Sea of Cortez

[Liveordive]

Anyone with good recommendations for this area? I am headed this way in spring and am looking for a good skipper and a good exeprience.

Mantas would be the ultimate but I am happy being wet.

 

[socaldiver]

that you do a little search. There have been a few threads on Baja California, Sea of Cortez, etc, etc.

I did a dive report in October, 2002 after I came back from a trip to Loreto, Mexico. There have also been others who have posted threads about Cabo as well.

Good luck on your search. Cabo or Loreto destinations you can't go wrong with, IMO.

 

[socaldiver]

liveordive:

Here is a website you can checkout. This is the diveop I used in Loreto. Good people and the the ops is right on the resort grounds. The resorts website can be accessed from this site as well.

http://www.dolphindivebaja.com/

 

[SeaFlea]

was nice but I was disappointed in the diving. La Paz is just about two hours(by car) north from San Jose Del Cabo airport. Theres supposed to be better diving in La Paz than in Cabo San Lucas. We were there a week in May of last year. I found the diving; expensive (about 120-130 for a dbl tank boat dive), long boat trip (50-60 min), no live corals, and cold water(68 deg). I will say I got a few good photographs of Sealions and did see a few Seastars I had never seen before but all in all we had a much better time on shore than under the water. I guess I've been spoiled with great places like Cozumel, Bonaire and the Philippines.

Don't mean to dampen your spirit.

 

[socaldiver]

SeaFlea,
sorry to hear your experience wasn't that good. My experience was outstanding.

Up in Loreto the diving was real good, with plenty of marine life including a lot of stars I have never seen before.

As far as water temps, it depends on what time of year you are there. I was ther this past October and we had 82 degree water. If you go in the winter months you will have mid to upper 50s normally. The water starts warming up in the Spring and by midsummer in the 70s and 80s.

As far as coral, sure you will see more in the Carib. The Sea of Cortez is still a baby. It has only existed for a couple of million years due to an earthquake on the San Andreas Fault line. So it will be a few more million years before anyone will see a significant amount of coral.

Oh, and the diving was $80 for a 2 tank boat dive, it also took us anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes to get to our first dive spot, but well worth it.

 

[Liveordive]

for the input. I will check out the spots mentioned. Have yet to have a bad trip to Mexico. I do want to try the east side soon though.

 

[Mo2vation]

Wifie and I were there over the summer.

We went to Rancho Leonero for a week - fishing, kayak fishing, diving, snorkling and hanging out.

Dead calm in August - hot as a mutha, but dead calm. We must have paddled out a couple of miles...like being on a big lake, except Mantas we're jumping all around the kayaks - cool, kinda creepy, but cool. Big carpets sailing out of the water and sort of flapping in the air. Zillions of them...huge schools.

Fin whales, tuna, dorado and all manner of reef fish (double reef in front of the ranch...we snorkled for days)...just an amazing eco system.

The diving was great. (http://www.vistaseasport.com/) Mark and Jen were awesome. Dove with the dolphins.

It was really weird - warm water diving (my first time out of So Cal)...no kelp. Never been in the water without kelp. No vertical reference. The first time I really got the whole 3-d experience. Like being in a big fish bowl.

We were at 80 fsw, and it was 82!! EIGHTY TWO??!! The warmest I ever dive in is about 68. It was amazingly clear - and very, very different for this so cal diver.

It was very cheap to go and stay at the ranch, the food was excellent, the fishing was unbeatable, the dive boat picks you up on the beach...we couldn't have asked for a better trip.

GO!

Ken

www.rancholeonero.com

 

[samcvic]

We went to cabo in june and had average diving. I had a 7mm and the water was still cold below 35ft. We didn't see anything outrageous. We also to a trip out to cabo pulmo. It is a national park, the secneary is pretty nice, we ate fresh fish tacos under a shack next to the beach. The actual dive was average. It was cold and the visabilty was around 15 to 20ft if that. But hey it was diving so who can really complain. Email me if you have more questions. I can probably find out who we dove with.

 

[diveatlas]

We have been to Cabo Pulmo twice now. Good diving, especially at night. Sea Lion Colony is fun too. Here is my trip report from 2001. I haven't finished the 2002 one yet.

Trip Report Link

 

[racerbruce]

BEWARE! We went to Cabo over Christmas (2002) and made
reservations months in advance with Amigos Del Mar. The boats that they brag so much about , were junks, their crews small .
Plus as an added bonus after we returned home , these scammers had the nerve to try and charge us extra fees for
some unexplained and unprovided services. We were in constant contact with ADM for months before we got there, being constantly assured that the water was warm(68f is not warm),
and that sea life was plentiful. Neither was the case. Cabo itself was nice, not much different than any other Mexican resort town
you would do much better to try some other place like Cozumel if diving is your main reason for chosing a vaction destination in
Mexico. But Baja peninsula itself is beautiful and there are
things to see and do besides the diving.