Note: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post might contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. I would never recommend a product I have not personally tested and loved. 

The Revillagigedo Archipelago, more commonly known by its largest island, Socorro, is widely considered by divers to be one of the most amazing big animal dive destinations on our planet. And rightfully so! This UNESCO World Heritage Site and Mexican National Park located in the eastern Pacific Ocean is one of the largest Marine Protected Areas in the world. More commonly known by the name of its largest island – Isla Socorro, these islands are packed with jaw dropping encounters. It is a playground for giant oceanic mantas growing upwards of 7 meters wide (23 feet). A location where over 10 species of sharks can be seen, friendly pods of dolphins join divers, and schools of massive tuna can be seen hunting. But it is not just the biodiversity & abundance of pelagic marine life that makes this area so special. The unique interactions with the beautiful creatures of Socorro are what scuba diving dreams are made of. Diving here is emotional. Imagine a massive oceanic manta ray spotting you from afar, and seeking you out. Swimming directly to your face to look you in the eye and then spending the next 20 minutes circling you as if she wants to begin a conversation. Picture pods of dolphins that actively seek out divers beckoning them to play. All the while white tip sharks gather in piles of 10s & 20s, schools of shy hammerheads create choreographed walls out in the blue, and huge tiger sharks patrol the depths. This is the Revillagigedo.

Why Should You Go

There are many reasons the Revillagigedo is considered one of the best big animal destinations on earth. First up, the oceanic manta rays here behave unlike any I have ever seen. They seem to seek out divers for attention. Imagine floating eye to eye with a 6m /20ft wide ocean giant, watching her eyes track yours as if she wants to start a conversation with you. Or looking above you to see one of the massive creatures playing in your bubbles just above your head. It’s surreal. But even better, normally it isn’t just 1 manta. I’ve had dives with upwards of 10 oceanic manta rays around us on one dive. I love watching how they interact with each other and seeing them gliding through the water following or spiraling around each other. 

But then it doesn’t end there, Socorro and the Revillagigedo are home to a lot of shark species. Tiger sharks, schools of scalloped hammerheads, dusky, Galapagos, silky, white tip reef, oceanic black tip, silver tip, and even the world’s largest fish – the whale shark! Oh, and don’t forget the bottlenose dolphins that like to mess with divers for entertainment. They seem to have developed games out of it. But I won’t ruin the surprise, just make sure to listen to your guides briefing. False orcas, humpback whales, and other cetacean species can be spotted around the islands. Beyond the big stuff, there is just a ton of life on the sites from big schools of different species of jacks to the beautiful bright orange Clarion Angel Fish that is endemic to these islands. Seeing the Clarions cleaning a manta is one of my personal favorites and a definitive iconic shot from the Revillagigedo. 

When Should I Go? 

The Socorro Island & Revillagigedo Archipelago season runs from November into June. During this time there is not really any ‘bad time to go’. I’ve been every month from November through May and always had mind blowing encounters out there. There isn’t a massive difference from month to month. The beginning of the season is sometimes touted as the whale shark peak, but ask any of the guides that have been working out there for a few years and they’ll tell you the chances to see whale sharks are the same pretty much all season. 

From my personal experiences, I feel that early and late season tends to be more sharky, and mid season I tend to have seen more mantas. But with that being said I have never had a trip where we didn’t see mantas on at least 75% of the dives. So I wouldn’t stress too much which month to go. The only month I personally tend to stay away from is June. This is due to the eastern tropical pacific hurricane season starting to kick off. As there is quite a long open ocean crossing to get to the islands storms in the summer can create less than ideal conditions or even force operators to cancel trips unexpectedly. 

In terms of water temperatures there is a little bit of difference through the season. The early months (Nov-mid Jan) and late months (May-June) tend to be warmer at roughly 24-27C / 75-80F. The middle of the season (late Jan through April) tends to be cooler with temperatures of 22-25C / 70-76F.

How Do I Get There?

These beautiful islands are located 240 miles due south of Cabo San Lucas, which means there is only one way to dive them and that is via liveaboard. The crossing to the northern most island, Isla San Benedicto, takes roughly 26 hours depending on which ship you are on. There are currently 6 operators running trips to the Revillagigedo Archipelago. My personal favorites are Nautilus Liveaboards and Mexico Liveaboards. Nautilus has 3 ships that operate there (Undersea, Explorer, & Belle Amie), and Mexico Livebaboards has 2 (Rocio del Mar & Quino el Guardian). Dive Ninja Expeditions runs at least 1 or 2 specialized trips every year to Socorro that I personally guest host. During the trip I give talks about the mantas and sharks that call the area home, as well as current research & conservation projects and how to get involved in Manta Photo Identification projects. So far every trip we have discovered new mantas that we were able to name! This past trip we found 3 new ones! 

If you’ve never done a long crossing liveaboard before, don’t stress! While the crossing from Cabo San Lucas to San Benedicto is on the longer side it tends to be quite calm with the wind at your back and the waves moving in the same direction as the ship. So no rocky, crazy seas. If you’re not sure if you get seasick I always recommend taking meds before boarding the ship just to be safe. It’s much easier to prevent seasickness than it is to get rid of it once you feel it. Once you are in the islands you’ll be anchored in protected bays most of the trip and only do short crossings in the evening when you move from one island to the next.

What Dive Gear Should I Pack?

