La Paz dive shop recommendations?

[kumimonster]

Hello all. Im looking for dive shops to use in Cabo. Its hard to sift threw all the online reviews. My daughter wants to go to Cano for her senior trip next year. I know nothing about Cabo. My wife and I have been going to Cozumel since 2011. Love it and dive with Blue Project. Lots of great dive shops in cozumel. Im hopping its the same in Cabo. Any help would be great.

Cabo... Cabo San Lucas? Cabo Pulmo?

If your daughter wants to go where there's a nightlife and things are happening, then Cabo San Lucas will be your best bet. (Or maybe I should say *her* best bet!).
There's some nice dives out of Cabo San Lucas but you've got to think about the area. The local dives around CSL are going to be pretty busy and for me, the constant sound of boat engines doesn't make for an entirely peaceful experience. However the wreck around Land's End got uncovered after Odile hit in 2014 and I've enjoyed seeing the change. Some of my more relaxing dives around CSL were around the corridor or out towards Gordo Banks.

Each November I head straight to Cabo Pulmo. I'll often head there again at a different time of the year as well. August (once) was incredibly hot and gotta be ready for the weather. It's hurricane season! This past March was lovely though I had to don a 5mm instead of my regular shorty.
If she wants to focus on just diving and a more low-key climate then head to Cabo Pulmo. Though November IS high season there. It's when the dive operators are at their busiest and many dive sites in CP get impacted. (There's a limit to divers/boats at one site in the marine park).

I can't speak for La Paz as I can't seem to get my butt out of CP and up north!

 

[Azur Salino]

To be honest I was very underwhelmed by the diving in Cabo San Lucas. I've also been to Cozumel and thought that was 100x better than Cabo San Lucas which was crowded and didn't have much life around corals by comparison. We dove there for 4-5 days in December when it was quite cold - we were prepared for cold water but topside was unusually cold <20C, so that didn't help the experience. One bonus that time of year was that from the boat we saw several whales breaching in the distance and could occasionally hear them underwater. We were also unlucky and had bad visibility and didn't see anything big - I understand it can be pretty amazing if you go the right time of year and get lucky enough to see schools of rays, sharks, etc. But for us - combining the cold, bad visibility, not a lot of life among the corals AND not seeing any larger life - it was underwhelming and expensive for the experience. Topside, the scenery is beautiful and our favourite part of the whole trip was driving through the desert and mountains. That and the food - we avoided the mainstream restaurants. Of course there are a lot of touristy things in Cabo San Lucas, they are just not our style and we much prefer the laid back and local vibes of Cozumel.

We also went to Cabo Pulmo and La Paz. Cabo Pulmo I think could be very nice but for us, again the visibility was too poor to tell. La Paz was extremely disappointing after everything I had read - we went to the closer sea lion colony and not one sea lion came underwater during our dive. Particularly bad because the dive shop (Phocea Mexico) had set very high expectations before we left saying "diving with sea lions is guaranteed". I understand that the dive shop has no control over whether sea lions decide to swim while we are diving, but perhaps they should consider not making those kind of "guarantee" claims and temper their customers' expectations to avoid massive disappointment. Then, we were signed up to snorkel with the whale sharks through the same dive shop but apparently the company Phocea contracts with did not properly sign up for the queue to enter the bay where the whale sharks are, so we waited around for an hour and then were told it wasn't going to happen. Super disappointing since that was a simple logistical thing both Phocea and the company they contract with should have been aware of and could have addressed. We were only there for a day and were very sad to have missed both sea lions and whale sharks. Hopefully Phocea Mexico has sorted out their logistics so they avoid disappointing people. (I should say that as a dive shop Phocea Mexico runs a good operation - new equipment, new boat, fun dive guides, attention to safety - no complaints there.)

As for dive shops in Cabo, I researched several and all of the main ones seem like professional and well-run operations and have positive feedback on this forum as well - Dive Nautilus, Manta Scuba, Dive Cabo, Dive Ninja - doubt you can go wrong in that regard. Happy diving and hope you have better fortune than we did!

