Quino El Guardian Liveaboard

I went to Socorro via the Quino El Guardian in December 2019/January 2020 and it was without a doubt the best bucket list experience ever! The marine life is unbelievable. Almost anything you can imagine is there. Massive and graceful manta rays, playful dolphins, and sharks galore - galapagos, silky, oceanic whitetip, tiger and hammerhead sharks.As for the boat itself, it gets the job done! The experience is real and the whole crew was amazing. Not to mention that the food was some of the best I've had.I highly recommend this trip. I look forward to going again one day.

We did the shark expedition aboard the Quino El Guardian in November 2019 with shark researcher Mauricio Hoyos Padilla. If I could give 10 stars to the boat and crew I would, in every category. The boat is amazing, it isn't a luxury liveaboard, but has everything you need for an amazing trip. The dive deck and camera tables are more than adequate. The crew was very attentive, fun and safe. Our captain was Julio, safety is his number one priority. He was always available for questions, and kept us very informed on our itinerary based on the weather conditions. Dori and Joshua put out 5-star meals during the entire trip, they worked tirelessly to make sure everyone had a wonderful dining experience. I have food allergies and they were very careful to make sure I got an amazing meal each and every time. There were always plenty of snacks and drinks available.The divemasters were very professional, Lois and Gabby know how to get the most out of Socorro so you will have an amazing experience.The rooms on this boat are very small so don't bring a lot of extras. There is a place for you to store your luggage after you unpack so it doesn't have to stay in the room.The diving in Socorro is second to none if you are looking for pelagics. The mantas made an appearance on every dive, they were so curious and seemed to hang around for the entire dive. We had fun playing with dolphins, swam with huge schools of tiger sharks, the Galapagos, silver tips, silkies, white tip sharks were always present. I don't think we had a dive without all of the above mentioned. We were at the beginning of whale shark season and the last day of the dive a huge pregnant female made an appearance and we dove with her for at least 30 minutes.I would suggest going early in the season, there were only 3 boats in the area when we were there so the captains coordinated our locations so we were guaranteed to be the only boat at each dive site.

This is not a luxury liveaboard, but is one of the best liveaboards I have been on. Cabins are quad share and bathrooms are located on the dive deck and shared among all the guests.The Quino used to be, and still is a research vessel. They conduct citizen scientist trips where a scientist is on board and conducting research. Divers get to experience a marine scientist at work, with presentations from the scientist and divers can sometimes even assist in some research.If you spend a lot of time in the cabins of a liveaboard, this one is not for you. If you like interacting with the other divers and making new diving friends, there are few liveaboard better at fostering this than the Quino. This is a very fun liveaboard for singles travelers.While the cabins and bathrooms might be 3 star, the FOOD is nothing short of 5 STARS. Easily the best food on any liveaboard I've been on. The chef is top notch, and the rest of the crew are also really amazing.There is also a tv lounge area, a massive camera table, nice open dining area and a large sun deck with shade.