Nowhere else in the world boasts giant mantas that literally seek out interaction with divers and snorkellers. The behaviour these mantas exhibit is almost inexplicable. These gentle giants with wingspans up to 20 feet consistently approach divers for intimate eye-to-eye encounters. If you are can remain calm and still in the water, you are almost sure to experience what we call "manta love." While mantas are the main reason to voyage out to Socorro, there are also: schooling hammerheads and silky sharks, plus 8 other species of sharks, bottlenose dolphins that regularly hang out with divers at some dive sites, large schools of pelagic fish, and, in season, humpback whales.

Orcas? Really? Yes and with a lot more to this adventure than mobula rays and orcas. From January onwards and with the help of our spotter airplane, we see blue whales, fin-back and humpback whales in the southern Sea of Cortez. By April we often observe solitary and often heavily pregnant whale sharks. We always see and are usually able to get in the water with huge pods of dolphins, enormous aggregations of mobula rays that can number in the tens of thousands at night. As the season progresses and the water warms up, we typically start seeing pilot whales and cow nose rays. Of course the star of the show is the orcas (killer whales) and unique behaviour in which they chose to interact with our snorkelers and swimmers. Interaction is always respectful and on the animals own terms. You can expect to be in the water with the rays, any whale sharks that swim by, dolphins, inquisitive and interactive orcas and possibly the fin back whales. There is nowhere other than the chilly waters of Norway where orcas routinely interact with humans like this. That’s Baja!!

Loreto. Bahia de Los Angeles. La Paz. San Pedro Martir. Los Animas. And more!! We cover it all on these trips. Diving during the day. Travelling at night or early morning to new dive sites. Unique spotter airplane support for the best encounters ie sperm whales and giant fin back whales.

Snorkel and swim with the 80 - 220 whale sharks that aggregate in a quiet bay deep into the Sea of Cortez. It’s crazy!!

We have special permits to visit San Pedro Martir, the hidden jewel of the Sea of Cortez. Perfectly located at the edge of massive upwellings of nutrient rich deep ocean water, the waters around this biosphere reserve are teeming with life. Shoreside is really cool as well with the largest breeding population of blue footed boobies in the world and the largest populations of brown boobies and brown pelicans in the world.

Loreto is another gem that is seldom visited. The diving is great. The scenery is fantastic. Going ashore on the deserted white sand beaches is unforgettable.

We will be sure to visit all our old favourites including Las Animas, the pinnacle of San Franciscito, Espiritu Santo and La Reyna. Fingers crossed on hammerhead sharks!!

Insider Tip. Bahia de Los Angeles is home to the largest aggregation of whale sharks on the west coast of the Americas from June to early October. . This is a remarkable experience with few or no other boats around and we often have the place to ourselves. These friendly and inquisitive whale sharks behave very differently from anywhere else in the Sea of Cortez.

The Sea of Cortez is an interesting place. We started diving here many years ago when giant mantas were common and multiple schools of hammerhead sharks would swirl around El Bajo. Commercial fishermen hit the place really hard in the 1990's before the government of Mexico enacted exclusionary zones and marine protected area. Our beautiful sea has come back to life but it is different than before. Whale sharks are still resident seasonally off La Paz. The sea lions at Los Islotes were never impacted. Humpback whales still show up every winter. And the huge schools of panamic fish are as abundant as ever before. We are seeing hammerhead sharks at El Bajo and Los Animas and mantas at La Reyna although not as abundantly as before. We finally figured out where the humboldt squid are and it's quite a trek to get there! We discovered the stunning number of whale sharks at Bahia de Los Angeles in the northern sea of cortez. And there is an excellent chance of seeing bull sharks at Cabo Pulmo.
It's not Socorro. It's not Guadalupe Island. The Sea of Cortez is a unique and different destination with it's own charm - and generally calm water - albeit not the same number of big animals as our other destinations. We welcome the opportunity to give you more information and ensure that we meet your expectations.

During October and November, a magical event happens in the nutrient rich swirling blue waters off Magdalena Bay where striped marlin gather to hunt on the second largest sardine run in the world. This thrilling underwater action is spectacular. There is an excellent chance of also seeing california sea lions, dolphin, wahoo, pelicans, different species of gulls, boobie birds, frigate birds, shearwaters and even the awe inspiring albatross.

While it’s best to snorkel or free dive around the bait balls there will be plenty of scuba diving opportunities on your week long trip with massive schools of fish, turtles and the wreck of a WW1 submarine and the passenger steam ship SS Independence. But wait, there is more! Humpback whales are on the move at this time of year and if we are really lucky, we might even see orcas or blue whales!