Snorkeling in Cabo San Lucas

[dleyel]

We are on the August 3rd Mexican Riviera cruise. I have reserved the Santa Maria Sail and Snorkel excursion, but now I'm not so sure. I've only snorkeled in the warm, clear waters of Hawaii. Will the water in Cabo be cold in August? Will there be much of interest to see? I've read about jellyfish in the water there; how often are they a problem? My kids, DS12, DS9 and DD6 have never snorkeled, so if we do this, I want it to be a really good experience for them. Thanks for any insight you can offer!

 

[Anal Annie]

First, depending where you've snorkeled in Hawaii, NOTHING is like snorkeling there. Just know that now and don't expect to be able to compare it. (We have snorkeled off Oahu, Maui, Molokai and the Kona coast and no place compares.)

We did the Chileno Bay excursion back in (July) '05 and the water in Cabo was FREEZING cold. It was so cold I couldn't breathe. We jumped off the boat & swam to the closest ladder & got back on. I felt like I just jumped off of the Titanic. DS however did not follow us and swam straight to the shore! DH had to go back in and swim over to the shore to get him and bring him back. We had jellyfish in Mazatlan not Cabo. Cabo had sea lice (apparently brought in with a recent storm). We spent the entire time on the boat. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful trip and I got a lot of great scenic pics, but the water was NOT warm enough to swim in without a wetsuit.

The water conditions in the summer in this entire region are going to vary greatly depending on any storms which may have come thru recently. Summer down there is the rainy season (i.e. hurricane season). That is why we're not going back again during the summer. We would like to do the Mexican Riviera again, but during a different time of year. That's why we decided to do back-to-backs on the Wonder this summer instead.

Hope you have better luck than we did. Just because we struck out does not mean you will. I hate to tell you this, but I think your individual experience will be determined by the weather immediately preceeding your trip. That's what will determine the water conditions for you.

 

[rillsung]

We're doing the sail and snorkel too... Considering wet suits now...

 

[Anal Annie]

We had bad weather for our week in general. The first and last days in & out of LA were misty, rainy, foggy, cold, drizzly days. In '05 the first stop was Puerto Vallarta. We had like 110% humidity (like fog up your glasses humid), overcast and drizzle all day but it was like 95 so it was very sticky. Next we did Mazatlan and the weather and water were perfect - until about noon when the tide changed and brought in the jellyfish. The air temp in Cabo was also perfect (mid-80's). It was just the water had been stirred up from a storm that had come thru prior to our day there. It is totally unpredictable and you will not know until you go how your week will be. The weather is always a gamble.

Here's the average weather data for Cabo (I think we will try spring the next time we go). But according to THIS, it shouldn't be as cold as what it was when we went - we just had a bad weather week in general:

Cabo San Lucas - Weather data
Average annual rainfall: 10 inches (25.4 cm)
Coldest weather: December and January
Storm season: July to October
Average year-round temperature: 78 ºF (25.5 ºC)
Average water temperature (Sea of Cortez): 72ºF (22 ºC). During the summer months the water temperature can reach the mid 80’s (28 - 29ºC)
The Pacific Ocean side weather of Los Cabos is generally 10ºF (6 ºC) cooler than the Sea of Cortez.

 

[califchris]

The water in Cabo is colder than Hawaii unfortunately, but it's tolerable. We have been to Cabo a gazillion times and have only seen 1 jellyfish (which was at the Marina) and we've never encountered the sea lice. My husband and kids snorkel at Santa Maria Bay every time we've been to Cabo and they enjoy it, although the kids don't have another snorkel location to compare it to. But it doesn't have as much sea life & color as Hawaii or the Caribbean.

Chileno Bay is kind of yucky to me. I don't recommend that area. The beach wasn't as clean as Santa Maria and it was quite a walk from the parking lot. Santa Maria bay is nice and clean. You can rent umbrellas on the beach and there are just a couple vendors selling stuff (I love to shop from the beach, what a luxury). The last time we went my son bought a fresh mango from a guy selling fruit. He peeled it and put it on a stick for us. It was the best mango I ever had in my life, and it was only $1.

 

[mmouse37]

We went snorkeling at Chileno Bay last August on our land stay in Cabo.....we had a car and drove to the beach and I agree that the area leading down to the beach was long and littered....there was even a resident homeless guy (well I know that sounds contradictory but there was a guy who was living in an old VW bus right near the beach that you had to walk by).

The water was rough and cool, but not cold...we were there first week of August. We saw the Catamarans pulling into the cove to drop masses of snorkeler's off in the water. Saw some fish, but not the best snorkeling.

 

[dleyel]

Thanks for all of the replies everyone! Not sure what we'll end up doing yet; I still have some time to figure it out. DH and I have snorkeled the Kona Coast in Hawaii with sea turtles, so I'm not expecting that. I think I'll wait to hear some reports from returning cruisers. I don't think the kids will like it if it's too cold, especially the younger two.