In regards to scuba gear you’ll want to pack all your normal stuff: mask, fins, wetsuit, regulator, booties, and BCD. However one thing I highly recommend is having a tall surface marker buoy (SMB), and a reel so you can send it up from underwater if need be. Most of the dive sites have some current and you are essentially in the middle of nowhere. So if you lose your group or need to surface without them you want to make sure you can get a buoy up quick so the zodiac drivers can easily see and track you. They’re great at spotting divers, but it always helps to be a little extra safe when diving remote areas like this. I’d also highly recommend having a Nautilus Lifeline. If you are onboard a Nautilus ship they’ll actually give you one to use for free during the trip. These awesome little devices are like a personal emergency GPS that when triggered send out an alert to all ships in the area with your exact GPS location.

Outside of that, your wetsuit will depend on when in the season you are going as temperatures range throughout the season. For most of the season the norm is a 5mm, unless you get cold easily. Personally, in the early season I’m using board shorts and a hooded vest, then I switch to a 3mm open cell wetsuit. Very rarely do I break out my 5mm, but I am also accustomed to diving colder waters. I’d recommend checking with the ship to find out the current temps before you fly out so you can be comfortable for your trip. Gloves and reef hooks are not allowed anywhere in the  park so you can leave them at home. 

What Camera Gear Should I Bring?

For camera gear you are going to want to go wide angle. A fisheye or WACP is great for the unclose manta interactions. Then I like to switch some days to my Sony 16-35mm G Master lens for shark shots. While there is a bit of macro around the sites, you won’t need to bring your macro lens. Trust me, you’ll be way too busy with the mantas and sharks to be looking for nudis! If you are shooting photos, I’d recommend strobes, such as the Sea & Sea YS-D3 Mk II Lightning strobes. Most of the dives take place around 25 meters / 80 feet so you’re going to want a bit of light to help out. If you’re shooting video, then you might want video lights depending on the subject or just some good old fashioned custom white balance. If you need an awesome suitcase to carry it all in that’s super sturdy, keeps your gear safe, and doesn’t attract unwanted attention like hard shell cases do; then check out Think Tank! I personally love their roller bags!

For topside, I’d recommend a 100-400mm telephoto to get shots of dolphins, seabirds, and the surrounding landscapes. The islands themselves are incredibly beautiful. I’d also highly recommend bringing your drone if you are comfortable flying from boats. At San Bendicto you can actually see the top of the volcano, Cabo Pearce looks beautiful looking back towards the island and Roca Partida also makes for some great drone shots. Plus, many times I’ve spotted mantas sun tanning at the surface from the drone. There are 2 things to consider when flying a drone here though. First, some sites can have a lot of sea birds cruising around so keep an eye out- especially for frigates. Second, the rock here messes with GPS and RC connection if you get too close to it so you always want to keep direct line of site and do NOT fly behind the rocks or walls. In other words, you want to make sure there is a direct line of site between you and the drone with no part of the islands between you and the drone.

Conservation & Research

With so many jaw dropping pelagic encounters to be found in Socorro and the Revillagigedo Islands there are a lot of brilliant researchers and passionate conservationists working hard to better understand and protect this area. Pacific Manta Research Group has been studying the mantas found in the Revillagigedo Archipelago as well as the eastern pacific and the Gulf of California for over 30 years.  They also created and run one of the largest manta identification programs in the world. The research from this photo identification program has been crucial in gaining further protections for the area as well as pushing forward our understanding of these enigmatic gentle giants. On the Dive Ninja Socorro trips I teach the guests early on how they can get involved and contribute to the project with any camera. Plus we get the name any mantas that are discovered to be new to the database. For me, I love this part as it lets us take all those incredible memories from the trip and let them live on through naming one of the beautiful creatures we seen.

The renown pelagic research center, Pelagios Kakunja based in La Paz, also has a wealth of projects and researchers working in the island on some remarkable projects. I highly recommend giving both research centers a follow on Instagram and checking out their websites for more info on the awesome work they are doing. You might also spot ships flying the Sea Shepherd flag while in the islands. This is because through Operation Treasured Islands, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society helps the Mexican Navy and national park service patrol this gigantic protected area from illegal fishing ships.

Local Insider Tips 

Experience wise I’d suggest being a PADI Advanced Open Water diver or equivalent with around 30 dives under your belt. This is because most of the dives are on the deeper side and there can be some current on some of the dive site. Also, I’d highly recommend having your Nitrox certification. You’ll be doing 3-4 dives per day with most of them being to roughly 25m/80ft. Using Enriched Air Nitrox will help you extend your bottom times on the receptive dives, as well as lower your overall nitrogen load. The course is quick and easy to do so it won’t take up much of your time. You could even book the course with a local dive shop in Cabo, such as the highly rated Dive Ninja, and they will send you the eLearning to do online before you arrive. Then you show up and only have a couple hours of learning & practice and you’re all set! For my readers, Ninja is offering a $50 discount on the PADI Nitrox Course – all you have to do is mention this article and tell them you’re going to Socorro.

Since all the ships to Socorro & the Revillagigedo depart from Los Cabos, Mexico I’d definitely recommend sneaking in some dives in Cabo San Lucas before you head out to the islands! Plus it gives you a chance to dust off the gear and make sure everything is working correctly so you can hit the water ready for action when you get out to the islands. This way you’re not wasting any dives out there trying to get comfortable or sorting gear issues. I wrote an article with a bunch of info about diving in Los Cabos, Mexico here. If you have the extra time, I’d also recommend jumping on a day trip from Cabo to visit the sea lion pups & whale sharks in La Paz, or experiencing the world famous Cabo Pulmo National Park. A couple of the local shops in Cabo, like Dive Ninja offer day trips to visit these beautiful spots with transportation and everything included making it super easy to sneak in!

