moorish8idol
Contributor
Hey all,
I just got back from a quick 5-day trip to Cabo Pulmo and thought it might be useful for others to hear how it went. Long-story short: its a fantastic little diving community with tons of rustic charm.
As I am back based in western Canada these days, I took a direct flight down to SJD and was in Mexico by 10:30 am. I pre-booked a car rental and for $230 USD had a 4 day booking with a brand new Jeep, unlimited mileages and $0 down total insurance cover. Its an easy drive up to Cabo Pulmo following the Highway 1 North and then veering off towards Ribera. The last 25 minutes or so drive is gravel/sand road but otherwise driving conditions are pretty decent. Highly recommended to do it in daylight however.
Cabo Pulmo has limited shops and is a cash-based economy with no banks or ATMs. While USD are widely accepted, you get a better rate to just take out pesos and use those. To avoid stress, take the time to get your pesos in San Jose del Cabo. The ATM in the international terminal was not working and not dispensing pesos. The domestic terminal has a lot more working ATMs dispensing pesos and even though you have to drive a bit out of your way to get there, its your best shot as Hwy 1 doesn't appear to have any banks/ATMs en route. You can do as I did and take your chances in La Ribera but its touch-and-go. I was lucky that the one ATM in town (inside the Oxxo) had pesos in it when I was there! This is also your last stop for some provisioning - at El Rey or the Oxxo you can pick up beer, wine, booze and snacks. If you want real coffee, get it there as the little store in CP only has instant or whole beans.
I stayed at Baja Bungalows in Juan's Casita which is fabulous. Its $80 USD a night and you have a little casita inside a private walled area complete with cactus garden, outdoor (but covered) full kitchen (with electric fridge and full cookware), outdoor dining, "hot tub" (cooling pool real - only in hot season), separate but complete bathroom and a small indoor bedroom. Great for 1 or 2 people. Plenty of parking on-site as there are also palapa suites and 2 houses that can be rented whole or in part. Its a quick walk into town. Also heard great things about El Encanto bungalow down the road but they don't have kitchens for all their suites. Note that the bungalows (as pretty much everywhere in town) are rustic - I happily shared my space with mice, geckos and cockroaches not all of which made it out alive! Water is potable in town so I happily and healthily drank from the tap the whole time (ugh - it was highway robbery at the Los Cabos airport where a small bottle of water runs for USD$4). Bring your own reusable water bottle. The bungalows and most of the town is run on solar power so no AC or hairdriers etc, both of which were unnecessary in early March when I was there (nights very cool! Days dry and sunny, around 27 degrees C).
I did my diving with Cabo Pulmo Divers, the original outfit in town. Responsive to emails and good shop with nice guides. They have 4 lanchas to take you to the various sites that are a 5-15 minute boat ride from the beach. Prices were USD$135 for double-tank dives ($40 for extra tank) and include full equipment if you need it. The water was cooooold. Surface temps around 21 but bottom temps around 18C. As I am entirely cold-blooded, I wore my shark-skin vest and hood underneath my 5 mm bare evoke with a 4 mm shortie (supplied by CPD) worn on top. I was only a little to a lot cold half of the time, lol.
As a solo diver I was somewhat vulnerable to the whims and abilities of the other groups and couples that joined me. They generally need at least 2 people to go out - I did get to manage 3 dives in one day but otherwise were just double tanks in the morning, leaving around 9 am and back around 1 pm. Looks like this time of year (or this year in general as with last) is pretty good for bull-shark sightings which are reliably seen at El Vencedor (barco hundido - the sunken "ship" sitting around 15 m). Saw plenty on all 3 dives there though how close they get will depend on the time/day/your luck. Had a wonderful dive at El Cantil where we ended up underneath a huge school of big-eyed Jacks that after 25 minutes of passing over top us, still hadn't ended. Incredible. Supposedly the big schools are more common during mating season in October/November but we were there around new moon and due to RIPPING currents, we lucked out. Our guide said after 10 years working in the National Park, he had seen a school that big less than a handful of times. Amazing! It just shows how wonderful it is to have a community committed to preservation and protection of the marine environment. Mother nature recovers and delivers when you treat her right!
As just mentioned, currents were strong. But strong! There are some drift dives but at places like the Vencedor, you are generally dropping down to the sandy bottom and chilling while you wait for bull sharks etc to show up. Went through double the amount of gas I normally do but the work was worth the benefit of some gorgeous, close encounters with the sharks.
I ate lunch every day at the beachside "Beers and Tacos" - great service and wonderful food. Tacos for around 40 pesos a piece, beers at 40 pesos and some wonderful ceviche options. Good music, good vibes. My fave place in town. Otherwise there are about 4 or 5 restaurants in town for dinner. I self-catered breakfast at my bungalow. Evenings are very quiet and very dark - bring a torch/headlamp! And some good books and enjoy the starlit skies and peace.
Overall, I am really happy with having gone during "low season". I dived every day without having to worry about permits for dive sites and saw huge schools of fish and sharks every day! Happy to answer any questions.
