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Diving La Paz
La Paz, Mexico
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Shore Day Trip Live Aboard
Country: Mexico Area: Baja Peninsula
Water Temp: 20 - 29°C (68 - 84°F)
Visibility: 15 - 30m (49 - 98 ft)
Gateway to the magnificent Sea of Cortez, with access to a diverse selection of enjoyable and exciting dive sites, La Paz is a brilliant base to experience some of the best marine life encounters in the area has to offer.
La Paz, “The Peace”, is a tranquil town next to the Sea of Cortez on the east coast of the Baja Peninsula.
La Paz’s diving provides a lot of variety of all levels and plenty of marine life, although it is no longer the amazing diving it once was! Twenty Years ago the Sea of Cortez and the area near La Paz was home to countless schools of Hammerheads Sharks, Giant Manta Rays and the diving was better than the Cocos Islands. This was due to the newborn hammerhead nursery in La Paz’s Bay. Here juvenile Hammerheads were protected from any predators and had a high food concentration so could grow up safely. Sadly now that is not the case, Fishermen are catching these babies in their hundreds! So the once common schools have now disappeared and you are now lucky to glimpse hammerheads!
Even with this destruction to marine life through over fishing there are still many great dive sites in the area still filled with some incredible marine life. There is something for all levels and interests including caves, wrecks, sea mounts coral reefs and amazing wildlife dives.
Climate & Sea conditions
The climate at La Paz is dry, warm and sunny year round, with really warm summers and mild winters with very little rainfall. This gives an excellent year round diving and holiday season. The best recommended time to dive is June to November when the waters are warm with great visibility and the chance of seeing juvenile Whale Sharks in October. You can also spot these gentle giants again in the spring when the water warms up again causing the plankton to increase drawing in the Whale Sharks.
The water temperature ranges from 20 to 29C which as usual the coldest temperature is in the winter from December to March then warming up peaking at the end of the summer.
Wildlife Calendar
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Diving
El Bajo also known as “The Seamount” is one La Paz’s best known dive sites and one that every experienced diver must give a go. Its fame and popularity are due to this being the place where schools of Hammerheads, ranging from six to hundreds in number, will be if you are lucky enough to witness this magnificent scene.
The best time for these schools is in the autumn and winter when the sea is at its coolest. This site is also one of the best places in season to spot Whale Sharks and Manta Rays, so all in all an excellent area! El Bajo is a few hours boat ride from La Paz, but it’s definitely worth it to be so close to Hammerheads! The currents around the sea mount can be quite strong, which is what brings in the sharks, but it also means that this dive is only suitable for experienced divers.
Another great dive site for marine life encounters for all levels of diver is Los Islotes, aka “The Colony”. This site is home to over 200 Californian Brown Sea Lions and these friendly Sea Lions are very curious showing great interest in divers. You can quite regularly play with some little pups, who do like to pull on and play with fins, so it make be best not to wear your best pair for the dive! This is a very fun, exciting dive, it’s always an enjoyable experience to interact with a creature in its own environment.
Whale spotting
On a lot of the boat trips to and from the sites divers can frequently have the opportunity to spot whales and dolphins on the surface. The Sea of Cortez is home to a range of Whale species, some are residents year round and some which pass through during different seasons. The main whales spotted are the Humpback Whale, Finback Whales, Sperm Whales, Grey Whales, Minke Whales, Pilot Whales, Orcas and even the largest mammal in the world, the gigantic Blue Whale!
The best time for whale spotting is from late December through to April as this is when most of the whales migrate up from the cooler waters in the south to mate and give birth in the warm waters. If spotting a couple of whales to and from the dive sites isn’t enough then there are many dedicated Whale watching tours available and even ones which travel over to the Pacific side of the Peninsula to find the migrating Grey Whales in Magdalena Bay. The Grey Whales use the lagoons on this side of the peninsula as nurseries for their newborn calves and can frequently get within touching distance of the boats!
Dive Centers in La Paz
Baja Expeditions
We have been running dive trips for over 40 years out of La Paz, Baja California Sur, MEXICO.
In 2012, we decommissioned the Don José, after 40 years of offering live aboard dive trips. In 2012, we will have a new live aboard. We currnently have a 45 ft Catamaran for charter for live aboard dive trips and we also have 2-3 tank day dives.
We also are one of the few operators who operate multinight dive trips from our Eco-Camp on Isla Espiritu Santo. This ideal for families and groups who have a mixture of divers and non-divers as we also have kayaks, snorkeling, and Stand Up Paddle boards at the Eco-Camp and along on our day trips.
We are an authroized PADI 5 star resort dive center. After so many decades diving in the Gulf of California, we are the leader in trusted diving - SCUBA and free diving.
Land-based facilities
Compressor, Equipment Hire, Own Day Boat, Lunch, Freediving
Live aboard facilities
Air Conditioning, En-Suite, Equipment Hire, Non-Divers, Meals included, Freediving
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How to get there
La Paz can be easily reached from the rest of Mexico and the US with direct flights from LA and Mexico City. This makes it a very affordable and low hassle option for divers in these areas and relatively easy for others around the world to reach as well.
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Other activities
La Paz is an excellent destination for all, whilst not diving its worthwhile taking time to enjoy the town and beauty of the surrounding country.
There are many great beaches to relax on and bars and restaurants to enjoy in the evenings. Whatever level of diver, with the chance of so many exciting marine encounters combined with great dive sites, La Paz rarely disappoints.
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