Reefwander
Reefwander
Full calendar

Destinations at their peak each month

  1. Jan167
  2. Feb183
  3. Mar192
  4. Apr216
  5. May186
  6. Jun272
  7. Jul307
  8. Aug313
  9. Sep296
  10. Oct180
  11. Nov119
  12. Dec145

Americas

Europe, Africa & Middle East

Indo-Pacific

Brown branching cauliflower coral colony on a sandy rocky bottom underwater — Los Cabos

Los Cabos · Mexico · Reef

Chileno Bay

Calm water and healthy sea fans on a shallow Corridor reef

Area photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

Chileno Bay is a protected Corridor reef with rocky reef broken by sand patches at 12 to 18 m (40 to 60 ft). Calm water and healthy sea fans make it a fit for beginners and snorkellers, and turtles, white tip reef sharks and rays turn up from time to time.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Chileno Bay: typical dive 12–18 m (40–60 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit12 m18 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

22.9491° N, 109.8045° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The dive is on rocky reef with sand patches between 12 and 18 m (40 and 60 ft), a narrow and shallow range that keeps the whole dive at much the same level. The water is calm, the diving is shallow and easy, and the reef carries healthy sea fans and colourful reef life.

Turtles, white tip reef sharks and rays are occasional sightings, moving between the rock and the sand patches. The bay suits beginners and snorkellers, and it is one of the most accessible and popular sites along the Corridor, the stretch of coast between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo.

Marine life and season

  • Sea turtles
  • Reef sharks
Month-by-month season rating for Chileno Bay
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimeFairFairGoodGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimePrime

Season follows Los Cabos: Diving runs all year. August to February brings the best conditions and clearest autumn water; mobula rays pass from May to July.

Dive videos

EPIC solo dive - Chileno Bay, B.C.S., Mexico · Frankie Grant Photography on YouTube

Sources

  1. Cabo San Lucas Dive Sites | Marine Park & Corridor — Dive Cabo

More dive sites in Los Cabos

Reef

Gavilanes

Ridges and canyons with white tip reef sharks and groupers

12–18 mbeginner

Seamount

Gordo Banks

Hammerheads and silky sharks over a seamount peak at 30 m

to 40 madvanced

Pinnacle

Land's End

Playful resident sea lions around a pinnacle at the tip of the peninsula

9–24 mintermediate

Wall

Middle Wall

A sheer drop to 43 m with frogfish and nudibranchs on the face

18–43 madvanced

Wall

Neptune's Finger

The largest sandfall in the marine park, beside a vertical wall

9–34 mintermediate

Wall

North Wall

A rock-covered sloping wall with morays and lobsters tucked into the reef

6–27 mintermediate

Reef

Pelican Rock

A gentle reef slope that ends at a canyon and its sandfall

5–27 mintermediate

Reef

Whale's Head

Spotted eagle rays at cleaning stations on rocky reef and sand

5–24 mintermediate

Similar dives elsewhere

Reef

Molasses Reef

Florida Keys · United States

Thirty-two mooring buoys along one spur-and-groove reef

2–18 m · max 20 mbeginner

Reef

Pulaski Shoals

Key West · United States

Hammerheads, bull sharks and eagle ray formations on the park's outer edge

to 24 madvanced

Reef

Anglin Pier Ledge

Fort Lauderdale · United States

A single shoreward ledge in 15–18 m, drifted after the wrecks

15–18 mbeginner

Reef

Breakers Reef

Palm Beach & Jupiter · United States

A King Neptune statue set down in the late 1970s marks the north end

13–18 m · max 22 mintermediate