My last tip for Socorro is to make sure you book in advance! Trips out there sell out fast and sometimes a year or longer in advance depending on the dates you are looking for. February and March tend to be the quickest to sell out. Personally I find that January always has the best action, so I always host trips then.

Note: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post might contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. I would never recommend a product I have not personally tested and loved. 

Cabo San Lucas is quickly becoming world renown as a legendary dive destination – even rivaling its brothers on the Caribbean coast. Playing host to everything from big animals and pelagic predators to playful sea lions, turtles, macro, and colorful reef fish it’s very easy to see why.  Los Cabos seems to have something to make every diver happy. As Cabo’s notoriety in the scuba diving and freediving world continues to grow, more and more divers are looking to check it out themselves. Which of course brings a ton of questions about the destination. Whether it’s on social media, forums, or in person, there is one question I get asked almost nonstop. ‘When is the best time to dive in Cabo?’ 

My answer is usually something along the lines of; well, that depends on what you’d like to see.   Unlike many other top diving destinations, Cabo’s marine life and water conditions change quite drastically throughout the year. In other words we have different seasons for seeing different animals, water temps, visibility, and so on. With there being so many different things to experience and marine life to encounter I thought it would be good to have an article written by a local that’s done thousands of dives in the Cabo. No marketing hype. No sales tactics. Just honest info from one diver to another. 

Locations to Dive in Los Cabos

Let’s start off with the geography of Cabo San Lucas and Los Cabos, as it plays a major part in understanding our marine life and water conditions. The Los Cabos Municipality is made up of a few regions that have diving. Cabo San Lucas is located right at the southern most tip of the Baja California peninsula. It is where the mighty Pacific Ocean meets the Gulf of California – also known as the Sea of Cortez. This meeting point of ocean currents combined with the areas steep walls & deep ocean waters being so close to shore creates a very special area packed with life & biodiversity. This uniqueness was recognized in 1973  by the then Mexican President declaring it a Marine Protected Area. Then in 2005 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

Heading east from Cabo San Lucas along the coast we reach ‘The Corridor’. This area gets it’s name from the numerous hotels and resorts located along this coast (it’s short for ‘the tourist corridor’). The sites here are quite different than the Cabo San Lucas Marine Park. Most are shallower sights that tend to be much quieter. In my personal opinion they have a bit more ambience than the bay, but the bay has a lot more abundance of marine life & biodiversity. Continuing east we reach San Jose del Cabo. San Jose’s dive sites are reminiscent of the Corridor but in my opinion they lack some of the wow factor we see in the Cabo Marine Park or Corridor. The big exception to this is the infamous pelagic hot spot, Gordo Banks, where schools of hammerheads and many other pelagics can be found. Gordo Banks is located 9 miles offshore from San Jose del Cabo. However its location is quite easy to reach from both Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. 

If we continue north up the coast from here we’ll reach the famous and remote, Cabo Pulmo National Park. Pulmo is a shining star in the marine park world, and truly shows the great things that can happen when marine areas are well managed. 

Water Conditions 

The diving conditions in Los Cabos change throughout the year. The warmest clearest waters are seen from late August through December. Temperatures in the autumn regularly reach 28C / 82F with clear blue waters hitting upwards of 30 meter / 100 feet visibility. The opposite of this takes place in the late spring with April & May being the coldest waters and lowest visibility. Temperatures during these months can dip down to 19C / 67 F with visibility dropping down to 5-10m / 15-30ft from the nutrient rich waters. But don’t write off this time of year, as you’ll see below the cold nutrient dense waters bring some really special marine life encounters. The rest of the year (summer and later winter) are a transition between the hot and cold seasons – which also bring their own special encounters. 

Topside Cabo remains warm and sunny all year. The unofficial motto of Cabo San Lucas is ‘No bad days’ which comes from the city averaging roughly 350 days of sunshine a year and seeing rain on less than 10 days annually. Los Cabos semi desert climate also means it’s almost always quite warm & sunny during the day. Those 10 days of rain usually fall sometime during August and September, with the majority of storms taking place in September. Air temperatures fluctuate a bit through the year, with February being the coolest month. The coldest temps can drop to 15C / 59F, but this is only in the late evenings and early mornings. During the day it tends to be in the mid to high 20s C / high 70s – low 80s F. August tends to be the hottest month with mid afternoon temperatures sometimes reaching 40c / 120F. 

Marine Life Seasons

Let’s start with residents that you can see all year long. At anytime of year you can find turtles, multiple different ray species (stingrays, eagle rays, cow nose rays, devil rays, etc), white tip reef sharks, turtles, different species of morays & other eels, schools (yes, schools) of different puffer fish, lobsters, nudibranchs, frogfish, sea horses, octopus, and tons of colorful reef fish including: Moorish Idols, angelfish, butterfly fish, barber fish, surgeon fish, and a bunch of others. 

Side Note: Dive Ninja has a really awesome Baja Marine Wildlife Calendar you can view & download for free that covers Los Cabos as well as the rest of the southern Baja California peninsula. It’s a great resource for planning your trip! 

Winter Wildlife

Our winters are marked by the annual arrival of the hundreds of humpback whales that come to Los Cabos to find mates and raise their young. The humpbacks begin to arrive usually in November, but the official whale watching ‘tour season’ runs December 15 – April 15. However starting in November divers can already start to see them on their surface interval and be serenaded by their songs while diving. The water in the beginning of the winter tends to still be warm and clear making it a great time for easy diving. 

In late November / early December we see the shorter (and much smaller) winter aggregation of Munk’s Devil Rays (Mobula munkiana). This aggregation season usually lasts only a couple weeks and while the schools can get up to a few hundred or even a thousand individuals it pales in comparison to the late spring/summer aggregations Baja is famous for. 

