Socorro & Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico
The Revillagigedo Archipelago has waters teeming with manta rays, whales, dolphins, sharks, and other huge pelagic species. These volcanic islands also feature stunning active volcanoes, arches, cliffs, and isolated rock outcrops emerging from the middle of the ocean. Read our guide to learn more about these natural wonders and find out why the Revillagigedo Archipelago is such a great destination for divers.Geography of the Socorro & Revillagigedo Islands
Geography of the Socorro & Revillagigedo Islands
Socorro Island
Known as one of the four islands that make up the Revillagigedo Islands, Socorro is an incredible diving destination. Divers will find cleaning stations for manta rays and a few pinnacles on this island. Hammerhead shark sightings usually take place on the pinnacles.
Other dive sites in Socorro witness nearly daily (and often long) encounters with bottlenose dolphins. The island’s eastern part has dive sites with calmer seas, ensuring more relaxing dives.
Cabo Pearce
Located in the eastern part of Socorro Island, the Cabo Pearce reef stretches out into the prevailing current. Dolphins are usually active in this dive site, meaning you can spend some time with them before you descend into the depths. They may even stick around while you’re diving. So if you’ve always wanted to swim with dolphins, don’t forget to add Cabo Pearce to your diving itinerary.
While making your descent and settling among the rocks, you can wait for a large school of hammerheads to appear. Silky sharks also frequent Cabo Pearce, but you can only spot them later in the day. Humpback whales might come your way as well, if you’re lucky.
Roca O’Neal
Also known as O’Neal Rock and Hammerhead Central, Roca O’Neal is good for spotting scalloped hammerhead sharks. You can also keep an eye out for lobsters, reef fish, and smaller sea animals on a plateau located at 33 to 39 feet. And if you love sharks, you just might run into Galapagos, gray reef, silky, and other shark species while you’re here.
Punta Tosca
Diving in Punta Tosca will allow you to see dolphins up close and personal for longer. It’s also one of the best places where you can see humpback whales. Galapagos and silky sharks often occupy this dive site, and it’s a top destination for tiger shark sightings within the Revillagigedo Islands. The reef’s crevices serve as a hiding place for numerous lobsters, too.
The Aquarium
This area east of Socorro Island is well-known among macro photographers. As its name suggests, the Aquarium houses many fish species. Clarión angelfish with flashy orange colors group themselves into huge schools within the site. You can also see plenty of red-tailed and crosshatch triggerfishes swimming in this enclave.
San Benedicto Island
San Benedicto is the third largest island in the Revillagigedo Islands. It’s a popular dive site worldwide due to the quality of diver encounters with giant manta rays. This means you can get closer to these creatures for a long time. But mantas aren’t the only marine animals in San Benedicto: hammerheads, dusky sharks, silkies, and dolphins abound here as well. Whale sharks, humpback whales, and more might appear in the site, too.
El Boiler
El Boiler is a small yet nearly oval guyot that’s roughly the size and shape of a football field. The pinnacle on this dive site rises from about 165 feet below to within 20 feet from the ocean surface. Deep diving isn’t necessary when you’re in El Boiler, as its stunning marine life lies within 100 feet.
The entire area houses lobsters, octopus, and reef fish, while jacks, silky sharks, and many manta rays roam the pinnacle. Lots of Clarión angelfish gather in this cleaning station to pick off parasites from the mantas. El Boiler also gives you a chance to spot tiger and whale sharks, as well as humpback whales.
El Canyon
El Canyon lies at Socorro’s southern end and has two cleaning stations. These areas are known for attracting large pelagics. Sharks are the prevalent species in El Canyon: Divers often run into silkies, Galapagos sharks, and hammerheads here. You might also see reef fish descending up and down the slope or dolphins passing by the site.
Roca Partida
Your Revillagigedo diving itinerary wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Roca Partida. This dive site is located around 85 miles from San Benedicto. It attracts a large variety of marine creatures. Diving in Roca Partida will give you plenty of opportunities to spot sharks, mantas, large schools of fish, and whale sharks. It’s also worth noting that white-tip shark and hammerhead sightings usually occur at this site at the start of the year.
Marine Life
- Giant manta rays - Measuring up to 29 feet in width, giant manta rays are the world’s largest rays. They also come at a much larger size than other rays. These large creatures consume tiny plankton, just like whale sharks, basking sharks, and blue whales.
- Clarión angelfish - These colorful fishes are residents of the Revillagigedo Archipelago’s rocky reefs and walls, as well as Clarión Island. Clarión angelfish usually have compressed bodies that feature brownish to vibrant orange colors. They may also have brown or greenish heads with small mouths. Clarión angelfish nibble parasites and dead skin off big fishes.
- Galapagos sharks - Galapagos sharks are relatively large creatures with the slim and streamlined bodies found on typical sharks. They often feed on bony fish, crustaceans, and mollusks.
- Bottlenose dolphins - These dolphins have short and thick snouts, which is why they’re called bottlenose dolphins. They can travel solo or with a group. Bottlenose dolphins eat fish, squid, crustaceans, and other kinds of prey.
Other Attractions
But for those wanting to do more than just dive in the islands’ waters, guests on Socorro liveaboards can take part in whale watching. Humpback whales following dolphins might appear before your eyes while you’re on your liveaboard.
How to Get There
Flying to Cabo San Lucas is your first step to visiting the Revillagigedo Archipelago. Some airline providers—such as American Airlines, Delta, United, and US Airways—offer direct flights to this city. But before you book your flight, you must get your passport first and then pay for a tourist or visitor card.
By Sea
After landing and passing through immigration at the airport, you must board a Socorro Island liveaboard ship. If you’ve already arranged one for your trip, they will provide a shuttle service to Cabo San Lucas (or San Jose del Cabo) where you’ll embark on a liveaboard. Most liveaboards take around 24 hours to reach Socorro Island.
Best Time to Visit
Manta sightings can happen in Socorro throughout the year. Divers might even run into whale sharks or humpback whales in the winter.
Required Trainings & Certifications
But if you really want to try Socorro Island diving, some renowned diver training agencies offer advanced open water certifications. PADI and SSI are among those agencies that train people for this certification.
To take the SSI course, you must have 24 logged dives. Divers who take PADI’s advanced course must go on five dives before they’re certified as Advanced Open Water Divers.
Miscellaneous Information
The Mexican peso is the main currency for the Socorro and Revillagigedos Islands. But if you’re staying in San Jose del Cabo after your dive, businesses there will let you pay in US dollars.
Language
Mexico’s official language is Mexican Spanish. However, natives are now learning English as a second language.
Time Zone
The Socorro and Revillagigedo islands observe the UTC -7 time zone.
Driving Side
There are no roads in the Socorro Islands. But if you’re going around the Baja California peninsula before and after your dive, do keep in mind that the natives do right-side driving. You can easily drive any vehicle on the region’s Transpeninsular Highway, but it might take you a while to get the hang of it.
Calling Code
+52 is the calling code that covers all areas in Mexico. To call a Mexican phone number from the United States or Canada, dial 011 first then the country code and phone number.
ISO 3166 code
MX-COL is the ISO 3166 code for Colima, the state where the Socorro Islands is located.
Internet TLD
.mx is Mexico’s Internet country code and top-level domain (TLD).