Nautilus Explorer Liveaboard - Bluewater Dive Travel

Nautilus Explorer Liveaboard

4.65
(10 REVIEWS)
Nautilus Explorer
Nautilus Explorer Liveaboard

Destination: Mexico

Socorro (5-10 Nights) | From $350++/night

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Nautilus Explorer Liveaboard Quick Pitch

Luxury dive liveaboard serving small groups of divers in the Socorro Islands, the Nautilus Explorer was custom built for diving and designed to offer the highest level of comfort and safety for its guests. Expect spacious rooms and cabins, convenient layout for diving, first-class facilities, top-notch dining services and excellent dives throughout your trip.

 

Why You'll Like Nautilus Explorer

  • Custom built for divers
  • Extra comfort with hot tub, ample fresh water and near silent generators
  • Air conditioning and heating throughout
  • 13 cabins/25 guests/4 dive pros
  • Free transfers from/to the airport
  • Up to 4 meals a day included: buffet and table service combining American, European and Mexican tastes
 

 

Liveaboard Locations

The trips to Socorro start and end in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

 

Dive Overview

Excellent pelagic and shark diving. Huge manta rays, sharks, and humpback whales are some of Socorro’s underwater stars. 

[Read More: Socorro Dive Travel Guide]

 

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NAUTILUS EXPLORER Accommodations

Types of Cabins, Amenities and Photos

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Nautilus Explorer Cabin Details

  • Triple Stateroom - J
  • Triple stateroom with private ensuite. Bunk bed on one side. Double bed on the other side.
  • Premium Suite - Emerald
  • On the Nautilus Explorer, one large premium suite is available on the upper deck and is twice the size of the other suites. It has a separate bedroom and lounge, each with a large flat-screen TV, ensuite with full-size bathtub and shower.
  • Superior Suites - Dofleini, Rosario, Nautilus
  • Three superior suites on the upper deck with large windows, desk, and wardrobes. Two of these suites have doors that open directly outside. The third suite boasts a large flat-screen TV.
  • Staterooms - A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H
  • The lower deck has 8 comfy staterooms that are approx. 90 square feet with central air conditioning. Six of the staterooms have side-by-side beds. Two of the staterooms have large full beds and an additional storage area. An affordable triple occupancy stateroom is also available.

Nautilus Explorer Nautilus Explorer

Premium Emerald

Nautilus Explorer Nautilus Explorer

Superior Suites

Nautilus Explorer Nautilus Explorer

Stateroom (L) & Triple Stateroom (R) 

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General Facilities

Boat Features, Facilities and Photos

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Nautilus Explorer Nautilus Explorer

Nautilus Explorer Nautilus Explorer

 

Nautilus Explorer General Features

  • Sun Deck: 2 on the upper deck and 1 hot tub deck
  • Indoor Lounge: 1 in front of the dive deck with PC and Mac computers and a 42-inch TV
  • Air Conditioning: In all indoor areas
  • Other Facilities: Photo station, camera room, charging stations, camera station, separate camera rinse
  • Food & Drinks: 4 meals/day. American, European, Mexican cuisine with a mix of buffet and table service. Bread and pastries baked on board. Beer, wines, and spirits available.
  • Internet: Available at an extra charge

 

Deck Plan

Nautilus Explorer Layout

 

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Schedule, Rates & Availability

Nautilus Explorer Liveaboard Schedule & Rates

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Prices are per person in USD and include 5% tax, which is often not included on other websites. Scroll down to see the full inclusions & exclusions.  Click on 'Booking Request' to see cabin options and to book.

 

Package Inclusions

  • Accommodation
  • All meals (continental breakfast, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert), non-alcoholic beverages, and snacks
  • Use of kayaks and stand up paddleboards (on Socorro Island trips only)
  • Weights, weight belts, aluminum 80’s and air, 
  • Daily room service, towels, 
  • In-water divemaster and end of trip slideshow DVD 
  • Onboard facilities such as the hot tub and lounge.

