Puerto Vallarta Dive Sites

[ncCountryMike]

Hey, I am new to diving and my fiance and I are getting ready for our check out dives to become certified.

The question - We are going to Puerto Vallarta Mexico for our honeymoon and want to dive at least one day but maybe more. Is there anyone that has been there that can recommend a good dive site that would be fairly easy and safe for us to get our feet wet?

If one site is better suited for beginners than another, what is your overall favorite dive site there regardless of skill level?

Thanks!

[RoatanMan]

Any dive op that you engage will talk to you about your experience and abilities. They will then take you to a dive site that is in line with your skills.


recommend a good dive site that would be fairly easy and safe for us to get our feet wet?

The dive op will do that.


If one site is better suited for beginners than another, what is your overall favorite dive site there regardless of skill level?

A bit contradictory.

On your first several dives most newbies are lucky to be able to identify the bottom. Under stress, trained people get "tunnel vision". I believe that new divers get Myopia on their first few dives. They can't see much farther out than their SPG.

After certification: On about dive 3 or 4, you will begin to recognize patterns in larger fish sightings. Many people can see lobsters if they are close on dive #2.

Puerto Vallarta is a long-used and well known cruise ship port. Rule #1: Cruise Ship Ports and "good/great/excellent" diving do not go together. You will not see a lot of posters here that have been diving there, certainly not in the volume as other Mexican ports of call.

Your perceptions and ability to see will expand geometricaly after dive 5. For now, go to Puerto Vallarta, have a honeymoon, do a little SCUBA, get wet.

[dukeoflonewolf]

Mike,
My son and I dove PV in August of '06 with Pacific Scuba. I'd recommend them. They have the fastest boats, too. One day we were the only 2 people on the boat. For beginners I'd recommend sites close to shore like Los Arcos and Majahuitas. Boat rides will be about 35 minutes but the water is fairly calm and current was non-existent. The boats are small without much shade. A shorty wetsuit was sufficient in August. There were lots of puffer fish, but not much diversity. There were a lot of stinging jellyfish at one site so I'd wear at least a dive skin. Depths were generally less than 70 ft. One lady freaked out when she kept getting stung and I thought she might have to be rescued. It's not a great dive destination, but if you're there it's worth diving a day or two. I also dove the Marietas, which is way out in the bay, but I wouldn't recommend it for beginners. The water was very clear and there was lots of fish life, but the current was so strong it ripped my snorkel off and pulled the regulator out of my mouth. We also swam through a 50-75 foot cavern located at 90 ft. It's about an hour boat ride.

Keep in mind that Mexico is not as litigious as the US and the liability is on you. Tour operators in PV will let you do anything you're willing to pay for and if you get injured or die it's your problem. My son and I took a 4 wheeler tour up in the mountains one day. It was one of the most stressful things I've ever done. We drove a 4 wheeler through the downtown PV traffic, we were chased by dogs near the landfill slums and attacked by a wild bull while going up a one lane mountain road. We wore baseball batting helmets and wore bandanas over our faces to keep the dust out. Thank God my wife wasn't there. She would have died from sheer terror. There were more ways to die on that trip than any dive I've ever done. I'd also avoid any great deals on snorkel tours sold by the beach vendors. Some of our friends made that mistake and ended up on a slow boat full of drunks with only enough snorkel gear for half the boat (when your done snorkeling, give your mask and snorkel to someone who hasn't been yet.....)

[scubabes]

We just returned from our PV trip last night, and we dove with Leslie and Nacho (Leslie is a ScubaBoard member). Actually, we just dove with Nacho because Leslie was in the states last week, but he and his brother, Moses, were wonderful. We have absolutely nothing bad to say about them. The personal attention and unique diving experience leaves no doubt in my mind that there is no one else I would dive with if I returned. I'm going to post a trip report shortly with more info, but I would recommend Chimo as the best place for diving. Great clarity and tons of things to see.

[tslane888]

I did some of my first dives in PVR with Pacific Scuba. They were very helpful, very professional and I had a great experience. Like a previous poster mentioned, Los Arcos and Majahuitas were good novice level sites to visit. Have fun!

T

[La Ovejita Negra]

I've been diving in Puerto Vallarta for more than six months and I would consider the diving better than OK. In fact, all of the people I've been diving with over the last 6 months probably consider the diving better than OK ...

The tropical fish schools, giant manta rays, nudibranch, coral formations, and yes, there is even visibility up to 80 feet on some days. Of course there are the dolphins on the ride out to the site, the whales in the winter and spring and more. I'd love to know why Vallarta is such a sub-standard place to dive, aside from the lack of unicorns. Is Monterey Bay in California sub-par as well?

I've been diving with many of the operators here and would recommend PV Scuba and Pacific Scuba over the rest. El Moro is the site with the long tube at 90 feet. Las Marietas as a very nice reef and some short tubes (you can see through them). Both are more advanced dives. Los Arcos is beautiful and perfect for novice divers. Chimo is still my favorite!

