Loreto, Which Dive Shop?

[JamesBon92007]

I see Dolphin is on Benito Juarez. It might be Sea and Land Tours but the sign looks like it says Eco Tours and it's on Hidalgo (after the street changes names). The x-street appears to be Francisco Madero. Anyway, it's hard to miss with all the signs.

One this is fairly certain--if you take your gear down to the marina around 7:30 or 8:00 am you will likely get lots of offers from people to take you out in their boat. I rather got the impression that the diving is up to you, and possibly the choice of dive sites. Spanish is probably essential. You may need to bring your own tanks.

 

[horn34]

What do you guys see on an average dive there? We'll be in Loreto for 2 days in November. We dive Cozumel a lot and don't really want to waste money or time on a dive seeing everything we'd normally encounter on a Cozumel dive.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Chiming in kind've late ... I don't visit these forums very much anymore. But I have been living in Loreto these past two years, and dive with Blue Nation often. I can't say much about the other two dive ops, as I don't use them and it would be hearsay. But Blue Nation is awesome to dive with.

The pandemic played hell with all of the dive ops. They were restricted completely (the marina was closed) for over four months, and once allowed back out went another two months with severe limitations on what they could and could not do. Essentially, in order to live within the letter of the law, they had to pretend to be fishing boats ... literally show up with fishing poles on board and hide the tanks under the benches until they were out of the marina. This seriously limited operations. Starting in September, they were allowed to openly go out as dive operations again, but with very strict limits (four or five divers, depending on boat size) on their passenger capacity. That is still the case. It has hampered a lot of operations ... I live here, and still have difficulties getting space on the dive boat sometimes. But that's not on the operators, it's due to the ongoing restrictions of the pandemic, and the limits are set by the state of Baja California Sur.

As for the diving ... it's been awesome. Summer months are the best time to dive here in terms of visibility and water temps, but it's still plenty nice right now. We just switched to our 5 mm wetsuits last week, with water temps dipping into the mid 70's. Visibility was 50-70 feet when we went out four days ago. I've been shooting macro lately, and here's some of what I've been seeing ...

Topside doesn't suck either ... we see dolphins almost every time out, been seeing fin whales the past two months, and then there's the shore birds ... particularly out on the islands ...

Winter the water's fairly cold and murky due to upwellings. But those are what brings in the whales in fairly significant numbers ... and the diving's still good as long as you're properly dressed for it ... preferably a 7 mm wetsuit, or a 5 mm + shorty or vest.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[FM1520]

Thanks Bob, is there any shore diving in Loreto? We will probably be there during the Christmas break. Can you recommend any hotels/resort that caters to divers? Maybe we'll see you there.

 

[horn34]

from last week

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Thanks Bob, is there any shore diving in Loreto? We will probably be there during the Christmas break. Can you recommend any hotels/resort that caters to divers? Maybe we'll see you there.

Unfortunately there is no shore diving in Loreto, as most of the best dive sites are out around the islands. There are no hotels/resorts that cater to divers, specifically. But if you can be more specific about your preferences (better yet, send me a PM as I rarely visit these forums anymore) I can help you find something suitable in town.

FWIW - Loreto Bay is nice, but keep in mind that if you book there you'll need a car or other means of transportation ... it's seven miles south of town.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Azur Salino]

I run a small diveshop here in Loreto, Blue Nation. By the way thanks so much for all the kind comments posted here. It means a lot.
I've been away deom the boards for a long while, guess is time to dive in again!
My opinion could be kinda biased of course, so I'll try to be as much informative as I can.
There is 3 shops in town, included ours those are Dolphin Dive, Sea and Land and Blue Nation. I'd dare to say we lean more towards more specialized service and more specialized equipment, dives and diversity of offer.

What do you guys see on an average dive there? We'll be in Loreto for 2 days in November. We dive Cozumel a lot and don't really want to waste money or time on a dive seeing everything we'd normally encounter on a Cozumel dive.

Sea of Cortez diving is veeery different from the Caribbean in general. In a nutshell, you will find way more biodiversity and biomass here than in your average Caribbean dive. This also apply for the different seasons, that entirely change the species you can see (check the image here below and the end of the post). Macro is quite incredible, and the seasonal big life can be astonishing, like the schools of mobulas or whales.
In the other hand, water conditions can be more challenging, in particular during winter and spring, where water temp drops quite a lot, and wind, waves and currents can make boat rides, and dive conditions more advanced.
We don't get much hard coral here, but we do ridiculously lush soft coral forests, like black coral, which are normally deepish. To me, those are so so much worth visiting.
Last but no least, the nature in Baja is wild and dramatic, everything feels pristine and remote and this appeals to a lot of more adventurous type of divers. We also try to run exploration trips where we document some of the uncharted seamounts or UW features around here, and some are outworldly.

