Need Baja California Advice -Cabos

[alphillyswim]

My boyfriend and I will be traveling to the area in mid/late September and we would like to dive Sea of Cortez and see as much animal life as possible. We are looking for advise on all inclusives (also ones that include diving if they are any). We don't need the nicest accomodations, but would like great diving. We have been to Dominican Republic, Cozumel and local diving in Pennsylvania and are both OW cert. I know that we will most likely fly into San Jose, should we be staying there or San Lucas or elsewhere? Thanks!

 

[hdtran]

My boyfriend and I will be traveling to the area in mid/late September and we would like to dive Sea of Cortez and see as much animal life as possible. We are looking for advise on all inclusives (also ones that include diving if they are any). We don't need the nicest accomodations, but would like great diving. We have been to Dominican Republic, Cozumel and local diving in Pennsylvania and are both OW cert. I know that we will most likely fly into San Jose, should we be staying there or San Lucas or elsewhere? Thanks!

You are extremely likely to fly to San Jose, unless you charter or fly a private plane. For San Jose vs Tourist Corridor vs CSL, that's a personal decision based on how close to the party scene, seclusion, old-fashioned Mexico, & convenience that you have to make. In CSL, you probably won't need to rent a car (though airport transportation will be expensive). In San Jose & Tourist Corridor, a car rental is recommended.

For the AI, I don't particularly like AI, as I like to explore new places to eat. That said, I know of these off the top of my head: The Presidente (San Jose), the Royal Solaris (San Jose), Fiesta Americana (Corridor), Riu Palace (new architectural monstrosity; CSL off the edge of Playa Medano). I don't believe that any of these include diving. If you're willing to sacrifice one morning of your visit to listen to a timeshare presentation, you can probably bargain yourself a serious discount off of diving :11: (not recommended, by the way ).

You will be happy with any of the dive ops in CSL. (Most of the dive ops are in CSL, btw). I have personally used both Baja-Dive and Land's End Divers, and was satisfied with both. (Land's End has a bigger staff and can run multiple boats). I've heard good things about all the other ops, including Deep Blue, Underwater Diversions, Amigos Del Mar, Manta, & Andromeda. If you're staying in one of the hotels along Playa Medano, Andromeda will be more convenient for you, as they are on Playa Medano; all the others are on or near the Marina.

I think dlndavid is going to be in Cabo in September; if you run into him, check out his 7mm wetsuit (seriously, in September, a shorty is probably more than sufficient for exposure protection).

Check out the various threads on Cabo here & in the calendar section for more details.

Have fun!

 

[HB Diver]

Don't know @ the All Inclusives, but if you go w/a private operator, I'd recommend Manta. SDC is near the airport and quiet, the corridor is secluded, and CSL is crowded (but can be quiet if hotel is on the edge of town). Have fun!

 

[WaterWayne]

...Fiesta Americana (Corridor)...

...in September, a shorty is probably more than sufficient for exposure protection...

Have fun!

The Fiesta Americana wasn't all-inclusive when I was there last September. On the contrary, they had rather pricey food (suppers for $20+). They may run different programs, of course, but I stayed in the main section of condos then. The good news is that it's the flagship of the F.A. chain, and they take that honor seriously by offering top service. That's good because it's relatively isolated on the Corridor, especially from stores and restaurants -- you'll definitely want a car. Bottom line for me: I'll certainly stay there again next September, just a few months from now, especially after buying groceries at CostCo.

Regarding temps, of my nine dives last Labor Day week, I only wore a wetsuit once (.5mm, tropical-weight suit), halfway through the week, mainly to justify having brought it. I agree that a shorty in the 3mm flavor would be more than sufficient. Water temps won't go below 81 deg, and off Cabo Pulmo, they're up in the mid-80s.

Cheers,
Wayne

 

[alphillyswim]

Thanks hdtran, HB Diver and WaterWayne!

