Sea of Cortez instead of Coz?

[LimitedSlip7]

The fiance now has a week of vacation available in Sept, from the 21st-29th. We've been to Cozumel twice last year and spent a week in Bonaire this year. She kind of wants to go back to Coz but I wouldn't mind trying something different.

I'm thinking maybe either Cabo Pulmo, La Paz, or Loreto. We aren't really night life people so that's not important but we do like trying out different restaurants instead of eating the same food at a resort every day. I guess what's holding me back from trying out the West coast is the water visibility, long boat rides, and cost of diving. Is there any decent shore diving available at those locations? I was thinking of maybe trying two locations in a week but the SO doesn't like packing up and changing locations in the middle of a relatively short trip.

Also considering a short Red Sea trip to Sharm as the flights from Cleveland aren't too hateful (~23 hours). Fly out Friday night, come back Sunday. Maybe do Camel Divers or try to talk the SO into a liveaboard. Chances of this are fairly low though. How would the Sharm diving compare to Cortez?

Thanks!

 

[AZTinman]

La Paz has great diving. Loreto and Cabo Pulmo are on my to do list, but I'd love to return to La Paz.

-AZTinman

 

[The Chairman]

Try a liveaboard. There are several out of Sea of Cortez like th Rocio del Mar, or go to the Socorros and REALLY see something different. Coz is great, but the Sea of Cortez is absolutely magical, especially on a liveaboard.

 

[Sam Miller III]

IF you are really adventurous drive from San Diego or Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas stopping along the way to dive and explore- takes about 2 weeks or more
Fantastic diving, Beautiful sights, Great adventure

sdm

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

Sorry to derail, but anyone remember the old dive boat Baja Explorador out of La Paz? As I recall it was around 120' with about 10 staterooms. It was a rust-bucket then. Zero air circulation inside so during the summer we would haul our mattresses up on deck at night to sleep. Meals were mainly rice, beans and tortillas. The week-long itinerary was always the same - La Paz to Los Islotes, to Mar Isla Seamount, up to Los Animas..... I did that trip 4 or 5 times in the early 1980's. Fantastic memories. M

 

[LimitedSlip7]

Unfortunately I'm limited to the 1 week Saturday Sept 21st - Sunday Sept 29th. Looked up liveaboards available for those dates and most are either sold out, great white cage dives, or too long. Nothing available for just diving around the La Paz/Loreto/Pulmo side.

Probably going to pick between Cozumel again or one of those three...

 

[Glenn Charles]

One of my best dive trips of all time was drift diving out of Cabo Pulmo. Really a beautiful spot!! We did 4 days of diving there and each day was fantastic. Rented a little artist cottage in the village and shared it with two other couples. Super vacation.

 

[LimitedSlip7]

Does the boat ride time, visibility, and biodiversity vary much between these three locations?

 

[scubadada]

Hi @LimitedSlip7

Nautilus Gallant Lady is doing Sea of Cortez 9/21-28 and has berths Nautilus Liveaboards

I did Los Revillagigedos this spring on the Nautilus Explorer, great trip. Nautilus has a slick operation out of theTesoro Hotel, Cabo Dive Center in Cabo San Lucas. Easy to get to, I flew American through Phoenix.

 

[AZTinman]

Hi @LimitedSlip7

Nautilus Gallant Lady is doing Sea of Cortez 9/21-28 and has berths Nautilus Liveaboards

I did Los Revillagigedos this spring on the Nautilus Explorer, great trip. Nautilus has a slick operation out of theTesoro Hotel, Cabo Dive Center in Cabo San Lucas. Easy to get to, I flew American through Phoenix.

Nautilus Gallant Lady is based out of San Felipe, Baja California Norte, on the Northern Gulf of California for trips (9/21-28/19) into the Midriff Islands. Clients are bused from San Diego to San Felipe.

Concerning your visibility question, September is my favorite time to dive in the Gulf of California. While there are never guarantees with what will be going on in the ocean, I've usually had really good visibility (often 100+') in late September in the Sea of Cortez.

Diving La Paz typically involves longer boat rides. Trip reports from Loreto and Cabo Pulmo indicate that boat rides to get to good dive sites are much shorter.

-AZTinman