Diving in Puerto Vallerta

[nitterm]

Will be in Puerto Vallerta in two weeks on the Sapphire and was curious to know if anyone has done snorkeling or scuba and where the best spots are?

[chitowngoose]

"Will be in Puerto Vallerta in two weeks on the Sapphire and was curious to know if anyone has done snorkeling or scuba and where the best spots are?"

 

 

 

I was generally disappointed in Puerto Vallarta. Visibility was not that great, usually not much more than 25'. Wave pattern in this Pacific inlet area stirs up silt frequently. Actually did my basic certification here years a few years back. Wife was back a year ago and it didn't seem any better.

 

But, as an avid diver, I usually wouldn't pass up the chance anyway. The main spots are some rocky areas around 'Los Arcos', an arched rock formation and a small island out from the town a little way (Margarette Is?? - forgot the name). A couple of other areas: Majahuita and Quimixto were up to 30' bottom vis!

[Sailfish]

If you are an avid diver (meaning you want to dive in PV at all costs) try to go to El Morro. This is actually a very nice dive - near the Las Marietas islands.

 

What others have said about the visibilty is right on - on a good day in the summer out at El Morro you'll see 50ft vis. In the bay, by Los Arcos (the most popular dive in and around PV) on a good day, you'll have 30 feet and a ho-hum dive.

 

None of the diving compares to that in the Caribbean or Hawaii. Still, if diving is what you'll want to do while there, go for it. Get on a boat to the Las Marietas (given you are in port ALL day) and do the "tunnel" - a shallow roller coaster of a dive - in one end and a swift surge and you are out the other - way cool even at only 15 feet!

 

If you can get the DM to motor you over to El Morro in a panga - about 5 minutes from the dive sites around the Marietas, you'll actually be in for a treat; lots of big fish here despite the poor visibility. One issue is the current, so they tend to want to take people they know (divers with them for more than one dive) over day trippers.

 

If you happen to be going to Cabo, I would recommend you dive there instead. PV just has too many cool places to visit - better stuff on shore than in the water, if you ask me. Cabo, on the other hand, has better visibility - colder water, but more to see. Cabo is the perfect place to dive early in the am, and sit with a cold one on the beach in the afternoon!

 

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[Sailfish]

Oh, one last thing - there have been quite a few fatal diving accidents in and around PV last year (I was there in July 2005 when a guy drowned at El Morro). We dove with Chicos (the biggest dive op in PV) who said all DM's in town were dealing with divers a little more conservatively.

 

We dove 8 tanks while there - and I have to say some DM's we were around were more than a little annoying to the more advanced divers in the group. To such an extent, one couple refused to dive with them again.

 

Realizing they recently had another fatality, we went along with the dive profile and didn't make a fuss when our DM insisited we tuck in our octopus a certain way before a dive (despite the fact that we had hooks on our BC for this). Other divers in the group were not as nice. Suffice it to say, if you have not had an opportunity to demonstrate your diving skills earlier, I doubt they will take you to El Morro.

[jlashbro]

Whats the reason for all of the fatalities. Is it current or depth?

 

Thanks

[Sailfish]

Whats the reason for all of the fatalities. Is it current or depth?

 

Thanks

 

All areas of the world where people dive have fatalities - they just aren't publicised. But when they do occur, all dive operations tend to buckle down and DM's are a bit more cautious.

 

The fatality at El Morro (in deep water with strong current) was suspected to have been a suicide. But if I remember correctly, there were others earlier in the year at other dive sites, and they all were very experienced divers.

[jlashbro]

Thanks for the info. I was wondering why some dive shops treat this as an advanced dive. Usually its because of current, visibility,temperature, etc. My wife and I are Padi advanced certified and interested in this dive location.

 

Thanks

 

Carnival Jubilee June 2003

Carnival Inspiration November 2004

Carnival Pride December 2005

I

[Sailfish]

Thanks for the info. I was wondering why some dive shops treat this as an advanced dive. Usually its because of current, visibility,temperature, etc. My wife and I are Padi advanced certified and interested in this dive location.

 

Thanks

 

Carnival Jubilee June 2003

Carnival Inspiration November 2004

Carnival Pride December 2005

I

 

Most dive sites in PV are relatively shallow - and not very exciting. If you plan to spentd time in PV while on vacation, you'll have no problem diving El Morro as long as you dove with the same dive op while there on other dives and had no problems.

 

On the other hand, if you go only for the day while on a cruise, you will be hard pressed to find any dive op that will take you there, regardless of your certification level or diving experience (dive experience always trumps certification level - but you guys probably already know this).

 

Dives ops I believe go to El Morro only once a week. El Morro is close to dive sites at the Marietas, so what normally happens is they pile snorkelers and divers to El Morro and to the Marietas onto the same boat. Once you get to the snorkel site, two smaller boats of divers will depart to the nearby dive sites - one always with about 4-8 divers heads over to El Morro every week, the other to dive sites alonf the Marietas.

 

The dive at El Morro is considered to probably be the most "advanced" dive in PV. You tend to have better luck here in the summer with better visibility. It's considered "advanced" because of the depth here, I'm sure, as it's also PV's deepest dive.

 

There are several dive operations in PV - most visit El Morro once a week. I know of no one who goeas there every day.