Valentina

Valentina is a 38-metre steel yacht in the Fun Azul fleet, working the tip of the Baja California peninsula and covering the two best diving regions in Mexico at once. She was built in 1999, refitted in 2010 and completely rebuilt for diving in 2013, the year she joined the fleet. Diesel powered, cruising at 12 knots, 120 V on board, a maximum of 20 guests in 10 cabins.

The season splits in two. From August to November Valentina sails out of La Paz into the Sea of Cortez — the “world’s aquarium” in Cousteau’s phrase: the sea lion rookery at Los Islotes, the Las Animas pinnacles with hammerheads, sardine bait balls and evening dives with mobula rays. From November to May she moves to Puerto Los Cabos marina near San Jose del Cabo, some thirty hours’ steaming from the Revillagigedo archipelago — the Socorro Islands, where oceanic mantas over six metres across come to the divers, along with dolphins, hammerheads and whale sharks, and humpbacks in winter.

The layout is plain and practical: an air-conditioned saloon and dining room with panoramic windows and soft seating, an open bar with draft beer and soft drinks, a large partly shaded sun deck with loungers and a covered outdoor dining area. The dive deck is roomy, with a dedicated camera table and separate camera rinse; tanks take both DIN and YOKE, and every dive is run from inflatables. The galley mixes Mexican, European and Asian cooking, and on the last day of a Socorro trip the crew lays on a Mexican barbecue. The crew speaks English, Spanish and Japanese, with three to four instructors on board.

All ten cabins have individual air conditioning and a private bathroom with shower. Seven have wide bunk beds, two have a double plus a separate single (not a bunk), and one has a single double bed for a couple. Cabins are shared by default with a same-gender travel companion; a private cabin is available for a single supplement.

Money matters: nitrox, Wi-Fi (Starlink, USD 80–150 per package) and gear rental are paid separately, in cash on board. The Socorro route carries a mandatory Revillagigedo national park fee of 3,760 pesos for every diving day, a USD 15 chamber fee per trip and a USD 25 per night fuel surcharge. Dive accident insurance (DAN or equivalent) is mandatory, and so is a dive computer. The operator recommends Advanced Open Water and at least 50 logged dives: the wall at Roca Partida drops to 80 metres and El Boiler goes below 50.