The Cortez Club, Dive Center.

Diving with **The Cortez Club** in La Paz was an absolutely unforgettable experience! From the moment we arrived, the entire team made us feel genuinely welcome — they were **exceptionally friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable** about the area, marine life, and diving techniques. Our instructor, **Sergio Avila from Escape Dive**, guided us with true professionalism and passion. His calm, confident approach made the entire experience smooth and enjoyable, especially for those of us diving in La Paz for the first time. The staff’s **expertise and organization** stood out throughout the day. They explained every detail clearly and shared fascinating insights about the **history and ecology of the Sea of Cortez**, often called *“the aquarium of the world.”* Their deep respect for the ocean and its wildlife added so much meaning to every dive. Each dive was perfectly planned — the boat crew was attentive, the gear was in excellent condition, and the dive masters made sure everyone felt comfortable and safe at all times. The visibility was incredible, and the underwater world was full of life: vibrant fish, playful sea lions, and stunning coral formations surrounding the islands. If you want to discover the magic of **La Paz’s islands** and experience diving with a team that’s both **professional and genuinely passionate**, I can’t recommend **The Cortez Club** enough. They make you feel like part of their family while giving you a once-in-a-lifetime underwater adventure! 🌊🐠🤿

We had amazing week with the team of The Cortez Club. Swimming with sea lions, diving with hammerheads and mobulas, of course unforgettable experience with the whale shark! Just a perfect vacation, perfect diving week. A lot of appreciation and big thanks to the boat captain Curry and the dive guides Kaito and Johnathan, you guys made our days to remember! Thank you 🙏

First time snorkeler here! Highly recommend. Everyone was so patient and explained everything step by step. Our team was great! Thank you for an amazing experience! Can’t remember their names but these guys were awesome.

Great diving experience. Every day a new dive site. Professional briefings and dive site explanations. Christoph our dive guide today was patient, motivating and very helpful. The sea of cortez is the place for Sea Lions, Mantas and anything can happen depending on the season. I can truly recommend this dive shop. They tend to all the gear and lunch in the boat is great! Thank you so much!

We had the BEST experience with The Cortez Club - it started at first contact with James who set up a custom package for myself (a diver) and my wife (non-diver). He was extremely quick and thorough answering my many questions. This great experienced continued 3 months later when we arrived in La Paz and worked with the on-site staff at The Cortez Club. We were greeted warmly by Jose the manager who made sure all of our questions were answered and we had the right fitting equipment before setting off for our tour. Our 5 star experience continued on Day 1 with Hugo who was our guide with the whale shark snorkel. He provided a great explanation of some whale shark facts (they are indeed sharks and not whales!); this was a nice touch. He then took the experience a step further and explained the marine conservation efforts being taken by the local government to ensure the whale shark population is protected. I also observed that they followed these rules extensively which to me is VERY important when doing eco-based tourism. I want to spend my $$ with companies who genuinely believe in proper conservation and eco based tours and don’t just use that as some ‘catch phrase’ to lure in tourists. A+ from the team there Our wonderful experience continued with the Sea Lion colony at Los Isolates - what a wonderful memory. Day 2 was equally memorable with our guide “the Japanese guy” (sorry I forgot his name and don’t mean that disrespectfully!) he ensured I had a unforgettable experience diving with a 3 tank dive and did his best to find the hammerheads! We did find them but they were at around 40-45 meters (120-135 feet) but despite that he did everything in his power to make sure the group was happy and enjoyed themselves Bottom line, don’t hesitate when booking with the Cortez Club - you will be taken care of, can get a custom package and that your $$ is going to a company that believes in protecting our precious marine life via proper eco-tourism. 5 stars all the way at the Cortez Club.

I had an amazing experience diving with Cortez Club in La Paz. The team was professional, friendly, and made everything smooth from start to finish. The dives were amazing, from beautiful reefs to spotting seahorses and manta rays, playing with the sea lions inside a wreck, beautiful boat ride around Isla Espíritu Santo. The staff went above and beyond to make me feel supported, informed, and excited to be underwater after taking a 4 year break from scuba. I highly recommend Cortez Club to anyone visiting La Paz who wants world-class diving with a team that truly cares about both the ocean and their divers. I’ll definitely be back for whale shark season!

