Nov 2020: Socorro and Cabo Pulmo Diving Ops Recommendation

[FettSolo]

ABNB = Airbnb

 

[horn34]

Check out Reinhards if you need a/c. I have stayed there before in November and didn't need a/c but it was available for a small charge.

Cabo Pulmo Reinhard's Rentals

 

[Matt B]

Thanks @horn34 and @Matt B for the pointers to Cabo Pulmo Watersports and Cabo Pulmo Diving.

@Matt B , what does ABNB (where you stayed) stand for? We haven't decided on where to stay and it would help to know what to avoid. And we are hoping by the end of Nov, it won;t be so hot that we need AC?

Air BNB or maybe we used VRBO for the rental. I do think it was above normal heat last week, so if there are fans you should be totally fine. I would of been fine with a little circulation. Enjoy!

 

[living4experiences]

Hi DivingChipmunk,
I will be on the Nautilus Explorer on those dates, too!! I am arriving at SJD on Nov. 16th and staying at Tesoro, diving with See Creatures on the 17th, and doing their free warm-up dive and free photo workshop on the 18th before departure on the Explorer. Would love to meet you and maybe we can do some diving together. You can private message me on this forum if you'd like.

I was on a land-based trip to Cabo San Lucas a couple of years ago in October with a dive group of 16 people. We stayed at the Tesoro and dived with Dive Cabo, which is located at the marina next to Tesoro. The dive sites are a short boat ride away. We dived in the Corridor and the other local sites in the marine park. We had some cool interactions with sea lions and got to swim in the middle of a humongous bait ball! As far as the other marine life in Cabo, it's kind of meh. Dive Cabo did a fine job...no complaints. I am going to give See Creatures a try this time, since it's only a couple of dives pre-liveaboard, and they're connected with Nautilus so there should be some extra measure of wanting to take care of the Nautilus customer.

Our group did a day trip to Cabo Pulmo and it was the day from hell. It's 2 1/2 hours drive each way and the last 5 miles is a dirt road and it's a really rough ride. It's a full hour to go 5 miles. Dive Cabo set us up with a local dive operation (can't remember the name), and it was a horrendous experience with that operator. The boat was overcrowded to the point of having to step on other's fins to move around, no room to gear up and rough seas on top of that. The diving itself was, again, meh. That was my first and last time at Cabo Pulmo. Since you're staying there, be prepared for a rugged stay. There are few amenities around and, in my opinion, from what I saw, it looks like a step above camping. Mexico only ranges from warm and humid to hot and humid, so my opinion, A/C is a must. You also want to keep the bugs out.

Rental car: I don't drive in Mexico, ever. Since you're going to Cabo Pulmo, a 4X4 might be better than a sedan.

This will be my first liveaboard since COVID and first time with Nautilus. I'm presently diving in Florida, and the rules vary by county, so I can't keep up with it. I actually walked off a boat earlier this week because it was NOT reduced capacity and almost no one was wearing a mask. I always wear a mask and keep my distance. I'm hopeful the liveaboard situation will do a better job since we're confined together for so long.

Hello,

Thanks to all the wonderful information found on this board, we booked a diving trip to the Cabos in Nov. Now we are hoping to make it there before any potential Covid-19 travel restrictions.

Here is the plan:
1) Nov 15-18, fly to SJD, stay at Tesoro at Cabo San Lucas, and dive 3 days locally with See Creatures.
2) Nov 18-26, Nautilus Explorer to Socorro
3) Nov 26-29, drive to Cabo Pulmo and dive two days before flying back on Nov 29

Most of the trip is booked and still have a few questions we hope this board might help us with:
1) We plan to dive with See Creatures at Cabo San Lucas as they are affiliated with Nautilus. Any other dive shop we should consider instead?
2) Any recommendation for a dive shop in Cabo Pulmo? How early should we book in advance? There are a few dive ops with very similar names and very limited information online.
3) Any suggestion for rental car company? It will be our first time renting a car in the area. We are considering using Alamo as they have an office in town we can pick up from and drop off at the airport. Will we need a 4*4 SUV or just a sedan to make it to Cabo Pulmo?

