Best Liveaboard Serving The Socorro Islands

[BDSC]

It looks like the OP has already picked a boat but here's another high five for the Rocio Del Mar. I booked the entire boat last year for a November trip and they were awesome. Great crew, food, etc. We all came back talking about how great it was so I decided to book them for the Sea of Cortez for 2017. I had so many folks wanting to go and booked them for a second trip in 2017 for the Sea of Cortez. One trip in August and one in September.

 

[Carol202]

I noticed that our cabin which was located to the back of the boat had a constant smell of sewage which everyone on that floor noticed and found amusing (we however were not amused). Hopefully, that was a small problem that they fixed after our trip otherwise I feel sorry whoever
s reserving our cabin

We were on the Nautilus Explorer in March 2015. They had some kind of sewage backup in front of the two cabins at the stern. I guess they never managed to get all the odor out. But in general, we had a fantastic trip.

---------- Post added August 3rd, 2015 at 12:20 PM ----------

We did the Nautilus Explorer in March 2015. We had a fantastic trip with a few glitches here and there. The Socorros are such a wonderful place to dive, I don't think you can go wrong no wonder what liveaboard you go on. I have been diving around much of the globe, and this was definitely one of the best trips I have ever done. However, you need to be in pretty good shape for this trip. Conditions can be rough on some of the sites, and it can be challenging to get in and out of the dive boats when that happens. There can be currents in unexpected places. Vis can be 200 feet in one location, and 20 feet in another. I'm not saying you have to be a world class athlete, but you need to be able to handle yourself if you get stuck in a current that takes you away from your group without going into a panic. The Nautilus Explorer equips you with a safety sausage, noise maker, and Nautilus Lifeline radio. On our trip, we saw plenty of sharks (white tips, Galapagos, silkies, silver tips), humpback whales, huge pods of dolphins, and lots of beautiful manta rays. But as a close-up/macro photographer, I also enjoyed the colorful redtail triggerfish, tiny Revillagigedo barnacle blennies, endemic Socorro razorfish, and many other colorful and unique fishes.

 

[Augustus]

While this is not a comparison of Captains of all the Socorro boats, I'd like to make a special comment about the excellent Captain of the Rocio del Mar. That was my 19th liveaboard in 16 of the previous 18 trips, we seldom saw the Captain once the boat set sail and they concentrated on running the boat and did not interact much with the guests. The RdM Captain on the other hand, was available every day, willing to consider requests and was part of the crew. He was always around to offer help and advice where required. Apart from other considerations (which were also excellent), the excellence of the crew and particularly the Captain on the RdM is a major plus point to go on the boat.

was the capitain Rey??? He was head dive master on the solmar for many years.

 

[Hintermann]

was the capitain Rey??? He was head dive master on the solmar for many years.

Yes, Rey was the Captain and he was superb. Incidentally, he has slimmed down a bit since the original crew photos were published. I guess the RdM owners made a great call when they hired him.

 

[diversteve]

Holy Crap!

The Socorro Islands is indeed a POPULAR dive location! I've been struggling to get myself & a couple of mates a berth on one of the many boats heading there in March, 2016, yet all I see is SOLD OUT! Right into 2017 & 2018 for the prime seasons!
DSD

Did you contact the BelleAmie? http://socorrogiantmantas.com/

 

[Augustus]

I thoght so. Hated to see him move off the solmar but thev Rocio is a good fit an he is one of the most if not THE most knowelegable DM for socorro.