We booked an excursion with Cortez Club because James Curtiss assured us it would begin at 9 am and take about 5 hours for TWO activities -- swim with whale sharks and snorkel Balandra Bay with sealions. Curtiss knew our cruise ship docked at 8 am and our deadline for back-on-board was 4:30. At 8 am on the excursion morning we saw Curtis's email from the night before pushing back our time to 11:30 without explanation. I messaged and phoned him and he confirmed we would still have time for both activities. We waited on the pier for hours, saw 6 people returning from the earlier shark snorkel departure and watched as the smooth ocean turned progressively more turbulent. Our boat did not depart till 12 noon. The boat was small, crowded with 13 guests and 2 crew. It took hours in rough water to get clearance and find the first whale shark. We split into 3 groups, each having a few minutes in the water with Hugo, our diver. Visibility was poor, the water was roiling; you were lucky to glimpse the shark for a few seconds. Hugo made heroic effort for us all to see the shark, even taking me by the arm on my 3rd try to swim beside it. Every guest got beat up by the ocean and by hoisting back on board with a small, unstable and slippery ladder and madly rocking boat. Several guests gave up trying. The whale sharks were juveniles, nowhere near the behemoths we expected. We got back to the pier at 3 pm only to be told that Balandra Bay would take at least another one hour round trip. A taxi back to the ship would be another 20 minutes minimum. There was no conceivable we'd have time to snorkel. Curtiss refused to refund any of our exorbitant fee for the 2nd half of our excursion; he said we 'wanted' to go back to the ship. Other guests shared their taxi with us back to the ship by holding their kids in their laps. Summary: Curtis repeatedly gave false assurances just to get our money and never delivered the trip promised; the boat and ride was perhaps the worst of our many snorkel trips; we were never offered pickup or return transportation; there were never any drinks or snacks either.

Where do I start?! We were short on time, and The Cortez Club team went above and beyond to fit everything we wanted into a single unforgettable day – a whale shark snorkel plus two incredible dives, including the sea lion colony at Los Islotes. The dive shop itself is terrific; they even helped us reconfigure our regs to work perfectly with their rental BCs. Chirstoph and Hugo were the perfect pair to guide us through the packed itinerary – truly the best captain & divemaster team ever! Their professionalism, knowledge, and upbeat energy made the whole day seamless and so much fun. And the onboard lunch? Surprisingly delicious! Future visits to La Paz will for sure include more adventures with The Cortez Club. Don’t miss out!

Second time diving with Cortez Club and we had a fantastic time. Super professional, super accommodating and we felt very taken care of the entire three days we dove with them (six tanks). First two days there were six guest divers on the boat, third day just four of us. Their boats are small and very fast and they took us far away from the dock, which was amazing since some other dive operators prioritize fuel over customer experience in my opinion (note: small boats don't have bathrooms on board). We went to the farthest dive site on the menu called El Bajo and hoped to see hammerhead sharks, which are more and more rare in the area apparently, and we got skunked (saw none). BUT we ran into a huge school of playful dolphins on the way out! They were bow surfing in route and we saw them pretty close underwater while diving. As usual the sea lion colony didn't disappoint. Best diving was on the NW side of the island called Los Islotes. We did three total dives there during our trip and it was wonderful. We stayed in an AirBnB in the La Concha Condos next to the La Concha Hotel so we could walk to the dive shop and the excellent restaurant next door called Sea Side where we ate four times given the convenience and great food (pricey though). AirBNB listing is here https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/705912

