La Paz Trip Report 2025

Words and Images By Trip Leader: Bryan Blauvelt

Our November 1–8, 2025 Bluewater Travel adventure in La Paz delivered everything we hoped for, including playful sea lions, beautiful reef dives loaded with fish, bait balls, turtle-covered wrecks, plus a whole lot of shooting and learning along the way. Here’s a day-by-day look at our most recent week in the Sea of Cortez!

Day 1 – Settling In & Warming Up

After arriving in La Paz and settling into our rooms the prior evening, the group kicked off the trip with a relaxed buffet breakfast at the Marina Waterfront Hotel before being greeted by the wonderful Fun Baja team, including shop manager Fernanda and guides Gael and Jennie, who helped shuttle everyone’s dive and camera gear the short 100-yard walk to the dive shop. The weather for the first day and the entire week was about as perfect as you could ask for, with sunshine, calm winds, and high temperatures in the upper 80s and lows down into the 60s.

Our first dives at Coralito and Isla Ballena were the perfect warm-ups with shallow boulder slopes, schooling fish, eels, starfish, and that amazing feeling that the trip had finally begun! After returning to the marina around 2:30 p.m., Fun Baja surprised everyone with special Día de los Muertos sweet bread back at the dive shop.

Before dinner, Bryan led Photography Workshop Session #1 of the trip, covering the technical building blocks of underwater photography. Exposure settings (shutter speed, aperture, and ISO), light behavior in water, mindset for success, and more were covered in an 80-minute session.

Day 2 – La Reina Delivers

We headed east through the channel into the Sea of Cortez for two dives at La Reina Islet, where conditions were simply spectacular. The Sergeant Majors' dive team scored big with playful sea lions and a large bait ball, while the Mantarayas dive team enjoyed the same stellar visibility and relaxing dives, even if the wildlife interactions were a bit less adrenaline-filled.

Back at the hotel, Workshop Session #2 focused on lighting techniques: strobes, ambient light, and how to balance both for different shooting situations. This session also included the first group image review of the trip, which is always a highlight and a chance to see what others have been shooting and creating.

Day 3 – Turtles, Sea Lions & Mobula Night Dive

Our longest boat day of the trip began with a morning dive at the Fang Ming wreck, where the group encountered turtles, shimmering silversides, and even a sea lion cruising through the structure. A former Chinese cargo ship used in an attempt to transport undocumented passengers to California, the Fang Ming became disabled and drifted until being intercepted by the Mexican Navy, which later donated it to serve as an artificial reef, sinking it in 1999.

We continued north to the iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Los Islotes, where a stellar 75-minute dive with the famously playful sea lions left everyone grinning from ear to ear.

As the sun set and the moon rose over Ensenada Grande along the northwestern tip of Isla Espíritu Santo, we geared up for a night dive with mobula rays—including one very interactive individual that stayed with the group the entire dive. We finally arrived back at the marina at 10:30 p.m. before drifting off into well-earned sleep.

Day 4 – Swanee Reef Life & Salvatiera

Running on short rest, the group boarded the Fun Baja boat at 9 a.m. for two beautiful dives at Swanee Reef, complete with abundant fish life and a sizable bait ball that kept the photographers busy. Current was almost nonexistent, which made it easy to cover the entire dive site.

Lunch was served on the boat as we motored toward our third dive at the Salvatiera wreck. Although visibility dropped to a murky 25 feet, the structure was rich with marine life.

Bryan held Workshop Session #3 covering composition rules and strategies during the boat ride back to the Fun Baja dive shop. The group enjoyed dinner back at the hotel after two consecutive long days on the water.

Day 5 – A Magical Day at Los Islotes

What a day! Photographers made all three dives at Los Islotes, and the sea lions definitely brought their A-game.

The morning began on the north side of the formation, with photographers enjoying time inside the arch and even watching two big sea lion bulls fighting. The surface conditions were quite choppy, but the group handled entries and exits safely and it was well worth the additional effort to explore this part of the Los Islotes dive site.

The second dive of the day took the Mantarayas dive team around the point and through the arch on a scenic dive with several playful sea lions, while the Sergeant Majors dive team explored the cave area and the large bait ball of sardines that was hanging around the south side of the formation.

The final dive of the day sealed the deal as “Best Day of the Trip,” with nonstop playful sea lion pups, patrolling bulls, and plentiful opportunities for wide-angle shooting.

After returning to the Fun Baja shop at 4:30 p.m., Bryan hosted a final image review session for the trip. The attending photographers really dug into the images that were shared in an engaging discussion, applying the technical and artistic knowledge they gained and practiced during the week.

Day 6 – Final Dives & Farewells

Our last morning brought us back to Swanee Reef, this time aboard two comfortable pangas where the Sergeant Majors and the Mantarayas each had their own boat. The highlight? The huge bait ball of sardines still drifting over the reef, occasionally interrupted by sea lions or cormorants dive-bombing from above.

Lunch was enjoyed on a slow cruise back to the marina with views of frigate birds and the ever-photogenic Balandra Mushroom Rock.

Back at Fun Baja, everyone received their Bluewater Travel shirts, posed for a group photo, and wrapped up the week with a slideshow and the much-anticipated photo contest results.

A Week to Remember

From reefs to wrecks, from playful sea lions to exciting bait balls, and from early departures to moonlit night dives, this trip had it all. Huge thanks to Fun Baja, the lovely staff at Marina Waterfront Hotel, and the adventurous group of guests who made this week so special.

We can’t wait to dive with you again on another Bluewater Travel underwater photography experience!

Check out the winning entries from this trip's photo contest!

First Place By Heather Weeter

Second and Third Place By Thomas Dipalma