So sorry to hear that and also a bit angry because events like this kinda stains the reputation of the operators in Baja. In all honesty, December can be a tricky month for visibility, but still a blast when it comes to wildlife. Sea lions may or may not swim with you as you very well pointed out. I've dove in several colonies around Baja and I have had dozens of these animals circling us, sometimes 0, but more rarely.
The whaleshark season in La Paz can get really busy, and since the area the boats visit to see them is limited and strongly regulated, situations like yours can happen, but i'm afraid that was due a terrible planning from your operator. I hope this was an isolated case.

Diving in Cabo San Lucas is OK, but as somebody pointed out, really limited variety of spots and generally too crowed. Diving in Baja is most enjoyed around La Paz, Pulmo and Loreto in my opinion.

 

[ibj40]

Diving in Cabo San Lucas is OK, but as somebody pointed out, really limited variety of spots and generally too crowed. Diving in Baja is most enjoyed around La Paz, Pulmo and Loreto in my opinion.

I'm curious about the "too crowded" comment. When we dove Cabo last November (and due to our wonderful experience, going to repeat it this November), when you compare the number of divers on sites, for example to somewhere like Cozumel, we were literally the only divers when we were there. I recall there being lots of snorkelers around Pelican Rock, but when we dove Land's End, and for the two dives on the Corridor, there were no other divers in the water.

 

[Azur Salino]

I'm curious about the "too crowded" comment. When we dove Cabo last November (and due to our wonderful experience, going to repeat it this November), when you compare the number of divers on sites, for example to somewhere like Cozumel, we were literally the only divers when we were there. I recall there being lots of snorkelers around Pelican Rock, but when we dove Land's End, and for the two dives on the Corridor, there were no other divers in the water.

I've dove Cabo many times and what you say is true. I must say that I was talking about the Cabo itslef and not the Corridor. When I say "generally" I'm referring to the general dive area, including pelican rock, neptune's finger etc.
Land's End, being the exposed side of the cape, doesn't get that crowed with boats and I actually love that dive site. I'm simply comparing the Cabo San Lucas dive area to other dive spots in Baja, which are comparetively less busy. But of course you can have dive sites for yourself only
If you are staying in Baja for a long time, I would totally dive in Cabo anyway, but in my humble opinion I wouldn't prioritize it given the options.
Hope this clarifies it

 

[ibj40]

I've dove Cabo many times and what you say is true. I must say that I was talking about the Cabo itslef and not the Corridor. When I say "generally" I'm referring to the general dive area, including pelican rock, neptune's finger etc.
Land's End, being the exposed side of the cape, doesn't get that crowed with boats and I actually love that dive site. I'm simply comparing the Cabo San Lucas dive area to other dive spots in Baja, which are comparetively less busy. But of course you can have dive sites for yourself only
If you are staying in Baja for a long time, I would totally dive in Cabo anyway, but in my humble opinion I wouldn't prioritize it given the options.
Hope this clarifies it

We would love to dive Loreto, but logistics at this time make it prohibitive. In the near future (next 5 years or so), it will certainly be on our list of places to visit.

Thanks!

 

[kumimonster]

I want to dive loreto too!

I will try and add it to my yearly November Cabo Pulmo trip for next year!

 

[cpace]

@kumimonster I'm planning a dive trip to the Cabo Pulmo and La Paz area in late October. Do you recall the water water temps observed during your dives in November? I'm trying to determine what exposure gear to bring.

 

[kumimonster]

@kumimonster I'm planning a dive trip to the Cabo Pulmo and La Paz area in late October. Do you recall the water water temps observed during your dives in November? I'm trying to determine what exposure gear to bring.

howdy. I have never gone in october. I'm usually there november.
While some people prefer 5mm or 3mm fulls, I usually use a 2.5 or 3mm shorty with a hooded lavacore vest and that's good enough for me! I have one friend that gets so cold she'll wear a thicker semidry.
I've seen people in rash guards only. ;-)
I can get cold usually but really i'm good with the shorty n vest!