Mexico - The Sea of Cortez

Fall is peak season for diving in the Sea of Cortez. This is the best time to visit especially if you are interested in seeing hammerhead sharks. From mid-September through November you can generally expect calm seas and beautiful hot sunny weather, water temps ranging from 76 - 84 degrees and visibility from 60 to 100 feet plus in what can best be described as tropical paradise. This is where palm tree lined open air restaurants serve up fresh local seafood while patrons enjoy cerveza y margarita.

You can expect to see mantas, moray eels, California sealions and a profusion of fish including pufferfish, cornetfish, triggerfish, surgeonfish, porkfish, parrotfish, angelfish, cabrilla, grouper, snapper,, sergeant majors, butterflyfish, wrasses, damselfish, goatfish and barberfish just to name the most common. Whale sharks can be seen occasionally. Invertebrate life is moderate in some places and sparce in other areas and includes stony corals, seafans, gorgonians and yellow colonial tubastrea corals. The topography can be fantastic with seamounts, submarine canyons and small caves. For the really adventuresome, we can even spend a couple of days searching out a resident pod of sperm whales that live 50 miles offshore (but be prepared to be patient and remember that sightings are a bit of a gamble).

Hurricane season is generally over by September and the winter outflow winds from the Colorado River do not usually start blowing until late November or December.

Sample itinerary

Day 1: Late afternoon or evening departure from La Paz once we have
picked up all our incoming guests. Hopefully there will be time
for a warmup dive in the evening.

Days 2 - 6: Opportunity for 4 dives per day including night dives with
inwater divemastering and critter spotting available. The best
diving is generally considered to be between San Jose and Isla
Cerralvo. Sites will likely include old favourites like Los
Islotes, Las Animas, El Bajo and the wreck of the Salvatierre as
well as some remote and pristine diving only accessible by
liveaboard diveboat. Of course, we will also be offering a host
of other activities including paddling (lessons and guiding),
shore walks, sailing, marine ID classes, slide shows, show and
tells and just plain relaxing.

Day 7: 2 dives followed by a mid-afternoon arrival in the charming town
of La Paz. Free time on shore with the option of returning to
the boat for dinner as well as a big marguerita send-off party!

Day 8: Breakfast followed by disembarking at 9 a.m.