In January the beginning of the blue shark and mako shark season kicks off on the offshore pelagic safari type tours. But if chumming for sharks isn’t your thing, there is usually tons of life on all the dive sites from Cabo San Lucas all the way to Cabo Pulmo. 

In February the waters begin to cool off and the ocean currents begin bringing more nutrients into the bay. Dive guides usually mark the changing of the seasons by the spotting of the first banded guitar rays because this species only visits when the water gets cooler. If you’ve never seen one before, they’re super cool creatures that look kind of like a mix between a shark and a ray. Funny enough, the species we have in Cabo is technically known as a Banjo Ray, but is commonly called a Guitar Ray, guitar shark, or guitar fish. 

Spring Wildlife in Los Cabos

February and March are my favorites for whale watching, as well as for getting super lucky and seeing whales on scuba dives at Gordo Banks, Lands End, Whales Head, and some other sites if you’re super lucky! By this time, the young calfs are much more curious and playful and the mothers are starting to let them explore a bit more. So we usually see them breaching a lot! The hammerheads at Gordo Banks also tend to be in full force as the water cools, bringing them closer to the surface. 

April and May are the coldest temperatures underwater, but these cool nutrient rich waters bring in all sorts of amazing creatures. For one they kick off the largest aggregation of rays on our planet – Baja’s annual mobula ray aggregations. These schools can number upwards of 10,000 individuals. The schools won’t arrive in Cabo until a bit later, but I highly recommend checking out a Mobula Ray Expedition to go spend a few days with the rays at a secret spot. I have yet to find another encounter on earth that even rivals being in the water with thousands of mobulas rays peacefully gliding through the waters. It will honestly change your life. Mobula ray season is also a great time to spot Orcas as they come in to hunt the rays. 

The cold nutrient waters kick off all an incredible chain reaction of life from giant schools of jacks and snapper to even some of the largest creatures on earth. In Cabo, during the cold months I’ve had all sorts of rare encounters with weird creatures from massive spider crabs roughly 1 meter (3ft) wide, small tooth sand tiger sharks, oceanic manta rays, horn sharks, sailfish, and even massive whale sharks cruising past Pelican Rock 20m (70ft) underwater.  April is also a good time to spot the elusive smooth hammerheads on open ocean safaris and the bull sharks in Cabo Pulmo National Park. The bull sharks can be seen almost all year long in Cabo Pulmo, except in the autumn when the waters get really warm. During this time the bull sharks will tend to head a bit deeper looking for cooler waters. 

Summer Wildlife in Los Cabos 

Summer kicks off with the mobula ray (Munk’s Devil Rays) aggregations arriving in Cabo and the water beginning to warm up and become clearer. The rays show up in force and can be seen jumping all around the coast lines. If you couldn’t make one of the Dive Ninja Mobula Ray Expeditions earlier in the year this is a good time to check out their sunrise tours to see them. 

The summer time is when most of our salty sea pups (California Sea Lions) head north for mating season. June & July also see the mating aggregations of silky sharks off shore where sometimes you can have 50+ sharks around the boat. Starting mid summer we begin seeing an influx of sea turtles on the dive sites as they come into the area to nest. By late august the waters are back to being in the mid to high 20s C/ high 70s F /. As we enter September we start to see some of the hottest temperatures topside as well as our ‘wet season’. The wet season is when we have the highest chances of seeing a rain storm or hurricane coming through the area – but keep in mind Los Cabos only sees only a few days of rain each year, while averaging only 25cm / 10 inches of total rain the year. So even though it might be technically our ‘rainy season’, most of the month is dry. September is one of my favorite months for diving in Los Cabos because it’s the low season in terms of tourism – meaning all the dive sites and areas are pretty quiet and the water is already warm and quite clear.

Autumn Wildlife in Los Cabos

Fair weather divers love the autumn season in Los Cabos since it’s when the waters are warmest and clearest. Most divers are fine in a rash guard and shorts or leggings in the autumn. The sea lions return from mating season to their colony at Land’s End in Cabo San Lucas. We also usually see massive schools of sardines and other fish arriving with the warm waters. This kicks off some awesome actions as the sea lions, birds, and larger fish all come in to hunt them. Some years the sardines will line the coastline inside the bay in such big schools that it makes the water look black from above. The water isn’t actually black, instead what you are seeing is the massive amount of sardines just below the surface. 

The warm crystal clear waters this time of year really let Cabo shine underwater. All the bright colored reef fish and red fan corals seem to come to life. Out at Gordo Banks it’s a great time to spot hammerhead sharks and other pelagic marine life. The hammerheads are there all year round, but the clear blue waters makes it super easy to spot the big schools as the cruise by out in the blue. Over in Cabo Pulmo it’s an amazing time to see the gigantic schools of jacks. Plus the warm waters all around the peninsula just make it super nice for diving. 

For underwater photographers this is one of the best times to shoot in Los Cabos because the water clarity is near perfect. Once we start seeing the return of the humpbacks and mobula rays in late November we know the winter season is returning. The water will remain pretty warm into January, then begin to cool down.  

Note: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post might contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. I would never recommend a product I have not personally tested and loved. 

Seeing the aurora borealis, or northern lights, has been one of the top experiences to have on my bucket list for ages. Recently I was on the phone with my good friend / co-founder of Above & Below, Stan Moniz, chatting about an upcoming solar storm. We decided on a last minute whim to roll the dice and fly out to Yellowknife, Canada to shoot the aurora during the storm. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect as I had never seen them before and knew very little about the aurora. But Stan had me convinced it was worth a try – and wow, am I so grateful that I did. It was mind meltingly beautiful and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. I basically forced myself to learn everything and anything I could in the coming 2 weeks before I hopped on the plane in hopes of not missing a shot. The more I learned, the more intrigued I became with not only the aurora, but Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories. Then when I got there it was like a wealth of new info and knowledge to soak up from Stan, and my awesome friend & Yellowknife native, Lindsay. 

