Explore Cabo San Lucas

Scuba diving in Cabo San Lucas, the bustling resort town at the far southern tip of Baja California, offers a wealth of underwater sights and experiences. San Lucas Bay is a protected area with well-preserved dive sites and lots of fish life; it was actually the second marine park to be established in Mexico, after the Caribbean jewel of Cozumel! At Cabo San Lucas, the mighty Pacific Ocean meets the magical Sea of Cortez, which endows local dive sites with a mix of pelagic, migratory, and resident creatures. Seamounts, sea lions, hammerhead sharks, deep walls, unique ‘sand falls’, and plenty of fish and critters are all among the many landscapes and marine animals which make Cabo San Lucas diving unique.

Cabo San Lucas enjoys a high density of dive centers and tour options. It’s easy to visit Cabo Pulmo’s reef or even the whale sharks in La Paz with a Cabo San Lucas operator. It’s even easier to spend a day diving the uncrowded ‘Corridor’ sites on the way to San Jose del Cabo. For divers who want to go farther afield, Cabo San Lucas is the departure point for many liveaboards to Socorro and Guadalupe. For those staying in town, activities, nightlife and restaurants provide plenty of entertainment.

Places to Explore

Gordo Banks

3 Divesites 3 Centers

Diving at Gordo Banks is challenging, but extremely rewarding. With a max depth of 40-45m and rough surface ocean conditions, this dive is meant for experienced divers only. Once you descend below the surface, however, you will feel like you’ve been frozen in time with nothing but blue around you as you wait for curious hammerhead sharks and other pelagic megafauna to swim your way.

Top Dive Sites Map

★★★★☆ Cabo San Lucas

Cabo offers diving for all levels of divers and many different types of adventures from easy, calm aquarium like shore diving to deeper water diving off the coast at places like Gordo Banks that offer the possibility of large pelagic sightings like orcas, humpbacks, hammerheads, tuna, and more!

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Aqualung

★★★★☆ Lands End - Cabo San Lucas

Lands End is the last dive site in a long line of popular sites along the coast of Cabo San Lucas and offers spectacular views both above and below the water of the amazing rock formations in this area. Although this site is just offshore it’s only accessible by boat for diving.

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Scubapro, Stephen Frink

★★★★☆ Pelican Rock

Pelican Rock is one of the most popular sites to dive and snorkel in the Cabo San Lucas area. Located just offshore from Playa del Amor it’s easily accessible right from the harbor making charter boats easy to find and not too expensive.

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Mares, Predrag Vuckovic

★★★★☆ Whale’s Head

This is a nice shallow dive, perfect for snorkeling and beginning divers, starting in just 5 feet of water and ending in 50 feet with a sandy bottom. There is lots of great coral growth and tons of reef fish to see. You can even hear humpbacks singing under the water at some times of the year.

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Diving in Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas may be the Baja dive hub with the widest range of dive options. There are plenty of dive centers, offering courses from beginner levels through technical diving. There are even dedicated tec-diving shops which specialize in taking divers to unexplored and deep destinations. Another special offering in Cabo San Lucas is bluewater shark diving. While these tours use snorkels instead of scuba gear, they bring visitors face to face with silky, blue, mako, and even hammerhead sharks, not to mention marlin and potentially mantas.

In San Lucas Bay, deep walls, reefs and wrecks can all be found. The bay is also a great location for night diving, which is offered at various Cabo San Lucas dive centers. Sea lion encounters are also a local specialty. Of course, liveaboard diving in the offshore destinations of Socorro and Guadalupe can also be accessed from Cabo San Lucas.

The best Months to dive in Cabo San Lucas

The fabled hammerheads at the dive site Gordo Banks are most reliably seen between June and November. Just before they arrive, silky sharks and whale sharks may also be seen at Gordo Banks from April through June. Schools of migrating mobula rays which number in the hundreds or more can be seen in the spring and autumn months. From December through April, humpback whales and gray whales can be found, as they nurse their young in the warm Baja waters. Orcas may even visit between January and June.

The water temperature in Cabo San Lucas ranges from 22 celsius / 72 fahrenheit to 29 celsius / 84 fahrenheit. The Pacific hurricane season may bring in some stormy weather between July and September, and September sees some rainy days.

To visit Socorro, divers should plan to be in Baja California Sur between November and May. The season for cage diving with great white sharks in Guadalupe is from August to October.

Statistics

Historical data and trends

Dive Activity & Environmental Conditions

Centers Map

Sunrider Tours

Blvd Marina S/N Plaza Gali Local 18, 23450 Cabo San Lucas, BC - MEX

Sun Rider Tours

Av Alvaro Obregon Entre Sebastian lerdo de Tejada e Ignacio Banuelos Cabezud ,Colonia Cent, 23000 La Paz BCS, BCS - MEX

See Creatures

Calle Miguel Hidalgo # 10 Colonia Centro, 23450 Cabo San Lucas, BCS - MEX