Mexico Sardine Run
Magdalena Bay
SEASONS
Mid-October – December
8 Days, 7 Nights
TYPES OF ADVENTURES
Luxury liveaboard
PRICING (pp. dbl occ.)
From US$3,595
Magdalena Bay
It’s hard not to feel sorry for the sardine but this is mother ocean at work. Yes, we are seeing striped marlin whizzing around and through the schools of fish at 50 kmh. But we are also seeing bryde and humpback whales gulping their way through the schools, we have discovered an area in which which momma and newborn humpbacks seem to gather, we are seeing some sharks, lots of sea lions, mahi mahi, seabirds and much more. In the nearby areas we are even seeing lots of turtles and mola mola (giant sun fish). It’s basically an intense riot of marine activity.
7 nights full liveaboard boarding in Cabo with a 15 hour sail up the coast of Baja for Magdalena Bay.
Typical Itinerary – Luxury Liveaboard – 8 Days, 7 Nights
Day 1 – Board and Get Underway
Meet at SeeCreatures Cabo by 5 pm for the short transfer to embark your ship. Board and set sail up the coast of Baja for the approximately 15 hour run to Magdalena Bay. The sea is usually calm and sheltered inside the bay and barrier islands where we anchor at night. Please note that our search for and interaction with the bait balls of the sardine run is in the open Pacific Ocean.
Day 2 – Welcome to Magdalena Bay!
Late morning arrival in Magdalena Bay. Today is our warmup and tuneup day at the south end of Margarita Island. While this adventure is primarily about snorkelling and free diving with the schooling sardine and bait balls, you will have the opportunity to snorkel with sea lions, and weather permitting, dive on the remains of a large passenger ship that sank more than 200 years ago all well as the wreck of a WW1 submarine.
Days 3 – 6 – Enjoy Peak Season of Mag Bay
Let’s fine some bait balls! Our spotter airplane will be up on patrol for the first couple days of your trip. These next days are about snorkelling and freediving. Not scuba diving. We never know quite what Mother Ocean has in store for us, but on the vast majority of our trips, we are able to enjoy fairly calm seas with a low swell and loads of critters. Striped marlin and bryde whales are the stars of the sardine run but there is lots more to sea. This is a cooperative eco-tourism program working with local pangas and captains who pivoted from fishing to tourism. Nobody knows these waters and where to find the animals better than these guys. You should also see turtles, more sea lions, sharks, and seabirds. It can be very very exciting.
Day 7
Our spare day for bait balls in case we had inclement weather during the week. Otherwise this is our day to do some scuba diving and also go ashore in the amazing giant sand dunes of Margarita Island. Departing for Cabo mid- afternoon on what is almost always a pleasant downhill ride with gentle motion.
Day 8 – Breakfast & Disembark
Breakfast and then disembark in Cabo by 8:30 am.
Operated For Safety
Safety is a very serious business. Mother Ocean can be capricious and unforgiving. We hold ourselves to the highest standards and you should expect and demand no less. In our view, every dive boat should be operated within a certified ISM safety management system, outfitted with sprinklers, emergency smoke hoods for everybody and the same safety, fire, life saving equipment and radios as the largest cruise ships. Captains, mates and engineers should have professional commercial mariner qualifications and all crew should have STCW professional mariner certification. Safety is not something to publish in a brochure. It’s part of our DNA. A cornerstone of our culture. Something that we have been living by for every day of the last 30 years.
