Jacques Cousteau raved about the sea life he discovered in the Sea of Cortez, calling it “the world’s richest sea.” The waters are home to sea turtles, hammerhead sharks, giant manta rays with 12-ft wingspans, sea lions and more than 900 species of reef fish.
This means… There’s awesome scuba diving in Cabo San Lucas!
“Cabo” (as it’s called for short) is located at the tip of the Baja Peninsula – right where the marine-rich Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean.
Contents: Mini-guide to diving Cabo San Lucas
- Best dive sites in Cabo San Lucas – Land’s End | The Corridor | Gordo Banks | Diving La Paz | Cabo Pulmo diving
- Best time to dive Cabo
- Reputable dive shops in Cabo San Lucas – ½- and full-day dive trips
- Sea of Cortez marine life – More crazy photos of weird and wonderful undersea creatures
What a rush it is to go scuba diving in Cabo San Lucas! (Janice is in scuba heaven)
Scuba diving in Cabo San Lucas
Beginners can be comfortable diving easy sites just a short boat ride away. More challenging and dramatic offshore walls entice intermediate and expert divers.
And then further away in Cabo Pulmo, well, you’ll be amazed by what you see there!
Best beaches in Cabo? Un-cheesy sunset cruises? Read our Los Cabos guide for beach lovers
Best dive sites in Cabo San Lucas
Land’s End:
Land’s End is popular because it’s so close to the Cabo San Lucas marina. It’s just a 5- to 10-minute panga or boat ride away.
See the famous underwater sandfall, beginning at a depth of 100 feet, at Neptune’s Finger; it was supposedly discovered by Jacques Cousteau. (Sandfalls are unique phenomena where sand flows down a cliff much like a waterfall does.)
The rock-covered North Wall is a great dive for beginners.
You start from a shallow sandy bottom, gradually diving deeper until about 40 feet, when you start to see rock boulders. The dive site is home to eels, pufferfish and lobster.
Hello there! You might spot an eel at Land’s End
The Corridor:
Along the Corridor, a 20-minute boat ride from the marina, swim over underwater canyons and enjoy drift diving. Visibility is good (often 80 to 100 feet).
Barracuda, hawkfish, different types of moray eels, angelfish? See them all here.
You might even spot a shark.
Gordo Banks:
Located about 10 miles offshore from San Jose del Cabo, Gordo Banks is an underwater mountain. Huge numbers of pelagic fish gather around the top of this sea mount, which is about 120 feet underneath the surface.
Schools of hammerhead sharks are the big draw, inviting experienced divers to sink deep into open blue water at Gordo Banks.
Wow! You may see heaps of hammerheads at Gordo Banks, but there are no guarantees
You may also spot giant manta rays and whale sharks.
Boat rides from San Jose del Cabo take about 50 to 60 minutes to reach the dive location.
Diving La Paz:
At La Paz, you can dive with sea lions at Los Islote.
Getting up close-and-personal with sea lions is always fun in Los Islotes!
La Paz diving trips often combine snorkeling with the whale sharks there.
We know you want to swim with whale sharks in La Paz – read all about it here!
Cabo Pulmo diving:
Then there’s Cabo Pulmo.
Strewn with coral reefs, this remote national marine sanctuary teems with parrotfish, bull sharks and the occasional tiger shark too.
There are lots of amazing tropical fish to see in Cabo Pulmo
The expedition usually involves a 2+ hour drive, including along a bone-jarring stretch of bumpy sand tracks, then a panga or boat ride from the beach.
We enjoyed diving Cabo Pulmo with Manta Scuba Divers; they whisked us out on a fast 38-foot twin-diesel dive boat – the fastest way to reach Cabo Pulmo.
And yes, we spotted many bull sharks along with one tiger shark, which circled and followed us quite closely for a while (making us a teeny bit nervous).
Scuba diving in Cabo San Lucas
Best time to dive Cabo
June to November is the best time to dive Cabo and sites around Los Cabos. Underwater viz extends up to 100 feet and more during these months.
For bathtub warm waters, go in October, when the water temperature fluctuates between 80 and 85 degrees F on average. (October is also pleasant above water, whereas August and September are extremely hot and muggy outside.) Our October dive trip was superb!
In the winter months, the water is colder – between 64 and 74 degrees F.
Diving Gordo Banks and La Paz is typically only offered June to November.
Prefer to go snorkeling in Cabo instead? Get the scoop here on the best snorkeling tours!
Reputable dive shops in Cabo San Lucas
These are all reputable outfits offering tours and packages for diving Cabo San Lucas:
- Amigos del Mar – See website
- Cabo Adventures – See website
- Eagle Divers – See website
- Manta Scuba Divers – See website
- Nautilus Dive Tech – See website
Cravin’ more Cabo? Find tips on restaurants, local buses and more in our Los Cabos holiday guide
Sea of Cortez marine life
See more crazy photos of the weird and wonderful creatures you meet diving the Sea of Cortez!
Cannonball jelly fish
Sea horse
Moray eel
Spotted eagle ray
Arrow crab
Whale shark
Cup coral at night
Giant coral hawkfish
Diving with sharks
Coral hawkfish
Playful sea lion
Playing hide-and-seek
Scuba diver with manta ray
Photo credits: Manta Scuba Divers 2, 5, 7, 11, 16, 20 | Nautilus Dive Tech 1, 3, 9, 10, 12 – 15, 17 – 19 | Eagle Divers 4 | Cabo Adventures 8 |
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Updated 2018: We first wrote this Los Cabos scuba diving post in 2013, but we’ve since updated and added to the content, so it’s like a shiny brand new post :-).
Have you gone scuba diving in Cabo San Lucas? Where?
We’re Janice and George Mucalov, professional award-winning travel writers, sharing tales of luxury travel with a twist of adventure.
Love the photos of marine life; one of you isn’t bad either:-)
Thanks! But the sea lions are much cuter :-).
These pictures are fantastic! I am not a diver (nor do I have any desire to plunge under the water), but I can appreciate the beauty of the underwater world.
It is a whole other world under there — the feeling of weightlessness is also very calming. We’re not hard-core divers though — we like warm waters, not-too-deep dives, great visibility and lots of sea life! Picky, huh!
Do you like snorkeling? Many times you can see almost as much from the surface :-).
I haven’t yet made it to Cabo San Lucas but would love to explore this area, both on top of and under the water! The scuba diving looks incredible! I’d love to see the hammerhead sharks, among other life you’ve pictured above!
We’d love to see the hammerheads too. But you have to be experienced divers out there in the open water and those are deep dives, so we’ll have to see!
I’m glad you have explored Cabo San Lucas’ depths. When I was there, it’s the first thing I did, no, it’s the only thing I did for days and there was no single regret, only satisfaction and amazement on how beautiful Cabo San Lucas is underwater.
I have to go there! One day!
Admire anyone who scuba dives…I do not have the mental makeup to experience under water life…I would get nervous. However I do love snorkeling. Happy New Year to you and hope you both have many more adventures in 2013!
Best wishes for 2013 to you too! And yes, we look forward to many more adventures in the new year!