San Jose Del Cabo - April

[tribalrites]

I will be staying at the Presidente Intercontinental in San jose Del Cabo during mid April. This trip was planned for me so I did not really have a choice, but I would like a couple of dives while I am there. I have read alot of the threads, but wanted some definitive answers. 1) Are there any good dive operators close to where I am staying, or do I have to take the trip down to Cabo San Lucas? (Amigos del Mar seems to be a fav) 2) Will I need more than my 3mil farmers? 3) I like the Carribean type dives, but don't need that sort of sealife. I just want interesting dives. What, in anybodys opinion is really worthwhile?

Thanks in advance for any input.

PS My wife is not a diver and would like to know what non-diving activities are a must.

 

[hdtran]

The Presidente is a nice hotel in SJdC next to the river. Birdwatching is supposed to be really good there. SJdC has a nice mission & is much less anglo than CSL. What kind of activities does your wife like? Does she like to hang out on the beach & read a book? Snorkel? Golf? Horseback? Shop? Deep sea fishing? For tourist trap shopping, CSL is best. The Presidente will run shuttles.

For the Cabo San Lucas area, the "interesting" locales are Cabo Pulmo (an interesting unpaved drive; N of SJdC); Chileno/Santa Maria (about 10 km N of CSL or 20 km S of SJdC); and in CSL itself. Cabo Pulmo waters tend to be warmer than CSL.

Baja Wild is an outfitter based in San Jose which will put you in a van & take you to either CSL or Cabo Pulmo; they contract with a dive shop in each area. They also do kayaking, snorkeling, etc.

I would recommend a 5mm suit. At the end of May 2004, I was hot in a 7mm Farmer John; just fine in a 5mm full suit; & way cold in a 2mm shortie. Water was in the 70s at the surface, down to mid 50s at 50-60 fsw in CSL. The Pacific ocean currents coming in are cold (but they also bring in lots of plankton, so the fish love to eat & get big).

The corals are not hugely colorful, but there are lots of fish.

We're going back to Cabo (staying in the corridor) end of May. The kids will swim in the hotel pool. My wife is debating getting her OW (she did a resort course dive last year & loved it, but now, she's getting cold feet).

Good luck!