12/24/25: We booked a Cortez Club excursion because James Curtiss assured us it would begin at 9 am and take about 5 hours for TWO activities -- swim with whale sharks & snorkel Balandra Bay with sea lions. Curtiss knew our cruise ship arrived at 8 am and our deadline for back-on-board was 4:30. At 8 am on the excursion morning we saw Curtis's email from the night before pushing back our time to 11:30, no explanation. I messaged and phoned him and he confirmed we would still have time for both activities. We waited on the pier for hours, saw 6 people returning from the earlier shark swim departure and watched as the smooth ocean turned progressively more turbulent. Our boat did not depart till 12 noon. It was small, crowded with 13 guests and 2 crew. It took hours in rough water to get clearance and find the a whale shark. We split into 3 groups, each having a few minutes in the water with Hugo, our diver. Visibility was poor, the water was roiling; you were lucky to glimpse the shark for a few seconds. The whale sharks were juvenile, not the behemoths we expected. Hugo made heroic effort for us all to see the shark, even taking me by the arm on my 3rd try to swim beside it. Every guest got beat up by the ocean and by hoisting back on board with a small, unstable, slippery ladder and madly rocking boat. Several guests gave up trying. We got back to the pier at 3 pm only to be told that Balandra Bay would take at least one hour round trip. A taxi back to the ship would take another 20 minutes minimum. There was no conceivable way to have time left to snorkel. We taxied back to the ship with some guests who made room in their cab by holding their kids in their laps. Curtiss refused to refund any of our exorbitant fee for the 2nd half of our excursion; he said we 'wanted' to go back to the ship. Summary: Curtis repeatedly gave false assurances just to get our money and never delivered the trip as promised; the boat and ride was perhaps the worst of our many snorkel trips; we were never offered pickup or return transportation; there were no drinks or snacks either. Their 5 star reviews MUST be FAKE!

We only received one email about the trip, sent just before noon the day before the event--less than 24 hours' notice. Since we were traveling, we didn't see it in time and showed up expecting the original excursion. Once there, we were told our only option was to snorkel with the sea lions, but the boat had already left. They eventually called it back for us, but several issues followed that made the experience disappointing. Despite the description stating that soda and wetsuits were included, neither was provided. Had I known this, I would have brought my rash guard--and maybe then I wouldn't have been stung by a man o' war on my right side. The sting caused such intense pain that my entire leg went numb, and it will likely leave a scar. To make matters worse, the boat ran out of gas in the middle of rough seas. We were stranded for about 40+ minutes waiting for another boat to assist us, and during that time, my husband became sick due to the constant waves. Because of these delays, we missed our scheduled sandboarding excursion later that day losing $100s of dollars due to their mistake and enduring intense pain. While the sea lion colony itself was incredible--the "water dogs" were truly a highlight--I strongly recommend choosing a different company. The lack of organization, safety preparedness, and misrepresentation of what was included made this a stressful and disappointing trip overall.

Just got back to our hotel after an amazing day out on the water with the Cortez club. I can't recommend this place highly enough! Everybody working there was so friendly which made for a comfortable experience. Our captain Jesse and our snorkel instructor. Kaito were very knowledgeable and helped us have a fantastic day. We swam with sea lions, saw gray whales, dolphins and even saw one little turtle pop his head out from the water. I'm excited to come back in the near future and get Scuba certified through them.

*** please read *** We should have read the other reviews as we had the same bad experience. We wanted to go on a whale shark tour and were charged $732 for 4 people (2 adults and 2 kids). Other companies we later found out charge $240-$320. Paying a premium would have been fine, but the experience that ensued was not. As others have described, the owner James was not polite or professional in his communication. We received an email that asked us to be on the dock at 12:30 for a 1:00pm tour. Upon our arrival, the crew on site told us we wouldn't leave until 1:30. At 1:30, they told us the boat wasn't there. There was no boat on the horizon. Closer to 2:00pm, we asked where the boat was and the crew still didn't know. They looked at the horizon and saw one boat that could have been ours (they weren't sure) and told us it would be at least another 30-40 minutes before it arrived at the dock. They also said we wouldn't be departing until about 3:30pm. That was too much time to wait with a 5 and a 7 year old who had already been waiting with us since we got there. The crew was very surprised how much we were charged. They assumed we would have gotten a private boat for that amount, but they couldn't find one anywhere that would be available to us. That's when we started getting texts from James, that the boat was there. Yet the 4 crew members standing on the dock with us couldn't corroborate that information. After a couple more minutes, we decided to leave and the crew didn't even try to stop us or reassure us that the boat was on the way. If you can believe it, James is refusing to refund us the money. Please don't spend your money here.

