Puerto Vallarta diving operators

[bburns24]

I did my IANTD training in Vallarta and I'm pretty sure the base shop was Vallartech, located at the marina. I've more recently been sending emails back and forth, to and from one of the guys there, no problem. That trip there was someone on the boat that did a 240ft Trimix dive, not from Vallartech though.

I'll be returning to Vallarta to do some Tech and probably look at chromodoris marislae sometime soonish.

If you are there just to do look at fish, I'm sure there are many shops that can help - Ask your ground tour operator on board the ship and when you arrive everything should be already arranged for you.

 

[EricJ]

I've been diving in PV on four visits. It's not the best diving location, but I've definitely had some GREAT dives there.

Vallarta Adventures is OK. They pile large groups onto a "party boat" and then take divers off on a panga. When you go off and dive, you're with a fairly small group. They take the divers to the exact same location every time, regardless of conditions. They then take you back to the party boat where they try to see how many margaritas they can get you to drink.

Pacific Scuba is a smaller operation, and they work a little harder to find a good location. They also let us dive for over an hour, where Scuba Adventures seemed to call the divers after forty minutes or so.

I don't consider PV a world-class diving destination, but I do enjoy diving there. I've seen HUGE manta rays on several occasions, tons of eels, octopuses, sea turtles, eagle rays, etc. I've also had some crappy dives when the visibility dropped down to fifteen feet.

 

[GARYWSHORT]

I just came back from a cruise to the Mexican Riviera (spelling?). My son (14) and I dove in Puerta Vallarta. We prearranged and paid (through Pay Pal for security reasons) before we left the USA. I dove with Banderas Republic Dive shop. They have a website with the same name. We set up a 3 tank dive from the boat with lunch, T-shirts, patch, tanks, weights. we brought all of our own gear. Total cost with taxes/fees... was $250.00. I gave the crew a $20 tip at the end fo the day (will explain below). They provided a guide/instructor/master diver for the 2 of us and planned a 3-dive day by tables. He did not dive with computers as I have for the last 4 years and therefore our bottom times were limited despite still being in the green zone for nitrogen tissue loading. This was the only, and just a minor, critique. he was very conservative, focussed and attentive. 3 great dives, turtles, eels, puffers, tuna, manta rays, eagle rays... what more could you ask for. The next time I return, I would definitely dive this shop. There were other shop/boat operators at our dive site and they were not impressive and maybe even a little dangerous. Feel free to ask for additional info.

 

[mtwaterbaby]

Garywshort, we are going to PV next week and are trying to decide on an operator. You seem to have a bit more insight. Can you fill me in?

 

[Scuba Diver Mexico]

Garywshort, we are going to PV next week and are trying to decide on an operator. You seem to have a bit more insight. Can you fill me in?

Hello,

After you decide on an operator remember that this is the cool water / lower viz season. (check out the Puerto Vallarta dive report and also the Puerto Vallarta Small animal dive report here on scubaboard). Take down your camera and preferibly macro lens with at least one strobe, this will make your diving more rich and rewarding when you visit this area.

Here is one of the flagship small animals that you will see by the loads this season in some of the dive sites .

YouTube - Nudibranch Tambja abdere feeding



Dont forget to take down a good thick wet suit and hood, or if you own a trilam dry suit (with lighter undergarments) you could use it for longer dives and dives under the thermocline at say the wall in los Arcos, Chimo, ...


If you dive places like el Morro, Chimo, La Corbetena, the wall at los Arcos, .. diving on 32 % is a very, very good idea.

 

[maremd50]

If you're going next week, I'd highly recommend that you contact laolaocean adventures. I dove with them three weeks ago and it was AWESOME!!!! I even got to ride a manta!! I didn't do even one dive that was less than an hour. I was allowed to really use my air, which is hugely important to me. We saw various angels, jacks, damselfish, eels, mantas (on three or four different days), lobsters, crabs, nudis, urchins, stingrays, octopus, trumpetfish, scorpionfish, etc.......lots of variety of sea life. Alex and Donna know the area so well, they take you to really interesting areas within your experience. Alex has lived there all his life and knows the sites like the back of his hand. Both of them speak very good English (Donna's from Canada) and are fun and really good people. In addition, theirs is a small personal service with the focus on service. Although I am a paying customer, I consider both of them my friends -- I've dove with them each time I've gone to PV and never been disappointed. Their website is laolaocean.com and the MX phone number is 322-429-2760. I hope you enjoy PV like I do.

 

[otegui]

Now the water temp is geting down as we was specting, but down there is very clear also, if you are looking for personalized attention, small and separate groups including good quality of gear, beverages, lunch and boat ride, definelly Vallarta Undersea are your choise, daily trips going to the best dive sites around the Bay.

 

[SpudRider]

My wife and just returned from a Holland America cruise on the "Mexican Rivera." After reading some of the posts here we decided to go with Pacific Scuba (which I think is the same operation as Valarta Undersea?). Adolfo at the shop replied to my emails very promptly.

Before the ship even left San Diego we had a problem. We were originally scheduled to be in PV on Wed Feb 11th. Upon arriving on the ship we learned that there was a schedule change, and we'd be in PV on Tuesday Feb 10. A quick email to the shop and everything was taken care of.

We managed to find the shop pretty easily and the whole crew was ready for us. We were using all of their gear and we were fitted for Wetsuits and BC's and were shown to the boat. The gear all appeared to be pretty new and was (as far as I could tell) in excellent condition. I think it was Sherwood BC's and Regs.

We went to the Marietas Islands, which are about an hour from PV on the boat. Banderas bay was FULL of whales! We stopped several times on the way out to watch. The diving was a a bit of a challenge for the wife and I because the water was colder than anything we'd experienced before, and the vis was about 20ft. There was also quite a bit of surge, another new experience. But our dive master Nacho took care of us and everything was fine.

They boat was well stocked with fruit, sandwiches, water, chips, and soda. All in all I was very pleased with the operation. Very professional all the way around and great service.

 

[Scuba Diver Mexico]

These coming weeks of feb/march 2009, if you are planning to be in Puerto Vallarta, or if you want to go down and bring your macro cameras, Alicia Hermosillo will be diving in the area.


Alicia is happy to share her expertise while guiding in English or Spanish for photographers or small animal fans in some of the popular dive sites of the bay.

Check out the Puerto Vallarta Dive report here at SB or the Puerto Vallarta Small animal report


She is also a member of SB with the name "Ali" and email alicia_hg@prodigy.net.mx or gueri25@hotmail.com

Get in touch with her if you would like to see the underwater world of the bay in a totally different way

 

[Trista]

Hi!

I know this might be a little late for this post, but I dove with Cave Heaven in PV and they were great! Anything you could ever need and they were there to help. Plus, it is very personable! When we dove it was just our guide Ema, myself and my boyfriend. What could get better?!


Trista