superbusydad - 7-15-2014 at 08:52 AM
I have been to Cabo Pumo over the years since the 1970s, and I have inquired about a snorkel tour guide for my kids for late July. They quoted 350
dollars to take me out to the reef (we have own gear). That seems outrageous since the reef and snorkeling are right off shore. I am not cheap but
that seems highway robbery for a 2 hr tour. What are my alternatives? Any references or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks Mike
MMc - 7-15-2014 at 09:01 AM
A couple of boogie boards and a long leash, we will use a 50 ft X1/8 rope you can tie it off or drag it behind you. Kayak works too but harder to dive
off and keep in place.
Mulegena - 7-15-2014 at 11:09 AM
There are a couple or three outfitters in Cabo Pulmo, I believe.
Check with another and be willing to bargain. They most likely maintain web pages, so look online for their advertised rate schedule; they will
probably be willing to negotiate a better price, too. Nothing's set in Stone.
Bill Collector - 7-15-2014 at 01:06 PM
Check out Palmas De Cortez . They run dive boats to Cabo Pulmo, they have prices quoted on the web site
bajafreaks - 7-15-2014 at 01:46 PM
My wife and I went about two years ago there were two or three charter companies off to the left once in town by the water. We shared the boat with
another couple I believe we paid about $40.00 each, we have our own gear. The trip was great well worth the money, just watch out for the winds, if
its windy the kids wont dig it at all.
mulegemichael - 7-15-2014 at 02:38 PM
OR, as an alternative, don't use a tour guide and do it all yourselves...which, in cabo pulmo, is really easy....right in the little village of cabo
pulmo the reef comes right up to the beach...you'll have to park then pack your stuff a couple hundred yards down the beach but what the heck?...no
prob....if you continue south of town a couple miles there's a left turn down to a little cove that, last time i was there, was flat beautiful
snorkeling; protected, varied habitat, safe, etc....i think you will have to pay for the park permit, which was cheap....if you continue on for a
couple more miles you'll see/come to a rustic campground on your left....lotsa canadian campers here for some reason....part there under a big
mesquite tree and hike down the beach back to the north to a great big rock head that comes right down to the beach....scramble out across house sized
rocks until you're away from the surf and enjoy....i've taken my family there for a couple decades now and we have never been disappointed.....one
year, quite some time ago, i was feeding chunks of sardines to the fish to draw a crowd and a big ol moray eel came up and chomped onto my son's
flipper....needless to say, my hijo did his famous "walkonwater" routine.....you'll love the place...have fun.
Floatflyer - 7-15-2014 at 03:12 PM
Cabo Pulmo is made up of 5-7 "finger reefs, not just one reef. If you don't get use a panga, the best snorkeling is a couple of miles south of the
village, and is called various names, Playa or Rancho Arbolitos, or Corral de Frailles. Has a manager/caretaker and has very easy access to the beach
with some of the best snorkeling starting virtually at the beach. Also this very nice sand beach is about the only non rocky beach in Cabo Pulmo.
Here is a reasonable description of the area, IMO.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g735523-d151798...
Whale-ista - 7-15-2014 at 04:27 PM
I was there a few weeks ago- You can arrange to go out in a boat, with mask/fins/snorkel gear and water provided, for $45/person. Just go to the "Main
Street" and drive to end- there's a dive operator next to Palapa restaurant. They offer 3 stops, including first 2 near Arbolitos at south end of reef
in shallow area, final one offshore to see the huge schools of fish on outside reef/deeper water.
(we saw sea turtle at Arbolitos area, they supposedly like grazing on bottom around this area)
Or drive a few miles of dirt road to Arbolitos and pay $5 to park, then walk into water and snorkel from beach. The owners have an RV snackbar set up,
and bathrooms w/showers. Primitive, but nice beach, palapas for shade, and a tower to climb up to admire the view from 40 feet over the beach. You can
even camp there for entry price- just bring tent, food etc if you really want to experience the beach for many hours.
Of course, you can always park for free near restaurant in town, walk to end of Street w/gear and head south, til you run out of beach, then swim. the
reef is close and showers can be purchased nearby when you get back to shore.
(But Arbolitos is closest to rocks/reef.)
Have fun!
[Edited on 7-15-2014 by Whale-ista]
freediverbrian - 7-15-2014 at 05:56 PM
Check with the dive boats , I have gone out on dive boats many times for alot cheaper of price because I am not a scuba diver I am a freediver. They
will give you a good rates to divers with no tanks to fill a boat.
