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Dive Review of Rocio del Mar in
Mexico (Western)/Baja

Rocio del Mar: "Explore Baja a great opportunity to see the best of Baja", Oct, 2018,

by Joel Snyder, AZ, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 29 reports with 30 Helpful votes). Report 10540 has 2 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments This is our second Rocio del Mar trip, so we were already pre-disposed to like the boat, the area, and the dive operation. In any case, we were not disappointed. The "Explore Baja" is a rare opportunity to go the length of Baja (S=>N or N->S) and visit the best dive sites at the best times. In our case, we spent most of our time in Southern Baja because that was where the water temperature and visibility was best (low 80s for temp, 40-80' for vis). Pelagic highlights included hammerheads, whale sharks, and mantas, combined with all of the other incredible variety of Sea of Cortez diving---lots of octopi, nudis, angels, parrots, wrasse, morays. As the boat moved north (we did a S->N run), the temperature dropped and I put on a 3mm top but just for the last days. Out of 11 days of diving, one was mediocre (low low visibility) and 10 were outstanding, so percentage-wise a great location.

The boat is custom-built for diving and holds a maximum of 20 divers (10 double cabins). Cabins (all with individual A/C) are smallish, but enough room to get around and with private head+shower. Meals are large and semi-custom, served in a dining room; good food but not outstanding---the chef makes incredible Latin American cuisine, but somehow feels like his guests want Italian, etc., which he doesn't make from scratch. You won't go hungry or feel like you were badly fed, for sure.

The dive deck can get crowded, but they run the diving in shifts (1/3 of the divers per shift), 15 minutes apart. If everyone obeys the rules, there is plenty of space and no issues. If people start to come down early, which was NOT a problem with our crew, it could get bad.

The dive guides are relaxed and know the areas very well. You can follow along if you want, or go off on your own (once they have had a day or two to size you up as "not a danger to self or others"). Generally, a very very mellow operation---you suit up; your tank is filled in place; you head to one of two RIBs; a 1-3 minute ride to the site, and boom you're in the water. They use a membrane system so we had a consistent 32-33% Nitrox all week. Behind the scenes, there's a lot going on but divers don't see all the hard work. In our case, one of the two on-board compressors gave out, so they flew out a mechanic who came and worked on it for a day. Had we not seen the mechanic, we would never have known there was a problem, things were handled so smoothly.

While Rocio del Mar is not the lap of luxury, it remains one of the best diving platforms for one of the most biodiverse areas divers can ever visit. The waiting list is long to get on these trips, and the wait is well worth it.
Websites Rocio del Mar   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Asia; Carib; Mexico; Hawaii; Red Sea
Closest Airport Los Cabos Getting There Easy flights to Los Cabos from PHX or LAX or IAH

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm, choppy, no currents
Water Temp 78-82°F / 26-28°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions A goal of 60-minute dives for scheduling purposes, but going up to 70 minutes on occasion didn't cause any negative feedback. Generally pretty flexible within schedule.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas Squadrons
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks > 2
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 2 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 4 stars

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments The camera table is barely large enough---a boat full of photographers would find it a problem. We had 4 photographers with LARGE housings and about 5 with small and that more-or-less filled up the table. However, with a "normal" percentage of photographers, everything was smooth.
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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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