Short trip report - La Paz, Baja California Sur

[Chavodel8en]

Only two dives from La Paz, but they were enjoyable. Sites were Los Islotes (shallow, 50-80 ft viz, easy diving, except fighting current to get back to boat) and the C-59 wreck (~60 ft deep, 40-60 ft viz, no current). My DC said 78 deg water at the surface (i didnt note at depth) - I was fine in a 3/2 mm, some were in rashguards. My first dives in the Vermillion Sea aka Golfo de California.

The highlights were the cute sea lions nibbling on us, as well as having ginormous bulls buzz by us. Good marine life at Los Islotes. the C-59 had some short swim thrus. Not as much fish.

La Paz itself is a cute, picturesque chill town. GREAT seafood and food in general. The malecon is nice place to stroll. Hotel Catedral is very nice, picturesque, good location, great value. A tour of Espiritu Santo Island is a must, as it includes snorkeling with the lions at Los Islotes and pristine beach on the island. Alot of tours to Balandra beach include snorkeling the Lobera at San Rafaelito, which was like a mini version of Los Islotes. My whale shark snorkeling was cancelled - sucks, I think they overbooked.

Drawbacks. There is no real beach in town. You have to take a taxi to local beaches or a tour. All boat trips are long (1 hr + to Los Islotes) - we were lucky as the sea was flat all trip. La Paz is hard to reach, even from the West Coast. We took a redeye to GDL to get to La Paz, but our return is one day. All in all a good vacation, I wish I had more time to dive

Bull Sea Lion
Fin pullers
baby sea lion
Shell collector
playful sea lion
Fish at Los Islotes
C-59 wreck
Snorkeling San Rafaelito

 

[Pat85]

Nice to read! I had a blast in La Paz too. I can agree, really chill town to stay and the food is amazing!
With which dive operator did you book?

 

[drrich2]

The highlights were the cute sea lions nibbling on us, as well as having ginormous bulls buzz by us.

To clarify, you meant bull sea lions buzzed you, not bull sharks?

Drawbacks. There is no real beach in town. You have to take a taxi to local beaches or a tour. All boat trips are long (1 hr + to Los Islotes) - we were lucky as the sea was flat all trip. La Paz is hard to reach, even from the West Coast.

Sorry you didn't get to see the whale sharks; I'd like to dive with whale sharks someday.

Given that you wanted to do more dives there and didn't see the whale sharks, do you plan to go back someday and spend a week on a dive trip to La Paz?

If you get that done at some point, do you see this as a destination you'd like to repeat a few times, or is it one of those 'moving on' things, like when people check off Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, Bonaire, etc...?

Your trip was short, so it's harder to make the call, but I wonder how the cost of a week trip to La Paz stacks up to one to Cozumel or Roatan? There are too many factors for a simple answer (e.g.: where do you stay, total trip cost or average cost/dive, etc...), but budget matters.

 

[Chavodel8en]

Nice to read! I had a blast in La Paz too. I can agree, really chill town to stay and the food is amazing!
With which dive operator did you book?

Dive in La Paz. Mainly bc they were walking distance from Hotel Catedral

To clarify, you meant bull sea lions buzzed you, not bull sharks?

Sorry you didn't get to see the whale sharks; I'd like to dive with whale sharks someday.

Given that you wanted to do more dives there and didn't see the whale sharks, do you plan to go back someday and spend a week on a dive trip to La Paz?

If you get that done at some point, do you see this as a destination you'd like to repeat a few times, or is it one of those 'moving on' things, like when people check off Cozumel, Roatan, Belize, Bonaire, etc...?

Your trip was short, so it's harder to make the call, but I wonder how the cost of a week trip to La Paz stacks up to one to Cozumel or Roatan? There are too many factors for a simple answer (e.g.: where do you stay, total trip cost or average cost/dive, etc...), but budget matters.

Oh yeah, bull sea lions, not sharks. Sea lions plus bull sharks would have been interesting.

We were considering Hawaii, but La Paz was cheaper. Flight was about $500/person round trip (more v. Hawaii), but Hotel Catedral was less than $100/night - a great value. Food was GREAT, and cheap. One thing we may have considered is flying directly to Cabo from OAK, and taking a 2+ hr shuttle ride.