Float Flyer
captkw - 7-15-2014 at 09:29 PM
Is spot on !! " Corral De Frailles" is the bomb for snorkel and if you want to waste time and money diving go a bit further out...GOD !! I'm only 53
yrs old !! and Now I'm a old Baja rat... Till very recently this area was the good old sweet Baja secret spot...and for the name to change like many
other B.C.S. awesome Jewels for money is such a Sad,,Sad thing to watch...anyone here knows/remember TITO"S ?? The Local fight for the "PARK" has
been a F-ing Bad Joke...SIGH !!
snorkeling
wsdunc - 7-16-2014 at 12:14 PM
We snorkeled Cabo Pulmo a couple of years ago. First we went on a panga, I think it was about $40 per person. One of the cool parts was they took us
maybe a mile offshore and then stopped over a big eye jack tornado, a school of maybe 300 3 ft jacks swirling around in one place. I am not sure what
they were up to, but the guides went there expecting to find them. It was awesome. Less enjoyable for me was the requirement that everyone were a
life jacket while snorkeling. This may be to keep folks from diving down and touching (damaging) the reefs. But I found it intrusive, and would have
liked to have the freedom to dive, I now not to touch the reefs.
Later we took our jeep to Las Arbolitos the standard snorkeling beach south of town. Good snorkeling, we got to follow a couple of turtles around.
In the past I have snorkeled from north side of the beach at Bahia de Frailes and it was quite nice, this is a good place in the winter when the north
winds blow as it is sheltered.
superbusydad - 7-16-2014 at 03:48 PM
Your advice has been helpful, and I will show up there with a wealth of knowledge. Thank you
HeyMulegeScott - 8-6-2014 at 01:35 PM
Another vote for snorkeling off Playa Arbolitos. Hang a right when you get to the beach and you can explore the rocky outcroppings with a ton of fish.
I did several scuba trips in 2013 with Cabo Pulmo Beach resort and would recommend them for scuba but for snorkeling there's no reason to pay for a
boat.
Photos on from my trip here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/sichler/sets/72157633533975712...
BajaBlanca - 8-6-2014 at 02:00 PM
We are headed there in September, great thread!
CatCrazyJulie - 10-2-2014 at 09:34 PM
We've been to Cabo Pulmo over 10 times; love it so much that we bought a little piece of dirt there (don't know if we'll ever pull the pesos together
to build a palapa on it, but it's a place to park the trailer). Los Arbolitos beach is the best for snorkling! No guides are needed!
Recommendation: go the morning, as if wind is going to come up, it is most likely to come up after 10 or 11 a.m.
Los Frailes is more exposed, and more rapidly gets deep. It's also great snorkling, but you need to swim farther to get to the rocks and structure,
so it's more exposed than Los Arbolitos, and it very rapidly drops off and gets deep. Ergo the increased likelihood of seeing "pelagics". If you are
a good swimmer/snorkler, Frailes is great, but if you are looking for a mellower experience or more of a beginner's snorkling trip, Los Arbolitos is
the better pick. The exception would be if there's a north wind; then Los Frailes is the place to go, because then it's in the wind shadow.
And as others have mentioned, there is often great snorkling right in front of "downtown" Cabo Pulmo. You want to go just to the south of the first
reef, so you are outside of the area where the boats come to shore to drop off and pick up divers. We've spent hours snorkling right off shore there.
Depending on the tide, the current can get a bit strong in places, so be aware of where you are relative to the rocks and corals.
Since Cabo Pulmo is a marine park, everyone in the water is required to buy a day use "bracelet", which I think is about $2.50, and you can get at any
of the dive shops (or you can buy an annual passport for $25, but it takes days for them to get it).
As someone mentioned above, formal snorkeling tours require people to wear lifejackets in order to keep people from touching the coral, and I believe
the official park rules require lifejackets for snorkelers. My husband and I usually have on lightweight divesuits or lycra bodysuits, mostly for
protection from sunburn and jellyfish, so maybe we look less like casual tourists. So far we haven't gotten busted while snorkeling for not having on
lifejackets. My mother wears a lifejacket while snorkeling because she is now over 80 years old, and no longer a strong swimmer.
Could talk about Pulmo forever. Love it there!