Now I know, this a bit different than my normal ocean content. I love learning new things though and trying to shoot new subjects as it opens up this door to creativity where you can mix techniques and other bits from all your different experiences. Those that are familiar with my underwater work, will see my tell tale love of reflections & playing with light in the shots from this trip. Yellowknife was the perfect spot for it as there is almost more water than there is land with tons of beautiful lakes and rivers everywhere you look.

Why Should You Go?

Let’s start with a bold claim – Yellowknife is hands down the best aurora borealis destination in the world. And it’s actually backed up by facts. On average they see the aurora 240 nights per year! Let that sink in for a second…That’s more aurora chances than many places have days of sunshine. The majority of the Northwest Territories are located right inside the aurora belt – the oval that wraps around the arctic where the aurora borealis is primarily visible. But it’s not only that, Yellowknife has this almost bizarre climate where they see very little precipitation. One data source I found put it at about 30cm (12in) annually – to put that in perspective I live in what’s basically a desert with cactus and we see 25cm (10in) of precipitation annually. But what’s even better, is the months with the highest precipitation are also the ones you most likely wouldn’t be visiting for the aurora. There is literally no better place to experience the northern lights. 

Plus it’s super easy to get there, especially for anyone in the Americas as its right in the heart of Canada. Oh, and did I mention the area is also home to fluffy tanks?! The Wood Bison is the largest land animal in the Americas and some of the last herds left in the world are roaming free here in the Northwest Territories. 

When to Go? 

When it comes to deciding on when to book your trip you have essentially 2 time ranges you want to aim for. First off, we kind of need it to be dark. With being so far north Yellowknife is, in the land of the midnight sun. In other words, from mid April into mid August they do not experience true night. Don’t get me wrong, if you’ve never been somewhere that experiences the midnight sun it is incredibly beautiful and these can still be gorgeous months to visit. The area is packed with outdoor activities to get into; camping, hiking, kayaking, boating, and the list just goes on. And I’m told you can actually even see the aurora in the summer months during the midnight sun – which must be spectacular to see. 

But for those of us looking to shoot astro and see it ignite the sky we’re looking at going in the late winter into spring, or late summer into autumn. I’m personally going to write off the mid winter because reading things like an average daily temperature of -24 C (-11F) in January are numbers my Baja living brain does not even want to try to begin to comprehend. Fun fact- I learned on this trip that there is a temperature where Celsius and Fahrenheit are actually the same number. Want to guess where it is? It’s at -40 degrees. I’m not even going to go into why I know this now, but lets just say winters in Yellowknife can be a little bit chilly. 

For those looking for warmer weather though, you should check out August & September. That’s when I was there and I was actually wearing shorts sometimes with day time temps reaching upwards of 24c (75F), and the lowest night temperature we seen was only 10c (50F) making it super comfortable to be out all night chasing the aurora. Plus you also get to see all the foliage turning bright ambers and reds making it especially beautiful during the day.

In late February the temperatures start to come up and in March I’m told the area starts to come to life as the sun begins to show its face again. They also have this incredible ice castle built on the lake and all sorts of fun stuff. Our friend at Northwest Territories Tourism tells me, “It may be a bit colder from January to March, but it is one of the best times to visit the NWT and to see the Northern Lights. The nights are longer making it perfect for more time to watch the dancing Aurora over the frozen lakes. Instead of a reflection of green off the lakes you have the crisp snow sparkling and lighting up everything around you. With the lakes frozen and the ice roads drivable, it also makes the NWT more accessible in the winter and opens the door to explore further. There are also numerous winter activities to try including dogsledding, ice fishing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and winter festivals.” So I think I’m definitely going to have to brave the spring chill and go check it out soon.

How do I get to Yellowknife?  

Yellowknife is located on the shores of Great Slave Lake (more on this later) about 400km (250 miles) south of the Arctic Circle. But as far away as that may sound, it’s surprisingly easy to get there. Even coming from Baja, I was able to get there the same day. You’ll want to fly into Yellowknife Airport (airport code YZF) which is serviced by a bunch of airlines with direct flights from major Canadian hubs including Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver. From these bigger hubs you can get to pretty much anywhere in the world. Spectacular NWT has some great travel info as well as a helpful flight plan map that shows which airlines fly which routes. 

Once you’re there, I’d highly recommend grabbing a rental car as it will allow you to explore more of the area and find great spots to watch the aurora at night. You have your normal rental car agencies like Budget, Hertz, and National. Then you have a couple other smaller rental shops. Personally I rented from Yellowknife Motors which is the local Chevrolet / GMC dealership. I randomly came across a film board provider list that listed them for car rentals so gave them a shout. I had a bit of a struggle trying to get in touch with the other agencies but when I called Yellowknife Motors the person I spoke with was so helpful and nice (Shout out to Kimberly, you rock!). It was actually easier than booking online with the normal rental agencies. I highly recommend checking them out, Make sure you tell them Jay Clue says hi! 

As for where to stay, there are a fair bit of hotels as well as AirBnb’s, bed & breakfasts and even  crazy lodges out in the middle of no where. There also campgrounds for those looking to enjoy a little bit more of the outdoors. For more details, the Spectacular NWT website also has a great directory of accommodations in Yellowknife and the surrounding areas. 

