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Experience the thrill of the Sardine Run in Magdalena Bay combined with world-class diving at the Socorro Islands aboard the luxurious Solmar V liveaboard. From October 16 to 30, 2027, enjoy 14 nights of extraordinary marine encounters in the Mexican Pacific. Book now to secure a $600 per person discount with free nitrox included.

The Solmar V offers comfortable twin-share and single cabins, spacious common areas, and modern amenities, providing an ideal base for both intense dives and relaxing downtime. With expert guides and a seasoned crew, every moment of this journey is designed for unforgettable experiences.

Pricing

C 201 (Single) - Discounted to $6599 including free nitrox

C 401–405 (Twin Share) - Discounted to $6299 including free nitrox

Rates include cabin accommodations, full board meals, snacks, soft drinks, house alcoholic beverages, and up to four dives per day in Socorro. Transfers from Cabo San Lucas hotels to the marina are available. Flights to and from Cabo San Lucas are not included.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Welcome onboard at Cabo San Lucas

Check-in occurs at Hotel Tesoro between 11:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Guests meet the crew, drop off luggage, verify rental gear, and enjoy refreshments before boarding the Solmar V at 7:00 p.m.

Day 2 - Check Out Dive and Reck Diving

A day to settle in, dive familiarization, and explore local waters before heading to Magdalena Bay.

Days 3–5 - Mexican Sardine Run in Mag Bay

Day 6 - Navigation to Socorro Islands

Sail towards the UNESCO World Heritage Socorro Islands, preparing for the diving adventure ahead.

Days 7–13 - Diving at Socorro Islands

Up to four dives daily among giant manta rays, over 10 species of sharks, dolphins, and diverse pelagic life. Expect strong currents and deep dives (typically >60 ft/18 m), making this destination ideal for experienced divers with Advanced Open Water certification and at least 50 logged dives.

Day 14 - Crossing back to Cabo San Lucas

Relax aboard the Solmar V after a week of extraordinary diving.

Day 15 - Disembarkation at Cabo San Lucas

Travel & Safety Information

- All divers must carry diving insurance covering emergency evacuation and recompression chamber costs.

- Advanced Open Water certification or higher is required. Nitrox certification is recommended (courses available onboard).

- Water temperatures range 74–80°F (23–27°C); 5–7 mm wetsuits recommended.

- Travel insurance covering trip interruption and lost dive days is mandatory.

- Passport must be valid for at least 6 months; Mexican visa/tourist card required.

- Airport transfers can be booked in advance through the Solmar V team.

Onboard Amenities & Preparation

- Cabins stocked with towels, toiletries, and reef-safe sunscreen.

- Full board meals with snacks, soft drinks, and house alcoholic beverages included.

- Dive gear rentals, Nitrox, and weights included; GoPro rentals available.

- Bring casual clothing for onboard comfort and light layers for cool evenings.

- Mandatory safety gear includes SMBs and Dive Alerts (provided if needed).

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Embark on an unforgettable liveaboard adventure through Komodo National Park aboard the luxurious Indo Master. From July 25 to August 1, 2027, experience world-class diving, vibrant reefs, and the chance to see the legendary Komodo dragons. Book now to enjoy a $500 per person discount with free nitrox included throughout the trip. 

Indo Master is a 37-meter phinisi-style yacht blending traditional Indonesian craftsmanship with modern comforts. With multiple cabin options, spacious decks, and areas to relax between dives, the vessel is perfectly suited for exploring Komodo’s diverse marine environment while simultaneously enjoying luxury accommodations. 

Pricing:  C1 (Double), C2 (Double), C3 (Twin): $3357 per person (after $500 discount) including free nitrox.

The rate includes cabin accommodations, all meals onboard, snacks, tea, coffee, soft drinks, and up to four dives per day with expert guides. Transfers from Labuan Bajo Airport or local hotels are included. Flights to and from Labuan Bajo or Bima are not included.

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Itinerary

Day 1 - Labuan Bajo

Embarkation takes place at Labuan Bajo Harbour between 12:30 and 13:00. Guests are greeted by the Indo Master crew for introductions, boat and safety briefings. If time permits, a check dive may be conducted in the afternoon. Dinner is served onboard, and the vessel remains anchored overnight.

