Cabo Pulmo Reef Revival

Cabo Pulmo National Park, Baja California Sur · Mexico

Moderate5 daysNorth America~£850 est.

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Overview

Cabo Pulmo is the ocean's best argument for hope: a Sea of Cortez village that banned fishing on its own reef in 1995 and watched fish biomass rebound by more than 400 per cent. The signature dive is El Vencedor, a wreck where thousands of bigeye jacks form a rotating tornado dense enough to dim the sun; bull sharks patrol the sand in the cooler months, mobula rays flurry past in spring, and the hard-coral heads — among the oldest reefs in the eastern Pacific — hum with grouper and snapper. It stays small because it is awkward to reach: a washboard dirt road from La Ribera, a village that only recently left generator power behind, pangas launched straight off the beach. That is the charm. Book a casita, dive with the family-run operators and eat wherever is open. August to November gives 28°C water and 25-metre visibility; storms are the wildcard in September. Five days of two-tank mornings runs about £850 from San José del Cabo, hire car included. National park rules cap group sizes, so reserve dives ahead in high season.