Cabo san Lucas, Mazatlan & Puerto Vallarta - where is the best place to snorkel?

[crabinov]

Hi there!

 

I will be going on the Carnival XX on September 22, 2006 and was wondering which of these three ports has the best snorkelling and why:

 

Cabo San Lucas

Mazatlan

Puerto Vallarta

 

Any assistance & reason for choosing that location is greatly appreciated!

 

Carolyn

13 cruises in 15 years

[TrqoisWtrs]

We did a land vacation to Cabo last August. We have divers and snorkelers in our group. Divers said the water was really churned up and poor visibility - and they dove 3 different days. We had also planned a snorkel trip which ended up being cancelled the morning of, so just jumped on the next boat we could find. Huge cattle boat and supposedly they took us to one of the 'good' spots - ha! There were 3 other cattle boats there, plus when we jumped in the water we got stung by jellyfish! :eek: Turns out the crew saw them in the water, but neglected to tell us. Nice. Plus with all the boats in the area, the jellyfish got all chopped up by the propellers and so we were pulling piece of tentacles off of us. It was god awful! (Plus for the few seconds I stuck my face in the water, only saw a sandy bottom, thru greenish water). blech. :) Plus its never a good sign when you're standing on the boat afterwards with stinging skin and one of the guys is going around in a little boat with a tiny mesh strainer, trying to pick up the jellyfish pieces floating on top.

 

So point of the story :rolleyes: don't know if it was because it was a seasonal thing, but even in September, you might want to ask about water and jellyfish conditions.

(Sorry, can't help you on the other locations - maybe they would be better).

[sceneisle]

Snorkeling at any of these locations is far inferior to the Carribean or Riviera Maya. IMO, your best bet is Cabo San Lucas. The water visibility should be better and so will the variety of fish. Most snorkeling excursion boats go to Bahia Chileno and/or Playa Santa Maria; considered by most to be the best two sites in Los Cabos. Both locations can also be accessed by vehicle.