Days 2–6 (7 Nights)

Each day begins with a light breakfast followed by a briefing and the first dive. A full breakfast and relaxation are followed by the second dive. After lunch, divers head out for the third dive before enjoying snacks and a sunset or night dive. Each day concludes with dinner and evening relaxation. Up to four dives are scheduled daily, depending on conditions.

Day Before Disembarkation

Two morning dives are typically scheduled before Indo Master returns to the harbour, where it remains at anchor overnight.

Day 7 - Disembarkation

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Diving Highlights

Komodo National Park is renowned for its rich marine biodiversity and thrilling dive conditions. Divers can expect encounters with manta rays, reef sharks, turtles, Napoleon wrasse, and colorful schooling fish. 

Dive sites visited include:

Gili Lawa Laut & Castle Rock - Offshore pinnacles offering strong currents, abundant reef fish, eagle rays, and Napoleon wrasse.

Crystal Rock - Two pinnacles where white-tip reef sharks and dolphins may appear. Octopus and other critters provide excellent photo opportunities.

Shotgun - A drift dive through a coral garden and deep ravine, often visited by manta rays and snapper schools.

Manta Alley - Channels with powerful currents where up to 30 manta rays can be spotted at cleaning stations.

Takat Makassar / Manta Point - The longest reef in the park, ideal for manta ray encounters in plankton-rich waters.

Batu Bolong & Tattawa Besar - Vibrant reefs home to reef sharks, turtles, and large schools of pelagic fish.

Wainilu - A sandy slope for macro enthusiasts featuring frogfish, mantis shrimps, seahorses, and nudibranchs.

Shore Excursions

Komodo National Park also offers unforgettable land experiences. Guests can take guided hikes to see Komodo dragons and other wildlife such as buffalo, deer, and monkeys. Visits to Pink Beach and Horseshoe Bay on Rinca Island allow for shallow water exploration and scenic relaxation. Beach barbecues are not permitted due to park regulations, but guests enjoy picturesque sunsets and marine views.

Safety and Preparation

All divers must have advanced certification and a minimum of 50 logged dives. Diving insurance covering emergency evacuation and recompression chamber treatment is mandatory. 

Conditions can be challenging with strong currents and varying water temperatures from 21 to 28°C, so suitable wetsuits are recommended. The Indo Master crew ensures safety and provides guidance for all dives

Reef mantas, a large ray species, frequent Maldivian waters all year round but exist primarily in the western side of the atolls from November to April and on the eastern side from May to October. Scuba divers frequent the Baa and Addu atolls. The Baa atoll draws in hundreds of manta rays to feast on the zooplankton each year. Here, the mantas coexist with other creatures like whale sharks. At the Addu Atoll, manta rays glide through the water year-round, some of which have a wingspan of more than five meters. 

Despite their significant presence in the ocean and admiration from divers, manta rays remain a mystery. Formed in 2011, the Manta Trust is dedicated to research that furthers understanding and works to conserve rays and their habitats. Unfortunately, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the species are considered vulnerable due to pollution and commercial fishing threats. In response, the organization is founded on protecting this unique species of aquatic life.

The Manta Trust’s team has over 20 projects across the globe and collaborates with businesses, governments, individuals, and local communities to execute them. The organization is committed to education, specifically in using manta rays as an introduction to ecosystem conservation as a whole to ensure the long-term survival of these creatures.

The organization has also cataloged more than 5,100 manta rays in its database. This is done by logging the spot patterns on their stomachs as each manta ray’s spot pattern is unique, essentially acting as a fingerprint. In turn, this is used to track the mantas to learn their migration patterns, find which habitats are essential to their feeding and reproduction, and thus aids in the organization making educated decisions over how to best manage and conserve this species. Manta ray fanatics can take part in this effort to catalog the creature as the Manta Trust has an online portal in which people can submit images of manta ray stomachs that they find from their diving and snorkeling adventures.

In 2020 alone, the organization published 11 peer-reviewed papers exploring genetic analysis, behavior, and migration patterns. In addition to their research, the Manta Trust works with Fish Free February to raise awareness about the dangers of commercial fishing and works alongside the Protect Maldives Seagrass campaign to encourage businesses to protect seagrass beds instead of causing harm to them. The organization also played a role in adding manta rays to the Maldives’ protected species. 

