la paz diving Archives | La Paz Divers

June 9, 2025
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La Paz Diving Experiences

Tags : dive in la paz diving in la paz la paz divers la paz diving

Category : Diving

Discover the Magic of Diving in La Paz with La Paz Divers

Are you searching for a memorable dive destination that combines world-class marine life, pristine dive sites, and an appealing coastal town? Then look no further than La Paz, Mexico. Nestled on the eastern coast of Mexico’s Baja California Sur, La Paz offers one of the most biodiverse marine environments on the planet. At La Paz Divers, we’re here to help you explore it.

Why Dive in La Paz?

The Sea of Cortez, famously called the “Aquarium of the World” by Jacques Cousteau, is teeming with life. From inquisitive, playful sea lions and giant whale sharks to bountiful reefs and mysterious shipwrecks. Diving in La Paz offers something for every level of diver.

Whether you’re a complete beginner or an experienced diver, the waters off La Paz provide a variety of dive sites for all levels.

Top Dive Sites Around La Paz

At La Paz Divers, we take pride in offering curated La Paz diving excursions to the region’s top sites. Here are a few of our favorites:

Los Islotes: Dive with playful sea lions in their natural habitat. This is a must-do site for animal lovers and photographers. The rocky boulder seascape harbors much marine life and we often find large schools of fish hanging around in the shallow areas. It’s important to note that this colony is closed for diving and snorkeling activities from June 1 to September 1 for breeding season.
El Bajo Seamount: A deep dive site consisting of a series of three seamounts. El Bajo is known for its potential to spot silky sharks and the occasional scalloped hammerhead. Even in the absence of large pelagics, this advanced dive site is a beautiful location harboring a bounty of marine life.
La Reina: A beautiful rocky reef abundant with tropical fish and often visited by manta rays in the summer months. Stunning rock formations including a submarine canyon. Moray eels are plentiful here. The Panamic green moray is the most common. One might also observe jeweled morays hunting for crustaceans hidden beneath shells and other marine debris.
Fang Ming Wreck: A sunken Chinese vessel turned artificial reef, now home to schools of fish, eels, large groupers, resting sea turtles, and macro life.
Swanne Reef: A beautiful coral reef teeming with life including moray eels, nudibranchs, and big schools of fish. It’s quite common to see comorants diving down form the surface and predating on the fish schools here. A few sea lions can often be seen basking in the sun on the surface between making occasional dives to prey on fish.

Each site has its own unique appeal, and we tailor trips based on conditions, your interests, and your diving experience.

Dive and Stay with La Paz Divers

Do you want to make your dive trip truly seamless? We offer La Paz diving packages that include both guided dives and cozy accommodations at our in-town bed and breakfast. Located just minutes from the malecón, our BNB offers a comfortable home base close to restaurants, shops, and nightlife. With daily transport to the dive boat, gear storage, and pet-friendly amenities, all you need to do is focus on the diving.

When to Dive in La Paz?

Diving in La Paz is possible year-round, but the marine life varies with the seasons:

November to February or March: Whale shark season—snorkel with the ocean’s gentle giants.
July to November: Best visibility and warmer water temperatures; possible pelagic sightings.
December to May: Cooler sea temperatures attract different species, and fewer divers make it a great time for more intimate dive experiences.

More Than Just Diving

La Paz is more than just a dive destination. It’s a vibrant city with a laid-back vibe, delicious food options, and rich local culture. After your dive, stroll along the Malecón , enjoy a sunset margarita, or explore nearby beach and desert landscapes.

Ready to Dive In La Paz?

At La Paz Divers, we’re passionate about sharing the wonders of diving in La Paz with divers from around the world. Whether you’re planning a quick weekend getaway or a full-on dive holiday, we’ll help you build the perfect itinerary.

Book your La Paz diving experience with us today and discover why the Sea of Cortez is one of the most treasured dive destinations on Earth.

Contact us using the form below.

March 17, 2023
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Dive in La Paz with sea lions

Tags : dive in la paz dive with sea lions la paz diving sea lions swim with sea lions

Category : Diving

Join La Paz Divers to dive in La Paz with sea lions

One of the most fun and exciting places to dive in La Paz is at Los Islotes, a pair of islets located at the northern-tip of the Espiritu Santo National Park. This rock formation is located approximately 1:30 hrs from La Paz by boat and is home to a large colony of 850 + California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). These animals are popularly known as the pups of the sea, due to the curious and playful nature of the juveniles. On land, these animals may appear a little clumsy, but under the water, they are agile, graceful swimmers. Reaching speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, the sea lions will amaze you with their energy and maneuverability.