Any Yellowknife Recommendations?

Let’s start with the aurora. While you can easily see it in the city, you’ll want to find darker areas to truly see it dance across the sky. Just after landing, we hopped a taxi to our AirBnB and to my surprise the aurora was clearly visibly above us in the middle of the city. For photos, we wanted to get away from light pollution though. So on a quick tip from Lindsay we walked over to Tincan Hill Recreation Area and I was in awe! I couldn’t believe we walked not even 10 mins from the house and I was watching the aurora shapeshifting across the sky. I had only been in Yellowknife for maybe 30 minutes and I was already blown away. The next nights we took the car and scoped out a bunch of different spots. The Ingraham Trail (Highway 4) extends for about 70km out of Yellowknife and is packed with so many great places to just hang out and watch the aurora.  Plus for daytime it’s a great area for hikes and outdoor activities. Lindsay took us on this awesome little hike to catch the sunset one evening from the top of a hill and it was stunning. 

For more daytime activities I highly recommend contacting My Backyard Tours and doing a little city tour. The area has so much amazing indigenous culture, crazy history, and hidden gems with great backstories. We were super lucky, and Lindsay’s father, Peter, who happens to be a guide at My Backyard Tours took us around town one afternoon teaching us about the area, the people, and history. I learned so much in those few hours and seen so many cool spots I would have otherwise missed. The experience was amazing. I’d definitely recommend giving them a shout and trying to request Peter if he’s available. But if not, all the guides at there are longtime residents of the area filled with local knowledge. 

Weather & What to Pack 

The subarctic climate in Yellowknife is highly varied depending on when you are visiting. From polar cold winters to warm sunny summers you can find pretty much all four seasons.  In transition months like September daily high temperatures can go from 24c (75f) early in the month down to 10c (50f) by the beginning of October. So you’ll definitely want to check upcoming forecasts for you trip and pack accordingly. 

For the late summer/autumn aurora season pack light hiking / trekking pants as well as some base layers you can swap in and out throughout the day. You’ll definitely want some warmer layers for those long nights outside watching the aurora. For exploring outdoors, casual hiking boots are great, but I personally prefer trail running sneakers or hiking sneakers like those by Altra or Merrel. In early September I was fine with a t-shirt & light hiking pants or shorts during the day. Then in my pack I had a Smartwool base layer, my Dive Ninja hoodie, and Arc’teryx Beta AR shell rain jacket to swap in and out throughout the day as the temps shifted. Having a beanie in the late evenings helped a bit too on the chillier nights. The team over at Sunny Sports can def help out with picking out some great gear for the trip!

What Camera Gear Should I bring to Yellowknife?

For my photographers, you’re going to want a sturdy tripod that’s light and easy to hike around with. Stan recently turned me on to Slik Tripods and I can’t say enough of how great they are. The Silk Carbon Fiber PRO CF-635 with the Slik PBH-635AC Dual Action Ball Head is great for trips like this when you are hiking around and want something super light and easy to carry. The tripod is made from carbon fiber, folds down to 36cm (14in) and weighs only 0.9kg (1.9lbs). The ball head is lightweight and sturdily holds a full frame camera with wide angle lens without issue.

For this trip I brought the Sony Alpha 1 and the Sony a7S III. The Alpha 1 is a workhorse and could easily do everything, but for shooting timelapses the a7S III has a more manageable file size and is a beast in low light. Plus having two bodies allows me to have 2 different lenses & configurations ready to shoot at a moments notice. Lens wise, for the aurora you’re going to want something decently wide to get those nice comps with foreground elements and the aurora firing above. The main thing to consider is having a fast lens such as an f2.8 or below. Unlike when shooting the stars or Milky Way, the aurora is moving quite fast. So if your shutter speed is too slow you start to lose the beautiful details in it. You’ll notice as you get above 10 seconds the aurora starts to look like a blob, so try to stay under that. I used both the Sony FE 16-35 mm f2.8 GM  and the Sony FE 24-70 mm f2.8 GM II and couldn’t have been happier. For shooting timelapses, if you’re shooting Sony, then you are blessed with their awesome in-camera intervalometer. If your rig doesn’t have one, then you’ll want to grab a remote style intervalometer. For tips on shooting a timelapse of the aurora, make sure to check out my article on it here. 

If you’re going to check out the Wood Bison, eagles, or any other wildlife then you’ll want to pack a telephoto. I’d recommend something along the 100-400 mm range like the Sony FE 100-400mm GM lens. This will give you some solid reach while keeping a safe distance from those very large, and very wild, fluffy tanks. 

The Story of Great Slave Lake

Now some of you might have been scratching your head about the name of the massive lake Yellowknife is situated on. When I first seen ‘Great Slave Lake’ I was like, eh, did I read that correctly? I was told it’s pronounced more like ‘slavey’, but that didn’t really make it any better. I began doing a bit of digging as well as speaking with some friends that are of Cree and Dene heritage – two of the local indigenous communities found in Yellowknife. The story goes that many years ago when French explorers began moving through the area they worked with Cree traders. The Cree and Dene were at many times warring nations. During these battles the Cree would sometimes kidnap and enslave Dene people – so the Cree would refer to their enemies in this way when speaking to the explorers. In turn, the French explorers began to refer to the lake as ‘Grand lac des Esclaves’ which eventually translated into English as ‘Great Slave Lake’. 