I think La Paz is a good general destination, but has some drawbacks re scuba. Mainly, the long boat rides. We lucked out, flat seas, would have really sucked going 1 hr + in rocky seas. I get sea sick, so its an issue for me. Also, maybe I havent priced scuba lately, but all the operators were about $180 per 2 tank trip, which to me seems very expensive.

I wanted to get my first Vermillion Sea (aka Sea of Cortez) experience. Maybe we'd go back, or maybe try Loreto for more Mar Bermejo experience. But I tend to think the Caribbean and even Hawaii is better diving. One note, the sea lions are probably the biggest selling point, but sea lions aren't novel for me - I see them in Monterey, although the La Paz sea lions are MUCH MORE interactive and fun. And I did get to see two huge bulls bumping chests on the rocks while snorkeling at Los Islotes - doubt I'd ever see that at the Monterey Breakwater.

 

[dlofting]

Your trip was short, so it's harder to make the call, but I wonder how the cost of a week trip to La Paz stacks up to one to Cozumel or Roatan? There are too many factors for a simple answer (e.g.: where do you stay, total trip cost or average cost/dive, etc...), but budget matters.

It probably makes more sense to compare Cabo Pulmo to those destinations you mentioned as there are enough dive sites to make a week to 10 day trip practical.

In Cabo Pulmo we stay at Baja Bungalows with costs around $100 US a night. All units have kitchens and sleep anywhere from 2 to 5 people. There are cheaper and more expensive options, but accommodation books up quickly.

Diving is around $130 for a two tank dive. There are 6 eating places in town with an average cost of about $15 US per person for dinner. Lunches and breakfasts are less. There is only one small grocery store in town with mostly things like cookies, chips, soft drinks and some non-perishables. The next closest store is in La Ribera which is a 30 minute drive. It has a decent selection of packaged, bottled and canned food with the amount of fresh veggies and fruit varying significantly, depending on the day.

Travel is by air to San Jose del Cabo and then by rental car or hired transport to Cabo Pulmo.

So overall Cabo Pulmo is more expensive than Cozumel or Roatan. We like the small town laid back atmosphere and since we're on the west coast it's only a 4 hour flight.

If you did want to compare La Paz I'd say it would probably be about he same as Cabo Pulmo costwise with a bit greater selection for eating and sleeping.

 

[drrich2]

Thank you for the excellent practical comparison. When I look at trip reports on ScubaBoard, I try to do it with an eye toward how things look to fairly new divers who haven't been to the mainstream regional places. For them, in the near term future, the question looms - where do I choose to go for my next dive trip? Cozumel seems to get the most buzz, then Bonaire and Roatan, but what about Belize and the Caymans? How does someone choose?

It's worth mentioning that the Sea of Cortez diving offers a different ocean, and thus different creatures, and warm water sea lion encounters. Whereas Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, Bonaire and the Caymans are all Caribbean destinations with some overlap in species, the Sea of Cortez must offer a substantially different experience in the species you see. I haven't dove it; I have dove a bit in California and the Galapagos, and it's refreshing to see different animals.

 

[dlofting]

Thank you for the excellent practical comparison. When I look at trip reports on ScubaBoard, I try to do it with an eye toward how things look to fairly new divers who haven't been to the mainstream regional places. For them, in the near term future, the question looms - where do I choose to go for my next dive trip? Cozumel seems to get the most buzz, then Bonaire and Roatan, but what about Belize and the Caymans? How does someone choose?

It's worth mentioning that the Sea of Cortez diving offers a different ocean, and thus different creatures, and warm water sea lion encounters. Whereas Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, Bonaire and the Caymans are all Caribbean destinations with some overlap in species, the Sea of Cortez must offer a substantially different experience in the species you see. I haven't dove it; I have dove a bit in California and the Galapagos, and it's refreshing to see different animals.

We like Cabo Pulmo but if we wanted to see more of the Sea of Cortez we would probably go with one of the liveaboards. That would give us one or two days at places like La Paz.

 

[Pat85]

Dive in La Paz. Mainly bc they were walking distance from Hotel Catedral

Cool, thanks!
Definitely want to go back to La Paz, really liked it.