MikeRiley
Registered
Unfortunately my GoPro died before the dive started so I didn't get any photos or video. With that said, the vis was pretty rough at around 20-30 feet. Full disclosure; I've done all of my diving in the Caribbean so I'm spoiled by those conditions.
The water was also quite cold; 60-65 degrees.
I knew the conditions likely would be around that when I booked the trip. I only ended up diving once because I wasn't enjoying myself.
What I CAN say though is that I am quite eager to return in the summer when the temperatures are warm and the visibility is good.
The wildlife in the bay is spectacular. We saw dolphins every time we were out on the boat, I saw several mantas breaching and a larger one beside the boat. The humpback whales were incredible (albeit, they won't still be there in the summer). Spent a whole afternoon following a pod around, they'd come up to breathe and then go back under for 15 minutes or so. We were disappointed that we didn't get to witness any whales breaching but as luck would have it we did a booze cruise out to the Marietas Islands and on the way back we were greeted by a mother and her calf. The calf must have breached 20-30 times while we watched. The mother only 2-3 times but it was incredible watching them play around.
As for the specific dive site; we did the Devil's Drop at Los Arcos. It was pretty awesome (again, I'd love to see it when it was warm and vis was better). Interesting wall, very cool rock structures. Didn't see a ton of fish but there are lots of reports of big rays and other critters around there. The other dive group we were with saw a big eagle ray about 100 yards away from us.
I dove with Cesar at Banderas Scuba Republic and he was excellent. Very thorough, has a great crew that puts safety first and really respects the area. I will 100% dive with his crew again when we're back. Can't imagine a better experience; the research I did on the dive shops definitely paid off. We stayed at Casa Dona Susana in the Romantic Zone and it was excellent. Cesar leaves from Los Muertos Pier. Step outside the room, have breakfast at any number of awesome cafes and then walk the 100 yards to the pier.
After 6 days in PV we traveled to Yelapa and stayed at Garcia Rentals. The stories of Yelapa not being friendly to those with mobility issues are true. It's quite hilly, rough cobble streets etc. But it's at such a slow pace that you can just do things at your own comfort level. Garcia rentals had an excellent suite.. 2 bedrooms for 80 USD a night. open air concept that was right on the beach. My wife loved it; I've got a bad knee so next time we go to Yelapa I'd probably want to stay something right in town. We're also considering staying in Boca Town since it's got a dive shop on site if need be. We rented horses and hired a guide to take us to the waterfall. The road is treacherous and while I was pretty worried about the surefootedness of my horse, she got us there in one place.
Long story short, this was our attempt at a more authentic trip to PV and it was miles better than staying in Nuevo Vallarta. Going to dive Marietas and El Morro in the summer is my goal. They're farther out, winter seas stop most companies from diving them but with nice temperatures and good vis the sites would be pretty awesome. Highly recommend checking it out!
The water was also quite cold; 60-65 degrees.
I knew the conditions likely would be around that when I booked the trip. I only ended up diving once because I wasn't enjoying myself.
What I CAN say though is that I am quite eager to return in the summer when the temperatures are warm and the visibility is good.
The wildlife in the bay is spectacular. We saw dolphins every time we were out on the boat, I saw several mantas breaching and a larger one beside the boat. The humpback whales were incredible (albeit, they won't still be there in the summer). Spent a whole afternoon following a pod around, they'd come up to breathe and then go back under for 15 minutes or so. We were disappointed that we didn't get to witness any whales breaching but as luck would have it we did a booze cruise out to the Marietas Islands and on the way back we were greeted by a mother and her calf. The calf must have breached 20-30 times while we watched. The mother only 2-3 times but it was incredible watching them play around.
As for the specific dive site; we did the Devil's Drop at Los Arcos. It was pretty awesome (again, I'd love to see it when it was warm and vis was better). Interesting wall, very cool rock structures. Didn't see a ton of fish but there are lots of reports of big rays and other critters around there. The other dive group we were with saw a big eagle ray about 100 yards away from us.
I dove with Cesar at Banderas Scuba Republic and he was excellent. Very thorough, has a great crew that puts safety first and really respects the area. I will 100% dive with his crew again when we're back. Can't imagine a better experience; the research I did on the dive shops definitely paid off. We stayed at Casa Dona Susana in the Romantic Zone and it was excellent. Cesar leaves from Los Muertos Pier. Step outside the room, have breakfast at any number of awesome cafes and then walk the 100 yards to the pier.
After 6 days in PV we traveled to Yelapa and stayed at Garcia Rentals. The stories of Yelapa not being friendly to those with mobility issues are true. It's quite hilly, rough cobble streets etc. But it's at such a slow pace that you can just do things at your own comfort level. Garcia rentals had an excellent suite.. 2 bedrooms for 80 USD a night. open air concept that was right on the beach. My wife loved it; I've got a bad knee so next time we go to Yelapa I'd probably want to stay something right in town. We're also considering staying in Boca Town since it's got a dive shop on site if need be. We rented horses and hired a guide to take us to the waterfall. The road is treacherous and while I was pretty worried about the surefootedness of my horse, she got us there in one place.
Long story short, this was our attempt at a more authentic trip to PV and it was miles better than staying in Nuevo Vallarta. Going to dive Marietas and El Morro in the summer is my goal. They're farther out, winter seas stop most companies from diving them but with nice temperatures and good vis the sites would be pretty awesome. Highly recommend checking it out!
