Mexican Riviera in October

[guntheros]

October advice! We are planning on going to Mazatlan, Puerta Vallarta and Cabo in October. Will the weather be okay? Will the water temp be okay for snorkeling? Where's the best place to snorkel? We have snorkeled the Western Caribbean... does the Mexican Riviera even come close? Any private excursions anyone can recommend? It is me (27), dh (42) and ds (18)

Thanks in advance,

[MSN-Travelers]

October advice! We are planning on going to Mazatlan, Puerta Vallarta and Cabo in October. Will the weather be okay? Will the water temp be okay for snorkeling? Where's the best place to snorkel? We have snorkeled the Western Caribbean... does the Mexican Riviera even come close? Any private excursions anyone can recommend? It is me (27), dh (42) and ds (18)

Thanks in advance,

 

October is a transitional time for weather and tourism along the MR. Hurricanes are unlikely but still possible. The rainy season is done, humidity and extremely hot temps are down but there is cloudy water from all the run-off that has flowed down the mountains and into the bay. For us, the last week of October thru Thanksgiving is the ideal time to be in Vallarta.

 

Water temps are good. Snorkeling, at its best, is just so-so (at least to me as I have had a lot of time in the Caribbean). There isn’t the variety of sea life or structure to attract or hold what sea life is there. It does not compare favorably to the Caribbean or Hawaii.

 

Having said this, we always bring along our gear and always find ourselves in the water face down. It is what it is.

 

Recommendations …

 

Others will offer suggestions for Cabo and I don’t believe I’ve read anything about Mazatlan. For Vallarta, I don’t recommend any excursion that is built solely around snorkeling or diving unless you are really hard core. Any excursions that have snorkeling stops at Los Arcos Marine Park, Marietas Islands Marine Park, or Majahuitas will get you to the best spots. There is very little snorkeling from a beach and none in close proximity to the port.

 

If you are a die hard diver or snorkeler, take a look at this site for more info - http://www.squidoo.com/puerto-vallarta-diving

 

Enjoy!

[househunter]

October is Cabo is extremley hot and humid, almost unbearably so. If you go towards the end of the month, it does get much, much better. We were there for 2 weeks in the middle of the month last year and experienced both a tropical storm and a hurricane. September and October are the 2 highest month for hurricanes but cruises are also the most affordable then.

 

The good news is that the water is at an all time high temp in October, mid 80's and absolutly wonderful. We have been going to Cabo in October for the last 10 years ago but are changing to the first 2 weeks of November from now on because of the high humidity. Just can't tolerate it as well as we used to!:)