 

[pclaire]

We wnt on the Santa Maria Sail and Snorkel in July 2005. The water was too rough, so they took us to another bay. The water was still pretty rough, and they wouldn't even let the kids snorkel. The good news is, the sail back on the catamaran was great - all the kids were on the front having a great time, so it made up for their disappointment. Its a gorgeous trip, but I wouldn't reccomend it as an intorduction to snorkeling for little kids.

 

[BrettySpaghetti]

I just snorkeled in Cabo 5/27. It was boring. A friend of mine got stung by jellyfish, but I didn't see any. The ocean floor was just sand. I saw a few pretty fish, but it was extremely underwhelming. The water was pretty warm, 78 degrees.

 

[CubCatsK&D]

Bumping up for more input.

 

[dizzi]

We just did the snorkeling in Puerta Vallarta, on the Mexican Rivierra and we could see nothing.

It ws VERY MURKY!

and

We were told it would be when we got ff the ship and had walked across to the boat we were taking. I think we should have had the option not to take this after being told. BUT that said, the water was cool, BUT it was my kids favorite EXCURSION, ??????? Dont know why.

We did see ALOT of dolphins! on the way back to the boat and i mean ALOT, for about 1/2 hour of the ride back they seem to be following us, JUMPINg liek right beside the boat! IT was pretty amazing so we actually got a extra excursion for the same price....DOLPHIN WATCHING!

 

[dleyel]

Hi dizzi, thanks for sharing your experience! I'm really thinking of holding off on the snorkeling and waiting for a trip to Hawaii. Maybe we'll just do the coastal cruise and hope dolphins will accompany that boat. What an amazing experience that must have been for you! Hope that you had a wonderful cruise and that you'll do a trip report. Thanks again!

 

[elgerber]

We went snorkeling at Chileno Bay last August on our land stay in Cabo.....we had a car and drove to the beach and I agree that the area leading down to the beach was long and littered....there was even a resident homeless guy (well I know that sounds contradictory but there was a guy who was living in an old VW bus right near the beach that you had to walk by).

The water was rough and cool, but not cold...we were there first week of August. We saw the Catamarans pulling into the cove to drop masses of snorkeler's off in the water. Saw some fish, but not the best snorkeling.

I agree with this, we were at this same beach last August (I have a pic of that van) the water was very rough, but I wouldn't call it cold, and I am a big wimp.

 

[VWL2001]

Just returned from the 6/1 cruise, and did this excursion thru DCL. It was fantastic! The water was very clear, you could actually see fish off the side of the catamaran. I don't snorkel, but my husband and son did ( I just swam to the beach). They had a guide in a boat in the water throwing fish food over to attract the fish, and they saw hundreds. The water was chilly when you first got in, but after the initial shock, it was fine. The operators said it was 80 degrees. We had water on the way there, other "beverages" and bagged chips and cookies on the way back. The walk to the cat was very close to the tender area on the dock. Would do it again.

 

["Got Disney"]

The water in Cabo is always very cold.....but it is beautiful...we go the he beaches but we use the Hotel pools for swimming. There is only a couple of areas that are safe to swim on Cabo beaches due to the under toe.....but snorkeling is fine where they take you.

If you can bring a small wetsuit with ya that is great for snorkeling. Otherwise the water is cold but the scenery is beautiful......

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

who carry..wet suits with them? * they should be available to
rent..?

..2003, we're in key largo. it was freezing cold. they had wet suits &
we rented them. sure glad we did! . and it was a great snorkle
experience~~the fish we really moving, i think because they're so
cold.

we are on this excursion too. we like our pool to be at least 85 degrees...

but our kids...willl jump in, even @ 72 degrees.

 

[magicmerry]

Hello,

I just returned from Mexican Riviera Cruise... I would ask ask ask and then ask again about jellyfish before you leave the boat... We did the Chileno Bay excursion. We had to move on from there as the water was so thick with the jellyfish...

My DD has snorkled before but had a total melt down this time (age 7)... We are from the East Coast and when they said jellyfish, I thought a few fluffy large white creatures that we could avoid... Not so.. there were literally millions upon millions that you had to swim through....my friend and her DD were stung many many times... they were fine but it did scare the heck out of the DD, age 15....these were very small little creatures....

We cancelled our next excursion because of the experience, so you may want to consider..Or at least learn about conditions before you go... maybe book the afternoon excursion (we went early) and see if the jellyfish were a problem in the morning...

Otherwise, what an enjoyable cruise....

Good Luck...

 

[CalDreamin]

We are going in August and thought about snorkeling in Cabo too. Do any of you who have just returned have info. on any of the other excursions in Cabo? Maybe some of your shipmates gave some reports???

 

[dizzi]

We are going in August and thought about snorkeling in Cabo too. Do any of you who have just returned have info. on any of the other excursions in Cabo? Maybe some of your shipmates gave some reports???

We did the Mini Rhino Jeep Drive in CABO!
MOST EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!

I enjoyed this SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!
It was FUN and New Experince for me AND it was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!

The Tour GUIDES did GREAT JOB!!!!!