Cabo San Lucas Scuba Diving and Snorkeling

What to expect

The Sea of Cortez is home to the largest variety of marine life in the world. The unique location at the tip of the Baja Peninsula brings together sea life from both the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortez. The warm waters, great weather, and preserved habitat make this the worlds largest playground for fish and other sea creatures.

When you visit Cabo San Lucas, do not pass up the opportunity to be face to face with the most spectacular marine life. You can get up close and personal with the giant Pacific manta rays, sea turtles, schools of tropical fish, tuna, playful seals, a white tip shark, or much more. There are dive locations that accommodate everyone from the first time divers to advanced divers looking for some unique sightings like underwater caves and open water dives.

Scuba diving in Cabo San Lucas is a safe and fun adventure for the entire family. Los Cabos scuba diving companies are a great value for an experience that you will remember forever. Create lasting memories with your family under the Sea of Cortez and see why Baja California is such a popular scuba diving destination.

Average Prices

If you are a beginner diver, you will need some sort of certification before you jump in the Sea of Cortez. Every single Los Cabos scuba diving operator will offer a “Discover Scuba Diving Resort” course. The prices for this basic 3 hour course range from $86-$115 and will certify you for the duration of your stay, but you only will be able to dive near shore and up to 40 feet in depth. Unfortunately, this course only gives you a temporary certification that cannot be used for Scuba Diving anywhere else or any other time.

Full open water certification is a bit pricier, but you will be rewarded with a permanent certification that will save you time and money everywhere in the world when you want to go scuba diving. If you’ve always wanted to learn how to scuba dive, Cabo San Lucas is the perfect place to start. All service operators will offer a full PADI Open Water certification couse. Prices range from a $300 entry level 2 day PADI open water course to a 4 day certification for $450.

Once you have PADI certification, Scuba Diving in Cabo San Lucas is a great value considering the low cost and spectacular marine life. With a certification, you can go on a two tank dive for around $75, an expedition out to the famous Cabo Pulmo dive spot for $150-$235, or even a one tank night dive for as low as $50. You can mix and match different packages, multiple day diving, or even advanced certifications to make the most of your trip to Baja. Most companies will offer equipment rental for $20/day (such as a B.C.D., regulator, wet suit, fins, mask and snorkel).

Popular Scuba Diving Sites

East Cape

Cabo Pulmo: Hands down the most famous diving spot in all of Los Cabos and one of the best in the world. Cabo Pulmo is home to the only living coral reef on the west coast of North America. The coral reef area is protected by the Mexican government and over the past 20 years has flourished and become home to a vibrant sea life. Thanks to strict conservation measures, Cabo Pulmo is still available today for scuba divers to enjoy. If you love scuba diving, do not miss your chance to see this beautiful marine sanctuary up close.
Gordo Banks: This spot may not have the beautiful living coral reef like Cabo Pulmo, but it is home to schools of some spectacular species. The location iis only for advanced divers only because the depth is at about 110’ to 130’ and can have strong currents. But if you make it down below, you will have plenty of sea life to watch. From schooling hammerheads, game fish, and jacks to the bull sharks, manta rays, and giant whale shark, you will be diving alongside some amazing creatures.

The Corridor

Chileno Reef: Just off the coast of the tourist corridor of Cabo San Lucas, the Chileno reef is a 40’ to 80’ dive great for beginners and snorkelers. The reef stretches from Chileno beach for one half of a mile out to sea and is filled with tropical life like starfish, flower urchins, eels, and even an occasional sea manta, sea bass, sea turtle, and nurse sharks.
Santa Maria: 20’-60’ depth dive with great reef and corals. The colorful dive is perfect for photos so bring your underwater camera. This is a great beginner to intermediate dive that delivers amazing sights and tons of sea life.
Blowhole: This is another great diving spot in the corridor area that is home to a huge rock covered in gorgonians. The site occasionally has bat rays, eagle rays, grouper fish, and even a few manta and whale sharks have been spotted. The location gets its name from a nearby blowhole onshore.

