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Dive Review of M/V Valentina in
Mexico (Western)/Sea of Cortez

M/V Valentina: "Sea of Cortez by Liveaboard", Nov, 2017,

by Jacob Rosenstein, CA, US (Contributor Contributor 14 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 10028 has 2 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 5 stars
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments
I really enjoyed my adventure on this liveaboard. The promise of snorkeling with whale sharks came through. I came close to several juvenile whale sharks as they were feeding in the Bay of La Paz. My group didn't see any Hammerhead sharks, although other divers did. Our D.M. Lorenzo tried 3 times at the El Bajo seamount dive site to encounter with them, but to no avail. Other dive sites were memorable, especially "Loberia de San Francisquito", where California sea lions were performing acrobatic tricks for our group, and the elusive Mexican barracudas were present. The night dives with Mobula rays were fantastic. The Fang Ming shipwreck was cool and full of marine life.

The staff was terrific. Our first dive with a different D.M. wasn't smooth, as he kept swimming without turning around to see if we were OK. But communicating our concern afterwards cleared up the matter. Food was good, but I would have liked more fresh fish. Some of the cabins are smaller than others. They all have a door leading out to the outside, which is great if the A.C. goes out. There was a problem with the air conditioning on one night. A technician resolved the matter as soon as he could get to the boat, but that took some time. They offer Nitrox and also PADI Advanced Open Water certification.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Caribbean, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Fiji, Indonesia, Palau, Red Sea, California Channel Islands, Cuba, Sea of Cortez
Closest Airport Los Cabos Getting There There's an airport in La Paz, where the boat is docked, but it takes forever to get there from San Francisco, CA. There are no non-stop flights. So I flew to Los Cabos and took a Shuttle van to La Paz. It worked well on the way to La Paz, but was a nightmare on the return to Los Cabos due to severe damage to the roads and bridges from Tropical Storm Lydia.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 77-82°F / 25-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 25-60 Ft/ 8-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions We were split up into 3 groups, and had to stay with the Dive Master.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas Squadrons
Dolphins None Whale Sharks > 2
Turtles None Whales None
Corals N/A Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics 4 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments There's a large camera table equipped with compressed air guns and storage bins below. There are large rinse buckets for camera gear.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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