Excellent! 5 stars customer service. These people truly care about the guests. James and his beautiful wife (the owners) are welcoming, friendly and take the time to figure out your needs and then suggest things for you. 5 stars and highly recommend.

I spent 3 days diving with the Cortez Club and had the best time! The dive guides are safety oriented while still being lots of fun. They are super knowledgeable about the area and the marine life as well. We went out to see the sea lion colony twice, searched for Mobula Rays, and saw some dolphins a few times. Even though it's the offseason, there was plenty to see. Oh, and the onboard lunch's and snacks were great too! Thanks to Alex and Alex (it was easy to remember names on the boat!) for such a great couple of days! I'll definitely be back to La Paz and will be diving with The Cortez Club!

The Cortez Club was amazing! They took very good care of everyone on the boat and ensured everyone's needs were met. We went on two adventures with them. One was a snorkel trip to see whale sharks. We saw three of them! Marcos, our guide, and Lallo, the captain, were wonderful, ensuring everyone was safe and got a chance to spend time in the water looking at these magnificent creatures. The next day my husband did a 3-tank dive. I stayed on board and visited with Adrian, the captain, and other guests, and, snorkeled at a reef site that was beautiful. Chema and Carolina, our guides, couldn't have been any kinder or more attentive, and, the food they served was soooooo tasty! I can't recommend The Cortex Club highly enough!

Safety is one of the biggest priorities when scuba diving but unfortunately, our experience with Cortez Club showed that they do not adhere to such standards and are more interested in selling unrealistic tour "packages" than in providing a good and recommendable service. We left feeling scammed and insulted when we expressed concerns. My friend and I were in touch with the owner, James, with whom we booked a double dive, plus swim with whale sharks and stop at Balandra Bay. The day before we were asked if we would mind doing the whale sharks first and if we could arrive an hour early for this - we agreed. Upon arrival we learned that there wasn't really enough time for everything and we would only have 15min at Balandra, so we opted to do that another day. We were asked to pay before taking off, which we've not experienced with other dive places and felt strange because we were also told we could decide later if we wanted to do the 2nd dive but ok.... Then the family (of experienced divers) that would join us on the boat arrived and we learned from them that the visibility was horrible the day before and the guides were NOT attentive, even forgetting one of them in the wreck they visited. They opted to cancel the second day of diving and go snorkeling/to the Bay instead because of safety concerns given they were diving with their young and less experienced kids. These concerns plus the horrible visibility with the whale sharks made us decide to cancel the dives as well and join the family at the Bay. The dive master had no problem with this decision so we proceeded. Given the lack of communication about water conditions (even with the attempt by the owner, James, to upsell a 150$ + 16% tax photographer although he knew the visibility would not allow for it!!?), the newly realized safety concerns, and the fact that we ended up joining an already planned booking with the family, we asked James for a partial refund of 150$ (we paid an extra 200USD pp compared to the stated price on their website for the activities we actually participated in). We spoke with James on the phone the next day and he was completely dismissive and condescending, telling me our safety concerns were "hearsay" or when we expressed confusion of why he would offer a 150$ photographer given the visibility that day, he responded "that's because you need a professional to explain it to you" and ended the conversation abruptly. While the dive master Victor and our captain were great, our overall experience with Cortez and especially the owner, James, is of a scammy, uncaring profit seeker - that is not how I know the PADI community, so that was sad to see. I'm sure the Cortez staff are great people as well - seems they are running the place with James as the bottleneck overseerer who neither communicates well with them nor his customers.

Great staff! We LOVED diving with Aurora! The boat captains were all great. Safe operation and very accommodating. We appreciated the small dive groups (4-6 people). The dive sites were amazing as well. The lunches were good and filling. A few things to note: all of the dives sites are quite a trek (1.5-2 hours out). The boats are small so no facilities. My only complaint would be when we went to pick up our gear after our last day, most of it was still wet. No big deal just make sure you have time to get things dry before you have to pack it all up!

