Dive Review of Solmar V in
Mexico (Western)/Revillagigedo Islands

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Solmar V: "Mantas, dolphins and sharks, oh my.", May, 2015, by THOMAS SMITH, MO, US ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 11 Helpful votes). Report 8242 has 1 Helpful vote.
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	The Solmar V is an older boat that has been doing the Revillagigedo Islands for many years. It's clean and well maintained, if a bit smaller than newer liveaboards. The crew was great, the food ok, and the diving spectacular. Departing from Cabo on Sunday early evening, we reached San Benedicto Monday afternoon in time for a check-out dive. The crossing was a bit bumpy, but not awful. Tuesday was spent doing 4 dives at El Canon (The Canyon), from the big boat, where we saw mantas and white tip sharks, with a Galapagos shark passing well below us. The current on a couple of dives was brisk, and the water temp about 78F. An overnight steam brought us to Roca Partida, where we did 3 dives a day for the next two days from zodiacs. The schooling hammerheads were there, but way deeper than us due to warm water (again, about 78F). We did see a few silvertips, some Galapagos, tons of white tips and there were usually silkies cruising around on our safety stops. There were a few manta sightings, but the biggest thrill were the frequent dolphins. Also saw some pretty big tuna. Another overnight crossing brought us to Socorro Island for 4 dives one day from the Solmar. The water was colder, 75-76F, and the vis lousy. There were a few mantas and sharks about. Finally, we returned to San Benedicto for our last day of 4 dives at The Boiler. The first dive was moved to 7AM so we could get a decent start when we left the island. Our day at The Boiler was the perfect end to the trip, with mantas waiting for us on every dive: 1 or 2 the first dive, then 2-4 the second, up to 4 at a time the 3rd and a whopping 7 mantas the entire dive on the 4th. Sprinkle in lots of dolphins and the occasional shark for what was without a doubt one of my best days diving in 25 years. A nice smooth crossing got us back to Cabo Sunday evening in time for a last dinner on board. Pros: great crew, decent food, lovely diving Cons: smaller boat, lousy single suppliment policy (2x times a double, including paying 2 park fees, fuel surcharges etc)
Websites	Solmar V
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean, Fiji, Cocos, Galapagos, French Polynesia, PNG, Solomons, Palua, Truk, etc
Closest Airport	Los Cabos	Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	75-78°F / 24-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	Very flexible on depth, times limited to 45-60 minutes
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish
Small Critters	N/A	Large Fish
Large Pelagics
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]

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Solmar V in Mexico (Western)/Revillagigedo Islands

Solmar V: "Mantas, dolphins and sharks, oh my.", May, 2015,

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 Solmar V in
Mexico (Western)/Revillagigedo Islands