What are the Conditions in San Carlos??

[ScubaSteve2000]

Hey all,

I'm doing my FIRST salt water dive in the balmy gin-clear waters of San Carlos over Memorial Day weekend (May 24-27). I'd like to know if the conditions are, well, gin-clear and balmy. I heard that this time of year the conditions can change pretty quickly and I'd like to keep track of what's going on over the next couple of weeks. Feel free to post what the haps are and what is cool to do during SI time.

You know what I always say sometimes.....

Steve.

 

[Rudebob]

Hey Steve:

Just saw this post for the first time. Here is a link for San Carlos diving: San Carlos Diving Forum - Topical Forums - San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico Forums It does not get much activity but a little more than you are getting here. Have fun down there.

michael

 

[Dive-aholic]

Steve, San Carlos is always hit or miss. I've been down there several times and only had great conditions for every dive on one trip. The rest of the time it can be hit or miss. One day the sea is so choppy you can't get anywhere but Martini Bay (which isn't really worth the boat fee, but you won't get your money back) and the next day it's flat as a table and you can get out to the island for some of the best diving you'll experience.

Make sure you head over to Lalo Beach for a couple of shore dives. 40' max but lots of life there. I've seen some huge morays in there. Head up to the whale watch overlook. You won't see any whales, but the view down to Lalo Bay is fabulous. Bring your camera. San Carlos Grill has decent food and margaritas. Rosa's is great for breakfast - fast and inexpensive. And try some of the restaurants in the resorts along the beach on the north side of San Carlos. Other than that, there's not a whole lot to do there. It's pretty much a sleepy little fishing town.

 

[billeelou]

weekend before last- 76 degree water at surface- 56 dgrees at 110 feet down-----high air temps in the low 70's according to the owner of desert Divers SW here in EP

 

[scubajcf]

San Carlos is a great little dive destination for Arizona divers. It is about 6 to 8 hour drive from Phoenix. 4 hours from the border. The drive is pretty straight and two lane highway except through Hermosillo. Just follow the signs to Guaymas and you will be fine driving through the city.

From the border you will need to cross through customs. Pretty easy: Green light, proceed without stopping. Red light and pull over to the customs folks. My advise is to not speak any spanish. If you do, they will try to engage you and keep you there. If you don't, they will look through your car/truck and you will quickly be on your way. Remember, with Mexico, you don't want any weapons (including shell casings), drugs or anything else that could be considered trouble.

After crossing through the first border check, you will come to a toll booth. Give them a US $20 bill. They will give you change in Pesos. The cost is $37 Pesos or roughly $3.70 US. You will almost immediately go through another Red?Green Checkpoint. About 10% of the travelers get pulled over here.

After this checkpoint, you will head to CLICK21 which is about 15 minutes from the checkpoint. It is a big white building complex. You will need to stop in here and the driver will need to bring his/her passport and get a 4 or 7 day tourist visa. There is no cost and a lot of folks will tell you that you do not need to stop. It only takes about 5 minutes and believe me. You need it. At CLICK21 you will pass through another red/green light checkpoint. After this, you are a straight shot to the next toll booth. It is about 1 hour down the highway. The toll is 19 Pesos. You should have change from the first toll. Pay your toll. If needed, this is a good place to go to the bathroom. As soon as you park, a bunch of kids will attack your car to clean the windows. If you want them too, let them. If you don't wave them off and say no gracias. Be careful if you let them, as they sometimes need to jump on your hood to wash the window or will scratch your fender with their belt buckle. They work cheap. Once done here, you will proceed another 90 minutes down the road to the next (last) toll booth. This is 59 Pesos. Again, another good place to stop and go to the bathroom although the area was under construction last month.

Hermosillo is about 10 minutes away. You will take a left at an intersection where there is an old (abandoned) GM dealership. You will see the Guaymas sign pointing left. Stay on the main road. You will wind through the city, take a left which will bring you along a dam on the left hand side. Then a prison on the right hand side. Here you will want to follow the signs carefully to Guaymas. You will merge right then left. After the merge towards the left you will see a KFC Restaurant on the left. At this intersection (between the yellow hotel and KFC) you will turn left. This intersection is also well known for window washers.

