Snorkeling in the Mexican Riviera?

Hi,

We will be doing the Carnival Cruise to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo. I'd love to do some snorkeling (I just did a Caribbean Cruise in August and snorkeled for the first time and am in love with it - but by no means an expert). Any suggestions of which port has snorkeling and peoples experiences as to the best would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :)

Hi,

 

We will be doing the Carnival Cruise to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo. I'd love to do some snorkeling (I just did a Caribbean Cruise in August and snorkeled for the first time and am in love with it - but by no means an expert). Any suggestions of which port has snorkeling and peoples experiences as to the best would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :)

Snorkling is good in Cabo but not nearly like what you might be used to in Hawaii or the Carribean. The best snorkle spots are about 20 miles from Cabo so it is best to book one of the many snorkle tours on a catamaran. We like Pez Gato and the EcoCat the best. The water in Cabo is warmest in the late summer to late fall and can be quite cold in the spring and early summer. Most of the snorkle tour companies switch to whale watching tours from Dec-Mar. I only snorkle (or even swim!) there in the fall- we go every October/November. I don't even put a toe in the water when we are there in April/May- it is way too cold for me then!:eek:

Snorkeling in the Mexican Riviera is not typically a regional highlight. Of the 3 ports, Cabo seems most cruiser snorkeled, as boat tours of Cabo's beautiful bay are very popular. There are near to Cabo ship snorkels that will likely scratch your snorkel itch. Pez gato is great!

Cabo below

Cabo would be the only place for clear water, but it is not going to be as good as Hawaii or the Caribbean. There are some nice places in Cabo, but no coral reefs.

Puerto Vallarta has a few decent snorkeling spots but since all of your stops are on the Pacific, you will not have anything near the water quality or clarity of the Caribbean.

The Pacific is much deeper and drops off much quicker than in in the Caribbean and there is not, as mentioned, the coral reefs, just rocky outcroppings.

In Vallarta, Los Arcis, Isla Marietas and Las Caletes are decent places to snorkle- albeit require a tour to do so.

We went diving/snorkeling at PV this Aug. It was pretty good, knowing the water won't be as clear as in the Caribbean. We arranged privately with Leslie nachosdive@yahoo.com It was just me diving, and my wife snorkeling, so it was a very private tour.

We went to Los Arcos. After we finished at the first site, we saw two large boat and cat nearby. Each boat had more than 100 people on them. They let the snorkelers in the water there. Those large boats cannot come to the good locations where we were. We were in a small boat and we could get in the water where we like and the small boat moves around easily. So those hundreds of snorkelers that will be kicking around each other, are in deeper water and cannot see a lot.

As we begin to move toward the next site, 3 more big boats were coming by, again each with >100 people. Leslie called them drinking boats, because a lot of people on those boats drink a lot, and although it could be called a snorkel excursion, they don't get very good snorkeling. We were happy with our own diving/snorkeling experience.

In Cabo, we booked with Deep Blue last year. I had good diving, and my wife and in-laws had good snorkeling. The issue is, there are a lot of small to medium boats and water taxis taking people all over those beaches near the arches. It can be dangerous for the snorkelers with so many boats around.

This year, although we could tender into Cabo, the waves were too rough and red flags were on all the beaches, so no diving or snorkeling. But snorkeling in Cabo would be quite cheaper, often $10/person with the water taxis. Some dive shops charge a lot more if they take snorkelers. Deep Blue only charged $10/p for our snorkelers.

Thanks for all the replies. We are going in March - I hope it's not too cold to swim/snorkel - I know it won't be like the Caribbean, but we're from Canada, so even in the middle of summer our lakes that we swim in are anything but warm! On our snorkeling tour in the Caribbean this summer we didn't see reefs, just fish...but we all still found it amazing. I'll look into the tours suggested and see what the others in the family think. Your advice really helps to give us real life experiences to use to help in our decisions - thanks again!:)

Thanks for all the replies. We are going in March - I hope it's not too cold to swim/snorkel - I know it won't be like the Caribbean, but we're from Canada, so even in the middle of summer our lakes that we swim in are anything but warm! On our snorkeling tour in the Caribbean this summer we didn't see reefs, just fish...but we all still found it amazing. I'll look into the tours suggested and see what the others in the family think. Your advice really helps to give us real life experiences to use to help in our decisions - thanks again!:)

The water will be quite cold to swim let alone snorkle in Cabo in March. I am from the Pacific NW and it is way too cold for me. But maybe if you are used to cold water, you will be ok.

The water will be quite cold to swim let alone snorkle in Cabo in March. I am from the Pacific NW and it is way too cold for me. But maybe if you are used to cold water, you will be ok.

Dandy is from Edmonton and I think they can get snow in summer, maybe it is only Calgary.

I recall the water being rather on the cool side (for me anyhow, but I freeze in a hot tub) in late Jan. I recall you once posting about the different water temps that Cabo has.....It would be great to have as a sticky note for this forum.

What's the water temperature like in Cabo in mid-November?

What's the water temperature like in Cabo in mid-November?

Wonderfully warm! It is the warmest late Aug- mid November when it starts to cool down. It is the coldest March-June.

You can book with a dive shop, and rent wetsuits from them.

I'm going in the end of April... will the water still be too cold by then?

I'm going in the end of April... will the water still be too cold by then?

As I stated above, April is one of the coldest months of the year for water temps in Cabo.

What about beaching/snorkeling in Mazatlan in Feb.?Where would be a good place?:)

We were in PV this past April and used tony sanchez for a private tour of the city and jungle - GREAT! We snorkeled at Mismaloya and then he took us to Nogolita for lunch and we also did all of the city stuff - the cathedral, malecon, shopping, etc. Even took us to WalMArt to pick up a few items before getting back on the ship.He is fabulous - very professional, knowledgable, and alot of fun! Look for him on TA.