Socorro in Oct/Nov?

[Jacob110]

Hi all,

Been doing some trip planning and was rather set on going to Banda but just noticed there's some Socorro trips with Nautilus going at the end of October/start of November. I understand this is the very beginning of the season so not really sure if it would be the right time to go. Would I be better off waiting till I can get a trip booked further into the season?

 

[AdivingBel]

My favorite time to go. Water is warm and lots to see. Dropping in on a school of hammerheads in 80 degree water in a skin is in my top 10. Have fun.

 

[Manuel Sam]

The Socorro liveaboard season - typically early November to early July - has to do primarily with the operators wanting to avoid doing trips during the hurricane season. It isn't so much about there being a peak time for quality and quantity of animal encounters as you may be thinking. Mantas, dolphins, sharks and big schools of fish - which are what most people go to Socorro to see - are pretty much yearround.

Unless you are also after something else. For example, there are months when certain animals like whalesharks (November) and Humpback Whales (late January thru March) tend to be more prevalent. Not that you are guaranteed to see them. And there are some operators who claim that baitballs are more apt to occur around May. So when to go also has to do with which time of the year gives you the best chance to see what you wish to see.

I too prefer the early season trips the most, especially with the 80 degree water temps in November. My best Socorro trip ever was on the first week of November. And while this is strictly conjecture on my part, it seems to me that the animals might find us bubble-blowing tourists to be a bit more of a "novelty" early on in the season.

Another good reason to go early in the season is that, if you have the time and the money, you can easily combine Socorro with Cabo Pulmo (possibility of seeing bull sharks and arguably the largest school of Big-Eye Jacks); with La Paz (for diving the sea lion colony and whaleshark snorkeling), and/or with Mag Bay (for the Mexican Sardine Run).

 

[Jacob110]

The Socorro liveaboard season - typically early November to early July - has to do primarily with the operators wanting to avoid doing trips during the hurricane season. It isn't so much about there being a peak time for quality and quantity of animal encounters as you may be thinking. Mantas, dolphins, sharks and big schools of fish - which are what most people go to Socorro to see - are pretty much yearround.

Unless you are also after something else. For example, there are months when certain animals like whalesharks (November) and Humpback Whales (late January thru March) tend to be more prevalent. Not that you are guaranteed to see them. And there are some operators who claim that baitballs are more apt to occur around May. So when to go also has to do with which time of the year gives you the best chance to see what you wish to see.

I too prefer the early season trips the most, especially with the 80 degree water temps in November. My best Socorro trip ever was on the first week of November. And while this is strictly conjecture on my part, it seems to me that the animals might find us bubble-blowing tourists to be a bit more of a "novelty" early on in the season.

Another good reason to go early in the season is that, if you have the time and the money, you can easily combine Socorro with Cabo Pulmo (possibility of seeing bull sharks and arguably the largest school of Big-Eye Jacks); with La Paz (for diving the sea lion colony and whaleshark snorkeling), and/or with Mag Bay (for the Mexican Sardine Run).

Thanks for the really in depth answer! Interesting to hear that many people prefer the start of the season. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't taken in by the idea of a humpback encounter but I'm not going to let that small possibility dictate my trip times. I think the main thing for me now is whether or not I want to be in a triple stateroom on the Belle Amie or wait till March and go on the Solmar V. Heard the triple room is a bit of a shoebox?

 

[Manuel Sam]

I think that most of us warm-water wimps prefer the start of the season. For me, putting on a wetsuit thicker than a 3mm equates to work....and I am supposed to be there to play.

Humpback encounters during a dive in Socorro are not common. You have to be really lucky. I have never dived or snorkeled with humpbacks ithere in 4 wintertime Socorro trips. They are in those waters during the winter months, you can see them from the boat, and you can often hear them during a dive, but very few of them allow approach, which is understandable because the mothers are very protective of their newborn calves. There are places where you have a much better chance to swim with them - refer to a posting on where to swim with whales in the General Travel forum.

I can't help you with the Belle Amie but I was under the impression that they also have single cabins, altho I would imagine that those sell off quickly. I am a longtime Solmar V customer, and I can tell you that Solmar V cabins are smaller than shoeboxes. But I am more than happy and comfy in one of their two singles, which are baby-shoebox-small: about as much walking space as a phone booth.

If you end up choosing the Solmar and a single is not available, in my opinion, the double cabin at the bow is best because it is the only cabin on the boat with side by side beds . Only issues are that it is at the bow; therefore, you will get more movement during crossings, and more noise from lapping waves and the raising and lowering of the anchor. And if that one is not available, then pay a little extra and get one of the superior cabins - those are slightly more spacious and are amidship, so less movement during crossings.

I earlier mentioned that November is a good time to also add-on other side trips. It is actually the best time for those add-ons because there is a "peak" season to those places. October-November offer the warmest and clearest waters in Cabo Pulmo. If you go in the wintertime, the water will be much colder and rougher. The downside to doing Cabo Pulmo in November is that the place gets overly crowded with divers and between the overcrowding and Park rules being so restrictive, you might not get a chance to dive the choicest dive sites.

In La Paz, October-November is when there are a lot of playful juvenile sea lions. In some years, the dive with the sea lions is made even better by the aggregation of sardines at the dive site. Watching the feeding activity by larger fish, sea lions and even birds is quite entertaining.

And the Mexican Sardine Run in Mag Bay is usually mid-to-late October into December.

 

[Jacob110]

Thanks for the info! I think the triple stateroom is lower front which isn't ideal, but I've been lower front on LOBs before and usually find that I'm so knackered after a day of diving that it doesn't really matter, same goes for the cabin being very small. Decided to force myself to make a decision and put down a hold on the last spot for the end of Oct/start of Nov trip in the triple stateroom on the Belle Amie.