And if you have any recent experience with Nautilus or diving in Cabos area, we would love to hear from you and learn about what to expect during this new era of social distancing diving.

Thanks!

Sue

 

[Matt B]

Wow, your Cabo Pulmo experience sounded horrible. Yes driving from Cabo San Lucas in the am sounds horrible, and I would not ever consider driving that far in the am before a dive. We had a 3 minute drive to the dive shop. Like I said the boat from Cabo Pulmo Diving was socially distanced and held at a certain amount of divers. We wore masks most of the time when close together. The 5 miles on the dirt road was not even close to an hour, maybe 15-20 minutes. We were able to drive faster in our SUV and the shuttle we took from the airport definitely had to go slower on the dirt. We had a fellow on the boat that had dove allot in the Gulf and he thought it was fine in Cabo Pulmo. He had just come from the La Paz area. Have fun!

 

[DivingChipmunk]

Check out Reinhards if you need a/c. I have stayed there before in November and didn't need a/c but it was available for a small charge.

Cabo Pulmo Reinhard's Rentals

Thanks @horn34 for the pointer!

 

[DivingChipmunk]

@living4experiences It's wonderful to hear from someone on the incoming LOB to Socorro. I will send you a private message to connect. Looking forward to meeting you and diving with you.

Thanks for sharing your experience at Cabo Pulmo. We are still trying to figure out a plan, choosing between Cabo Pulmo or La Paz for a post LOB side trip. From the reviews on this board, my impression is that Cabo Pulmo has better diving, and is more an off-the-beaten path type of destination, which sounds like a good idea if we want to avoid crowds in this era of pandemic.

Hi DivingChipmunk,
I will be on the Nautilus Explorer on those dates, too!! I am arriving at SJD on Nov. 16th and staying at Tesoro, diving with See Creatures on the 17th, and doing their free warm-up dive and free photo workshop on the 18th before departure on the Explorer. Would love to meet you and maybe we can do some diving together. You can private message me on this forum if you'd like.

I was on a land-based trip to Cabo San Lucas a couple of years ago in October with a dive group of 16 people. We stayed at the Tesoro and dived with Dive Cabo, which is located at the marina next to Tesoro. The dive sites are a short boat ride away. We dived in the Corridor and the other local sites in the marine park. We had some cool interactions with sea lions and got to swim in the middle of a humongous bait ball! As far as the other marine life in Cabo, it's kind of meh. Dive Cabo did a fine job...no complaints. I am going to give See Creatures a try this time, since it's only a couple of dives pre-liveaboard, and they're connected with Nautilus so there should be some extra measure of wanting to take care of the Nautilus customer.

Our group did a day trip to Cabo Pulmo and it was the day from hell. It's 2 1/2 hours drive each way and the last 5 miles is a dirt road and it's a really rough ride. It's a full hour to go 5 miles. Dive Cabo set us up with a local dive operation (can't remember the name), and it was a horrendous experience with that operator. The boat was overcrowded to the point of having to step on other's fins to move around, no room to gear up and rough seas on top of that. The diving itself was, again, meh. That was my first and last time at Cabo Pulmo. Since you're staying there, be prepared for a rugged stay. There are few amenities around and, in my opinion, from what I saw, it looks like a step above camping. Mexico only ranges from warm and humid to hot and humid, so my opinion, A/C is a must. You also want to keep the bugs out.

Rental car: I don't drive in Mexico, ever. Since you're going to Cabo Pulmo, a 4X4 might be better than a sedan.

This will be my first liveaboard since COVID and first time with Nautilus. I'm presently diving in Florida, and the rules vary by county, so I can't keep up with it. I actually walked off a boat earlier this week because it was NOT reduced capacity and almost no one was wearing a mask. I always wear a mask and keep my distance. I'm hopeful the liveaboard situation will do a better job since we're confined together for so long.

