It should be fine to fly in to San Diego on departure day, although it’s always safest to come in the day before. San Diego is a neat place to tour around. Balboa Park alone is enough to keep one busy for a couple of days. Our hospitality suite at the Best Western Palms resort (2018 departures) is open from noon onwards and we ask that you please check in with us by 7 pm at the latest. We should be departing for Ensenada by 7:30 pm. It’s a quick trip – 90 minutes of driving plus clearing the border.

We will drop you off at the Best Western El Cid hotel in downtown Ensenada for the night. The hotel is located in the heart of the tourist district on the main street – it’s safe, fun and interesting to go for a walk after arrival.

Our resident naturalist and tour guide will be meeting you at the hotel first thing in the morning, departing in our Cadillac Escalade on the first leg of the adventure. We will be having breakfast somewhere south of town and then driving and exploring the local wine valley and onwards. We can stop at a local taco stand, or a restaurant if you prefer. We can explore San Quintin. We will be stopping and going for a short walk to view local rock paintings and we will be sure to stop when we reach the Sonoran Desert. The stillness – the beauty – of the desert is magnificent and this is the perfect way to go exploring. Our naturalist is a very interesting guy and will help you see Baja California from a very different perspective.

Late afternoon arrival in the village of Bahía de los Ángeles on the Sea of Cortez.

2018 trips: We will be staying in a local hotel with a short drive to the dive centre each day. NOTE: the maximum group size in 2018 is 6 divers.

2019 trips: We will have champagne waiting for you when you board your private yacht. Diving will be done from the mothership, the Nautilus Gallant Lady.

Diving in the morning – whale sharks and sea lions in the afternoon!

Your day starts with an early breakfast and then meeting up with Ricardo Arce for a day of adventures. Ricardo is our partner in this adventure. A former abalone diver, Ricardo decided to make his way by building a local eco-tourism business. He bought a compressor, some tanks, and slowly built up a dive centre and small fleet of dive pangas. He is a super inquisitive guy, an avid diver and he never stops exploring and trying out new dive sites. We love his story and his success and chose to whole heartedly support his local endeavor rather than running our own pangas.

Great and no problema if you have a special request for more diving and fewer whale sharks – or vice versa. Otherwise, we will plan on 2 tank diving in the morning and spending the afternoon snorkeling with the whale sharks and/or one of the large colonies of sea lions. The whale shark adventures are crazy good here – up to 220 individual whale sharks have been identified in one summer season in the southern end of the bay. They seem to like gathering where the local estuary drains into the bay. We can’t tell you that the water is crystal clear, but you can expect 20 to 40 feet of visibility in the bay – and much better on the outside where we do our diving.

2018 trips: We will head back to the hotel after the dive day for cocktail hour, dinner and some much-needed rest and relaxation.

2019 trips: We’ll head back to the boat for lunch and then head back out on the water again. It’s YOUR vacation so of course it is entirely your option to stay on the yacht and relax, or you might choose to go kayaking, paddle boarding or be dropped off in the village to go for a walk or mountain biking.

We traditionally have cocktail hour at 6 bells (or 7 pm, which might be a bit confusing but it’s how we talk as sailors!) with micro brews, fine wines, single malt whiskey and our signature gin and tonics. Dinner to follow, then a bonfire on the beach, an evening presentation, and lots of relaxation.

We will be heading out after breakfast to start our way back to Ensenada. Our resident naturalist will be guiding us back on a different route cutting through the mountains of Sierra de San Pedro Martir and up along the beautiful coast line of the Sea of Cortez – stopping not just in San Felipe but in other interesting spots. This is ADVENTURE!! We should arrive back in Ensenada and our hospitality suite late afternoon if you are joining one of our Guadalupe great white shark trips. Or, we can transfer you directly back to San Diego. We highly recommend the white shark option!!!!