After this left it is about an hour to an hour and half "straight shot" ride into San Carlos.

As you enter San Carlos, watch your speed. You will have radar traps all along the road into San Carlos.

San Carlos is a quaint little diving and fishing town. However, it is growing up fast and you will see that with all the condo development and construction. Diving and Fishing are the main things to do. Shopping and beach are secondary and not overly available. The best beach is Algodonis Beach. A great point to access that beach is at the Soggy Peso on the far North side of town. A great little beach bar. I highly recommend it. You can rent jet-ski's, ATVs, and kayaks. Much like Cabo San Lucas, just not as glitzy. I also hear there are some decent hiking trails up Tetakawi, the signature landscape marking of San Carlos. Guaymas is about 20 minutes away and it is a bigger city with more shopping and a dolphin experience. I have never found much reason to go to Guaymas. If I wanted a walmart and mcdonalds, I would have stayed in Phoenix.

The best hotels are the Marina Terra and the San Carlos Plaza. There are good and bad home and condo rentals available in the town as well.

My choice for restaurants (in order of preference): Toro's (Try something different with the Mortar Bowls), Fiesta Real (a little pricey), Joey's Bistro (for Italian), Tequila's (always on the first night), Jax Snax for lunch (great burgers and pizza), Marina Cantina (great sandwiches after diving - try the Yacht Club), the Soggy Pesa (outstanding salsa (more of a snack than a meal). Rosa's has a great breakfast and Evies is great for a quick coffees (across the street from the Marina Terra)

Algodonis Beach is great for sunsets.

Diving in San Carlos is always best from a boat. There are several Dive Charters down there. I imagine they are pretty booked up for that weekend already. Oasis Divers is located in the Marina and has access to several boats. Gary's is one of the oldest and has six boats. Ocean Sports is located in the Marine. The Nomad is a last option. Slow and hard to get a hold of. El Mar has a new boat. If you haven't made your arrangements yet. I would suggest doing so. Oasis and Ocean Sports are who I use. (Full Disclosure - I used to be affiliated with Oasis).

Diving from a boat, you have two options. The first option is local diving. That is usually where you end up if you are on an afternoon boat. There are some great options locally and some poor options. If conditions are wavey and windy, you will end up diving locally no matter what time of day it is. Good local sites include Window Rock, Seamount (my favorite) and the Aquarium. I don't like Martini Cove unless the boat can tuck us into Catalina. If conditions warrant and you are on a morning boat, you will head out to the highway. The water is always a little cooler (2 degrees) out there but the visibility is better. There are many great sights. My favorites are North Point, Roca Grande, South Point and Lighthouse. If the conditions are really favorable, I enjoy the ferryboat wreck. However, it is in 60 feet of water and the area is unprotected, so it has to be flat-flat for most boats to stop there. Also, if there are any new ow divers, most operators will not head there because of the depth and currents.

The other option is shore diving. Lalo's cove is the best place to do that. Algodonis is too Sandy. When Diving Lalo's, stay to the right; that's where most of the rock structure is and where you will find the best marine life.

You can expect to see a lot of reef fish (sgt major's, damselfish, yellowtail, porcupine fish, moray eels, etc.). Hopefully, you will have the chance to dive with some sea lions. They give birth in May, June and July. So if you see some small pups, they can be a ton of fun. Very playful. Listen to the Sea Lion briefing about the 'big daddy's'.

I always recommend DAN or other dive insurance. I also recommend getting Mexican Auto Insurance. Don Smith's has always been a good value. You can buy that online before you go and save time in Nogales.

Leave a copy of all your credit cards, passport and other important documentation with someone at home. If you lose this, it can be faxed to the hotel or consulate.

