Trevor JC Brown
Contributor
This guide is meant for those interested in information about diving the Baja Sur, including the cities of La Paz, Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, Cabo Pulmo and La Ventana. I've included info about travel, marine life, dive sites and seasonality to help people with their travel plans.
Download the PDF for the full version.
Dive sites – Diving conditions – Marine Life
The southern Sea of Cortez can vary greatly in temperature, visibility and diving conditions. In general waters are warmest in the summer and fall reaching up to 86 F (30 C). Winter and spring temperatures can drop down to 66 F (19 C), especially in January and February before slowly increasing into the spring and summer. Thermoclines may be present with large drops in temperature compared to the surface. In the winter a 5mm wet-suit is recommended, a hood will also go a long way in keeping the body warm while underwater. Typical sea conditions at the protected dive sites are calm, any offshore sea-mounts or channel dives are subject to winds, tides and currents. Visibility is varied and is mainly determined by plankton blooms, temperatures and local conditions. Good visibility can be experienced all times of the year but it's best in the summer and fall, reaching 100ft/30m. On some of the more advanced sites currents can be present but in general diving here is good for beginners and advanced divers.
The southern Sea of Cortez is famous for the bigger animals, including whale sharks, hammerhead and mako sharks, California sea lions, marlin, manta rays, large schools of mobula rays, humpback, orca and gray whales. It’s fish schools can get rather large as well, easily enveloping a diver. Big animals in the Sea of Cortez are seasonal and it’s unlikely that you will be able to see all of them in the same diving area. The best way to experience the Sea of Cortez is to dive in a few different spots, each area has it’s highlights.
Scuba Diving in Cabo San Lucas
There are three main diving areas in the Cabo area
1. The bay of Cabo San Lucas, also an established marine reserve.
2. The Gordo Banks, deep sea-mounts famous for big animals, including hammerheads.
3. The corridor
Each area is unique and accessible from the marina although the boat ride to the Gordo Banks is shorter from San Jose del Cabo. There are dive centers in the marina and in the town of Cabo San Lucas as well as in San Jose del Cabo. You can also do shore dives in Chileno Bay, while the dive is very shallow there is some macro life and good photo opportunities. All in all there are approximately 15 different boat dives, two that are possible to dive from shore.
The highlights of diving in this area include hammerhead sharks and other large pelagics at Gordo Banks, diving with the sea lions and it’s a hot-spot for large schools of Mobula rays.
Cabo San Lucas is also one of the best places to go humpback whale watching, the male humpback whales put on a really good show with their mating displays.
Scuba Diving in Cabo Pulmo
Cabo Pulmo is a unique dive destination, almost off the grid and home to a successful marine reserve. It's known for it's schooling jacks, bull sharks and is also home to juvenile sharks, humpback whales (seasonally) and a healthy population of reef corals and fish. There are about ten dive sites in the park including the El Vencedor wreck. All of the dive sites are close to the town, about 10-15 minute boat rides. Diving conditions are fairly easy and all the diving is done off small pangas, 22ft to 26ft boats. Most of the diving is shallow with a few deeper sites on the outer reef.
It is a managed reserve and has more conservative regulations for diving than other places in the Baja. Group sizes are limited, maximum 50 minutes of bottom time and dive sites are on a rotation. Simply translated this means great diving but no guarantee as to which dive site you will visit during your trip. No 90 minute dives.
The main attractions of Cabo Pulmo are the large school of horse eye jacks and the bull sharks. The horse eye jacks are schooling during the late summer and through to December. Bull shark season runs from approximately December to early March, when the waters cool down.
Cabo Pulmo is about a 3 hour drive from La Paz and about 2 hours from Cabo San Lucas. It’s definitely off the beaten path, there isn't a lot of infrastructure so don't expect any real hotels or restaurants. These are limited to bungalows and rooms in private homes that are available for rent. If you do decide to rent a car the road conditions are good the entire trip with only the last 40 minutes being on dirt road.
There are about 4 local dive operators and scuba diving day trips available from both the Cabo San Lucas area and the city of La Paz.
Scuba Diving in La Ventana
La Ventana is a small beach-side town most known for kite-surfing. It’s located on the east coast of the peninsula, approximately an hour drive from La Paz. At this time there is only one dive operator and trips are available to Isla Cerralvo, also known as Jacques Cousteau Island. Scuba diving at Isla Cerralvo is off the beaten path, only a few operators go out there on a regular basis. It’s one of the best places to spot the Giant Manta and has some very good dive sites including a sea-mount.
Scuba Diving in La Paz
La Paz is located about a 2 1/2 hour drive north from Cabo San Lucas. It’s the gateway to Isla Espiritu Santo, a UNESCO World Heritage site that encompasses over eighty square kilometers. These islands are uninhabited and offer excellent scuba diving sites and abundant marine life. There are six main areas to dive in the islands, each with two or three different dive sites. There are also a few local dive sites near the harbor of La Paz including a small sea lion colony on San Rafaelito. The dive sites are varied and include deep walls, sea-mounts, shallow coral gardens and rocky, boulder reefs. La Paz also has five shipwrecks to explore, two that served in WW2. El Bajo is probably the most famous dive site, a deep sea-mount where you have the chance to see schooling hammerheads. The scuba diving trips in La Paz are day trips. Boat rides are longer than average and a typical day trip with two dives is a minimum of 6 hours.
Most tourists swim with whale sharks while they are here, the whale sharks are found very close to the harbor and most whale shark tours are short in length (<3 hrs) or combined with a day trip to the islands or some scuba diving. One of the few places in the world where you can swim with whale-sharks in the morning and than sea lions in the afternoon. Sightings are guaranteed in La Paz early September through to the beginning of April.
