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Nautilus - Socorro Combo Expedition

Socorro Giant Mantas with Sea of Cortes 'World's Aquarium' ITINERARY - 10 or 12 NIGHTS

San Jose del Cabo to San Jose del Cabo

   

The diving in the Socorro Islands is not for novice divers. Before attempting to dive in the Socorro Islands you should be completely comfortable in the water and comfortable with all aspects of your equipment. Having experience of diving in cold water with a thicker wetsuit and hood, as well as experience of diving in strong currents, up currents and down currents is highly recommended. Experience in mixed surface conditions, mixed currents and varying water temperatures, proficient use of a DSMB and the ability to cope in buddy pairs or on your own should you become temporarily separated, is imperative.

   

Regaldive advise that guests booking on to a Socorro Islands liveaboard should be minimum PADI Advanced or equivalent and have more than 50 logged dives.

  

Bait ball season! Socorro is all about amazing interaction with our favourite giant mantas. No other mantas in the world behave like this. We don't know why, but we love it! And the mantas clearly love us back. Research indicates that there are more giant mantas and more biomass at Socorro during bait ball season than any other time of year. Everything intensifies with more sharks - including schooling silky sharks - schooling hammerheads, whale sharks, lots of tuna and other pelagic fish and even pilot whales. You can expect water temps in the mid - high 70's.   

  

This trip combines diving at Socorro with the best of the Sea of Cortez.

   

Your trip will include four dives per day (subject to weather and unforeseeable circumstances)— each with an opportunity to encounter resident pods of playful dolphins. You may also see up to 10 varieties of shark: schooling scalloped hammerheads, solitary giant hammerheads, Galápagos, whitetip reef, silver-tip, silky, tiger and oceanic whitetips. The list also includes whale sharks and dusky sharks and on occasion even a thresher shark.

  

On most days, you will enjoy visibility of 70 to 100 feet. When the current picks up, the ash from these volcanic isles can rise, reducing the visibility to 30 feet. For the wide-angle experience that is big-animal diving, this isn’t ideal. But, you will still be cruising one of the most pristine underwater environment, so the Nautilus dive team will choose dives that are closer to the reefs and marine life such as eels, octopuses and Socorro lobsters.

    

The onboard experience isn’t just about diving, but exploring this outpost that few people will ever visit. To that end, the boat carries kayaks and paddle boards. There is an option for a night dive and a night snorkel. 

    

This is a sample itinerary. The exact itinerary for your trip may change based on the weather and other ocean related conditions. Our aim is to offer you the very best diving experience in the safest and most comfortable way.

   

Day 1:  Enjoy sunny Cabo San Lucas before you board at 8:00pm.

  • Sailing Time: 9:00pm   

Day 2:  At sea. Evening arrival at San Benedicto Island. 

Activities: 

  • Safety Briefing 
  • Diver Orientation 
  • Manta 101   

Day 3:  San Benedicto - home to the friendliest giant mantas in the world! 

Activities: 

  • Enjoy the Nautilus Explorer’s famous Mexico taco fiesta on the upper deck.   

Day 4:  Dive at Socorro Island. Whale watching during Humpback Whale season 

Activities: 

  • Shark Behaviour   

Day 5:  Dive at Socorro Island. Night snorkel with Silky Sharks. 

Activities: 

  • Manta ID
  • Manta 101   

Day 6:  Dive at Roca Partida. 

Activities: 

  • Watching silky sharks under flood lights 
  • Manta 101   

Day 7:  Dive at Roca Partida. 

Activities: 

  • Chase the Ace: win the jackpot and help conservation. 
  • Manta 101   

Days 8-11:  Sea of Cortes - The precise mix of diving on combo trips is variable and always based on maximising the experience for our guests. ie. on those trips when the manta and dolphin behaviour is off the clock and we are seeing large schools of sharks at Socorro, we may stay out at Socorro longer than planned and only briefly visit the Sea of Cortes. On other trips we may end up spending as much as 3 days in the Sea of Cortes which usually includes splashing with the California sea lions at Los Islotes and a combination of our old favourites ie. Suwamee Reef with a huge mass of biodiversity often including cormorants diving after fish, the wreck of the Salvatierra, the famous pinnacles of El Bajo, La Reyna (enormous schools of scad), etc. On an average 10 night trip it’s often split with 2 days in the Sea of Cortes and 5 days at Socorro.    

Day 12:  Steam home. Making our way back to Cabo San Lucas. 

Activities: 

  • Ship shop
  • Trip slide show 
  • Cocktail with friends     

Day 13:  Disembarkation at 8:00/8.30am. Good bye until next time!

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