Socorro Island Liveaboard Diving

Liveaboard Diving in Socorro Island

Mexico Dive Site: Socorro Island

Socorro, or the Revillagigedo Archipelago, is a group of four volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean about 400km (250 mi) off the coast of the southern tip of Baja California, a southwestern state of Mexico. Socorro Island is one of these four islands and is most popular for the different pelagic species you can see and dive with. The other three islands are Roca Partida, San Benedicto, and Clarion, all incredible dive sites in their own ways.

Socorro Island is a year-round dive area, but each season brings its gems. The calmest seas are from November to May, with the waters being around 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit) in November, 21 degrees Celsius (69 degrees Fahrenheit) in February, and back up to 25 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) in May. These winter months also bring the main spectacles; the thousands of humpback whales that come here to breed and many Pacific manta rays. The visibility here depends solely on the plankton in the water, which depends on the moon, but in general, the visibility varies from 15 - 50m (49 - 164ft).

Socorro Island is a more advanced diving area as sometimes there are strong currents and big waves, and most dive spots are quite deep; however, each liveaboard has its minimum dive experience level, and most expect to have your Advanced Open water with at least 50 logged dives, but there are a few which only need you to have your Open Water and no minimum logged dives. Please keep this in mind.

What You Can See

Socorro Island is the place to go if swimming with large marine life is what you desire to do; it is truly a pelagic paradise. From January to March, you can swim with some extremely curious and playful pods of wild Bottlenose Dolphins, and from January to April, there are thousands of Humpback whales in their breeding season, which is an impressive, unique, and unforgettable experience. Throughout the year, there are numerous Pacific Manta Rays, one of the most popular spectacles here; they are some of the largest in the world with extremely wide wingspans measuring up to 7m (22ft) with who you can 'fly' through the water. Sharks are also around all year, with species such as Silky sharks, Galapagos sharks, white tips, and silvertip sharks.

This archipelago of islands is part of a protected biosphere reserve, and many conservation organizations are working around here to preserve the unique wildlife which inhabits and passes here. Socorro diving area is not a coral reef, so do not expect bright colors everywhere, but once you spot the spectacular marine wildlife you won't be able to focus on much else anyways!

Getting To Socorro Island

This island is only accessible via Mexico liveaboard. Because this island is mostly uninhabited, this is the perfect way to get away from the busy cities and get a good quality experience with some of the best the oceans have to offer. Liveaboard.com currently offers six different liveaboards that visit these sites, all different to suit anyone's desires.

There are two ports from which the liveaboards we have to offer depart from, these are Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. These are both cities in the state of Baja California and located in the most Southern municipality, Los Cabos in Mexico. The closest international airport to these two cities is Los Cabos International Airport, which has flights arriving from the United States, Canada, and other Mexican Cities.