Immerse Yourself in the Sea of Cortez
SEASONS
January – July: Peak Animals
Mid-July – November: Peak Diving
September – March: Most Popular
TYPES OF ADVENTURES
Liveaboard, Yacht Charters, Ocean Safaris
Base Camp, Day Trips
PRICING (pp. dbl occ.)
5 Night GetAway: From US$1,795
7 Night Classic: From US$2,495
La Paz / Loreto: From US$2,595
Your Summer Get-Away Begins Here
Dive the World’s Aquarium
The Sea of Cortez is a diver’s paradise. With its unique ecosystem and the overall natural beauty, have earned a UNESCO World Heritage Site status. We have been diving here for almost 5 decades and every time it has been exciting! Come see firsthand why this sea is called the “Aquarium of the World” and all of it’s natural wonders.
Meet the playful sea lions of Los Islotes, surround yourself in a tornado of big eye jacks and schools of skipjacks. Lets not forget the huge pods of dolphins, turtles, mobulas, sperm whales, gobies, the hammerhead sharks around El Bajo & Los Animas, whales of all types of descriptions, shipwrecks and night dives. And if you’re lucky, giant mantas swimming around La Reina and orcas.
Watch VideoThe Sea of Cortez is Vibrant with Life
The Sea of Cortez is loaded with life from huge pods of inquisitive dolphins, sharks, giant whale sharks, friendly sea lions, mobula rays, cow nose rays, sperm whales, swirling tornadoes of fish and sometimes even Manta Rays. Whales of all descriptions visit over the winter and into spring. Huge squadrons of mobula rays numbering upwards of 100,000 aggregate every spring, orcas have been frequent visitors over the last several years. Also, hammerhead sharks migrate into the sea in May and stay until early winter.
Sea of Cortez 5 Night Get-Away
6 days and 5 nights of being spoiled on a liveaboard in the generally flat calm waters of the Sea of Cortez. Could there be a better way to enjoy a quick get-away and 4 dives a day, including some night dives!! These expeditions are similar to our 7 nighters, except that we generally don’t go as far north unless visibility is not great. You can expect vast swirling schools of fish, playful California sea lions, moray eels, all manner of rays, large pods of dolphins, and fingers tightly crossed on schooling hammerheads and even some wreck diving. We will likely visit Isla San Franciscito, Las Animas, Espiritu Santo, La Reyna and Cerralvo, be on the lookout for orcas, great whales, mobula rays and other big animals. These adventures meet in Cabo San Lucas, depart and return from La Paz with complimentary transfers back to either SJD or SeeCreatures Cabo.
6 Days, 5 Nights
Sample Itinerary
Fly into SJD. Cabo.
Day 1
Meeting at SeeCreatures Cabo 5 pm to board your ship. Sail off to the Sea of Cortez with drinks and dinner as the sun sets.
Days 2-5
4 Full days of adventure. You can expect to visit Cerralvo Island, La Reyna, Las Animas, Espiritu Santo and more with days full of diving, snorkelling, swimming, beach and shore hikes, kayaking and paddle boards. Divers can expect 15 dives including 2 night dives with tornadoes of fish, sea lions, moray eels, shipwrecks and much more with fingers crossed that the mantas are at La Reyna. Water temps in the mid 80’s and visibility should be spectacular! Complimentary discover scuba experience for non-divers.
Day 6
Disembarks in Cabo 8:30 am.
Sea of Cortez 7 Night Classic
The southern Sea of Cortez offers good diving, seas that are usually flat calm, and by late July or August, great visibility and nice warm water. Expect to be engulfed by huge swirling tornadoes of schooling fish, interactive California sea lions, moray eels, all manner of rays, large pods of dolphins, and hopefully pilot whales. We will do our best to get you onto schooling hammerheads and even some wreck diving. We will likely explore Cerralvo, La Reyna, Espiritu Santo, Las Animas, and further north, often venturing into the Loreto National Park. Be on the lookout for orcas, great whales including sperm whales, mobula rays, and other big animals. These adventures meet in Cabo San Lucas, depart and return from La Paz with complimentary transfers back to either SJD or SeeCreatures Cabo.
