We reached out to quite a few local dive shops before booking our dives in Cabo. My partner and I are both AOW certified and had about 45 dives completed, but we've always prioritized diving with the right people as we get more practice as divers. I always try to find a highly recommended tour operator when it comes to diving -- going with someone who is experienced and puts guests' safety first is of utmost important when it comes to scuba diving.
Through the Girls That Scuba group, we found Laura, who owns and operates Cabo Private Guide. A few months prior to our trip, we discussed via email the best options for our three day dive itinerary based on what we wanted to see and our experience and skill level. Communication was really easy and clear and I love being able to work out all of the details of a trip over email before we head out!
Laura was very transparent with us from the beginning and managed our expectations for what we should expect diving Cabo in March. It's not peak season for the best visibility or large animal encounters, but we always prefer to know what to expect rather than be overpromised something we may not get to see.
Over the course of our three day dive trip, we were lucky enough to basically have our own private boat and guide, Adrian, who briefed us on every dive site, pointed out animals to us underwater, and took videos for us to keep!
Our original day 1 plan was to dive Cabo Pulmo, but because the conditions weren't favorable, we decided to stay local and dive two sites just off the coast of Cabo San Lucas. Again, appreciated the transparent communication from Laura to give us the best experience. Once she found out about the conditions in Cabo Pulmo, she emailed us and gave us options to alter our itinerary!
Although on land it was quite warm, between 70-80°F, the water temperature was quite cool. 68°F at the surface and much cooler as you dive deeper. We ended up diving in 5 mm wetsuits and hoods -- crucial for staying warm! I even added a shortie on top of my wetsuit since I tend to get really cold.
For Day 2, we were able to drive up to Cabo Pulmo to do the dives there. Adrian, our guide, gave us a really great background on the area and how it changed from a fishing village to eco-tourism to protect the marine ecosystem. What we saw in Cabo Pulmo was amazing. Huge schools of fish -- LARGE fish too! We got SUPER lucky on our first dive of the day. A school of cownose rays swam right past us as we were floating along the dive site. I nearly cried into my mask as I saw them glide by. We'd seen mantas and eagle rays in Komodo but never a school this huge!
Along with the rays, we saw two huge sea turtles, schools of snappers, leopard groupers, broomstail groups, guitarfish, and moray eels, too!
Both of our dives at Cabo Pulmo were super easy and peaceful, and it's now topped my list as an area we have to come back to in the future.
Our last day, we dived Gordo Banks. This is an advanced dive and was probably the most difficult dive I've ever done. Laura and team require divers to go on another dive first before taking you out to Gordo Banks so they can evaluate whether your skill level is appropriate for this dive.
Gordo Banks is a difficult dive because it's deep. We went down to the max depth allowed as AOW divers where there was little light, poor visibility, and you could barely see the reef below you.
On our first dive, we heard the loud singing of one or two humpback whales. Although we couldn't see any whales due to the poor visibility, our guide thinks they were no more than 500 yards way from us based on how loud the singing was. It was an otherworldly experience I will never forget!
On our second dive, we were able to see the reef below us and were surrounded by a school of snappers. I watched a yellowfin tuna hunt the school of snappers... truly amazing to see these predators on the hunt!
The last part of our dive we saw a scalloped hammerhead's silhouette appear from the distance. We swam alongside it for a good minute before it disappeared into the darkness. Gordo Banks is great for chances to see pelagic creatures!
Overall it seems like we got lucky on our 6 dives with Cabo Private Guide, but Laura and Adrian worked hard to give us the best experience and made us feel super comfortable and safe. We will definitely come back to dive with them again the next time we're in Cabo.
You can easily book dive excursions with Laura's team on their website and I highly recommend diving with them if you're in the Cabo area. If you're not into diving but still want to encounter some sea creatures, they can also take you whale watching, snorkeling, and even swimming with whale sharks (we did this in Isla Mujeres and HIGHLY recommend it)! read more