I see Dolphin is on Benito Juarez. It might be Sea and Land Tours but the sign looks like it says Eco Tours and it's on Hidalgo (after the street changes names). The x-street appears to be Francisco Madero. Anyway, it's hard to miss with all the signs.

One this is fairly certain--if you take your gear down to the marina around 7:30 or 8:00 am you will likely get lots of offers from people to take you out in their boat. I rather got the impression that the diving is up to you, and possibly the choice of dive sites. Spanish is probably essential. You may need to bring your own tanks.

Jim is right on this. Many fisherman would rent their panga (local boats) to you at the marina, and this can be an option for independent divers BUT please, hear my advice first: bear in mind that the vast majority of the boats there are smaller, non-dive adapted boats, which only one engine, short range, and zero dive safety equipment. Most of the captains there won't have basic emergency and CPR training, no knowledge of the dive sites and of course, no dive guides. Is worth noting too, that as per Marine Park regulations, diving without a guide is forbidden, for safety and conservation reasons. If you are still gonna do it, please make sure that the basics are covered, as there is no hyperbaric chamber in Loreto.

Bob, good to see your pictures here, at this point, you are really the dive embassador of this place!!

 

[JamesBon92007]

What do you guys see on an average dive there? We'll be in Loreto for 2 days in November. We dive Cozumel a lot and don't really want to waste money or time on a dive seeing everything we'd normally encounter on a Cozumel dive.

My first thought is Sea Lions. What I saw mainly was a LOT of small fishes, plus a thing or two that I'd never seen before and so far can't identify. I see someone posted about the nudibranchs.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I run a small diveshop here in Loreto, Blue Nation. By the way thanks so much for all the kind comments posted here. It means a lot.
I've been away deom the boards for a long while, guess is time to dive in again!
My opinion could be kinda biased of course, so I'll try to be as much informative as I can.
There is 3 shops in town, included ours those are Dolphin Dive, Sea and Land and Blue Nation. I'd dare to say we lean more towards more specialized service and more specialized equipment, dives and diversity of offer.



Sea of Cortez diving is veeery different from the Caribbean in general. In a nutshell, you will find way more biodiversity and biomass here than in your average Caribbean dive. This also apply for the different seasons, that entirely change the species you can see (check the image here below and the end of the post). Macro is quite incredible, and the seasonal big life can be astonishing, like the schools of mobulas or whales.
In the other hand, water conditions can be more challenging, in particular during winter and spring, where water temp drops quite a lot, and wind, waves and currents can make boat rides, and dive conditions more advanced.
We don't get much hard coral here, but we do ridiculously lush soft coral forests, like black coral, which are normally deepish. To me, those are so so much worth visiting.
Last but no least, the nature in Baja is wild and dramatic, everything feels pristine and remote and this appeals to a lot of more adventurous type of divers. We also try to run exploration trips where we document some of the uncharted seamounts or UW features around here, and some are outworldly.



Jim is right on this. Many fisherman would rent their panga (local boats) to you at the marina, and this can be an option for independent divers BUT please, hear my advice first: bear in mind that the vast majority of the boats there are smaller, non-dive adapted boats, which only one engine, short range, and zero dive safety equipment. Most of the captains there won't have basic emergency and CPR training, no knowledge of the dive sites and of course, no dive guides. Is worth noting too, that as per Marine Park regulations, diving without a guide is forbidden, for safety and conservation reasons. If you are still gonna do it, please make sure that the basics are covered, as there is no hyperbaric chamber in Loreto.

Bob, good to see your pictures here, at this point, you are really the dive embassador of this place!!

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Hi Yago! Well, my intention was that the lack of safety equipment and anything else was to be implied, however it sounds like that didn't necessarily come through. Actually, I meant it more as a warning to anyone who might encounter those offers.

We will be there shortly after this chaotic mess is behind us, assuming we can get a flight on Alaska Airlines that is NOT a Max 8. Say "hola" to Monica and Victor for us.

 

[Azur Salino]

Hi Yago! Well, my intention was that the lack of safety equipment and anything else was to be implied, however it sounds like that didn't necessarily come through. Actually, I meant it more as a warning to anyone who might encounter those offers.

We will be there shortly after this chaotic mess is behind us, assuming we can get a flight on Alaska Airlines that is NOT a Max 8. Say "hola" to Monica and Victor for us.

Hey Jiiim! Looking forward to see you guys again. You are cool, I dind't mean anything by the comment, I was just expanding the information. As you pointed out, we CAN'T WAIT for all this turmoil to fade away, It's been really exhausting for all of us I'm sure....