The Manta Trust Maldives Team

 -->  Visit the Manta Trust Website  <--

Conservationists have welcomed the announcement by Ecuador that it will expand the marine reserve around the Galapagos islands by 60,000 sq km.

President Guillermo Lasso announced the move at the COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow. Mr. Lasso told the BBC that his government wanted to show that action rather than words was the most effective way to fight climate change. Conservationists called it "a brilliant first step". The existing marine protected area around the Galapagos measures 133,000 sq km and was one of the first large-scale marine conservation areas to be created. It is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. Conservationists hope that its expansion will protect the migration routes of endangered species such as the whale shark and make the reserve more resilient to climate change.

Among those praising the move is Sarah Darwin, the great-great-granddaughter of biologist Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution was inspired by the biodiversity he found on the Galapagos. Sarah, a botanist and an ambassador for the Galapagos Conservation Trust, told the BBC that she was "very, very excited that President Lasso is taking the Galapagos so seriously".

"We're really looking forward to taking further conservation measures forward with him both in the marine reserve and the islands themselves," she said. "This is a real commitment, I think." But the CEO of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, Sharon Johnson, said it was important that the resources be put in place to adequately protect the newly enlarged reserve. In 2020, a huge number of Chinese fishing boats were spotted in waters off the Galapagos with conservationists accusing the fleet of "pillaging" the area for squid.

President Lasso denied that the expansion of the marine reserve was a response to the Chinese fleet's movements, insisting it was "an autonomous decision of the Ecuadorean government". Mr. Lasso said that in his most recent conversation with the Chinese president he sensed "a clear commitment to respect Ecuador's maritime" and that he, therefore, hoped there would be no repeat of the scenes which had played out in 2020. He added that his government would swap debt for conservation to create a fund that would allow Ecuador to beef up navy patrols to protect the area and to provide artisanal fishermen working outside the marine reserve with support. 

The Galapagos and the seas surrounding them are a unique ecosystem home to whales, turtles, and tuna, explain Prof Sandy Tudhope and Dr. Meriwether Wilson from the University of Edinburgh. The fact that they are so rich in commercially important species is also what makes them so attractive to fishermen, say the two scientists, who were part of the team whose research underpinned the decision to expand the reserve.

Check out our Galapagos Liveaboards -->  Ecuador Liveaboards

Our thanks to Vanessa Buschschluter - BBC News for this article. Full article HERE.

Four uninhabited volcanic islands make up the Revillagigedos: Socorro, Clarion, San Benedicto, and Roca Partida. They raise up from sea level from 100 to 3,800 feet out of the water from the seafloor, creating exceptional walls, pinnacles and sheer drop-offs that act as cleaning and feeding stations for oceanic mantas and half a dozen shark species, including mass aggregations of scalloped hammerheads.

Revillagigedos is an oasis in the middle of the eastern Pacific. The four islands sit at the convergence of the cool California Current flowing from the north and the warmer North Equatorial Current, creating an ideal spot for nutrients to rise from the deep and attract passing pelagics. This makes Revilla a hotspot for manta rays, humpback whales, whale sharks, dolphins, hammerheads, Galapagos sharks—nearly every variety of hungry traveler.

The Revillagigedos are part of a unique chain with amazing undersea volcanic mounds. Because of the remote nature, there’s just not a lot of pressure on the sites.

Cabo Pierce, the Aquarium, and El Canyon dive sites offer the chance to see just about any big animals you can imagine—humpback whales, pacific bottlenose dolphins, whale sharks, the list goes on.

Because these are important waterways for endangered megafauna, the islands were deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016, and a year later were established as the Revillagigedo National Park. Even though they’re remote, they’re patrolled by the local government to prevent illegal fishing.

Because the archipelago is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site, certain protective measures are in place. Night diving, solo diving, and diving in the blue are not offered for safety reasons. Also, reef hooks, knives, dive lights not connected to cameras, and gloves are not permitted. In order to manage the number of divers on each site, liveaboards coordinate the timing of their dives. Because of this, if there are several boats at a site, they may limit the number of dives per day to three. The park has a set limit on the number of liveaboards that can visit, but flexibility is key in these parts.