 

[DivingChipmunk]

@Matt B Thanks again for sharing your recent experience at Cabo Pulmo. Glad that you and your friends enjoyed the area and the diving, although the lodging was not totally satisfying. I have found a couple of place with air conditioning (at extra cost) and hopefully can make a decision soon.

Wow, your Cabo Pulmo experience sounded horrible. Yes driving from Cabo San Lucas in the am sounds horrible, and I would not ever consider driving that far in the am before a dive. We had a 3 minute drive to the dive shop. Like I said the boat from Cabo Pulmo Diving was socially distanced and held at a certain amount of divers. We wore masks most of the time when close together. The 5 miles on the dirt road was not even close to an hour, maybe 15-20 minutes. We were able to drive faster in our SUV and the shuttle we took from the airport definitely had to go slower on the dirt. We had a fellow on the boat that had dove allot in the Gulf and he thought it was fine in Cabo Pulmo. He had just come from the La Paz area. Have fun!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Hi DivingChipmunk,
I will be on the Nautilus Explorer on those dates, too!! I am arriving at SJD on Nov. 16th and staying at Tesoro, diving with See Creatures on the 17th, and doing their free warm-up dive and free photo workshop on the 18th before departure on the Explorer. Would love to meet you and maybe we can do some diving together. You can private message me on this forum if you'd like.

I was on a land-based trip to Cabo San Lucas a couple of years ago in October with a dive group of 16 people. We stayed at the Tesoro and dived with Dive Cabo, which is located at the marina next to Tesoro. The dive sites are a short boat ride away. We dived in the Corridor and the other local sites in the marine park. We had some cool interactions with sea lions and got to swim in the middle of a humongous bait ball! As far as the other marine life in Cabo, it's kind of meh. Dive Cabo did a fine job...no complaints. I am going to give See Creatures a try this time, since it's only a couple of dives pre-liveaboard, and they're connected with Nautilus so there should be some extra measure of wanting to take care of the Nautilus customer.

Our group did a day trip to Cabo Pulmo and it was the day from hell. It's 2 1/2 hours drive each way and the last 5 miles is a dirt road and it's a really rough ride. It's a full hour to go 5 miles. Dive Cabo set us up with a local dive operation (can't remember the name), and it was a horrendous experience with that operator. The boat was overcrowded to the point of having to step on other's fins to move around, no room to gear up and rough seas on top of that. The diving itself was, again, meh. That was my first and last time at Cabo Pulmo. Since you're staying there, be prepared for a rugged stay. There are few amenities around and, in my opinion, from what I saw, it looks like a step above camping. Mexico only ranges from warm and humid to hot and humid, so my opinion, A/C is a must. You also want to keep the bugs out.

Rental car: I don't drive in Mexico, ever. Since you're going to Cabo Pulmo, a 4X4 might be better than a sedan.

This will be my first liveaboard since COVID and first time with Nautilus. I'm presently diving in Florida, and the rules vary by county, so I can't keep up with it. I actually walked off a boat earlier this week because it was NOT reduced capacity and almost no one was wearing a mask. I always wear a mask and keep my distance. I'm hopeful the liveaboard situation will do a better job since we're confined together for so long.

My two experiences in Cabo Pulmo somewhat reflected yours. The diving was OK, but honestly I don't think it's any better than dive sites in Loreto, where I live. For the money and effort, I don't see myself going back to Cabo Pulmo. I think the reputation sets an expectation that sometimes gets met, but it's more the exception than the rule ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Illini_Fan]

@living4experiences or @DivingChipmunk - how was the trip? I won't be on the boat until May 2020 and I realize things will probably change by then, but curious how they handled the Covid related safety stuff and what is your respective opinions of said stuff. Most LOBs are shared cabins and did either of you have any concern sharing a cabin with a stranger due to Covid?