La Paz in August- Cantamar or Cortez club?

[dashark]

Planning a trip to la Paz in late August. Trying to decide between Club Cantamar or Cortez club. I am on the fence as far as diving and lodging options offered by both.
There are 4 of us going, and, would like to have a condo style lodging option.
My wife would prefer larger, faster boats to minimize the potential for seasicknes on the long boat rides. I would prefer 3 tank trips each day.
Anything else such as nice pool, nice beach, and access to restaurants and nightlife would just be gravy.
All suggestions appreciated....

 

[SciFiDiver]

My family and I stayed in the Time Share part of La Concha and really enjoyed the 3-bedroom, top floor accomodations. There were five adults and we had plenty of room. Back then Cortez Club was under different management and didn't have much in the way of boats, but they expanded considerably since then and I'll dive with them again. I've also met some of the folks from Cantamar and look forward to diving with them as well.

Please feel free to drop by BajaDivers.com where we have several La Paz dive operators listed, along with links to their Web sites. You'll also find write-ups on sites/areas , as well as operators and sites in other parts of the Baja peninsula.

We're an informational Website for divers planning trips to the Baja peninsula and our goal is to list every established dive operator and every named dive site/area along Baja's entire 2,000-mile coastline. We're not quite there yet, but the La Paz area is well covered.

 

[bc1954]

Stayed in the city of La Paz in May 08 for a week and dove with The Cortez Club their proximity to La Paz would be definitely better than Club Cantamar. Also better proximity to the better restaurants and the malecon which is a long walk way around the bay in La Paz. I stayed at Club el Moro which is kind of a time share combination hotel with most units having a kitchenette if you are so inclined. The better beaches are a distance from La Paz. So you would have to either rent a car or take a taxi to these beaches. None to speak of in town. I did about a dozen dives with The FCortez Club and I thought they were great. No problems what so ever. The dive masters were great. I was fortunate enough to be the only diver for most of my dives. I dont think you will find anybody better but like I say they were the only dive shop I used.

 

[dpbishop]

We stayed in La Paz (Hotel Marina) last October and dove with Baja Diving & Service (Club Catamar's dive op). The sent a van to pick us up in the morning and drop us off after diving.

While we were passed by smaller, faster dive boats, we looked a lot drier and more comfortable. I didn't see anyone on our boats doing any involuntary chumming.

Here is my trip report: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/208463-la-paz-report.html




http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/mexico/208463-la-paz-report.html

 

[evilclown]

Thanks to everyone for posting. Plan on going there in a few weeks. Any suggestions would be greatly apprreciated

 

[SciFiDiver]

If you're going to be in La Paz a week or more, consider a "vacation rental" - a fully furnished house or apartment. I just rented a 3-bedroom, 3-bath house with a pool in a very nice neighborhood for $750 a week. That works out to less than $42 per day per bedroom! Plus, you can prepare some of your own meals and save another pile of money. I booked through - and highly recommend - All Points South (Website). Tell them "Archer" sent you.

 

[dashark]

Too lat, already came and went. Went with Cantamar. it worked out perfect since we were looking for a cheap quick and convenient trip. I usually go the direction you described when I travel. If I had known how expensive the food was down there, I would have considered it. It was more expensive than the states. At least the diving and lodging was extremely reasonable....