Snorkeling in Cabo

[floater]

I will be in Cabo in early October and I would like to get wet. I have done a lot of snorkeling in many locations but never here. I would like to go to a less crowded spot than the cruise ships use if possible. Does anyone have any recommendations? If I must go with the masses how about opinions on the best spots and or operators. Thank you in advance.

[Thomas M. Bottom]

Floater,

 

I was there in Feb, & went to Lands end, the snorkeling not good too murky. It's pretty bring around the big rock formations, but too rough & visibility poor. I will say that the beach on the Pacific side "Lovers Beach" is fantastic! Go there just to see & listen to the crashing waves!

 

Are you going to Puerta Vallarta?

[floater]

Thanks for the info Tom. Yes, we will be going to Puerto Vallarta. I didn't think there are any spots near there, but the AAA book said something about rocks offshore. I guess I need to find out more about this. Did you happen to hear about this ?

[TrqoisWtrs]

If you do a search for snorkeling here, you can find good info.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g150773-i83-Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html

[Thomas M. Bottom]

Hey Floater,

 

We were just on RCL Vision 2/05 Cabo, Mazatlan, Puerta Vallarta. There is one great snorkeling spot in Puerta vallarta, go out to Los Arcos! It's just off of La Joya De Mismaloya beach. You'll have to take a short 15 minute taxi ride from the pier. When we got to the beach many people offered to take us out on their boats. The 1st guy who approached me was Cesar. We went out w/him & he wasa good guy, $35.00/for 4 people/for 2 hours. (we all had our own equipment) There are 2 huge rock formations in the bay, he took us just behind them & we snorkeled on the back side, they were packed w/ fish! There are these little tunnels you can go through in the rock formations , it's really cool. I took a few dinner rolls from the ship & had them in a zip lock bag, & was feeding fish by the hundreds. Cesar also fed the fish bread. The highlight was when a spotted eagle ray came up for some bread! We had the best time there & we were the only people snorkeling, nice & peaceful! (2 ships were even in port), so I give it 2 thumbs up^

 

 

Over all I didn't think snorkeling was nearly as good in Mexico as it was in the Caribbean. The "Mexican Riveria" as a whole was fun (& inexpensive) but I really prefer the Caribbean islands...

 

I just bought some diving & snorkeling books (lonely planet) from snorkelmart.com for our upcoming 4/06 cruise. There are each just over 100 pages w/snorkel & dive spots, maps, & loaded w/pics. Now when I go somewhere new I pick one up if available, it's a wealth of info for only ten bucks!

[floater]

Hey Thomas

I was starting to think that snorkeling on this cruise was going to be a bust, but, YOU SAVED THE DAY !!! I was hoping to find an expierence just like this one. I hate those catamarans that are like cattle boats, and packed with people. I will definitely look up Cesar when we get to P V. I see you have been on several cruises. What did you think of The Vision ?

 

Thank you so much for shareing your knowledge.

[Thomas M. Bottom]

Glad to share the info. We liked the Vision, went w/another couple & left our children home this time. So we were able to do more "adult things", spent time in all the lounges sippin cocktails chatting & relaxing. We went to several bars in port as well. Went to a great Chicago Cubs bar in Puerta Vallarta,, filled w/neat sports stuff, a must for any chicago fan. Also spent a lot of time in the casino onboard, & my wife & I actually won $950.00 for the week! So i guess you can say the black jack table paid our bar bill & we still came home w/ money! We enjoyed the shows, my wife more than I but she spends time doing things I want to do as well. It's trade off. Ajay was our head waiter & he was top notch, our waiter was so-so (Illian), our cabin stewards were very good, kept the room sparkling & filled w/towel animals!

The food was good, but better on the RCL Serenade Of the Seas , & on our 2 trips on the Celebrity Century I though their food was better too. Not so say it was bad, just not as good. I'm curious how the Explorer will be when we go next April? It will be the biggest ship I've been on. I see you have been snorkeling many places, where have you been. Share some of your fav spotsw/me...

 

Thx Tom

 

Ps. I can send you some pics, if you give my your e-mail....

