help with Cabo dive trip

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I just got back from a week in San Jose del Cabo. Just got home a couple of hours ago...

We spent 3 days diving with East Cape Explorers and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Will try and post more tomorrow one some laundry is done and dive gear unpacked, re-rinsed and hung in the garage to dry.
 
I just got back from a week in San Jose del Cabo. Just got home a couple of hours ago...

We spent 3 days diving with East Cape Explorers and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Will try and post more tomorrow one some laundry is done and dive gear unpacked, re-rinsed and hung in the garage to dry.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience!
 
As mentioned, we just got back.

This was a family vacation with diving and was not intended to be a strictly diving vacation. We chose to stay in San Jose del Cabo based on a great deal that was offered at the Hyatt Ziva all inclusive resort. Very nice accomodations, great food, etc.

We booked with East Cape Explorers as they were the only operator in San Jose del Cabo. I had initially booked three days of two-tank dives for my daughter (Jr Rescue diver) and myself, as well as a fourth day for myself on their regularly scheduled Wednesday trip to Gordo Banks. On our first day there, they recommended cancelling the Gordo Banks dive as they had not seen anything significant at the site for some time. Apparently the water was so warm that the large pelagics there had moved off in search of colder water. As such, I ended up just doing the three days with my daughter.

They also offer trips to Cabo Pulmo

For the first two days of diving, the boat contained my daughter and I with our guide as well as an open water student and his instructor. My daughter and I did our dive with our guide, and the student and his instructor did their thing. On the third day, my daughter and I were the only ones on the boat with our guide. Getting a private outing is one of the perks of going during the slow season!

Water temps were around 86F, so very warm. On the first two days of diving, there was a thermocline at around 55ft, below which the temp dropped into the mid 70s. On our third day of diving, we got to 70ft with no noticeable thermocline.

All sites had considerable surge which is easy to deal with, and some had a significant current as well.

Very similar sea life was seen on all dives: Cortez angelfish, king angelfish, Moorish idols, Mexican hogfish, yellowtail surgeonfish, butterflyfish, barberfish, guineafowl pufferfish, boxfish, Cortez rainbow wrasses, lots of parrotfish, various morays, etc. On our first dive, we had the pleasure of watching a couple of mobula rays gliding by during our safety stop.

The diving with East Cape Explorers includes photos. Bring along a thumbdrive each day, and they will copy the day's photos to it for you. They do not have a red filter, however, so I do have a fair bit of post-production work to bring some white-balance to the photos.

One downside is that they are not able to offer hotel pickup due to what they call "local regulations" and the taxis. Taxi from the hotel zone to the dive shop at the marina in La Playita was $15. The La Playita taxis charged $20 for the return. I was able to get the phone number for one of the hotel zone taxis and with 10 minutes notice, they came and picked me up for the $15 fare back to the hotel. It is about a 10 minute ride from the hotel zone to the shop.

We did go into Cabo San Lucas for an afternoon. Although they have more options for dive operators, we really did not like Cabo San Lucas nearly as much as we enjoyed San Jose del Cabo. I would definitely stay in San Jose again and would recommend East Cape Explorers for anyone staying in San Jose del Cabo.
 
I will be going to Cabo in November for 10 days. 8 diving days. I have never been there. I normally go to Cozumel. After 26 trips to Cozumel I need something new. Tired of looking at coral.

Should I break up the trip by staying 2, or 3 days at different locations? I don't know anyone that has dove there, so help would be greatly appreciated:) If a friend does not go with me I will be diving alone.

Thanks

I dove Cabo Pulmo with Thierry Lannoy and MarySierra - Cabo Pulmo - Dive trips in Baja California Sur. It was a gorgeous drive from Cabo San Jose, about an hour and a half. I brought mask,fins, computer and Thierry hooked me up with the rest. Huge schools of Jack, Giant groupers, sea lions, diving sea birds!, great day.
 
I won't be going to Cabo Pulmo this trip- Most likely will just do local dives in Cabo San Lucas with maybe a dive to Gordo Banks thrown in-
Does anyone know the water temps there ? We will be arriving Oct 30th and leaving Nov. 6th - I would like to know what mil. wet suit to pack- I get cold easily and want to be prepared.
 
We took a day trip to Cabo Pulmo with Nautilus Dive Tech and I highly recommend them. They are professional and very safety conscious. We got to dive with Bull Sharks in Cabo Pulmo. It was fantastic!

We also dove with Manta in Cabo San Lucas, and they were okay, but I think they cater more to the cruise ship clientele.

NorthernLights- I have been in contact with both Manta Dive and Natuilus Dive tech (thank you for the recommendation to Natuilus, a friend of mine recommended them too) We are most likely passing on the Cabo Pulmo part as it is VERY expensive to add that to the itinerary and now is NOT the time of year we would most likely see Bull Sharks -
What time of year did you go and do you know what the water temps are? I'm going end of this month (Oct)
 
NorthernLights- I have been in contact with both Manta Dive and Natuilus Dive tech (thank you for the recommendation to Natuilus, a friend of mine recommended them too) We are most likely passing on the Cabo Pulmo part as it is VERY expensive to add that to the itinerary and now is NOT the time of year we would most likely see Bull Sharks -
What time of year did you go and do you know what the water temps are? I'm going end of this month (Oct)
We were there in mid-March. I don't know what the temps are now, but I wore a 5 mil wet suit, and that was fine for me. Make sure to bring a hood, because that will definitely help to keep the chill out if you need.

Get them to take you along the corridor where you are likely to see the eagle rays. I think it was along a point near the light house. That was fantastic.
 
@SaltyKSue - We were in Cabo Pulmo during the last week of October last year. I checked my log book and the water temps were between 80-86F and dropped to around 75F on a couple of dives where we went deeper than ~80ft. Speaking to the DMs, this was normal for that time of year. It doesn't start to get consistently in the 70s until late November. Topside was always sunny and 85-90F. I would think it would be the same in Cabo San Lucas as it's not that far.
I was just wearing a full Lavacore layer and wifebuddy had a 3mm shorty and was totally fine. Our thermal tolerance is nothing special. You're not going to be below the thermocline on all the dives and usually not for that long.
 
Thank you both NortherLights and elgoog for that ingo - that helps a LOT!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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