Sea of Cortez questions

[divergirl50]

I want to dive the Sea of Cortez but not on a liveaboard. Can anyone give me some honest answers of where is the best area to stay to see the best wild life! I want to see lots of marine life and seals. I cannot figure out if I need to be in Cabo, La Paz or the East Cape. I keep reading but just need some good information for a diver that has been and not trying to sell me a bill of goods.
I am looking at a fall trip since this seems to be the warmest time to go. I do know that the seals are not there in July so the fall is one reason I have decided to go then. Any great areas or dive sites and what is the best hotel zone or city to be in?
Thanks for any help you can give me. : :azvatar:

 

[Brandon]

I just came back from La Paz last month. Diving was okay, and will be improving as the summer goes on. I stayed at the La Concha, and was very satisfied. Hard hotel to beat for $75 a night.

Didn't see many big critters, just tons of sea lions and schooling fish. Visibility varied from 15-20 feet on bad days and 50-75 feet on some of the better days. Water temps varied a lot too. Coldest was some nasty thermoclines that chilled the water down to 61f, and the warmest was the lovely sun heated water near the top, at 73f.

Loreto is another option...

 

[smfcpacfp]

My wife and I just back from Cobo San Lucas today where we did 17 dives overs 9 days. We dove with Manta Dive. They were excellent. We went to Cobo Pulma one day and Gordo Banks on another. The rest of the dives were local.

I would agree with Brandon. We didn't see any sea lions however but we did see a huge school of dolphins (many hundreds). It was typical Carribean diving in terms of creatures. What was new for me was seeing a few very large tuna on one dive.

We stayed at the Villa Del Palmar which was 5 minutes to the dive shop. My only caution would be this. If anyone seems friendly and wants to talk with you - they are trying to sell you a time share condo.

 

[gonetobaja]

It depends on what you are looking for but we offer trips to see some really big and cool stuff. Here is a link to pics from our last trip.

http://squiddiving.com/Gallery.html

We run our trips out of Loreto.

GTB
www.squiddiving.com

 

[drbill]

I have dived the offshore islands between Loreto and LaPaz a fair bit as well as Cabo. All of this was based on an eco-cruise ship where I was working as underwater videographer and staff marine biologist. I like diving in that region, but we didn't really use any local operators. You might consider Susan Speck's dive center (Dolphin Dive Center?) in Loreto.

Cabo offered some interesting diving... more tropicals and the fish seemed more accustomed to human presence, giving me a better opportunity to video tape some of the more skittish species.

 

[SLB]

Anyone else have suggestions for the Sea of Cortez in October? What about the San Carlos or Nuevo Guyamas areas?

 

[Rickg]

I want to dive the Sea of Cortez but not on a liveaboard. Can anyone give me some honest answers of where is the best area to stay to see the best wild life! I want to see lots of marine life and seals. I cannot figure out if I need to be in Cabo, La Paz or the East Cape. I keep reading but just need some good information for a diver that has been and not trying to sell me a bill of goods.
I am looking at a fall trip since this seems to be the warmest time to go. I do know that the seals are not there in July so the fall is one reason I have decided to go then. Any great areas or dive sites and what is the best hotel zone or city to be in?
Thanks for any help you can give me. : :azvatar:

divergirl50,

You can see some wildlife pictures below. We were on a LOB out of La Paz but the day boats from La Paz also dove most of the same dive sites that we did.

http://scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=173770&highlight=cantamar

Rickg

 

[dashark]

Try posting this request on the mexico page. Thats what I did. I am still planning a trip myself and have settled on La paz. I was leaning towards Club Cantamar.

 

[dpbishop]

I'm doing La Paz at the end of October. Staying in town but diving with Club Cantamar, they will pick you up at your Hotel (7:00 am!!) You should contact them soon because they can fill up. This is the best time of year for them.

 

[greta-inbaja]

Hello,
I have stayed and dived with the cantamar since they opened. +++ europeans, they market aggressively there. Usually lots of good divers. In october 3 out of 5 times we have snorkled w/ whalesharks. they have an ultralight and spot for the boat then drop you off to snorkle. very cool.... Also , conditions are variable, viz variable but life in great. Don't get the all-inclusive at cantamar, unless things have changed in a year, the food is not good. go into town. The eastcape- cabo pulmo is good, easy. 5 min boat ride. Schools of fish to swim through. none of this is the colorful carribean. It is completely different. Usually lots of fish, very casual, We will be there is October also, at least in Cao pulmo. You can rent a bungalow in Cabo Pulmo, is very quiet, go shopping first if you decide to stay out there. nice beaches, You need a car. I have been diving in lapaz and cabo puomo for about 12 years. hope this helps, I can give specific recomendations if needed.