I just got back from a quick 5-day trip to Cabo Pulmo and thought it might be useful for others to hear how it went. Long-story short: its a fantastic little diving community with tons of rustic charm.
As I am back based in western Canada these days, I took a direct flight down to SJD and was in Mexico by 10:30 am. I pre-booked a car rental and for $230 USD had a 4 day booking with a brand new Jeep, unlimited mileages and $0 down total insurance cover. Its an easy drive up to Cabo Pulmo following the Highway 1 North and then veering off towards Ribera. The last 25 minutes or so drive is gravel/sand road but otherwise driving conditions are pretty decent. Highly recommended to do it in daylight however.
Cabo Pulmo has limited shops and is a cash-based economy with no banks or ATMs. While USD are widely accepted, you get a better rate to just take out pesos and use those. To avoid stress, take the time to get your pesos in San Jose del Cabo. The ATM in the international terminal was not working and not dispensing pesos. The domestic terminal has a lot more working ATMs dispensing pesos and even though you have to drive a bit out of your way to get there, its your best shot as Hwy 1 doesn't appear to have any banks/ATMs en route. You can do as I did and take your chances in La Ribera but its touch-and-go. I was lucky that the one ATM in town (inside the Oxxo) had pesos in it when I was there! This is also your last stop for some provisioning - at El Rey or the Oxxo you can pick up beer, wine, booze and snacks. If you want real coffee, get it there as the little store in CP only has instant or whole beans.
I stayed at Baja Bungalows in Juan's Casita which is fabulous. Its $80 USD a night and you have a little casita inside a private walled area complete with cactus garden, outdoor (but covered) full kitchen (with electric fridge and full cookware), outdoor dining, "hot tub" (cooling pool real - only in hot season), separate but complete bathroom and a small indoor bedroom. Great for 1 or 2 people. Plenty of parking on-site as there are also palapa suites and 2 houses that can be rented whole or in part. Its a quick walk into town. Also heard great things about El Encanto bungalow down the road but they don't have kitchens for all their suites. Note that the bungalows (as pretty much everywhere in town) are rustic - I happily shared my space with mice, geckos and cockroaches not all of which made it out alive! Water is potable in town so I happily and healthily drank from the tap the whole time (ugh - it was highway robbery at the Los Cabos airport where a small bottle of water runs for USD$4). Bring your own reusable water bottle. The bungalows and most of the town is run on solar power so no AC or hairdriers etc, both of which were unnecessary in early March when I was there (nights very cool! Days dry and sunny, around 27 degrees C).
I did my diving with Cabo Pulmo Divers, the original outfit in town. Responsive to emails and good shop with nice guides. They have 4 lanchas to take you to the various sites that are a 5-15 minute boat ride from the beach. Prices were USD$135 for double-tank dives ($40 for extra tank) and include full equipment if you need it. The water was cooooold. Surface temps around 21 but bottom temps around 18C. As I am entirely cold-blooded, I wore my shark-skin vest and hood underneath my 5 mm bare evoke with a 4 mm shortie (supplied by CPD) worn on top. I was only a little to a lot cold half of the time, lol.
As a solo diver I was somewhat vulnerable to the whims and abilities of the other groups and couples that joined me. They generally need at least 2 people to go out - I did get to manage 3 dives in one day but otherwise were just double tanks in the morning, leaving around 9 am and back around 1 pm. Looks like this time of year (or this year in general as with last) is pretty good for bull-shark sightings which are reliably seen at El Vencedor (barco hundido - the sunken "ship" sitting around 15 m). Saw plenty on all 3 dives there though how close they get will depend on the time/day/your luck. Had a wonderful dive at El Cantil where we ended up underneath a huge school of big-eyed Jacks that after 25 minutes of passing over top us, still hadn't ended. Incredible. Supposedly the big schools are more common during mating season in October/November but we were there around new moon and due to RIPPING currents, we lucked out. Our guide said after 10 years working in the National Park, he had seen a school that big less than a handful of times. Amazing! It just shows how wonderful it is to have a community committed to preservation and protection of the marine environment. Mother nature recovers and delivers when you treat her right!
As just mentioned, currents were strong. But strong! There are some drift dives but at places like the Vencedor, you are generally dropping down to the sandy bottom and chilling while you wait for bull sharks etc to show up. Went through double the amount of gas I normally do but the work was worth the benefit of some gorgeous, close encounters with the sharks.
I ate lunch every day at the beachside "Beers and Tacos" - great service and wonderful food. Tacos for around 40 pesos a piece, beers at 40 pesos and some wonderful ceviche options. Good music, good vibes. My fave place in town. Otherwise there are about 4 or 5 restaurants in town for dinner. I self-catered breakfast at my bungalow. Evenings are very quiet and very dark - bring a torch/headlamp! And some good books and enjoy the starlit skies and peace.
Overall, I am really happy with having gone during "low season". I dived every day without having to worry about permits for dive sites and saw huge schools of fish and sharks every day! Happy to answer any questions.