[floater]

Hi Tom

 

Again thanks for all the info on P V. We will be a group of 5. My wife, myself and our 3 " kids ". A daughter 23, and a son and daughter 19, twins.

 

I have been lucky enough to have snorkeled in some great spots. I got introduced to it about 20 years ago on a trip to Hawaii. Since then my wife and I have tried to plan our vacations to places we want to snorkel. I think one of the best places in Hawaii is Molokini Crater off the coast of Maui.

 

On a vacation to Grand Cayman, we took a boat to Stingray Sandbar that was an amazing trip. We made 2 stops on the way back in. One was at a place called Coral Garden, it was beautiful. We were staying on the north end of Seven Mile Beach so we spent a lot of time up there. One of the best spots was a place called Cemetary Reef. You park at the cemetary and there is a walk thru to the beach. Another good spot is in front of the dive shop right next to the Cayman Turtle Farm.

 

We spent a week in Cozumel and enjoyed snorkeling south of town. There are several resorts on Beach Road that you can walk into. You can pick a table on the beach, order drinks and snacks and when you feel like it enter the water and snorkel the reef right off the beach.

 

One of our best trips was to The Great Barrier Reef in Australia. We stayed in Cairns. The one negative thing about TGBR is that it takes almost 2 hours to get out there from the mainland. Once you are there, it is spectacular.

 

After all this rambling I have to say our best expierence was on the island of Bonaire, in the Caribbean. This place is nothing short of heaven on earth for snorkelers. The whole island's reef is one big marine preserve and has been protected since 1979. One of the best things about Bonaire is the access to the dive sites. There are at least 60 named sites with shore access. Each site is marked by a yellow painted rock on the side of the road. You simply drive along the coast pick a spot to park and walk into the water. In a week of snorkeling, 2 or 3 times a day, there was never another person on our reef. What we did see was Hawksbill Turtles, giant ( 5 feet tall ) tube sponges in brilliant colors, spectacular coral formations and even a few seahorses. Our next trip will be back to Bonaire.

 

Now arn't you sorry you asked ? As you can see I am very passionate about snorkeling.

 

I would love to see your pictures. This is only our second cruise and the first one for our kids so we are anxious to get some insights. My e-mail address is melendy5@sbcglobal.net

 

Thanks

Marc (aka floater)

[Thomas M. Bottom]

Hey Floater,

I e-mailed you some pics, not sure you recieved them?

Let me know......

 

Thomas

[floater]

Hey Tom

 

Yes, I got your pictures. There great !! Thanks much. You're right I'm ready to go right now ! My oldest daughter came over for dinner and I showed them to everyone. They all said that it looks like a cool spot. We can't wait to swim through those tunnels. The water looks calm and clear. How deep would you say the water is around the rocks ?

 

I don't want to impose, but we would love to see your underwater shots. What kind of camera did you use ? I have been taking pictures for years. I have done well on land, but my underwater shots have been poor. About 2 years ago I bought an inexpensive underwater camera but I have been very unhappy with it. I had better results with a Kodak disposable. How about you ?

 

Floater

[Thomas M. Bottom]

The depth around the rocks really varies there are smaller rocks (pilings) around the big ones. I would say the depth ranges from 5-20 feet deep. We were out there late in the afternoon which wasn't the best, I would suggest going in the morning as we we in the shadows & at times the big rocks totally blocked the sun & our light! It was still awesome but next time I will go in the morning. You have much more expierience snorkeling & taking underwater pics, I'm really somewhat new to it all have only been going some 5 years...

 

I just used a cheap underwater camera we bought from snorkelmart.com, it's reloadable but the warranty says that once used they will not guarente it won't leak in the future. Because of the shadows & the water there isn't nearly as clear as anywhere in the Caribbean, the shots are not that great. It was a very inexpensive camera though. I have all my other vacation pics on CDs but the one roll of underwater (the 1st I've ever taken) for some reason & didn't get a CD made, so I have to scan each pic. Which is so slow. I'll get the best shots out to you, might not be today though. It's mothers day, my birthday, & my oldest daughters birthday yesterday...theres 8 lil girls sleeping upstairs a very busy weekend to say the least.

 

& I'm headin out the door to go large mouth bass fishing for a bit!

Keep on floating!