I spent 2 seasons cruising Paicific Mexico in my sailboat "Crazy Fish". "Crazy Fish" has a compressor installed and I dived quite a bit.
Pacific Mexico is a mixed bag. I would not run a dive trip to any of destinations along the mainland, but it is ocean with reasonably clear water and a variety of marine life.
The Sea of Cortez has a wealth of life and is an entirely different story. Isla Socorro is awesome with a number of endemic species, manta rays and a number of pelagic species. Also it is a volcanic island so there are lots of interesting formations underwater.
Puerto Vallarta sits on a Banderas bay which is quite large. There are a number of islands which sit on the western edge of the bay and they are about 20-25 miles from PV. Offshore of these islands is Roca Negra. These islands offer some interesting diving and Roca Negra is a very nice advanced dive. The rock has a tunnel which on the east side starts in about 80 feet and on the west side exits in about 40 feet. The tunnel is a entirely in the cavern zone.
Manta Rays are occasionaly seen at the offshore islands as are Humpback Whales.
The water temps can be quite chilly during certain times of the year, into the lower 60s. During the summer I would imagine its in the higher 70s.
Although the diving is not world class, I like Puerto Vallarta a lot. It is a very pretty city, with an active artist community. A lot of ex-pats have set up businesses in the city. The northern side of Banderas Bay is being actively developed.
There are few other dives closer to town, which you have not dived Pacific Mexico will be fun.
As far as other sites that are nearby resorts. The Zihuatenejo/Ixtapa area offers some decent rock reefs. Huatulco probably has the best dive sites along the Pacific Mexican coast.
Marc Hall
www.enjoythedive.com