Some cell phones work in San Carlos. Some don't. I know Sprint does not. The calling cards available at the Mercado are usually the cheapest option for making calls back to the states. Everyone in San Carlos takes dollars. Almost everyone takes Credit Cards (VISA). Negotiating with vendors is expected. Don't buy with their opening price. Most everyone speaks English in San Carlos.

ATMs are available around town. They only dispense Peso's

Pack your suntan lotion, sunglasses, Imodium AD, whatever seasick protocols you need and lots of energy and patience. Holiday weekends are crowded. Leave early if you are leaving on Monday. The border will be hell! Better yet, leave on Tuesday!

End of May, you will probably need a 3MM and I would carry a vest and hood as a just in case. I don't get cold easy, so a 3MM is more than enough for me. By mid June most divers are in their bathing suit.

Lastly, as the water warms up; Jellyfish come out. If you are in full protection, you should be fine. But the "blue mals" have a nasty little sting to them. Avoid them when you can.

Have fun and a great time diving!!!!

jcf

 

[Dive-aholic]

My advise is to not speak any spanish. If you do, they will try to engage you and keep you there. If you don't, they will look through your car/truck and you will quickly be on your way.

I have to disagree with you on this one, John. I've done it both ways and have always gotten through faster by speaking spanish. The key is you need to know how to speak spanish well. Don't gringo it!

Hermosillo is about 10 minutes away. You will take a left at an intersection where there is an old (abandoned) GM dealership. You will see the Guaymas sign pointing left. Stay on the main road. You will wind through the city, take a left which will bring you along a dam on the left hand side. Then a prison on the right hand side. Here you will want to follow the signs carefully to Guaymas. You will merge right then left. After the merge towards the left you will see a KFC Restaurant on the left. At this intersection (between the yellow hotel and KFC) you will turn left.

Or you can just keep going straight through town. It's shorter and less potholes. You also get to see the americanized part of Hermosillo...McDonalds, Pizza Hut, ING, etc. Even with the traffic lights, it's a much easier and quicker route.

The best hotels are the Marina Terra and the San Carlos Plaza. There are good and bad home and condo rentals available in the town as well.

I've stayed at the Best Western the last few times we went down there. It's about a mile from the marina, but about 1/2 the price of the hotels around the marina and that strip of the beach. And since most people drive down there anyway, it's worth saving about $70 bucks.

...and Evies is great for a quick coffees (across the street from the Marina Terra)

They have a decent breakfast too, although not as good as Rosa's.

Most everyone speaks English in San Carlos.

Actually, most business owners and almost all the tourists in San Carlos are American or Canadian! Not many Mexican owned boats in that marina.

The border will be hell! Better yet, leave on Tuesday!

That reminds me. If you leave San Carlos in the afternoon and hit Nogales anywhere around 8pm, take the main crossing, not the truck crossing. The truck crossing is only open until 10pm and they often cut off traffic at 9pm there and you'll end up taking the main crossing anyway.

 

[scubajcf]

Or you can just keep going straight through town. It's shorter and less potholes. You also get to see the americanized part of Hermosillo...McDonalds, Pizza Hut, ING, etc. Even with the traffic lights, it's a much easier and quicker route.



I've stayed at the Best Western the last few times we went down there. It's about a mile from the marina, but about 1/2 the price of the hotels around the marina and that strip of the beach. And since most people drive down there anyway, it's worth saving about $70 bucks.

The route by the prison has been finished, expanded and well paved. They even put a new mall and cinema complex in. It's very quick now.



Hope all is well in Florida ..... jcf

 

[Dive-aholic]

The route by the prison has been finished, expanded and well paved. They even put a new mall and cinema complex in. It's very quick now.



Hope all is well in Florida ..... jcf

Nice to know. If I head down there again, I may have to check out that route. I do recommend the straight shot through Hermosillo for anyone going down for the first time without a San Carlos veteran with them, though. With the way they drive down there, the turns could be easy to miss unless you're following someone.