 

Package Exclusions

  • Port Fee of $65.00 USD per person 
  • Transfers between airport and hospitality suite
  • Gift shop purchases
  • Bar
  • Crew gratuities
  • Dive gear rentals
  • Nitrox is available for $20.00 USD per dive day.
  • Optional wi-fi access on board. 

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Rates & Availability

For more information on the rates and on availability email us at info@bluewaterdivetravel.com or call us at +1-310-915-6677 and we will gladly help you plan your dream dive vacation! 

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Dive Information & Itineraries

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Socorro Itinerary Overview

Socorro Island is part of the Revillagigedos, a group of small islands off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Dive sites include Socorro, San Benedicto & Roca Partida but may change due to ocean conditions. The manta behavior here is unique in the world. The 12-to-16-foot giant mantas of Socorro seek out intimate interactions with divers. They communicate with us, from locking eyes in a first contact to gently swimming just overhead to be tickled by bubbles. Sometimes they hover alongside or underneath a diver, where they often stay, curious and seemingly in want of a connection that has left more than one diver with tears of joy.

It’s one of the reasons we stay committed to the Socorro Islands (a.k.a. the Revillagigedo Archipelago), well worth the full-day motor south from Cabo San Lucas. Volcanic in origin, these islands serve as an oasis amid the Sea of Cortez, 250 miles off the Baja Peninsula coast. The raw lava flows and active volcanoes in these islands resemble the lost world of “Jurassic Park,” which seems fitting as these outpost islands, including 

Roca Partida, beckon not just to giant mantas but to a host of big animals.

Your journey will include four dives per day (subject to weather and unforeseeable circumstances)—each an opportunity to encounter resident pods of playful dolphins. You may also see up to 10 varieties of shark: schooling scalloped hammerheads, solitary giant hammerheads, Galápagos, whitetip reef, silver-tip, silky, tiger and oceanic whitetips. The list also includes whale sharks and dusky sharks and on occasion even a thresher shark.

On most days, we enjoy visibility of 70 to 100 feet. When the current picks up, the ash from these volcanic isles can rise, reducing the visibility to 30 feet. For the wide-angle experience that is big-animal diving, this isn’t ideal. But, we’re still cruising one of the most pristine underwater environments—so we then choose dives where we’re closer to the reefs and marine life such as eels, octopuses and Socorro lobsters.

 

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Other Information

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Boat Specifications

  • Year Built: 2000
  • Length: 116 feet
  • Beam: 27 feet
  • Construction Material: Steel hull
  • Speed: 12-knot maximum service speed
  • Water capacity: Unlimited with high capacity watermaker
  • Compressors: 2 x water cooled Coltri MC-30
  • Rebreather friendly
  • Dive skiffs: 3 x high-speed large inflatables
  • Passengers: 25
  • Crew: 10-11
  • Cabin: 13

 

Practical Information

  • Time Zone: UTC-6
  • Local Currency: Mexican Peso (MXN)
  • Language Spoken: English & Spanish
  • Payment Onboard: Cash, Visa & Mastercard

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Got Questions? Ready to Book?

Call us today at 310-915-6677 or email us at info@bluewaterdivetravel.com

And let us book your dream vacation!

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Underwater Photos

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Socorro Underwater Pictures

Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel

Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel

Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel

Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel

Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel

Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel Nautilus Under Sea Bluewater Dive Travel

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Reviews (10)

5
5
5
5

Had a fantastic 9day live aboard trip to Socorro Islands in June 2023.
This is our second trip on Nautilus Explorer. We very much like the boat and crew.
Food was amazing throughout, sadly we both put on weight it was so good!!
The dive facilities and organisation of dives is truly impressive.
The sea life was as we had hoped for. Mantas, and 8 different species of shark, schools of tuna and many more species, even Nudibranch.
This trip we booked the premium cabin, super luxurious and great panoramic view out the huge window.
Can’t recommend this boat and amazing crew enough.

