La Paz Diving

[ScubaDave]

We are looking to travel to La Paz or Cabo in Feb. Does anyone have a fav dive operator and/or reasonably priced clean hotel?

 

[old_mike]

i can't recommend any ops or hotels in La Paz because we usually drive down and then camp on our Baja trips. I will say however, be prepared for water temps in the low to mid 60s. What time in Feb are you going? Will it be a 3-day weekend thing or will you be there longer?

 

[ScubaDave]

We'll be there for a week, flying down for a quick, warm holiday. I have a dry suit, but I was hoping to rent the wetsuit (I have everything else).

Thanks for the info.

 

[rcohn]

I've heard very good things about the Cortez Club in La Paz on the Freedivelist. It's primarily a scuba operation but they've been very accomodating to the freedivers who visit. Note this is not first hand info, but the reports have been very positive.

From a 1998 report:

All arrangements were made through the Cortez Club which is immediately adjacent to the La Concha Beach Resort Hotel in which we stayed. In addition to getting us a much reduced rate at the hotel, the advantage of this arrangement was that we could pay just one bill for hotel, diving, airport transfer, lunches, etc. That left only our meals and drinks as a variable, unknown expense.

The round trip ticket from LA to La Paz on Aero California was $241. Airport transfer was $15 per person round trip. When booked through the Cortez Club, a double room was $65 per night ($90 normal) with an $15 extra for a rollaway bed to accommodate the three of us. A panga for 3 days cost $500 (split three ways), although I don't know if its proper to call the boat assigned to us a panga. It was a 20 foot robalo center console with T-top, an overhead radio box which made a nice place to put wallets and similar stuff to be kept dry, a hand-held GPS, and it cruised at over 25 knots.

Note freedivers wouldn't use the normal scuba trips so they booked the boat for the day.

Hope this helps,

Ralph

 

[ifukuda]

mike,

You mentioned driving from So Cal to La Paz. How long was the drive? I recently read a magazine article abou the diving there and really want to go. I was thinking about flying there, but, if we were to drive, this trip would be an option for more people in my dive group (there are a few starving college students).

thanks

 

[donooo]

Some people think it's a 22 hour drive from San Diego to Los Cabos. That is not a safe trip. Drive to Ensenada in the evening. The next morning drive to Loretto, then the next day to La Paz or on to Cabo. Don't drive after dark. Enjoy the days.

This time of year you can be "blown out " in the Sea of Cortez. Be prepard for heavy winds five out of seven days. Have a plan B. A one week trip can be a disaster, two weeks or more a much better chance of success.

adios don O

 

[kelpmermaid]

Went down there a couple of summers ago. Dove with an outfit called Baja Quest and had a good time. Stayed at the Los Arcos, in the bungalow section, not the main hotel. There was one minor drawback, if you could call it that -- they have thatched-type pandan roofs and we could hear those little lizards running around at night...

 

[ifukuda]

Thanks for the info.

I think I'll stick to flying. And I'll check up on local diving conditions before making plans.