Join Blue Planet for some incredible big animal encounters in Socorro, the “Mexican Galapagos.” These islands draw sharks, mantas, whales and pelagic fish in large numbers, promising a memorable week of diving from the M/V Valentina liveaboard.

Socorro

The Revillagigedos Archipelago, more commonly called Socorro, is located in the eastern Pacific Ocean approximately 250 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, at the tip of the Baja peninsula. These islands have been compared to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador or Cocos Island in Costa Rica because of the big animal encounters they provide…like up-close and personal encounters with the Giant Pacific manta ray, which can grow to 22 feet from wingtip to wingtip.

There are plenty of sharks — hammerhead schools, white tips, silver tips, silkies, duskies, Galapagos and occasionally tigers. Divers have encountered up to 7 species of sharks on a single dive! We may even get lucky and see whale sharks.

Add to the mix extremely large tuna, wahoo, thick schools of jacks and many other big critters along with endemic tropicals found nowhere else in the world, and you have the best big animal diving on earth!

As the diving here is usually deeper and more challenging, each diver must have a minimum of Advanced Open Water Diver certification (or equivalent) and at least 50 dives. Enriched air/Nitrox certification strongly recommended.

M/V Valentina

The 125 ft long M/V Valentina will be our home base for this incredible trip. It has 10 air-conditioned cabins, each with an en-suite bathroom. The dining room offers excellent cuisine with a variety of Mexican, European and Asian dishes, and also an open bar with a choice of various soft drinks, tea, coffee and draft beer. Relax between dives on the large, partially covered sun deck, or enjoy the stars at night while floating in the middle of the ocean.

Upon cancellation of a reservation for any reason, the refund of the deposit and payments made or due will be contingent upon Blue Planet reselling the participant's reservation. Any refund may also be subject to a cancellation fee and payment of any non-refundable fees imposed by the tour company, dive operator or any other contractor associated with the trip.

Dive accident insurance is required for all divers on this trip. We strongly recommend travel insurance to protect your vacation investment. Contact us if you need more information.

Embarking
Embarking
April 13, 2019
Upon arrival at the San Jose Del Cabo airport (SJD), you will be greeted and transferred to the marina complimentary as long as it is on the check in and check out date. If you are already staying in the area, feel free to make your own way to the Marina named “Puerto Los Cabos” by 6:00 PM. All guests must be onboard by 18:00 on all itineraries so the Valentina departs at 21:00.

If you'd like to arrive in the area earlier, we can help with hotel arrangements. It's not a bad idea to ensure your bags make it before the boat departs! You can stay in San Jose Del Cabo or head a bit further south to Cabo San Lucas.
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Roca Partida
Roca Partida
A pinnacle surrounded by life
This huge reef towers right in the middle of the open ocean. The wall drops quickly to 70-80 meters. You can find large schools of Black Jacks plus passing Mantas and Silver Tip Sharks. This is also where you can see schooling Hammerhead Sharks, and at the right time of year, Whale Sharks and Tiger Sharks!
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El Boiler
El Boiler
San Benedicto Island
San Benedicto is a submerged, large sea mount rising from the bottom of the sea. This is the place to see Giant Mantas plus migratory fish such as Big Eye Jack, Greater Amberjack, and Black Jack. Hammerhead Sharks and Bottlenose Dolphins also like to visit -- you never know with what you may encounter!
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El Canyon
El Canyon
San Benedicto Island
Another Manta hotspot! Imagine a large Manta reaching 4 meters fin tip to fin tip, or a Black Manta circling over you. It's incredible! You may hear Humpback whales singing in the distance, and lucky divers can even meet the Humpback Whales underwater. You never know who may appear out of the blue...
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Cabo Pearce
Cabo Pearce
Socorro Island
At this point on the island, you dive around the sea mount that stretches towards the open sea. You can expect multiple encounters with big creatures such as Bottlenose Dolphins, Hammerhead Sharks and Mantas. Exciting scenes with other big creatures such as Galapagos Sharks and Silver Tip Sharks will leave you breathless.
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Disembarking
Disembarking
April 22, 2019
Check out is around 10:00 AM on the last day of the trip. The crew will transport you to San Jose Del Cabo airport. If you plan to stay at a hotel around Los Cabos, the crew can help arrange a taxi. Check out time is subject to change depending on the weather and diving conditions.
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Embarking

April 13, 2019

Upon arrival at the San Jose Del Cabo airport (SJD), you will be greeted and transferred to the marina complimentary as long as it is on the check in and check out date. If you are already staying in the area, feel free to make your own way to the Marina named “Puerto Los Cabos” by 6:00 PM. All guests must be onboard by 18:00 on all itineraries so the Valentina departs at 21:00.

If you'd like to arrive in the area earlier, we can help with hotel arrangements. It's not a bad idea to ensure your bags make it before the boat departs! You can stay in San Jose Del Cabo or head a bit further south to Cabo San Lucas.

Where to even begin….This was such a great trip! Heather and Jonas made Raja Ampat a stellar experience, from communicating what visas and health forms we needed to organizing an optional tour guide in Jakarta (where most of us had a long layover). It was a wonderful experience with no hiccups. The only thing I wished we had done was one of the post-trip experiences (diving other parts of Indonesia) that Blue Planet offered!

By Rachel L for Raja Ampat, Indonesia Liveaboard on Feb 23, 2025

Wonderful experience diving Raja Ampat on Aggressor with Blue Planet. Heather and Jonas make it look so easy. Raja Ampat is extraordinary, so many endemic species. Highly recommend! (just not all at once, okay?)

By Robert G for Raja Ampat, Indonesia Liveaboard on Feb 22, 2025

Raja Ampat was beyond my expectations! I had the most amazing experience, did some incredible diving, met new dive colleagues and by far my favorite destination to date. I am very thankful for the opportunity to have experienced such a well-executed trip put together by Blue Planet and the team. I look forward to my next adventure!

By Marie T for Raja Ampat, Indonesia Liveaboard on Feb 16, 2025

Lots of fun and great people

By Janet D for Weekend Getaway to Belize on Jan 31, 2025

Belize is a quiet spot for diving. The trip was well organized and there were several opportunities to dive on the trip. There is not a lot of other things to do, but the food at the hotel and the local restaurants was excellent. I was a new diver and I’d say the diving here is better suited for advanced divers. For example, you must have advanced open water certification in order to experience the blue hole, and entry into the water was rough due to the strong currents. But the dive shop staff and instructors were excellent and the marine life was gorgeous. Many, many sharks! I had a good time and will definitely consider another Blue Planet dive trip.

By Christine D for Weekend Getaway to Belize on Jan 31, 2025

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Big Animal Encounters in Socorro

Big Animal Encounters in Socorro

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