Welcome to Sea of Cortez ~Dive in World Heritage Site~
Baja California is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico, where coyotes live in the mountains and cactuses prevail in the reddish soil desert.
La Paz is the capital of Baja California Sur state, located at the south end of the peninsula and our dive cruise trip starts from here.
Recently La Paz has become known among scuba divers as one of the world’s divers’ paradises.
Diving points are all in the Sea of Cortez, in between the peninsula and Mexican mainland.
Diving in Sea of Cortez
Sea of Cortez is declared a World Heritage site, the place where you can 100% enjoy scuba diving with wild California Sea Lions.This is the only place in the whole world where you can swim with and have physical contact with Sea Lions.
Huge schools of sardines are also present. Passing through the wall of sardines is just spectacular!
You may be able to finish up your trip swimming with whale sharks in the La Paz bay.
The most popular diving point, “El Bajo” is usually crowded with the scuba divers aiming to see a school of hammerhead sharks.
Recently, we also offer the enjoyment of swimming with whalesharks as whalesharks have been coming into La Paz bay. You may be able to finish up your trip swimming with whalesharks in the bay.
Warm Latin people and the warm Latin ocean:
Fun Baja is a dive center based in LaPaz, Mexico with professional, knowlegeable and super friendly dive experts.
Fun Azul Fleet Headquarter is a travel agency/dive center based in Tokyo, Japan with a branch office in Los Angeles California, USA.
Fun Baja and Club Azul established a co-operation in Baja California, Mexico in 2000 and have a trusting partnership that continues until today.
Our Policy – We believe in our guiding ability
Guiding is one of the most important factors for you to enjoy scuba diving safely.
We do briefings by drawing diving-point-maps on a white board for each dive to make it clearly understandable. You will never feel alone because our experienced guides will keep showing you all kinds of sea life specific to Sea of Cortez.
Our Policy – We continue to develop exciting dive points
One night, we found a lot of mobula rays gathering to the light of the liveaboard. There were about 50 mobula rays. After that we turn the light on every night to make it a new scuba diving point.
Of course, we can’t guarantee it 100 percent, as they are wild mobula rays. However, we have been able to show the mobula rays dancing around with high probability.
Dive Sites
Los IsLotes
This is the diving point, where you can 100 percent encounter sea lions. The big rock that sticks out from the ocean is where the colony of over 400 sea lions live.
In addition to sea lions there are also unique fish you can expect to see.
At the south side of the rock, on the sand with a water depth about 46 to 60 ft, you can find giant Bluespotted Jawfish showing their faces from the sand. They have a fist-sized head. Also Mobula rays are sometimes passing by.
And you can expect other encounters of schools of migratory fish such as the Mexican Barracuda, when you come through the arch from south side to northeast side. Even whale sharks have been seen at this point!
During June and July, you can see the newborn sea lion babies on the rock.
It is very fun that young growing sea lions, which were born last year, go zipping around underwater surprising scuba divers. For your information, the newborn babies start playing with scuba divers underwater in the middle of September.
Their playroom is in the cave of the south side. They are so playful that they nibble divers’ fins and snorkels softly. Their big round eyes are very impressive. The babies are the most active during November to May.
Beside sea lions, this point is full of macro, such as Gobies and sea slugs. SARDINA (the school of sardines) is also one of the specialties here in Los Islotes.
El Bajo
El Bajo is well known to have hammerhead sharks, whale sharks and marlin. There are three seamounts and even the pinnacles of the reefs are still 59 to 72 ft of deep. Mostly we do drift dives here from one of the pinnacle to 98 ft aiming to see hammerhead sharks.
During diving here, you can be surrounded by hundreds of bonitos or skip jacks. Then a hundred of parent-child hammerhead sharks pass by you snaking their head and body! It is a thrilling experience!
Besides that, you can see marlin passing in front of you and whale sharks swimming passing you on the way to descent or ascent. “El Bajo” is captivating with so many gorgeous big-fish, it is so hard to take a break until you get back on board.
Punta Lobo
This is a famous point with Mobula rays. Groups of 20 are common and visible in many areas. The Mobula season starts from July.
During September and October, all these groups get together. The number can be thousands! In this season, when you go off shore from the entry point, you can see them packed from the surface to the bottom with very little space between.
And although you try hard very enough to proceed you never get out from the big school of Mobula rays. On the surface of the water, you can see the Mobula rays jumping around and rolling upside down.
Whale Island
This precipitous island looks like a whale. That’s the reason why it has the name. On the southwest side of the island there is a ship wreck and some caves lead to the north side. You can see many of seafans inside of the caves.
After you enjoy the feeling of exploration using your underwater light up in the cave, you are welcomed by Cortez angel fish around the exit area. Please watch your fins and guages when you pass through the caves not to bang and break these seafans.
La Paz Bay
Recently this point has become common place to find whale shark. We are offering “Whale shark serch program” on last day. NO diving. you can enjoy to swim with Whale shark.
Swannee Reef
There is an isolated reef in the white sand area. This is a fish paradise with many fish. You cannot see anything but a multitude of Mexican goatfish and Spottail grunt fish. Please do not get lost with your buddy because of these fish. On the other hand, you can see Signal blennies as famous macro photography site, you never get tired of watching them emit their back fin three times and go back into the hole. Don’t miss this photo opportunity!
You can also see schools of Skip jacks and Barracudas. Sea lions sometimes burst into the cluster. We recommend this area if you wish to scuba dive with ease.
Salvatierra Wreck
Water depth is about 65 ft. and there is a 262-ft-length ferry in almost complete condition. It has become a house of reef fish because it sunk on a channel where various fish pass by.
There are many Grunts and Angel fish who live here and each one is bigger than normal. Some scuba divers humorously take their picture when they sit on the toilet of the ferry.
El Corralito
Here, you can see very unique jawfishes. Each one is very bigger than normal you are thinking.
you should see and check with your eys how big these are !!
San Francisquito
This is a diving point that cannot be visited by day trips.Without much conflict for winning a territory, sealions here could be calmer and more relaxed.
Las Animas
A diving point only reachable by diving liveaboard trips.
Longnose hawkfish and giant diamond stingrays swimming around various kinds of sea fans.Big eye trevallies swirl around and hummber heads and sea tutles come around.
Cabo Pulmo
Located eight miles off the shores of San Jose Del Cabo in the Sea of Cortez, the Gordo Banks rivals Cabo Pulmo and Cabo San Lucas Marine Preserve for the title of best scuba diving spot in the region. Because of the depths (up to one hundred and thirty feet) and the powerful currents, this locale is only recommended for advanced divers. This dive site is very active, with large schools of Jacks and lone Bull Sharks etc.
Our Policy – Our meals are one of the most important attractins on the liveaboard
We serve international food and Mexican food on the liveaboard, “M/V Valentina.” Japanese food is also sometimes available.
You can drink authentic cocktails, popular local beers and similar drinks at the bar.