Day tours to see the whale sharks are also available from San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.
Download the PDF for the full version.
Dive sites – Diving conditions – Marine Life
The southern Sea of Cortez can vary greatly in temperature, visibility and diving conditions. In general waters are warmest in the summer and fall reaching up to 86 F (30 C). Winter and spring temperatures can drop down to 66 F (19 C), especially in January and February before slowly increasing into the spring and summer. Thermoclines may be present with large drops in temperature compared to the surface. In the winter a 5mm wet-suit is recommended, a hood will also go a long way in keeping the body warm while underwater. Typical sea conditions at the protected dive sites are calm, any offshore sea-mounts or channel dives are subject to winds, tides and currents. Visibility is varied and is mainly determined by plankton blooms, temperatures and local conditions. Good visibility can be experienced all times of the year but it's best in the summer and fall, reaching 100ft/30m. On some of the more advanced sites currents can be present but in general diving here is good for beginners and advanced divers.
The southern Sea of Cortez is famous for the bigger animals, including whale sharks, hammerhead and mako sharks, California sea lions, marlin, manta rays, large schools of mobula rays, humpback, orca and gray whales. It’s fish schools can get rather large as well, easily enveloping a diver. Big animals in the Sea of Cortez are seasonal and it’s unlikely that you will be able to see all of them in the same diving area. The best way to experience the Sea of Cortez is to dive in a few different spots, each area has it’s highlights.
Scuba Diving in Cabo San Lucas
There are three main diving areas in the Cabo area
1. The bay of Cabo San Lucas, also an established marine reserve.
2. The Gordo Banks, deep sea-mounts famous for big animals, including hammerheads.
3. The corridor
Each area is unique and accessible from the marina although the boat ride to the Gordo Banks is shorter from San Jose del Cabo. There are dive centers in the marina and in the town of Cabo San Lucas as well as in San Jose del Cabo. You can also do shore dives in Chileno Bay, while the dive is very shallow there is some macro life and good photo opportunities. All in all there are approximately 15 different boat dives, two that are possible to dive from shore.
The highlights of diving in this area include hammerhead sharks and other large pelagics at Gordo Banks, diving with the sea lions and it’s a hot-spot for large schools of Mobula rays.
Cabo San Lucas is also one of the best places to go humpback whale watching, the male humpback whales put on a really good show with their mating displays.
Scuba Diving in Cabo Pulmo
Cabo Pulmo is a unique dive destination, almost off the grid and home to a successful marine reserve. It's known for it's schooling jacks, bull sharks and is also home to juvenile sharks, humpback whales (seasonally) and a healthy population of reef corals and fish. There are about ten dive sites in the park including the El Vencedor wreck. All of the dive sites are close to the town, about 10-15 minute boat rides. Diving conditions are fairly easy and all the diving is done off small pangas, 22ft to 26ft boats. Most of the diving is shallow with a few deeper sites on the outer reef.
It is a managed reserve and has more conservative regulations for diving than other places in the Baja. Group sizes are limited, maximum 50 minutes of bottom time and dive sites are on a rotation. Simply translated this means great diving but no guarantee as to which dive site you will visit during your trip. No 90 minute dives.
The main attractions of Cabo Pulmo are the large school of horse eye jacks and the bull sharks. The horse eye jacks are schooling during the late summer and through to December. Bull shark season runs from approximately December to early March, when the waters cool down.
Cabo Pulmo is about a 3 hour drive from La Paz and about 2 hours from Cabo San Lucas. It’s definitely off the beaten path, there isn't a lot of infrastructure so don't expect any real hotels or restaurants. These are limited to bungalows and rooms in private homes that are available for rent. If you do decide to rent a car the road conditions are good the entire trip with only the last 40 minutes being on dirt road.
There are about 4 local dive operators and scuba diving day trips available from both the Cabo San Lucas area and the city of La Paz.
Scuba Diving in La Ventana
La Ventana is a small beach-side town most known for kite-surfing. It’s located on the east coast of the peninsula, approximately an hour drive from La Paz. At this time there is only one dive operator and trips are available to Isla Cerralvo, also known as Jacques Cousteau Island. Scuba diving at Isla Cerralvo is off the beaten path, only a few operators go out there on a regular basis. It’s one of the best places to spot the Giant Manta and has some very good dive sites including a sea-mount.
Scuba Diving in La Paz
La Paz is located about a 2 1/2 hour drive north from Cabo San Lucas. It’s the gateway to Isla Espiritu Santo, a UNESCO World Heritage site that encompasses over eighty square kilometers. These islands are uninhabited and offer excellent scuba diving sites and abundant marine life. There are six main areas to dive in the islands, each with two or three different dive sites. There are also a few local dive sites near the harbor of La Paz including a small sea lion colony on San Rafaelito. The dive sites are varied and include deep walls, sea-mounts, shallow coral gardens and rocky, boulder reefs. La Paz also has five shipwrecks to explore, two that served in WW2. El Bajo is probably the most famous dive site, a deep sea-mount where you have the chance to see schooling hammerheads. The scuba diving trips in La Paz are day trips. Boat rides are longer than average and a typical day trip with two dives is a minimum of 6 hours.
Most tourists swim with whale sharks while they are here, the whale sharks are found very close to the harbor and most whale shark tours are short in length (<3 hrs) or combined with a day trip to the islands or some scuba diving. One of the few places in the world where you can swim with whale-sharks in the morning and than sea lions in the afternoon. Sightings are guaranteed in La Paz early September through to the beginning of April.
Day tours to see the whale sharks are also available from San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.
We know our limits...maybe in a few years I'll be in a much different "boat"...but this is the dingy that I'm rowing today 