Fast forward 200+ years and the name still exists today, to the obvious dismay of indigenous peoples on all sides. In recent years many have been fighting to rename the lake as well as other place names from their colonial names to their original ancestral names. To give you just a little idea of how culturally diverse this area is, the lake is known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Tlicho), Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé, Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé, and Tucho in Dehcho Dene Zhatıé. If you’re like me, you are probably thinking ‘ummm… why wasn’t this changed decades ago’. And I really wish I could answer that. Especially considering the atrocities many indigenous cultures have faced all throughout North America since the arrival of europeans a few hundred years ago. What I have found in my research is that it seems like the process has been started to begin renaming the lake and other places throughout the Northwest Territories, but has yet to be completed. 

Rich in Local Cultures & History

Yellowknife and the surrounding areas are rich in indigenous culture and history. Over 50% of the population of the Northwest Territories is indigenous. The city’s name actually derives from the copper bladed knives a group of Dene were known for – with traders giving them the nickname Yellowknives. Yellowknife itself is a very young city, being less than 100 years old, but the local history here spans back thousands of years. The area was traditionally known as Sǫǫ̀mbak’è. I highly recommend learning more about the local cultures here when you visit as it is one of the things that truly makes this area incredibly beautiful. There are lots of opportunities and tours to learn about the beautiful heritage that has existed here for millennia. But if you can only fit in a couple hours, at least make time to stop at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Center. Admission is free and it’s filled with exhibits documenting the history of the area. The small lake that it sits on also has a nice trail that wraps around it which makes for a beautiful walk after visiting the museum.

Any Insider Tips?

One of the coolest thing I’ve learned is how scientists can predict solar storms to some pretty close accuracy quite a ways out. So if you have some flexibility and can swing a last minute trip, you might want to check aurora forecasts and if a few weeks out it looks good jump on it. You’re looking for a few days at a kp3 or higher (it’s actually way more complicated than this, but I’ll save nerding out on that for a later article). Astronomy North has a great daily forecasts specific to Yellowknife and Space Weather Live has overall long term forecasts. 

When planning your trip, definitely put a day to the side to head out searching for Wood Bison. You can grab a tour or if you have a rental car you basically want to take Highway 3 heading towards Behchokǫ̀ & Edzo. Once you cross the Frank Channel Bridge by Edzo you’ll start seeing signs to slow down and watch out for Wood Bison. It’s a little over an hour drive from Yellowknife. Then from here just keep your eyes peeled for these awesome behemoths of creatures just hanging by the sides of the road. The further south you go towards Fort Providence the better chances you will have of seeing more of them.  Just keep in mind there are no gas stations out here, so fill up before leaving Yellowknife and make sure you have enough to return, or to get to the next fuel station in Fort Providence. 

While, these beautiful creatures might look quite chill, they can be quite dangerous. So please do not be an idiot and try to get close to them. It’s recommended to always keep at least 25m (80ft) away at all times. Even though they are gigantic, they are still prey animals and will not hesitate to ram you with those sharp horns if they feel even slightly threatened. You’ll also want to keep in mind that Wood Bison can run at 40kmh (25mph), jump high fences, swim, and quickly spin 180 degrees. Living up to my new nickname for them, fluffy tanks. 

Yellowknife Aurora Trip Quick Recap – TL:DR

When to go: March-April for winter shots, or August to October for warmer autumn shots. 

What to see: The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights), Wood Bison, bald eagles, beautiful landscapes & more.

Temperatures: Highly dependent on the season. Can be polar frigid in winter, and comfortable warm in summer & early autumn

Photo/Lens Type:  Wide angle for aurora viewing & astro, and a telephoto for wildlife. 

Experience Level: Anyone. This is an easy trip.

More info: Spectacular NWT has a wealth of information on their website. 

Note: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post might contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. I would never recommend a product I have not personally tested and loved. 

The lagoons of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula have long been a natural sanctuary for gray whales. The grays make one of the longest migrations on earth every winter to reach these special waters and find mates or give birth & raise their newborn calves before starting the long journey home. In this weeks travel guide I’m going to take you through how to visit one of the most amazing whale watching experiences on our planet, as well as give you a little history on why these are whales are so special and how to come home with some awesome photos of the encounter. So let’s get started! 

Why Should You Go?

In my travels I have yet to find another whale watching experience that comes even remotely close to the encounters you can have with gray whales in Baja. Imagine playing peekaboo with a curious 12 meter (40 ft) long ocean giant that is within arms reach of you. So close that you can see the details in their beautiful eyes as they look right back at you. The gray whales that visit Baja showcase a strange behavior that is not seen anywhere else in the world. For some reason they seem interested in humans and what is going on above the water. Boats will sit with the engine off and curious gray whales will come to check it out. If you splash the water a little with your hands they’ll sometimes even place their head under your hand and lift it from the water. It’s surreal. But what’s even more incredible is that these whales only show this behavior in the lagoons of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. Once they leave the lagoons they stop doing it. They don’t do it while migrating to Baja or on their way home. They don’t it at their feeding grounds in Alaska or Canada. It’s remarkable and so beautiful that I have personally seen it bring numerous humans to tears. There’s a bit of local legend and history behind it which I’ll cover later.

But it’s not only these up close encounters either. Grey whales seem to really like spy hopping – where the whale sticks its head out of the water to essentially check out what’s going on at the surface. They also breach, launching themselves into the air and splashing back in. Plus we’ve seen mating behaviors, calves nursing & playing with mom, feeding behaviors, and much more. I’ve even witnessed a mother lifting her calf out of the water on her rostrum as if she wanted to introduce us to her new baby Lion King style!

When to Go? 