Visited on 06/2023 - Submitted on 06/14/2023
4
5
5
4

I took the Nautilus Explorer to Socorro in November 2021. The crew was very good; however, I was not as impressed with the dive masters. They seemed to push the envelope and had us swimming against the current a lot. One dive master swam off and left half the group on one dive! A couple of the guest were very upset with the dive masters! The boat was very comfortable! The food was good. I stayed in one of the cabins for a single occupant. I found it to be wonderful! The bed was the BEST bed I have ever slept in on a liveaboard! I especially liked the night snorkel with the Silky Sharks! That was a lot of fun. One of the crew stood on the stern with a loudspeaker yelling when the sharks would come toward the back of the boat where the snorkelers were. It was a festive atmosphere! Despite not being impressed with the dive masters, I would go back on the Nautilus Explorer again! Sorry, but my photos are too large to download.

Visited on 11/2020 - Submitted on 05/19/2021
5
4
5
5

I bought my Mum a trip on Nautilus’ liveaboard for her birthday, as soon we showed up in Mexico they helped us through every stage. They offered a free checkout dive package for us right there before we got on the boat, it was a great way to knock the dust off since it had been a few months. The trip itself was awesome, sea lions, manta rays, and so many fish! We even got a surprise with two schools of hammerheads! The best part was how relaxing the crew made the trip, my mum describes the week as “truly magical” and it really was great.

Visited on 10/2019 - Submitted on 03/11/2021
CHAPIN, SC
United States
4
5
5
5

I was fortunate enough to be in Guadalupe Island in 2018 on the Nautilus Explorer. We sailed in the end of July and it was a trip of a lifetime! Guadalupe is a little difficult to get to - it's a 3 hour bus ride from San Diego to board the ship in Ensenada, Mexico, followed by a 20 hour sail to reach the island. The crossing can be rough when winds/waves are up...but when you arrive it's all worth it! You are anchored in the leeward side of the island so the ocean was as smooth as a swimming pool the whole time. You could actually see the sharks pretty well from the deck!

We had sharks there all 3 days, all day long every day. There seem to be more sharks there than in the past? According to the crew, the seal populations have increased over time and have allowed the sharks to do the same. The sequence on day one starts with alternating 1 hour in a cage and 1 hour out so that everyone gets equal time in the cages. However, starting on day 2, the cages were not always full - so you could stay longer if you wanted. The water in late July was as warm as it gets - mid 70's F - so you need a thick suit/dry suit to maximize time in the water.

As for the ship, the food was good and the staff was great! Very energetic bunch and they took care to make sure we were well taken care of. Would highly recommend it!

Bottom line - if you have always wanted to see Great Whites, this is the BEST place in the world to do so. The visibility is as good as it gets there (80 - 100 feet?). Keep in mind that in cage diving you have only a wetsuit and weights - no BC or tanks - so you can expect to wear 30 - 40 lbs of weight just to be able to submerge. Also realize that there is nothing else to see in the water when the sharks are not around, so there may not be something to see all the time. Even so, one of my best memories of the trip is sitting in the cage by myself at the beginning...waiting...and then having a massive shark shoot up at the bait right in front of me! Hope to visit again someday...

Visited on 07/2018 - Submitted on 05/11/2020
5
5
5
5

This trip to Guadalupe Island is what I wanted to take but never thought I would. I love sharks and this is an expensive trip. The opportunity came up and I got to go. I was a little worried that the chance of seeing this massive sharks was going to be a little bit of hype. When we arrived on site it took a few hours of slapping the water but when they came they did not stop. I was amazed at the constant arrival of beautiful animals This was for me one of my most memorable experiences.

Besides the outrageous animal experience the boat, crew and accommodations were also top notch. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this trip to anyone that loves big fish and good people. The crew were amazing and did whatever it took to make everyone happy. There were a bunch of smiling faces when we landed back in port.

Regards,
Jason

Visited on 05/2020 - Submitted on 05/01/2020

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