Near Cabo San Lucas

Pelican Rock - Sand Falls: One of the most popular diving spots for beginners is only 5 minutes from the Cabo Marina. The spot is out by Land’s End, alongside the rocky walls that are home to an abundance of sea fans, goat fish, puffers, eels, and parrotfish. The diving spot starts at only 20 foot depth, so people who opted to do the basic discover scuba course are allowed to dive here with some great views of life under the sea. For more advanced divers with PADI certification, you can dive down to 90 feet where the famous underwater sand waterfalls are. The sand is literally falling into the deep valley below and is a great site for photographers.
Neptune’s Finger (La Larga): Another great dive spot near Land’s End is Neptune’s Finger, perfect for intermediate to advanced divers. The dive goes from 25-130 feet in depth along a rock wall. You will see plenty of gorgonians and sea fans along with large schools of barracuda, tropicals, and an occasional tuna, shark, or manta ray. At the lower depths, you will also find another sandfall.
Land’s End (La Punta): This is one of the most unique dive spots in the world because you get to dive in the Sea of Cortez and Pacific Ocean during the same dive. The depths range from 20 to 90 feet and there is an abundance of sea life at this spot. You will see turtles, large sea bass, sea lions, gamefish, octopus, tropical fish, and even whale sharks and mantas. The site is generally for advanced divers only because of the strong currents.
North Wall (Las Cuevas): The North Wall is another great dive spot for beginners who have taken the resort course but also offers depths up to 130 feet for more experienced divers.The shallow waters have a reef that is provides amazing sites easily accessible by beginners and snorkelers.

Scuba Diving Providers in Cabo San Lucas

Amigos Del Mar: https://www.amigosdelmar.com/
Andromeda Divers: https://www.scubadivecabo.com
Baja Dive: https://www.scubadivingcabosanlucas.net/
*Cabo Adventures: https://www.cabo-adventures.com/tours/scuba
Cabo Sailing Dive Charters: https://www.cabosailing.com/sail-and-scuba/dive-charters/
Cabo San Lucas Tours: https://www.cabosanlucastours.net/Scuba-Diving.htm
Cabo Scuba Dive: https://caboscubadive.com/
Dive Cabo San Lucas: https://www.divecabosanlucas.com/
Eagle Divers: https://www.eaglediver.com/
Land’s End Divers: https://www.mexonline.com/landsend.htm
*Los Cabos Deep Blue: https://cabodeepblue.com/
Manta Scuba Diving: https://www.caboscuba.com/
Oceanus Los Cabos: https://www.oceanusloscabos.com.mx
Scuba Dive Cabo San Lucas: https://www.scubadivecabosanlucas.com/
*Sunshine Dive & Charter: https://www.divecabo.com/
*Tio Sports: https://www.tiosports.com/

*Top rated and reviewed service providers

F.A.Q.

Can I scuba dive in Cabo without any diving experience? Yes! Almost all of the Los Cabos scuba diving providers are certified and capable of providing everything from a basic education course for beginners to full deep water certification. Cabo San Lucas is a great place for your first scuba diving adventure.
Are sharks dangerous to swim around? The movie Jaws is just that, a movie. In real life, scuba diving around sharks is one of those most exciting experiences. These graceful creatures are some of the most misunderstood fish in the sea. The majority of sharks you will encounter are smaller and will likely remain far away from any scuba divers. It is highly improbably you will ever encounter a great white shark, especially since they do not live in the warm waters of Los Cabos. Your safety is a top concern in Cabo, and sharks are not a threat in the area.
Will I experience the “bends?” When you Scuba in Cabo, you are required to take at least a basic certification or education course. Preventing decompression sickness is as simple as following instructions and only descending or ascending slowly, usually stopping 15 feet before you surface for one last decompression. If you are just a beginner, you will probably not be diving deeper than 60 feet which is when “the bends” is usually an important factor to consider. Most divers have never experienced this and you probably won’t either.
When is the best time to go scuba diving in Cabo? The water starts to really warm up around July and stays warm, with good visibility, through January. During this time you can witness large schools of tuna, large marlin, and even whales who are migrating south.
Do I need my own gear? You do not need to bring any scuba diving gear with you to Cabo San Lucas unless you absolutely want to. There are multiple companies with high quality equipment available for rent, including wetsuits thick enough for the current water temperature.
Is it expensive to go scuba diving? The actual certification process can seem a little expensive, but once you are certified scuba diving is a fairly low cost sport. Renting equipment in the beginning is a great way to save money instead of trying to purchase all of the gear up front. If you compare the prices of scuba diving to another popular sport like fishing in Cabo San Lucas, you will see that you can Scuba dive for a much lower cost.
Is scuba diving dangerous? All adventure sports of some small risks, but scuba diving is one of the safest sports around. With a good certification course from a reputable instructor and new equipment, you should be able to have the time of your life without any risk of death or injury. Several decades ago when scuba diving was still a new sport, the technologically and knowledge was not advanced enough to protect everyone. Nowadays, many safety precautions are taken to insure you and your friends will have a safe experience.

