FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Weather, water conditions and marine life
1.1) Water Temperatures and Visibility
1.2) What Marine life can I expect
1.3) What are the dive conditions like in Los Cabos
Payment & Cancellations & Reservations
2.1) What is your cancellation policy?
2.2) What are Vour payment options?
Dive Tours & Refreshers
3.1) I haven’t been diving for a while, do I have to do a refresher courses?
3.2) I am thinking of renting equipment instead of bringing my own. What does your equipment rental include?
3.3) How big are your dive groups?
3.4) What should I bring with me when I dive?
3.5) Can I bring a non-diver along on the boat when I dive?
Gordo Banks, Cabo Pulmo and La Paz
4.1) When is the best time to dive at Gordo Banks, Cabo Pulmo and La Paz?
4.2) Do I need to be Nitrox certified to dive at Gordo Banks?
4.3) How long are the trips to Gordo Banks, Cabo Pulmo and La Paz?
Dive Courses
5.1) I did my course work and pool sessions already. Can I do my certification dives with you?
5.2) Do you offer PADI Elearning?
5.3) Can my child become certified to dive?
Weather, water conditions and marine life
1.1) Water Temperatures and Visibilities
August – November: 75 – 85 degrees | 40 – 100 feet visibility
December – April: 65 – 75 degrees | 20 – 60 feet visibility
May – July: 60 – 65 degrees | 10 – 50 feet visibility
1.2) What Marine life can I expect?
The main attraction of diving in Los Cabos is the quantity of marine life. The waters around Los Cabos are home to over 250 species of fish and invertebrates. Here a just a few to give you an idea what to expect:
Marine Mammals: Californian sea-lions, 3 different types of turtles, whales and dolphins
Rays: Mobula rays, manta rays, guitar rays, eagle rays, electric rays, diamond rays, butterfly rays and many more
Sharks: Hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, white-tip reef sharks, bull sharks, tiger sharks and more
Tropical Fish: Angelfish, snappers, groupers, pufferfish, porcupine-fish, barracudas, jacks, mackerels, butterflyfish and a lot more
Gamefish: Marlins, sailfish, dorados, rooster-fish, tunas ….
Invertebrates: Nudibranches, octopus, starfish, flatworms …….
1.3) What are the dive conditions like?
Diving conditions close to San Jose del Cabo are at their best in the mornings. Most dive sites are suitable for beginner as well as more experienced divers with only a few exceptions.
Payments, Cancellations & Reservations
2.1) What is your cancellation policy?
Once you reserve a space, that space is yours and cannot be sold to anyone else. Therefore, if you cancel without sufficient notice, we do not have the opportunity to fill that space. This cancellation policy is designed to cover part of the lost revenue.
– For all the Cabo San Lucas, Corridor, Gordo Banks and Cabo Pulmo trips we refund 100% for any cancellations made more than 72 hours prior to the trip. We do not refund for “No Shows” or cancellations made less than 72 hours prior to the trip.
– For all PADI Courses we ask for a $230 US non refundable deposit. Upon receipt of the deposit, a PADI e-learning code will be purchased and sent to you. The e-learning material is yours to keep. Consult with your physician that you are fit for scuba diving before purchasing the e-learning code.
– For all whale shark and sea lion trips, 25% of the full price will be kept as a retainer fee. This 25% is required to reserve a space with the national park authorities and is non refundable. There will be no refunds for cancellations made less than 7 days prior to the trip.
– Dives canceled by “East Cape Explorers“ due to weather and/or port closures will allow the client the option to reschedule the dive (based on availability) or to receive a 100% refund of the deposit.
– “East Cape Explorers“ has a zero tolerance policy for “drinking and diving.” Everything in moderation is acceptable; however, anyone showing up for the dive hung-over or smelling of alcohol will not be allowed on the boat and will not be issued a refund.
2.2) What are your payment options?