6 Days, 5 Nights
Sample Itinerary
Fly into SJD. Cabo.
Day 1
Meeting at SeeCreatures Cabo 5 pm to board your ship. Sail off to the Sea of Cortez with drinks and dinner as the sun sets.
Day 2
Your first day at sea typically starts anchored off a quiet beach at Cerralvo Island for a warm-up dive and then over to the incredible tornadoes of fish at La Reyna. This is also our best chance of encountering giant manta rays in the entire Sea of Cortes. We encourage our non-diving guests to arrange before their trip for snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboarding, swimming coaching, or a complimentary discover scuba experience.
Days 2 – 7
Where we go next will vary. We might have reports of a huge pod of dolphins or even orcas or sperm whales. Interactions are always on their terms.
During your days at sea, we will almost certainly visit Isla Las Animas, which boasts a large population of sea lions. This can be a great hammerhead shark destination for divers and a great snorkeling opportunity and a chance for everyone else to go ashore. We’ll likely spend time around the National Park of Espiritu Santo, check out some wreck diving, go ashore for beach time or hikes into the hills guided by our naturalist, and enjoy kayaking, paddleboarding, swimming, or whatever you want. Divers usually have the option of 4 dives a day. You can expect 2 days in Loreto National Park diving Coronado and Danzante and perhaps Carmen Island.
Day 8
Morning breakfast. Disembark at 8:30 am in La Paz and complimentary transfer back to either SeeCreatures Cabo San Lucas or SJD Airport.
La Paz / Loreto Great Circle – Sea of Cortez
Navigating the shortest distance between 2 destinations perfectly describes this trip: La Paz, Loreto, and the Sea of Cortez. This is a great trip for those looking for a relaxed, laid back trip and Mexican hospitality. The seas are usually flat and calm. 4 dives a day including some night dives. Super playful sea lions and enormous schools of fish. Keep an eye out for big animals which might include huge pods of dolphins, orcas, pilot whales, or even sperm whales. Beach walks, kayaking, sunset cocktail hour, guided desert walks, and the main course of diving and snorkelling. We are excited to report that, for the first time in 20 years, we have been seeing large numbers of hammerhead sharks throughout the Sea of Cortez. We will likely visit Las Animas, La Reyna, El Bajo, the beautiful Carmen Island, sunken ships at Danzanta, and Espiritu Santo. Noting that visibility and water temps generally improve dramatically from July through fall. Recommended fly in to SJD, Los Cabos.
8 Days, 7 Nights
Sample Itinerary
Fly into SJD. Cabo.
Day 1
Meet at SeeCreatures San Jose del Cabo, coach transfer to La Paz
Days 2-7
Diving and having fun during the day and travelling in the evening or overnight to get to new dive sites. The speciality of this trip is exploring the loop from La Paz up to Loreto and back stopping in at our favourite “classic dive sites” as well as new sites that we have recently discovered. We are proactively exploring all the time and even after all these years, we are finding new dive sites. Your captain and dive guides will maximum the experience based on changing conditions and where the best animal sightings are.
Day 8
Breakfast and disembark by 08:30 am. Complimentary transfer back to SJD or Cabo SeaCreatures.
What Guests Have to Say About Sea of Cortez
The Staff Was World-Class
I couldn’t recommend the Nautilus more. It was such a great week sailing the Sea of Cortez. Read full review
Nicole, San Francisco onboard the Nautilus Explorer
The Particular Magic of the Sea of Cortez Is That You Never Know What You’re Going to See
Our second and third days of diving were all about the sea lions. We saw sea lions on every dive and it was nothing short of amazing. Read full review
A. Clark, New Jersey, USA onboard the Nautilus Explorer
Dive Your Own Way
We cater to the entire spectrum of diving experience and fitness. Our super experienced dive guides are there for those who are new to diving. Experienced divers are welcome to explore most of our dive sites at their own pace with or without a dive guide. We are there to guide and critter point for whoever wants it. Note that in national parks, divers are required to stay with our dive guides.
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.