Dive Review of Rocio Del Mar in
Mexico (Western)/Socorro Islands

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Rocio Del Mar, Feb, 2013, by Gary & Robin Schiendelman, PA, US ( Sr. Contributor 27 reports with 43 Helpful votes). Report 6919.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Boat layout was a bit different. Top deck had salon, outdoor area and 2 cabins. Main deck had all the other cabins plus dive deck. Rooms were small but ok. Eating area was on lower deck. The problem with this boat was the dive deck. Way too small for 20 divers. Most of the gear stations had no bench so you had to stand up to put your gear on and there was limited storage for "stuff". If you are short, the stand up situation was difficult. There is a bench at the back and they will give you that area if you are one of the first to ask! Some people had to carry their gear over to the bench. Divers were broken up into 3 groups and you were supposed to wait until the first group was aboard the skiff before you began gearing up. That made some people feel rushed. The camera table is right in the middle of all this so access was limited when everyone was on deck at the same time. Fortunately, on our trip no one had really big camera rigs so it was not much of an issue. Food was very good. Cold breakfast before the first dive with fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, toast, coffee, tea. Hot breakfast after the first dive. Lunch, dinner and drinks. All meals were served (no buffet lines) and requests were always honored. Crossing on the way out was rough. Many guests were sick and there were lots of flying dishes during meals. On the return trip, the seas were flat calm. Some of the crossings between islands were a little rocky also. The crew on this boat is fantastic. They are friendly, fun, well organized and they communicated well with the guests. You always knew what was going on that day. The dive crew and skiff drivers did a great job getting everyone on and off the boat. A previous post had mentioned being pulled into the skiffs because there were no ladders but we did not find this to be true. The boat driver would take your weights, bc and fins and then you climb up a ladder into the skiff (rigid hull inflatables). Divers had to stay with the divemaster as a group and generally the dives were limited in time to under 45 minutes because someone in the group ran low on air. We chose this trip at this time of year with the hopes of seeing humpbacks. We knew this was a long shot but we had heard that mantas, sharks and dolphins were almost guaranteed. We did see mantas multiple times, one or two at a time. We saw a group of 4 or 5 dolphins swim past us on two dives. There were many many white tip sharks and we saw a fair number of large Galapagos sharks, one or 2 hammerheads, silkies, & blacktips. The highlight of the trip was the whales. At the beginning of the trip, we were seeing them at the surface. Fin slapping, tail slapping and breaching were seen almost daily. We could also hear them singing while underwater. When we arrived a Roca Partida, there was a mother, baby and escort who allowed us to snorkel with them multiple times. We also saw them underwater while on scuba. It was an incredible experience. At times, they surfaced right in the middle of the snorkelers...literally feet away. One of the most amazing experiences of our diving.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Indonesia, Maldives, PNG, Solomons, Cocos Island, Galapagos, Various Caribbean locations
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, cloudy, dry	Seas	choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	69-72°F / 21-22°C	Wetsuit Thickness	7
Water Visibility	50- Ft/ 15- M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Must stay with divemaster. Most dives under 45 minutes
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	> 2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish	N/A
Small Critters	N/A	Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Water conditions for still photography were not great when we were there. Surge, current and low vis. Boat had camera table on dive deck but crowded conditions made it hard to access.

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Dive Review of Rocio Del Mar in Mexico (Western)/Socorro Islands

Rocio Del Mar, Feb, 2013,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Rocio Del Mar in
Mexico (Western)/Socorro Islands