Dive Review of Solmar V in
Mexico (Western)

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Solmar V: "A December Trip on the Solemar V", Jan, 2017, by Ellen Marie Smith, MN, US ( Sr. Contributor 26 reports with 12 Helpful votes). Report 9445.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I read the previous readers reports (which I found quite helpful, thank you!). The bad: The only thing that I had a stronger opinion about is the boat itself. Solmar V is an old boat that charges "new boat" prices. The cabins are all below the deck and noisy, with water lapping and kitchen stomping constant. The front cabins (where we were) are terribly small (accessed by one set of stairs), and the back cabins (accessed by a different set of stairs) are like the "small" cabins on most boats. The kitchen is tiny, and the food is adequate, and abundant. I usually gave half my portion to some hungry diver, as I found it lackluster. One thing that is nice (if you are lucky enough to book it) is that there are 2 single cabins (more like cupboards) in the front of the boat. I don't think you have to pay a single supplement if you get one of these. Don't believe the "underwater encounters with humpbacks" part on the website. I asked the divemasters and not one of them has been in the water within sight of a whale, and some had been on the boat for 10 years. Now the good: The mantas, dolphins and sharks. You will see lots of these! The Pacific Giant Mantas are magical and are not afraid of divers. The dolphins were friendly and there was a whale shark around (only the photographer saw it). I saw my first Silvertip shark. Beautiful! Many whitetips, silkies, a few Galapagos and a even some Hammers in the distance. The water temp was 78 degrees down to 73 at Socorro. The divemasters were top notch and the trip photographer is also involved in tagging and studying the mantas, so he was a wealth of knowledge and is willing to share it. Diving was from both the boat and the panga. Some divers wore drysuits, my buddy wore a 5 mil and I wore a thermal skin and shorty. We dove in December and we told the best season is late Feb to early April. The crew on the boat was fabulous! I would love to do this trip again but will look into a "newer" boat.
Websites	Solmar V
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Red Sea, Galapagos, Hawaii, Caribbean (Cozumel, Belize, Turneffe, Utila, Turks & Caicos, St. Martin, Nevis & St. Kitts), California, Cocos & Socorro.
Closest Airport	San Jose del Cabo	Getting There	I took Delta, connected in Atlanta then non-stop to Cabo.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, cloudy	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	73-78°F / 23-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-150 Ft/ 15-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	While you could dive your own profile, I opted to stay with the divemaster. Several times we drifted to the blue looking for Hammerheads (and whatever else might come by) and it was nice to stay together in this type of situation.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	1 or 2
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Large camera table. No compressed air. Charging right at the table (great for my sola lights). 2 Large dedicated rinse tanks and crew was great at handling the cameras.

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Dive Review of Solmar V in Mexico (Western)

Solmar V: "A December Trip on the Solemar V", Jan, 2017,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Solmar V in
Mexico (Western)