MV Southern Sport

MV Southern Sport is one of the diving charter vessels from the renowned local operators, Club Cantamar, among the first names in Mexico liveaboards. This 115 ft / 35m aluminum-hulled motor yacht splits its time between the magnificent Socorro Island region and the unforgettable shark mecca of Guadalupe Island. It is renowned for its great crew teamwork.

Accommodating 18 guests in comfort, MV Southern Sport's main deck has an air-conditioned saloon with TV, DVD and music, plus a library of movies and books for your entertainment. The connecting dining area is where you will be served your meals and complimentary beverages: both soft drinks as well as beer and wine. This is the social hub of the boat together with the shaded area of the sundeck which features comfortable, in-built surround seating and a barbecue station.

Divers will appreciate features such as the 2 Yamaha inflatable dive tenders, scuba tanks of 10, 12 and 15 liters, nitrox, hot and cold showers and a toilet on the dive deck, for those urgent post-dive moments! Southern Sport's emphasis on safety is evidenced by the boat's stability in the water, and the provision of individual lost diver devices, mandatory dive insurance on all its liveaboard charters and a re-compression chamber on board its sister ship Sea Escape. Photographers will note the dive deck's camera table and camera rinse tank, as well as the many charging points around the liveaboard vessel.

So if safety, comfort, service, a boat full of facilities and an operator of good reputation are all on your Mexican liveaboard wishlist, be a sport and enjoy the southern hospitality of M/V Southern Sport.

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Notes: In the event of cancellation by the operator for any reason, there will be no reimbursement so the operator states that it is mandatory for all guests to have travel insurance coverage for this event.

Dive experience: Socorro Islands - Advanced Open Water Divers and min. 60 logged dives required. Sea of Cortez - open water license only. Guagalupe - no license required for surface cages, open water license required for submersed cages.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinking water, soft drinks, hot drinks, local beer and wine (in moderate quantities), transfers (for Socorro and Guadalupe trips) to the boat from recommended hotels, dives (as detailed in the trips above), experienced English-speaking divemasters (1 guide for 9 divers for Socorro trips), lost diver radio locators (deposit required), standard tanks, weights and weightbelts, Mexican taxes on cruise price.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Marine park and port fees (Socorro US$ 703 per trip, Guadalupe US$ 350 per trip), scuba equipment (US$ 25 per dive day), dive and travel insurance (to cover trip cancellation). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (Credit cards are accepted for nitrox and rental gear only, all other payments must be in cash).

Optional extras: Alcoholic drinks (spirits), nitrox fills for enriched air divers (US$ 125 per trip), large tanks (US$ 17 per dive day), torches. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival. Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.

How to get there: Socorro: Southern Sport's liveaboard diving charters depart at 10 in the morning from San José del Cabo for trips to the Socorro Islands. Guests fly into Los Cabos international airport (SJD) approximately 45 minutes drive from the town. You should plan to arrive the day before departure. Transfers to the boat are available from San José del Cabo hotels at 07:00 hrs on the day of departure.
The boat returns to port late at night on the final evening and guests disembark at 08:00 hrs on checkout day. Due to the long journey back to port, there is no concern with the 'no flying after diving' guideline.
Guadalupe: For trips to Guadalupe, MV Southern Sport departs from Ensenada, Mexico at 11:00 hrs. Most guests arrive the night before departure and stay in the San Diego Old Town Holiday Inn or Hotel Palacio Azteca, Tijuana. On the day of departure a luxury coach will pick guests up at 07:00 hrs (San Diego) and 08:00 hrs (Tijuana) and transport you to Ensenada. Guests not staying at these hotels must make their way there for pick up.
The boat returns to port at 12:00 hrs and the coach will arrive in Tijuana at 18:00 hrs.and San Diego at 20:00 hrs. It is recommended that flights are scheduled for the following day.
For more details, including airlines, see our Mexico tourist information section.

Non-diver rate: 20% off the published price.

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travelers may choose to share a cabin or pay a supplement of 70% of the published price.

Dive clubs and group discounts: Pay for 9 guests and 1 extra person can join the cruise in a Comfort cabin free of charge (total 10+ guests).

Whole boat charter rate (per night): Pay for 16 guests and 2 additional persons can join the cruise free of charge.

There are 9 cabins: On the upper deck are 2 double bed Suites and 3 Comfort Plus (1 double, 2 twin bunk bed) cabins. All upper deck cabins have ensuite bathrooms. There are 4 Comfort twin bed cabins (with bunk beds), 2 on the main deck and 2 on the lower deck. The 2 main deck cabins share 1 bathroom, the other 2 have a private bathroom in the hallway.

All the cabins have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 9 / 9 - hot water

The crew of 9 comprise: Nitrox - 2 Motorized dive dinghies - 344ft² (32m²) Diving deck & 130ft² (12m²) platform with 2 ladders, hot water shower, cold water shower and toilet - Camera table, separate rinse tank and charging stations - Main deck air-conditioned saloon and dining area with TV, DVD, music system, movie library, fish ID books, games - Partially-shaded sundeck with built in seating and barbecue station - Water dispenser.

Enriched air nitrox courses available onboard.

Meals on board the Southern Sport liveaboard consist of pre-breakfast before dive 1, then breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. There are also plenty of snacks in between meals to ensure no-one goes hungry. The menu is best described as international with an array of Mexican dishes. With a large contingent of customers from the USA, you can be sure of generous portions.

• Mexican, seafood, international and BBQ meals - 2 dishes per sitting.
• Air-conditioned canteen dining area.
• Pre-breakfast, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks are provided.
• Snacks include candy bars, ice cream, cookies, pastries, fruit, bread and toast.
• Coffee, tea, drinking water and soft drinks are all provided free of charge.
• Beer and wine are also provided free of charge.
• All dietary requirements can be catered for - please send advanced notice.
• Cruise dining service begins with lunch on boarding.

Customer reviews:

"There were plenty of issues with the boat: > Leaving much later than indicated on day 1 and much longer journey due to due technical or administrative issues, and a sick captain; we only arrived on the evening of day 2. The boat was in an overall desolate condition, strong rocking of the boat, freezing aircon which couldn't be adjusted individually, brown salt water coming out of shower, overall cleanliness of the boat was below standard, lax safety protocols. The worst boat I have even been on (and I have been on many different boats of all budgets)." - Sophie Kubik, Germany, 9 March 2024 ...

"The positives were the wonderful dives at sea lion colonies, lovely night dive with mobulas, very good food, nice and cordial service from both divemasters and crew members.
However in general, the group got the impression that the captain was not interested in sailing around to see the most interesting dive sites (official cause was port closure by the Mexican authorities). Apart from one day, we only did 2 or 3 dives a day - not enough to go back there, which is a pity because the Sea of Cortez is a place worth returning to." - Mariusz Pilat, Poland, 28 November 2022 ...

"2 dive instructors for 17 divers. Had my own cabin and bathroom. Rent all gears at 30 USD/day (without a dive computer). Pick-up from a recommended hotel. Free taxi to hotel after disembarking. Unlimited food of a variety." - Yuyao Wang, China, 8 January 2015 ...