We have done AI's before and decided we would like to stay somewhere else this time, especially since most of the reviews on tripadvisor.com were mixed. We are booked at Siesta Suites in the middle of Cabo San Lucas at $50/night with kitchen and small pool, don't think we could have got a better deal (and reviews were great). So we will most likely cook our breakfast/lunch and go out for dinner. Hopefully with the proximity to everything we can do a lot of discovering and not be stuck at a resort for the whole day. I will most likely dive in shorts/t-shirt as I did in Cozumel, didn't really need shorti, it was just an extra cost. Can't wait to see Sea Lions and other creatures!

Any info on arranging transportation to/from airport? I heard taxi is way expensive, but you can get a shared shuttle for $12 or so. Thanks Again!

 

[humanFish]

My boyfriend and I will be traveling to the area in mid/late September and we would like to dive Sea of Cortez and see as much animal life as possible. We are looking for advise on all inclusives (also ones that include diving if they are any). We don't need the nicest accomodations, but would like great diving. We have been to Dominican Republic, Cozumel and local diving in Pennsylvania and are both OW cert. I know that we will most likely fly into San Jose, should we be staying there or San Lucas or elsewhere? Thanks!

I'm going to cabo pulmo in late July...PM me after that and I'll share some details with you....

 

[hdtran]

Thanks hdtran, HB Diver and WaterWayne!

We have done AI's before and decided we would like to stay somewhere else this time, especially since most of the reviews on tripadvisor.com were mixed. We are booked at Siesta Suites in the middle of Cabo San Lucas at $50/night with kitchen and small pool, don't think we could have got a better deal (and reviews were great). So we will most likely cook our breakfast/lunch and go out for dinner. Hopefully with the proximity to everything we can do a lot of discovering and not be stuck at a resort for the whole day. I will most likely dive in shorts/t-shirt as I did in Cozumel, didn't really need shorti, it was just an extra cost. Can't wait to see Sea Lions and other creatures!

Any info on arranging transportation to/from airport? I heard taxi is way expensive, but you can get a shared shuttle for $12 or so. Thanks Again!

Going backwards: From the airport, a taxi is expensive. The shared bus shuttles cost less. Least expensive is taking the bus (also the most painful, as you need to walk about 1 mile out to the highway to get to the bus stop...) You might consider renting a car (not really necessary for your location, but think about it). When you pick up your baggage, clear customs, then, look to the right where most of the car rental counters are. People have been known to bargain & get a good deal there.

On the way out of customs, the first room is full of timeshare vendors. Ignore them, please. (Of course, you could trade airport transportation for a timeshare pitch ) Turn left to exit the "timeshare room" to the airport lobby. I believe there's a ground transportation desk in the lobby (try http://www.cabosexpress.com/) to get your shuttle.

Once you're at your hotel, you're about 1-2 blocks from the Marina. Most of the dive ops are based near the Marina. You can walk to Plaza Aramburo where there's a small supermarket, or take a taxi or a colectivo transport (local bus) to Soriana or CCC to buy food.

Do a search for "Cabo" in the thread title and read past posts for recommendations on dive ops & restaurants.

You won't need to pre-book your dives via the net, but you should stop by the dive op(s) the day before to let them know you're planning on diving the next day (and as many days as you want), esp. if you're going to rent equipment.

The site http://www.allaboutcabo.com is pretty good, as is http://www.loscabosguide.com/index.html

Have fun!

 

[WaterWayne]

hd will undoubtedly be crowned The Count of Los Cabos next season! I differ in one respect only: since you'll be there off-season, I suggest that you do try to make advance dive arrangements. I was there a couple of weeks prior to your planned schedule in September. At that time, at least one of the dive ops was already on reduced schedule. (Help me out, hd, the one with the kiosk by the cruise ship tender landing, past the Port Captain's tower.) Similarly, some operators' trips up to Cabo Pulmo weren't meeting their minimum quorum. The good news is that y'all will end up diving 2:1 with a divemaster, as they'll be glad to get your business. Most of my dives were 1:1 with the divemaster!

Cheers,
Wayne