We accept the following payment methods:
Cash (US dollars, Canadian dollars, Mexican pesos and Euros)
We offer 10% discount for cash payments.
MasterCard and Visa
Paypal & Stripe
Dive Tours & Refreshers
3.1) I haven’t been diving for a while, do I have to do a refresher courses?
If you haven’t been diving for a year or more it is recommended to do a refresher course.
For those who haven’t been diving in a while or are fairly new to scuba diving we offer an optional short “scuba refresher” for free 30 minute prior to the dives.
For those who haven’t been diving in a long time we offer a full refresher course which takes 4.5 hours and includes 2 open water dives for $160 US
3.2) I am thinking of renting equipment from you instead of bringing my own. What does your equipment rental include?
You can rent the full equipment from us or just the piece of equipment you are missing
The full equipment rental includes:
– BCD (Sherwood & XSScuba)
– Regulator (Scubapro & Sherwood)
– Wetsuit + Hood (5 or 7mm)
– Full-foot Fins or Open-heel Fins (Cressi Sub / Scubapro)
– Mask & Snorkel
3.3) How big are your dive groups?
For reasons of safety and convenience we like to keep the dive groups small and divided by experience.
Our maximum diver to dive-master ratio is 6:1, but most of the time there are only 2-3 divers per guide.
3.4) What should I bring with me when I dive?
Bring your swimsuit, towel, sunscreen and sunglasses. For all full-day dive excursions please also bring a jacket (windbreaker)
– If you’re a certified diver, please bring your certification card and log book (if you have on). If you don’t have your certification card with you and are certified with PADI, SSI or NAUI we can look up your certification online
– If you’re a student, bring your course manual, referral documents and logbook.
3.5) Can I bring a non-diver along on the boat when I dive?
Yes. We do allow passenger / snorkelers to come along with a diver. We charge $45 US per passenger / snorkeler. Included: Snorkeling gear and wetsuit. Not included: Snorkel guide
Gordo Banks, Cabo Pulmo & La Paz
4.1) When is the best time to dive at Gordo Banks, Cabo Pulmo and La Paz (whale-shark snorkeling)?
– Gordo Banks all year round
– Cabo Pulmo from July – December
– La Paz (whale shark snorkeling) from October – March
4.2) Do I need to be Nitrox certified to dive at Gordo Banks?
No, we prefer diving Gordo Banks using regular air due to the nature of the dive. We go to a depth of 130 feet maximum which is close or over the maximum operating depth for popular nitrox blends. For example 30% nitrox has a maximum operating depth of 120 feet and 32% nitrox has a maximum operating depth of 110 feet.
4.3) How long are the trips to Gordo Banks, Cabo Pulmo and La Paz?
Gordo Banks
Checkin: 8:15 at our shop | Return: 13:00 | Travel Time: 40 – 60 minutes each way by boat.
Cabo Pulmo
Pick up: 6:45 at
your hotel | Return: 17:30 | Travel Time: Approximately 2.15 hours each way by air conditioned van.
La Paz
Pick up: 6:00 at
your hotel | Return: 17:30 | Travel Time: Approximately 2 hours each way by air conditioned van.
PADI – Dive Courses
5.1) I did my course work and pool sessions already. Can I do my certification dives with you?
Yes, of course. This is called a referral course and includes the 4 remaining open water dives for your open water diver certification. We schedule 2 dives per day either from 8:00 – 13:30
5.2) Do you offer PADI elearning?
Yes, the PADI eLearning is included in nearly all of our courses:
– Open Water Diver Course
– Advanced Open Water Diver
– Rescue Diver
– Enriched Air Nitrox
– Dive master
5.3) Can my child become certified to dive?
The minimum age to become a certified scuba diver is 10 years. Children develop physically and mentally at different rates, making it difficult to define an age at which all children can safely dive. A child’s maturity, reasoning skills, and physical limitations should be taken into account when determining if he is ready to begin scuba diving.
