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Dive Review of Carey Dive Center aka Buceo Carey/Los Arcos Cabanas in
Mexico (Western)/La Paz

Carey Dive Center aka Buceo Carey/Los Arcos Cabanas, Nov, 2002,

by Peter Belden, CA, USA . Report 292.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 2 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments We dove in La Paz Thanksgiving weekend and were told that Nov 27 is a bit late for the whale sharks. We'd previously been told that the last week of August is too early, so according to the Dive Masters at Carey Dive Center the Whale shark season in La Paz is Sept/Oct. This allegedly is also the season for the giant mantas and the Hammerheads, although we saw hammerheads on our previous trip the last week of August. Sept/Oct is also supposed to be insanely busy with divers. The mantas we saw on this trip were small 2-3 foot mobula mantas that we observed jumping from the skiff but did not see while diving. As always the very playful sea lions at Los Islotes were a highlight of the trip and the would nip at divers fins and even allow petting and even stroking their teeth, although I believe it is best to look and not touch.

Carey Dive center has an office conveniently located right in town and their boat is only a 3 minutes drive away in the van which they use to pick you up right at your hotel. The small skiffs Carey used were faster than the larger boat used by Baja Diving and Service. Lunch is on an isolated beach and we had the boat to ourselves. Bring a hood for diving and a wool hat for the boat in November because it's a bit cold. This is our second enjoyable dive trip with Carey Dive Center.

We also dove one day with Baja Diving and Service and would recommend Carey Dive Center over Baja Diving and Service. First Baja Diving and Service is about a 30 minute drive out of La Paz. They come and pick you up but the drive is a pain and a time sink. Then when we arrived at the boat they told us we'd have to wait an hour for them to set up the boat before it departs. Then they told us we were going to El Bajo even when I had specifically pre-arranged in writing in advance that we would not go to El Bajo because we wanted to try some new dive spots. This argument continued for about 30 mintues but then it because clear that the waves wouldn't let us make it to El Bajo anyway.

Los Arcos Cabanas was a nice place to stay, conveniently located in town but not too noisy. They appear to have almost no king/queen beds at all and there is very little difference among the types of rooms within the cabanas. Breakfast is not included and the pool closes at 10pm. I would return to Los Arcos again.

La Paz is a nice quiet destination with very low cost hotels and food. The dive sites are generally a 1 hour ride each way. Go and enjoy La Paz now beforee increased cruise ship traffic and general growth and development ruin this nice out of the way spot.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Curacao, Grand Turk, Monterey CA, Moorea, Ixtapa, Coronados Island, Cozumel, Belize, Maui, Little Cayman, Channel Islands, Vancouver BC
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas choppy
Water Temp 75-80°F / 24-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas Squadrons
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 2 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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