You’ll want to schedule your international flight into and out of Los Cabos International (SJD) situated at the tip of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. Many airlines fly to Los Cabos but most fly through the United States. If you’re not travelling on an American passport, please be sure that you have the visa you need to transit through the US.

Most of the liveaboards leave port late afternoon / early evening on the day of departure and make an overnight crossing. The exceptions are Vortex, Solmar V and Socorro Aggressor.

For late departures, you may be able to find a flight which gets you to Los Cabos on departure day but it’s a risk and we strongly recommend arriving a day early to avoid any eventual disappointment caused by travel delays or luggage gone astray. It’s a one-day sail from Cabo out to Socorro which means the liveaboards can’t wait for guests who have missing luggage or who missed their flight.

We’ll help you to organize a transfer into town from the airport, then to the port the next day.

All guests must have a passport valid 6 months from entry. Upon your arrival to Mexico you will need to complete a visa form which will be stamped by immigration officials. Other visas are required from certain countries, so please check your specific requirements at a consulate or embassy online.

We suggest flying in the day before the boat departs (this is imperative if your liveaboard leaves in the morning or mid-day). The extra allows time for flight delays or missing baggage. After the trip, flights departing Los Cabos after 12PM are perfect. All the boats dock early in the morning upon return from the crossing.

Surface weather at Socorro Island is similar to southern California climate. Very warm during the day, and cool at night. Summer clothing should be fine for your trip. We recommend bringing a sweater, long pants and a windbreaker/rain jacket plus don’t forget your hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen

You will be diving in water that averages 65°-72°F, 20°-20°C. December and May are usually at the upper end of the range while January, February and March are cooler. A 5-7 mm wetsuit is recommended. All diving is from the dive tenders.

The conditions in this island group can be challenging. It’s the eastern Pacific Ocean, after all, with currents which can be strong. It’s important to have good buoyancy control and can be too challenging for novice divers.

Although the diving areas at Revillagigedo Islands require certain experience particularly in regards of buoyancy control, most divers who choose this destination are have sufficient experience for the conditions. Please note that several dives may not be suitable for divers of lower experience levels. Your Cruise Director and dive guides will ensure that you skip dives that are beyond your level if you don’t have a lot of logged dives under your belt.

Please chat with us about your experience before booking.

The season at the Socorro Islands runs from the first of November through mid-June. Most of the liveaboards then switch to Guadalupe Island trips for White Shark cage diving.

Certain sunscreen ingredients have been found to be damaging to corals. These include oxybenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, 4MBC, or butylparaben. Research indicates that these chemicals can cause DNA damage to corals, promote viruses in corals, and contribute to the bleaching.

Some dive destinations have banned these chemicals but we would encourage you to choose and use a sunscreen that is “coral safe” in all destinations..

The boats are all equipped with the best First-Aid materials available.

Please note that it’s a long trip out to the Islands and can be a rocky crossing. We recommend the use of the scopolamine “patch” as an anti-seasickness medication.

There is a navy decompression chamber on Socorro Island and civilian chambers in Cabo San Lucas. Should you have a health emergency you can get a medavac flight. There is a 5000-foot navy airstrip on Socorro Island. However, a single flight costs a minimum of US$10,000 and if you don’t have adequate insurance, you will need to arrange for pre-payment of the flight.

Current studies show that you should wait at least 24 hours after multiple days with repetitive diving before flying. Please keep this in mind before you book your onward international or domestic flights.

The currency is the Mexican peso.

All guests will have to pay a USD $78 Natural Park Fee onboard, cash only. There is a 16% tax added to all onboard purchases.

Travel insurance : We strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance to cover against unforeseeable events including personal & business impediments, illness, travel delays and missed flight connections.  We hate seeing any of our clients fall into the category of unfortunate travelers who are without coverage for unexpected circumstances

Diving insurance:  the liveaboards now require diving insurance. You must not confuse regular travel medical and/or travel insurance with diving-specific insurance such as DAN (Divers Alert Network) or Dive Assure.  This type of insurance will cover all of your scuba diving and snorkeling activities, including the costs for recompression chamber treatment and emergency air evacuation. These are not covered by the average travel insurance.

We recommend Dive Assure as they are one of the few companies who offer insurance which includes general travel insurance, including trip cancellation …. plus full dive coverage.

Click here or on the button in the side panel to access Dive Assure directly.