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Dive Review of Rocio del Mar in
Mexico (Western)/Midriff Islands, Sea of Cortez

Rocio del Mar: "good", Sep, 2022,

by gregory moore, ID, US ( 2 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 12089.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 4 stars
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments The middle Sea of Cortez is fantastic for diving with sea lions, especially around Isla San Pedro Martir, where we were scheduled to spend two days of the six-day trip but decided to spend three. We had about four to 10 of them zipping close around us on almost all our dives there. They were very playful and curious. We also had a memorable experience snorkeling with whale sharks for two hours on the last morning of the trip at Bahia de Los Angeles. We saw about 10 of them--more than usual, we were told. However, the plankton they were feeding on was so thick that the visibility was only about 5 feet. We actually got better views of the sharks looking down from the small boats we were in. The general marine life during the trip was fairly sparse compared to the Caribbean or western Pacific, and I got a little bored on some of the dives. There were some beautiful tropical fish--lots of king angelfish and Cortez angelfish--and I did see a few creatures I had never seen before, such as giant jawfish and Cortez stingrays. We saw two huge pods of dolphins from the boat, but none diving. Visibility throughout the trip was fairly poor, apparently due to a hurricane that had moved through a few days earlier. One person who had done the trip several times previously said it was usually much clearer. The weather in mid-September was perfect—warm and sunny every day. The Rocio del Mar is a decent liveaboard boat with one drawback—the dining room is on the lowest level, with virtually no view to the outside and loud ambient conversation noise, perhaps reflected by the sloping sides of the ship’s hull. The crew were great—friendly, energetic and helpful. It was also nice to be the only dive boat in the area—the only boat at all, in fact. One advantage of this trip is its easy access from the western U.S.—fly to Phoenix, then hop on a van for a four-hour ride to Puerto Penasco at the northern end of the Sea of Cortez. The drive down is fairly scenic, passing through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, where there are mostly saguaro cactuses.
Websites Rocio del Mar   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Caribbean, Galapagos, Socorro, southern Sea of Cortez, Fiji, Tuamotus
Closest Airport Phoenix, AZ Getting There 4-hour van ride from Phoenix airport

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 76-80°F / 24-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 20-40 Ft/ 6-12 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks > 2
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 1 stars Tropical Fish 2 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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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