Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in
General Travel/Other Locations/Sea of Cortez, Mexico

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Nautilus Explorer: "An expedition on the Nauitilus Explorer on the Sea of Cortez", Jul, 2024, by Peggy Goldberg, FL, US ( Sr. Reviewer 11 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 13140.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was a first time expedition to search for Mobula rays, Orcas, Whales, Sea Lions, dolphins and the most important thing on our bucket list- Whale Sharks.The Nautilus Explorer had a spotter plane to try and help locate as many things as possible so we weren't sailing aimlessly around. This was not your typical 5 dives a day dive trip, for the first couple of days, we took pangas out to search for mobula rays, dolphins, orcas.. and would jump in to snorkel -free dive whenever we encountered them. We did see mobula rays(but they were not aggregating at the time, so the oracas that fed on them were not close), thousands of dolphins, and some sea lions. The Mexican pangas did have shade, but it was hot, and the hard benches did give us a pounding when going at top speed. I think that will be remedied in the future. An expedition means you are in search of animals, and you may or may not see them, so the spotter plane was useful in that they directed us where they saw them, so we wouldn't be sitting looking in the wrong areas. We traveled up the west side of the Sea of Cortez, and made numerous dives in areas where sea lion colonies were- and got to explore those areas. We dived from the zodiaks. The Sea Lions were a hoot to dive with. The topography was rocky, with few corals, but other vegetation/algae like plants- there were numerous macro subjects- nudibranchs,shrimps and many fish species endemic only to the Sea of Cortez. Octopus, eels, turtles were also regularly seen. Hammerheads were seen in the deeper water... The Whale Sharks were experienced toward the end of the trip, as they were in a protected bay further north. Here, you were back to snorkeling/freediving from a panga- we had several pangas with 4-6 people- the drivers had radios to coordinate finding and letting only 4 snorklers in at a time as the rules were to alleviate stressing the animals. We saw and swam with many sharks, from 20-50' long, even though the visibility was not good, was an incredible experience. During this trip, we used everything from 3mm suits with hooded vests to yoga type leggings and rash guards with or without hoods. Some divers only wore swimsuits. We traveled a couple hundred miles up the Sea, and had humpback whales breaching behind the boat, with their calves. The Captain also searched for other whales on the way back, and he changed course so we saw Fin, Minke, Humpbacks, and I did see Orca in the distance. The weather was good the whole trip, the crew was fantastic in trying to make this as succesful as possible, the food was great. The boat did have protocols for battery charging stations, and we had an extensive safety briefing as soon as we boarded. The only glitch in the trip was the AC in the salon was not working , so it did get quite warm in there...they had just done maintenance on the AC so it was an unexpected issue. When you contact the Nautilus Explorer, they work with Sea Creatures in Cabo San Lucas... we stayed next door from them at a lovely boutique hotel called the Casa Bella. The Explorer folks will advise you as to which transportation to use from Los Cabos Airport, and it makes it so convenient to be able to drop off your gear at Sea Creatures- and they will take it all to the boat. We boarded in Cabo San Lucas, but you may be vanned to La Paz for boarding. All in all, we found the trip to be more of an adventure, and in some ways more relaxed not having a strict schedule of being in the water. Be aware when flying into Los Cabos, to carry your camera gear in bags that don't look like UW photo equipment...the customs guys are illegally extorting a huge "import" tax on your gear. Have receipts for your gear, take down their names,don't pay cash. They do not realize how many divers will never return, and they depend on tourism.
Websites	Nautilus Explorer
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	All over the Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida, Hawaii, Socorro, Cocos Island, Fiji, Solomons, Indonesia, Sea of Cortez
Closest Airport	Los Cabos, Mexico	Getting There	Straight through flight from most major airports-arranged a ride with a transportation company before the trip
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, no currents
Water Temp	78-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	20-60 Ft/ 6-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	When interacting with mobula rays, whales, sea lions, whale sharks or dolphins we adhered to rules and regulations to minimize disturbing the wildlife and have the best experience.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	> 2
Turtles	> 2	Whales	> 2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		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	Camera table had charging stations, was a bit crowded where people had other gear on it, the camera bucket could have been larger.. too many things were getting banged around in it. Crew helpful in handling gear to us in the tenders...

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Dive Review of Nautilus Explorer in General Travel/Other Locations/Sea of Cortez, Mexico

Nautilus Explorer: "An expedition on the Nauitilus Explorer on the Sea of Cortez", Jul, 2024,

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 Nautilus Explorer in
General Travel/Other Locations/Sea of Cortez, Mexico