All is great in Florida. Now that you have some free time on your hands (I'm guessing), you ought you head over here to check out the Florida caves.

 

[ScubaSteve2000]

Thanks all. I don't have to worry about speaking spanish to the border guards since I don't speak spanish. My trip was through Saguaro Diving so I left the driving and tolls to Juan the bus driver. I found San Carlos to be a sleepy little drinking town with a diving problem. Really, we had a good group of folks on our trip. Some were doing their OW cert dives, one guy was using the trip to get the last dives needed for SSI AOW and two of my friends and I did our PADI AOW dives.

The diving conditions as of last weekend were as follows:
Water temp at the surface was 71º the same at 110', air temp was in the 70's - 80's. Vis was 30+ feet. A 3mm suit was okay but I should have packed my hood. Even I got chilled during the second dive of the day. Actually, the conditions weren't a lot different from Lake Pleasant except WAY more fish and stuff to see. Saguaro used the Nomad dive boat. Since it was my first boat diving experience I didn't know the differance and thought the boat and crew were fine. I didn't feel rushed.

Actually, they hadn't been able to dive much during the week before the holiday weekend due to the weather conditions. So we were a little worried when we got there that we would have to scrub the afternoon dive. As it was things had settled down enough that Capt. Eddie gave the okay to head out. We went to Deer Island.

I can't say I heard music on my first ocean dive but I sure was blown away. We never got below 30' on that first dive. I thought I was swimming in an aquarium. So many fish, so little time. The seals were in good form too. Several times through out the weekend one of the many seals swimming around us would come right up nose to nose with me and let out a single bark before spinning away.

Next day we did two dives at San Pedro Island. I didn't write down the names of the dive sites but I'm sure I would remeber them if I looked them up (which I intend to do). That night we did a night dive at Deer Island again. Then the last dive day (Monday) we were at San Pedro Island again. We did leave on Tuesday (today) and it still took about 11 hours to get home with the border crossing time. Not really a trip I would do more than once a year though. I plan on going in the summer time next time. Let the water get a little warmer.

Steve.

 

[Air On]

I was down Is San Carlos with Oasis on te El Duque, May 15th to the 18th.
The dives were great, even more fish then last year. The cold to warm conversion was still in process so the vis was less then 20 feet but it did let you get closer to a lot of the fish. There was still a lot of plants that go away as it gets warmer but the combination of the warm and cold water fish was impressive.

Conditions do vary as far as current and chop, but a good captain will know were to take you for the days conditions.

The entire road down there is under lots of construction. It looks to rival the I-10 when its completed. They have OXXO gas stations (Mexico version of 7-11 or Circle K) going it at regular intervals all the way down. Most are not yet open.

All the checkpoints were a breeze! They did little then have us slow then started to wave us through at most of the non-toll check points. The people we met couldn't have been nicer. Most of the way down is also set up as "no harassment zone" so the only people in the road trying to sell you things was at the small towns. The only car window merchants were at the big speed bumps that you pretty much need to stop to cross.

The US border is the worst part of the trip. Being my second trip down and the first time being stuck for over 3 hours at the DOT station (not even border security but the DOT for the charter bus!) You really start to get irritated with the eyewash security at the border to get into the US.

The same Pre-911 stuff when I grew up near Canada in WA State. Sorry I had family that was border patrol for years... its all BS security making a show and trying to discourage you from exiting the US to spend money... Not to keep you from entering it.

The Marinaterra hotel was fine... The in room referigerators are hit and miss, some have some don't some work, some don't. The do have a interesting little device to control the main lights in the room. If you don't have a card, like your room key, inserted the lights don't work.

The beds are another story though... They have a concrete base with a FIRM pad on them. I think the deck on the boat was softer... I'll take a camping pad with me next time. I'd folded up the comforter and the extra blanket, then put the sheets over them to help out quite a bit as a pad.

Overall though the trip was great, see my divebuddy.com blog for all the good stuff!