Scubagolf
Contributor
The Hotel
Like last year, we spent 6 nights at the Tripadvisor top rated La Mision Hotel. This is a very nice 4 story hotel located on the waterfront, one block from the pier, 1/2 block from Dolphin Dive Center, and 1-3 blocks from several excellent restaurants. The hotel has nicely appointed rooms with truly excellent A/C, which is a must in Loreto. There is a large pool with a bar. The pool is increasingly in the shade as the afternoon goes by which is a very good thing. This week the topside temp was in the mid-90's with humidity, and the shaded pool was welcome. The in-house restaurant is pricey by local standards, but we ate dinner out every night so it was not an issue for us. We have stayed here before and we will again. The front desk staff is very friendly and helpful-- Rudi and Javier, gracias.
The Diving
There are a large number of good dive sites on the three main islands. Viz was generally 50-70'. It rained a lot during the two weeks before we arrived (the first rainfall in 3 years!) but our week was nothing but sun. Water temps were 82-85 degrees with modest, temporary thermoclines. I wore a 1mm suit for protection; my wife wore her old, compressed 3 mm hyperstretch.
The diving was quite good. Biomass + with loads of tropical fishes, turtles, rays, lobster, moray eels, and a few nudibrancs. There are several mini-walls, usually starting at 20-25 FSW heading down vertically 40-50'. A couple of dives had inquisitive sea lions and that was fun. We also dived the C-53 which is a purpose sunk WWII minesweeper with lots of life. The top of the wreck is at 30' and the bottom at about 70'.
We rate the diving at Loreto as very good. It is easy diving with little current. It doesn't offer the deep walls like Cozumel, but hey, it is only a 2 hour flight from LA.
We have now been to Loreto in both August and early October. We had a good trip last year with our LDS, but August was too hot for us. October is probably a good month to go. It is still pretty warm, but so are the water temps and the viz is good.
One caveat: But for the diving, we would not go here. Unlike our last trip to Isla Mujeres in May, I cannot recommend Loreto for non-divers or families. [This is a favorite fishing trip location for lots of people, but that is a story for some else.]
Dive Operation
We dove 5 straight mornings with Dolphin Dive Center and were very happy with the service. They operate 6-pack boats and can accommodate groups. This week was slow both for the town and the dive shop. On two days it was just the two of us with the DM and the boat captain. Two other days there were three customers. The last day we had five after picking up three divers at a resort far south of town.
This week we had DM Rafael for 4 of the 5 days. I believe he is the shop gen'l manager. He is a very knowledgeable DM who knows where the "stuff" is, is very safety conscious, and is very enthusiastic about the diving in Loreto. Boat Capt Daniel was very helpful making the entries and exits easy. We enjoyed all of our diving.
Restaurants
We ate dinner in some of the many good restaurants in town. Some are excellent, and the prices are a bargain compared to California. We generally use Tripadvisor.com for a starting point together with local recommendations.
All in all, it was a very good week of easy and interesting diving.
Like last year, we spent 6 nights at the Tripadvisor top rated La Mision Hotel. This is a very nice 4 story hotel located on the waterfront, one block from the pier, 1/2 block from Dolphin Dive Center, and 1-3 blocks from several excellent restaurants. The hotel has nicely appointed rooms with truly excellent A/C, which is a must in Loreto. There is a large pool with a bar. The pool is increasingly in the shade as the afternoon goes by which is a very good thing. This week the topside temp was in the mid-90's with humidity, and the shaded pool was welcome. The in-house restaurant is pricey by local standards, but we ate dinner out every night so it was not an issue for us. We have stayed here before and we will again. The front desk staff is very friendly and helpful-- Rudi and Javier, gracias.
The Diving
There are a large number of good dive sites on the three main islands. Viz was generally 50-70'. It rained a lot during the two weeks before we arrived (the first rainfall in 3 years!) but our week was nothing but sun. Water temps were 82-85 degrees with modest, temporary thermoclines. I wore a 1mm suit for protection; my wife wore her old, compressed 3 mm hyperstretch.
The diving was quite good. Biomass + with loads of tropical fishes, turtles, rays, lobster, moray eels, and a few nudibrancs. There are several mini-walls, usually starting at 20-25 FSW heading down vertically 40-50'. A couple of dives had inquisitive sea lions and that was fun. We also dived the C-53 which is a purpose sunk WWII minesweeper with lots of life. The top of the wreck is at 30' and the bottom at about 70'.
We rate the diving at Loreto as very good. It is easy diving with little current. It doesn't offer the deep walls like Cozumel, but hey, it is only a 2 hour flight from LA.
We have now been to Loreto in both August and early October. We had a good trip last year with our LDS, but August was too hot for us. October is probably a good month to go. It is still pretty warm, but so are the water temps and the viz is good.
One caveat: But for the diving, we would not go here. Unlike our last trip to Isla Mujeres in May, I cannot recommend Loreto for non-divers or families. [This is a favorite fishing trip location for lots of people, but that is a story for some else.]
Dive Operation
We dove 5 straight mornings with Dolphin Dive Center and were very happy with the service. They operate 6-pack boats and can accommodate groups. This week was slow both for the town and the dive shop. On two days it was just the two of us with the DM and the boat captain. Two other days there were three customers. The last day we had five after picking up three divers at a resort far south of town.
This week we had DM Rafael for 4 of the 5 days. I believe he is the shop gen'l manager. He is a very knowledgeable DM who knows where the "stuff" is, is very safety conscious, and is very enthusiastic about the diving in Loreto. Boat Capt Daniel was very helpful making the entries and exits easy. We enjoyed all of our diving.
Restaurants
We ate dinner in some of the many good restaurants in town. Some are excellent, and the prices are a bargain compared to California. We generally use Tripadvisor.com for a starting point together with local recommendations.
All in all, it was a very good week of easy and interesting diving.
