DIVE SITES IN CABO SAN LUCAS

CABO SAN LUCAS DIVE SITES

PELICAN ROCK (20 to 60 Feet) - All skill levels.
Tropical fish are everywhere along the sea-fan covered slopes of Pelican Rock. Eels, angelfish, parrotfish, lobster, spotted box fish, puffers, Mexican goat fish, and frogfish fill the water here.  You may also meet the resident white tip reef shark.  Often schools of jacks and rays pass by as we float above the famous Sand Falls.

SAND FALLS (90 to 130 feet) - Advanced divers only.
First discovered in the Jacques Cousteau television series The Underwater World of Jacques Cousteau, Sand Falls is where an underwater waterfall of sand cascades down the chute and into the 1,200 foot canyon below.  One of the most amazing underwater features in the Cabo San Lucas area, and probably the most popular dive site.  You'll see schools of Mexican Goatfish, snappers, sardines, angelfish and other tropical fish everywhere, while octopus, sea slugs, seahorses, and frogfish hide behind the rocks and sponges.  The vertical walls of the canyon are covered with Gorgonians and sea fans.

NORTH WALL (20 to 100 feet) - All skill levels.
On the north side of Pelican Rock, a shallow sandy bottom where you can spot garden eels gives way to large rocks at about 40 feet, then to a cliff face at 90 feet, which curls around and meets into Sand Falls. A shallow reef at 12 feet makes a good surface stop. The rock-covered slopes are home to eels, puffers, boxfish, stonefish, triggerfish, and lobsters.  Sometimes diamond and bulls-eye stingrays can be spotted, along with a whitetip reef shark.  This is a great night dive, where you can spiny lobster, slipper lobster, hermit crabs, and sea cucumbers, and is excellent for beginners too.

MIDDLE WALL (80 TO 130 feet) - Advanced divers only.
A steep wall covered by sea fans between Neptune's Finger and Pelican Rock. When visibility is good, you can see the great submarine canyon.  Look for rays, schools of tuna, bonita, and groupers swimming out of the nearby blue water.  Green morays and lobster are also common sightings.

NEPTUNE'S FINGER (30 to 100 Feet) - All skill levels.
Hard and soft corals, sea fans, and sponges dot the area as schools of tropical fish abound.  Occasional pelagics such as sea turtles, manta rays, tuna, or sharks may visit this area.  The wall starts at 60 feet and drops to 100 feet where it meets with one of the sand falls, and drops to over 3,000 feet.  Stingrays, guitarfish and flatfish dot the sandy bottom while schools of barracuda, pompanos and big-eye jacks swim around the pinnacle.

LANDS END (THE POINT) (20 to 70 feet) - Intermediate.
Located where the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean come together, this area is famed for sea lions that like to play under the water. Garden eels and guitarfish dot the sandy bottom as sea turtles, sea bass, parrotfish and mobulas swim around the rock. An occasional whale shark or manta ray may pass by as well as schools of game fish chasing the schools of baitfish into the Sea of Cortez.

SANTA MARIA COVE (40 to 70 feet) - Intermediate.
Up the corridor about 40 minutes by boat, this reef frequently features large marine life such as bat rays, sea turtles, and sea bass.  Colorful sea fans and gorgonians line the rock walls as tropical fish swirl.  This is a great dive for photographers.

CHILENO BAY (40 to 80 feet) - All skill levels.
This maze of finger-shaped reefs reef stands covered in sea fans and coral trees about a half-mile from shore. Mantas, large sea bass, sea turtles, and nurse sharks are among the visitors to the reef.  Large varieties of schooling tropical fish cluster around the reef, while a colorful collection of invertebrates such as starfish, sea urchins, and sponges fill the nooks and crannies along the ocean floor.

BLOW HOLE (40 to 100 feet) - Intermediate.
Named for a small blowhole on shore, the backside of a huge rock forms a wall covered with gorgonians. Small nurse sharks and guitarfish sometimes inhabit the area, along with a few large grouper and the occasional bat ray or eagle ray.

CABO PULMO MARINE SANCTUARY - All Skill Levels.
The Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park is home to at least 17 excellent dive sites, ranging from beginner to advanced.  The only living coral reef in western North America, Cabo Pulmo features probably the best diving in the Los Cabos area.  The park is about 2 hours drive north of Cabo San Lucas, but it's worth the drive.  This is the most unique marine phenomenon in the Sea of Cortez, featuring over 350 species of marine life.

GORDO BANKS (110 to 130 feet) - Advanced divers only.
Located 8 miles from shore, the Gordo Banks rival any dive site in the Cabo San Lucas area for the title as best dive site.  The top of this seamount lies under 110 to 120 feet of water.  The area is famed for it's seasonal congregation of schooling hammerhead sharks and whale sharks, as well as UFO-sized manta rays, marlin, tuna, sailfish, wahoo, dolphins, devil rays and bull sharks.  A great spot for blue water diving.