Reviews

We liked Villa Del Palmar. It was a good place for the kids, clean and the beach was excellent. The unusual thing was literally everyone there was on an all-inclusive deal except for us. I personally don't like those all-inclusives though and would rather order specific higher end liquor/beer or wine and eat there OR in town when I want without regard to the all inclusive deal...so it worked fine for us! The rooms were nice/spacious and the people friendly! No complaints! It was an excellent vacation.

Rick F., San Carlos, CA

We had a wonderful time in Cabo for our honeymoon and we were very happy booking the all inclusive option. Your suggestion to visit the restaurant at Capella was excellent! We actually went there on the full moon and it was awesome. We got caught up in the airport with our rental car. It was hard to find the company that I booked with due to the crazy rental car competitors and timeshare salesmen. At the Del Arco we were promised half off the spa for the week if we went through a timeshare appointment. We went through the appointment and then only got 15% off which was still less than their daily specials so the timeshare appointment was a waste of 3 hours. Just some good lessons learned in case we ever decide to make it back down there! Thank you for all of your help with our booking. Trevor J

Trevor J., Fort Collins, CO

Great trip, great accommodations, great service, beautiful weather. We had a great time and thanks for coordinating. Would definitely go back again.

Joe B., Falls Church, VA

Dear Bob and Sue, Just wanted to thank you for setting up the timeshare rental for us at Villa del Arco....and in particular for all the wonderful (and very useful) information that you sent us on Cabo. We tried several of the restaurants that you suggested and found them all to be pretty good. I think our favorite was the little place on the beach next to the resort - great breakfast, and also a very useful happy hour (7am to 7pm!!) with the best Margaritas on the beach. The timeshare unit (actually 2 units, 3104A and B I think) was huge, we were very pleased with it. Nice location, right next to the pool at the front, we could almost jump in the pool from our balcony... We did get hassled a little to attend presentations, but we have a fair amount of experience at this (we own a Marriott timeshare in Phuket) so no problems really. All in all, a great trip - our daughter loved it (the trip was for her 21st birthday), the weather was perfect, and the fishing was good!! Thanks again - and we will be sure to recommend you to anyone who is thinking of a timeshare or vacation in Cabo Kind Regards, Laurence and Te

You made our vacation. Thanks for your help - the room and resort were wonderful. I would have no problem sending my friends to you. PS any choices for next yr?

Joe C., Warwick, RI

If anyone ever wants to visit paradise at Cabo with the guidance of someone who knows the how, what and where of Cabo, we would direct them to you, Bob. Many thanks for guiding us through the planning, the enjoyment and the beauty of our Cabo Vacation. This was our first time in Mexico, and we felt very at home, and welcomed. Pre-planning with you about how our family would like to live, and play during the precious vacation time made it possible to create wonder each day meeting everyone's preferences. Being within walking distance of downtown yet a bit away from the mellow Cabo hubbub was perfect. Thank you for using your contacts to assure breath taking accommodations, and fun safe activities. The people in Cabo were gracious, fun and ever dependable. Knowing you were an e-mail away with a prompt response if ever needed showed us how flawlessly you deliver top quality in your vacation services. Lucas, Jose, Julio all kindly shared the Cabo humor and excellent care taking in our transportation, whale watching, and snorkeling. Thank you to them as well. Ready to return asap. Gracias! Sandra & Ernest & Family

Sandra D., Vancouver BC

We had a great Spring Break in Cabo!! Thanks for all of your information, it really helped! All 16 of us had a blast!

Jennifer , Hasting, MI

Hi Bob: We loved it and looking to stay again next year, during whale watching season. The villa we had was perfect for our needs and had a stunning view! We were at the "U" like you mentioned on our phone call. Staff at the villa were top notch too. Unfortunately, I was sick the entire week with the flu but what a great place to relax. The shuttle service was priceless and worth every penny. On time both ways and very accommodating. I will definitely be doing business with you again! I see why Jim H. referred you! :)

Sandra , California

Hi Bob, We booked enough condos for 65 people for a wedding through Destination Cabo and saved so much money. We had to add one more condo when we checked in and were able to save nearly 50% from what the front desk was offering us. The property is beautiful and has everything you need. We absolutely had the best time ever. We are so glad we stayed at Villa del Palmar and that we used Destination Cabo to get our accommodations. Jenn

Wanted to get back to you and let you know we had a great trip and the rooms were tremendous! We all really enjoyed the penthouse - it was over the top! Thanks again!

Jeff B., San Mateo, CA