - and whether there is a best time for those other activities or tours.
For example, if you are considering other diving activities, to me, November is a good time to combine Socorro with any or all of the following: Cabo Pulmo, La Paz and Magdalena Bay. I just did all of these. Even Cabo San Lucas and the corridor all the way to San Jose and Gorda Banks are good in November. The water is warm and viz is good. But if Cabo Pulmo, try to avoid weekends.
Lastly, if encounters with Bottlenose dolphins is what you are after, in recent years, I'd say that the encounters in Rangiroa in French Polynesia have arguably been as good or better than those in Socorro.
Another place to consistently see and play with dolphins - Spotted and Bottlenose - is Bimini in the Bahamas. This is best done by liveaboard - check out the Dolphin Dream.
With that said, as best as I can recall, I've seen dolphins on every trip I’ve done. Those sightings/encounters ranged from a brief, fleeting sighting (once in April and once in May) to hang-around and play-a-little encounters (most other trips), to hang around, play and be touched encounters (once in December). Therefore, as I see it, there is no better month or season for them, altho my best encounters with them have been on November and December trips.
Why those months? This is just speculation on my part - anthropomorphism (attributing human traits to non-humans), if you will. After all, dolphins are intelligent and capable of emotions: maybe because it is the start of the Socorro season, and after not seeing a diver for about 5 months, they get all giddy seeing these odd-looking bubble-making toys. But as the season wears on, maybe the novelty wears off and the divers become ho-hum.
You are going to spend two months in Mexico, with the Socorro trip representing only 10 days out of those 60 days. I think that in addition to trying to pick an optimum time for Socorro, you might want to also consider what else you want to do - whether on land or in-water - and whether there is a best time for those other activities or tours.
For example, if you are considering other diving activities, to me, November is a good time to combine Socorro with any or all of the following: Cabo Pulmo, La Paz and Magdalena Bay. I just did all of these. Even Cabo San Lucas and the corridor all the way to San Jose and Gorda Banks are good in November. The water is warm and viz is good. But if Cabo Pulmo, try to avoid weekends.
Lastly, if encounters with Bottlenose dolphins is what you are after, in recent years, I'd say that the encounters in Rangiroa in French Polynesia have arguably been as good or better than those in Socorro.
Another place to consistently see and play with dolphins - Spotted and Bottlenose - is Bimini in the Bahamas. This is best done by liveaboard - check out the Dolphin Dream.
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