It's not like the cruise ships are speeding through the bay day and night and certainly not through preserved areas like Los Arcos and Marietas.

[pvscuba]

Hi.
Whether it's your first time or you're an experienced diver, we recommend diving at Los Arcos National Underwater Park. It has shallow dives with abundant life for beginners and beautiful deep wall dives for advanced divers - and everything in between.
We offer daily trips to Los Arcos in a comfortable catamaran with lots of elbow room and a restroom, in case you're interested.
Best wishes for your trip to Puerto Vallarta!

[leslieinpv]

Los arcos, Majahuitas, and Marietas dive locations have dives relaxed enough for begginers. I take out divers personally. I guarantee that you will dive with just your buddy. I dont take anyone else who is not in your group. You get personal attention which is just what you want when you are a begginer and dont want to be stuck with other divers. Check out the website My Homepage (http://www.puertovallartadivers.com)
If you have any questions about diving or pv, send me a private message.
Have a great day.

[otegui]

Los Arcos, Majahuitas and Marietas are the best dives for beginners and open water divers. Check out the dive sites info here (http://www.vallartaundersea.com/tours.htm).
http://www.vallartaundersea.com/i/corbetena.jpg (http://www.vallartaundersea.com/)

[bpawlows]

... and we dove with Leslie and Nacho (Leslie is a ScubaBoard member). Actually, we just dove with Nacho because Leslie was in the states last week, but he and his brother, Moses, were wonderful. We have absolutely nothing bad to say about them.

I agree. They know what they're doing and their focus is on making your trip enjoyable.

[jeffchandler1]

Doc Adelman is right. On your first dives, you won't have the capacity to know the difference from a good dive site and a bad one. Frankly, the water is too cold, the vis is bad, and the swells are awful in PV. I won't ever dive there again. I've been there twice, and that's enough for me.

Don't get me wrong, you'll have a good time. But don't focus on finding the 'best' sites. Go to the place with the lowest swells and the best visibilty. You won't know that until you get there.

[sharkfood]

Swells depend on the time of year. I just got back from PV last week. Early in the week we had great vis. Later in the week we had great surf. There is nothing sub standard about diving there. You will enjoy it. Of course, when conditions are bad (big surprise, conditions can get bad ANYWHERE in the world) then conditions are bad.

And Im not sure what "too cold water is" but it was like diving in a bath tub. Water was so warm I couldn't even wear a dive skin without getting hot.

You will enjoy the diving. As long as the swell is down. Otherwise surf.

[jeffchandler1]

Oh, common--don't give me this "like a bathtub" stuff. Especially this time of year, the water is COLD. The last time I dove PV, I brought my 3mm full wetsuit. The divemaster looked at my gear, then tossed me a 6mm suit. I started to take off my wetsuit to exchange it, and he stopped me and told me to put the 6mm over the top of my 3mm. At Mahajitas Islands, we dropped to to 60ft, and I was still cold.

I worry that the people who make posts on this site are either tour guides or equipment sales people. I'm telling you the truth. Don't expect warm water, pristine reefs, or exotic wildlife anywhere on the Pacific side of Mexico. There are no rave reviews in the scuba magazines about Puerto Vallarta. It's fine to dive if you're going there anyway. But, there's a reason why it's cheap travelling to PV.

[otegui]

Well, I'm totally desagree, now the water temp is 81 degrees on the surface, and the lowes temp starts at 180 ft, I'm telling you this because we were diving so deep doing trimix training last week and our last dive was the last friday and we went down at Los Arcos at 250ft and we need no light because we could see our instruments and surface very well from there at the wall and I was wearing just a 1mm hud vest and 3mm wet suit and the lowest temp at 250 was 63 F. I do not know where you been diving or who you were diving with but definelly wasn't Puerto Vallarta.

I can tell the visibility start to change because now is when the cold water is comming down from the north, but we had 2 days a go 80ft visibility at Marietas Islands and El morro, and yesterday Los arcos was around 60ft with lots of eagle rays.

Tomorrow I'll be diving Chimo, and I'll let you know how was my dive there.

Ihope to see you around.

[Jang]

I have to agree with the temps. Maybe not bath temps, but I was diving at Los Arcos with 30-40 ft vis at 40-60 ft and vis dropped near 100ft. Above the thermocline it was 80F and below was noticeably cooler (70s). Same situation at Las Marietas, but I never got below 70ft so temps were more consistent. The instructor (Ramses from PV Scuba) I was with told me that winter months require a 7mm full suit. So there is truth to both posts.

As far as swells go, I can't speak from alot of ocean experience, but there is a bit of up and down with some surge, but never really found it a problem. Maybe I was just lucky.

Good variety of fish. Saw turtles, lots of morays, tons of puffers, a solitary stonefish and the rest of the usual fare. A dolphin made an appearance on our trip out, but no big oceanlife likes mantas.