Book NowSea lions entertain themselves by swimming, splashing around, and playing with each other, objects, and animals that they encounter in their habitat. These pinnipeds commonly interact with people in the water, swimming close to take a second look and even playfully nibbling at the fins of divers and snorkelers.

Sea lions are very vocal animals and will often seemingly argue with each other for hours as they negotiate for space to haul out on the rocks and bask in the sun.

Throughout your diving adventure, you will be accompanied by your marine biologist guide who will explain about the biology, life-history and conservation status of these amazing creatures.

The season for swimming and diving in La Paz with sea lions is from September to the end of May each year, since the breeding season of the sea lions starts in June and ends in August so in-water interactions are suspended for this critical time for the species.

There is a wide-range of diving in La Paz to be enjoyed including sea turtles on the Fang Ming shipwreck, seasonal manta sightings at La reina, and huge fish schools at Swanne rock.

Book Now

April 17, 2022
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Diving in La Paz

Tags : dive dive in la paz diving diving in la paz la paz diving sea of cortez

Category : Diving

Diving in La Paz is a popular activity, drawing in visitors from far and wide to experience the amazing marine fauna of the Sea of Cortez.

If you are mulling over where to take your next dive trip, then look no further than diving in La Paz, Mexico, a coastal city that provides a great base for your dive adventure in the Sea of Cortez.

Inspired by the species diversity and abundance of the Sea of Cortez, Jacques-Yves Cousteau dubbed it “The World’s Aquarium” shortly after he started diving here in the 1950’s.

Originally called the Gulf of California, the Sea of Cortez crept into existence around five million years ago when tectonic activity gradually tore the Baja Peninsula away from mainland Mexico resulting in the creation of a unique sea and assemblage of marine organisms.

The Sea of Cortez is widely considered to be one of world’s most biologically-rich bodies of water, providing habitat to almost one thousand species of fish as well as numerous species of whales, dolphins, sharks, rays, sea turtles, and seals.

Follows is a guide to some of the most popular dive sites in La Paz.

La Paz Dive Sites

Los Islotes

This pair of rocky islets form the northern-most point of the land component of the Espiritu Santo National Park and is one of three no fishing zones within the Park. Los Islotes is famous for its huge population of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). The last government census conducted over the summer of 2021 identified 853 individuals. Playful juveniles often interact with divers and snorkelers making it one of the most popular sites for divers in La Paz.

Maximum depth ~ 18 m / 60′

La Reina

La Reina is a small islet located off the northern-point of Isla Cerralvo, AKA Jacques Cousteau Island. A small number of California sea lions have taken refuge here which is not surprising due to the biological richness of the site.

La Reina boasts some interesting rock formations including a submarine canyon whose vertical surfaces are carpeted in sea fans and colourful colonies of sponges.

When diving at La Reina there is the possibility of encountering oceanic giant manta rays (Mobula biostris) from July to October.

Maximum depth ~ 24 m / 80′

El Bajo

El Bajo consists of three seamounts located within the Espiritu Santo National Park around 30 minutes boat ride from Los Islotes. Divers come from all over the world for the possibility of observing pelagic sharks including the scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) and the silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis). Even in the absence of sharks, El Bajo is a superb dive site abundant with marine life. You’d be hard-pushed to find a site with so many moray eels!

Maximum depth ~ 40 m / 130′

Swanne Rock

This submerged rock is located in the San Lorenzo Channel between La Paz and Espiritu Santo island. It is another hangout for the California sea lion most likely due to the abundance of prey items for them. The rock’s summit lays just below the surface making it great for snorkeling as well. Large schools of fish, including spotted-tailed grunts and Mexican goatfish, can be regularly observed here.

Maximum depth ~ 12 m / 40′

El Salvatierra (shipwreck)

The Salvatierra began its life in Chesapeake Bay serving in WWII as a ferry. Sometime after the war had ended, the ship was bought at an auction and brought through the Panama Channel to serve as a ferry between La Paz and Mazatlan.

In 1976 the Salvatierra met with Swanne Rock tearing open her hull and causing her to sink. The same year, Hurricane Lisa hit La Paz, tearing the decking from the Salvatierra and scattering her cargo of trucks across the sea floor making for an interesting dive site that habours much marine life including huge groupers and schooling fish.

Maximum depth ~ 20 m / 65′

Fang Ming (shipwreck)

The Fang Ming is a shipwreck of Chinese origin. In her last days she served to smuggle illegal immigrants from China to the United States. Consequently, in 1995, she was caught in the act and seized by Mexican authorities. In 1999 the Fang Ming became the first intentionally sunken ship for the purpose of creating an artificial reef in all of Latin America.

Today, the Fang Ming is abundant with marine life and has become for an important habitat for sea turtles, mainly the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) that come here to rest and be cleaned.

Maximum depth ~ 20 m / 65′

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