Play with sea lions, snorkel with whale sharks, dive at night with schooling mobula rays and more! Join us for this unique trip to the Sea of Cortez, one of the most biologically diverse marine systems in the world. Want more? Stick around after to catch the Mexican Sardine Run around Magdalena Bay!

The Sea of Cortez

Get up close to some of the ocean’s coolest creatures including a life-changing frolic with a colony of 400 wild sea lions. What sets Baja diving apart is the big stuff: giant mantas, sea lions, and impressive numbers of sharks, including whale sharks and hammerheads. There are also over 900 species of fish to see as well as marine mammals and diving birds. In October, the waters are still warm with a chance of seeing juvenile Whale Sharks in La Paz Bay.

The Diving

Minimum dive certification/experience: Perfect for beginners and experienced divers. A great spot to complete your Advanced Open Water Diver, Deep Diver and more. Enriched Air/Nitrox certification strongly recommended.

Along our "Discover Baja" route we will:

- visit the friendly sea lions at Los Islotes;

- look for hammerheads at El Bajo, Las Animals and San Francisquito;

- do a night dive with mobula rays;

- and snorkel with juvenile whale sharks in La Paz Bay if they're in the area.

M/V Valentina

The 125 ft long M/V Valentina will be our home base for this incredible trip. It has 10 air-conditioned cabins, each with an en-suite bathroom. The dining room offers excellent cuisine with a variety of Mexican, European and Asian dishes, and also an open bar with a choice of various soft drinks, tea, coffee and draft beer. Relax between dives on the large, partially covered sun deck, or enjoy the stars at night while floating in the middle of the ocean.

Travel

You should fly in to La Paz, Mexico (LAP) on Saturday, October 18 and check into the boat between 5 and 9 PM. (Baggage drop is available starting at 9 AM.) You must be on board the boat by 9 PM so we can head out to our first night's anchorage. 

We will arrive back into La Paz on Thursday, October 23rd after diving earlier that day. We will disembark on Friday, November 10th in La Paz so you can fly home that morning or extend your stay with a visit to Magdalena Bay to catch the sardine run. Please email or call the shop with any questions before booking your flight!

Upon cancellation of a reservation for any reason, the refund of the deposit and payments made or due will be contingent upon Blue Planet reselling the participant's reservation. Any refund may also be subject to a $250 cancellation fee and payment of any non-refundable fees imposed by the tour company, dive operator or any other contractor associated with the trip. 

Dive accident insurance is required for all divers on this trip. We strongly recommend travel insurance to protect your vacation investment. Contact us if you need more information. 

Fly into La Paz, Mexico (LAP) and take the shuttle to the M/V Valentina, our home for the week. You can start boarding at 6 PM and you must be on board by 9 PM. You can arrive the day before if you'd like and enjoy La Paz's vibrant malecón and downtown!

We'll explore the most famous dive sites in the southern Sea of Cortez and East cape in Baja California. We'll be doing 3 dives each day with a night dive with mobula rays one evening. Underwater highlights include frolicking with sea lions, looking for Hammerhead sharks in the deep of El Bajo and marveling at the species endemic to this region. 

We'll squeeze in 2 more dives before we head back to port in La Paz. We'll arrive in the afternoon and then hit the town for dinner that evening.

Fly out of La Paz on Friday after noon or stick around and check out the local scenery! Interested in extending your trip? We can help! How about catching the famous Mexican Sardine Run??