We went on a snorkeling expedition with the Cortez club and our guides were Lalo and Arat and were both amazing!! We snorkeled with the sea lions and saw two different types of whales and many dolphins. The trip was very personal and super fun. We were served lunch and layed on the beach for an hour.

FIND ANOTHER COMPANY! I had an incredible trip to Todos Santos/La Paz, except for the day we decided to go diving with this company. Safety was the last thing on their minds. As first time divers we got barely five minutes of instruction before the dive was meant to begin. I freaked out of course as the whole experience was foreign to me. The instructor was pulling my boyfriend under water before he was even ready or did any sort of practice. All they cared about was doing it quickly. When we raised the safety concerns with them, we were gaslit and told "we don't have enough time to go over instructions while in the water". We had a certified diver with us who agreed that it was the worst instruction he'd ever received. We also raised it with the owner who also ignored our concerns. There's a lot of other places. FIND SOMEWHERE ELSE.

I have been coming to La Paz for 27 years and The Cortez Club continues to exceed my expectations. Everyone is very nice and professional. Marcos is the best captain you could ask for and his knowledge of the marine life of the Sea of Cortez rivals Jacques Cousteau. I wholeheartedly recommend this business.

3 stars due to cost and boats. The crew was super friendly and willing to go out with us even on a bad weather day, and the management was happy to accommodate our group for several days, and their equipment was nice. However, $150 US (no option for pesos even with a strong dollar) for a 2 tank dive, $35 for gear rental, and 16% tax along with marine reserve fees means your paying double what you would in Cabo. Not worth it in winter months with cold water and poor visibility, not to mention it can take 1.5 hours to get to your dive site, on a small boat in potentially rough seas. They then charge $15 US for a meal which would have been $3 down the street. I love diving, and would dive here again, but for a budget conscious diver you might think elsewhere.

Well for one, the tour never happened. I was charged $500 USD for a tour that was cancelled by Cortez Club, and then was offered a credit for another trip at a different date. How is that fair considering people travel from all over the world and may never go back to La Paz. This is the first time this has ever happened on a tour anywhere I've been in the world, and is completely ridiculous. I understand that conditions like weather prevent tours from happening, but by not offering a full refund for something put of a customer's control, this is a full on scam. James reached out to me on December 9th after I booked online for January 1st, because he said the 1st was unavailable even though I was able to book it and the website showed availability. He originally offered a full refund but then took it upon himself to tell me he was going to try and work something out and see if he could fit is in. For the next three weeks, I tried to communicate with him to see if he had an update on a time and if he could confirm that the 1st still worked, and he kept telling me over and over that he needed to confirm the time and that he would do that in a day or next week which never happened. The last time I asked for an update, he said that the port was closing and that the trip was going to be cancelled. Again, I had to request an update; he did not communicate at all and probably wouldn't have unless I said something. This is an awful company that obviously just wants to scam tourists out of hundreds of dollars and doesn't want to be held liable for anything. When you take $500 from a stranger/customer for a service that never happens, offering a credit for another trip is just bad business, and disregards the fact that we're tourists that do not live here.

5 stars for the crew. They work hard and take care of you. The management however only tries to get more money out of you. $14 for a measly sandwich for lunch? 13% fee for using a credit card? Blocking your path off the dock and shaming you for leaving the boat to get your wallet so you can tip your awesome crew by loudly proclaiming that tips are not included with the price? Are these the practices of a driving company you would want to use in Mexico? I feel sorry for the crew, they really are wonderful, but i will never go through this company again due solely to its management.

The Cortez Club is THE destination when I go to La Paz. The staff is awesome!!! From the boat captains, to the dive masters, to the bartenders-the entire team is some of the best at what they do. And they do it with a smile. And contrary to another Yelpers review, the management is outstanding. Ricardo goes above and beyond to ensure your fishing, diving, or touring experience is top notch. Need a recommendation for restaurants, site seeing, shuttle service? Just ask. You won't be disappointed. The Mosquito fleet captains work hard to put you on fish. And the gals tending bar always have a smile for you and a story if you like. If there were 6 stars, The Club would certainly earn them.