Dive Review of Cortez Club/La Concha Condos in
Mexico (Western)/Sea of Cortez

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Cortez Club/La Concha Condos, Nov, 2008, by Sandy Falen, KS, USA ( Sr. Contributor 29 reports with 20 Helpful votes). Report 4529.
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	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I spent three days diving with Cortez Club, which has a large facility adjacent to the La Concha Beach Hotel in La Paz. While the staff was friendly, it was not a well managed operation. I'd sent numerous emails in the weeks before my trip, but never received a response. I also tried their online reservation system. I finally phoned them four days prior to arrival, spoke with someone, and let them know what days I planned to dive. Despite all of this, they were not expecting me and appeared quite surprised when I arrived that first morning. To their credit, they scrambled around and ordered a box lunch, and I was accommodated, joining a boat of snorkelers heading to the sea lion sanctuary. The sanctuary is fun to visit once, but I was unhappy when they tried to take me there again the next day, with a group of divers who had just arrived. When I balked at that, they changed the plan, and I had two decent dives that day. A small wreck was home to veritable "walls" of schooling reef fish, with grunts gathering by the thousands, and puffers that could be counted by the dozens. On day three, I waited out a 90 minute departure delay (during which they tried to straighten out numerous scheduling and boat assignment errors), finally heading to El Bajo, the shark nursery and pupping area that has been famous for schooling hammerheads. Tragically, fisherman using huge gill nets are managing to decimate the shark population in the Bay of La Paz, taking out hundreds of juvenile sharks at a time. While we were told that sharks can still be sighted, we were not so fortunate, and Mexico appears on its way to losing this underwater wonder. We spent twenty minutes hanging in the blue, seeing nothing but each other. I would have preferred to have stayed on the pinnacle that marks this location, and which appeared rich with critters; but, given the limited viz and the currents, it was necessary to stick with the group. That day's second dive was a large but not particularly interesting wreck, with limited viz and limited fish life. The La Concha Condos are adjacent to the La Concha Beach Hotel, and all hotel services are available to condo occupants. I recommend the condos over the hotel rooms, as they are newer, nicer, and much more private, with a separate pool area exclusive to condo residents -- and best of all, no children are allowed. La Concha's location is very good, as it is 3km outside of town, away from the noise of the Malecon, and unlike most La Paz hotels, is right on the beach. Service at the hotel was warm and accommodating, and the restaurant served a very nice, reasonably priced breakfast. I flew into Cabo and made the drive to La Paz, via the mountain road, Highway 1. Despite dire things you might read about night driving in the Baja, I found the road to be in excellent condition, with outstanding reflective striping and signage. Keep your eyes peeled for wandering cows and donkeys, and you'll do fine. While the Baja is hauntingly beautiful, I was disappointed in the diving, and won't rush to return. And, although our boat captain and divemasters were competent and pleasant, the Cortez Club's management was deficient. If I try La Paz diving again, I'll check out other operations.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	All over the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Fiji, Tonga
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	78-79°F / 26-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Stay with group
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	1 or 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
UW Photo Comments	No special accommodation on boat or on shore.

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Dive Review of Cortez Club/La Concha Condos in Mexico (Western)/Sea of Cortez

Cortez Club/La Concha Condos, Nov, 2008,

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 Cortez Club/La Concha Condos in
Mexico (Western)/Sea of Cortez