The gray whales normally start to arrive in January and by late in the month there’s already a good amount of them at the lagoons. But keep in mind, they are making a roundtrip migration that ranges from 16,000 to upwards of 22,000 kilometers (10,000-14,000 miles) long. It is one of the longest migrations of any animal on earth. In 2015 a grey whale broke the previous record for mammals by traveling roughly 14,000 miles from Russian waters to Mexico and back.  Even crazier is they take this entire journey within only a few miles of the coast line – providing a new standard for truly ‘taking the scenic route’. With that being said, some years they do arrive a little late or a little early. The gray whales will remain in the area though until usually early April. If you’re looking for greatest chances of seeing a lot of whales I’d aim for anytime in February or the first half of March. With that being said there are usually grey whales in the area from usually early January until mid/late April. 

How to get there?

There are quite a few areas to see the gray whales including Bahia Magdalena (Puerto San Carlos), Bahia Almejas (Puerto Chale), Lopez Mateos, Guerrero Negro, San Ignacio, and more. For this article I’m going to focus on the Bahia Magdalena Complex, which covers the 3 areas closest to the major airport of Los Cabos International Airport, La Paz International Airport, and Loreto International Airport. The Bahia Magdalena complex is the technical grouping of the area which runs from Bahia Almejas (Puerto Chale) in the south, up through Bahia Magdalena (Puerto San Carlos), to Adolfo Lopez Mateos in the north. This area is insanely rich in biodiversity and ecosystems and one of my favorite regions in Baja. Not only do you have these massive waterways you also have some of the most important mangroves in Baja as well as sand dunes, mountains, and low lying plains. It plays host to an incredible amount of birds from osprey & bald eagles to numerous migratory sea birds.

The Bahia Magdalena complex is located about 5 hours north of Cabo San Lucas by car, or 3 hours north from La Paz, or roughly 2 hours west from Loreto. There aren’t any closer commercial flights, so unless you are looking at booking a private charter flight those are your 3 closest jump points. Los Cabos International airport in San Jose del Cabo has by far the most options in terms of flights both internationally and within Mexico. It’s one of the top 5 most connected airports in all of Mexico. From Cabo or La Paz you can catch a bus to Ciudad Ciudad Constitución or Insurgentes and then a smaller bus or taxi into Puerto San Carlos or Adolfo Lopez Mateos or Puerto Chale – the latter being a bit more difficult. The issue with this is the buses into these smaller times run at odd times and schedules tend to change often. They also usually only run once or twice a day. So while this is probably the cheapest option it’s also the most difficult. A better option would be to rent a car and drive there or go with an operator that runs Grey Whale watching expeditions & tours like Dive Ninja.

What’s the easiest way to see grey whales?  

Of course driving is not what everyone is looking forward to doing on vacation. Plus you might not want to drive in foreign country or deal with handling all the logistics like renting a car, finding hotels, etc etc.. For this, I’d recommend going with an operator that runs gray whale trips to Bahia Magdalena. Personally I think Dive Ninja Expeditions runs the best trip to see the gray whales. They handle everything and make it super easy – including transportation, accommodation, whale watching, visiting the mangroves & dunes, and so much more. Plus its all done with sustainability in mind while supporting local research & conservation programs. They take you to all 3 of the different areas in the course of a 5 day trip. Plus their guides are super knowledgeable and teach you fun facts about the area and whales on the drive up there. If you can’t make one of their regularly scheduled 5 day trips, they also offer private mini trips that can be as short as 1 night or as long as you’d like to spend with the whales. 

Where to stay

Of the areas we are focusing on, Puerto San Carlos has the most amenities, but keep in mind all of these locations are small fishing towns. In San Carlos check out Villas Mar y Arena or Lore for accommodation as well as for their onsite restaurants. Hotel Alcatraz also has great food too. There are also a couple whale camps out on the island, but I personally have not yet tried them and have heard mixed reviews ranging from horrible to awesome. So for the time being we’re going to leave those out of this guide until I can check them out myself. In Lopez Mateos I like Whales Nest hotel but there are some nice spots on AirBnB as well. For lunch in Lopez Mateos I’d recommend grabbing food at the whale watching marina. There are a few spots side by side here, but my favorite is the one furthest to the left. It can be a bit of mission trying to sort accommodation in these areas during the gray whale season as there aren’t a lot of options so they fill up pretty quick. This is another great reason to go with an operator like Dive Ninja that offers multi day gray whale watching expeditions and trips. They already have everything sorted so you can just enjoy the whales and not have to stress the rest. 

Weather & What to Pack 

Baja’s gray whale areas in the winter can get a little bit chilly. The mornings tend to be cool and the afternoons pretty warm. Some days there can also be a dense marine layer covering the water. But as soon as the sun starts to get higher in the sky the fog will burn off and the clouds open up to bright sunny days. For this reason I highly recommend dressing in layers that are easily removed. Normally in the morning I will board the boat wearing shorts with my windproof & water resistant Rainier pants over them. Then on top I layer a t-shirt, hooded sweatshirt, and my Arc’teryx jacket to block the wind & any moisture. I’ll have a beanie to keep my head warm and a Buff to protect my face from the sun and wind. A layered set up like this is perfect for the cool damp mornings. The windproof & water resistant outer layers keep you from getting chilled or wet early in the day – especially when that morning marine layer is around. By late morning usually it’s already much warmer and I’m down to just shorts and t-shirt. 

Do I need any dive gear?

No need to pack any dive gear for this trip unless you are planning to do some diving in Los Cabos or one of the other jump points. One thing to note here is that it is HIGHLY ILLEGAL to target getting in the water with any whale species in Mexico. All whale species are protected here. Mexico follows similar regulations to the Marine Mammal Protections acts that you find in the USA and Canada. “But how do you get these underwater shots then Jay”, I hear you asking… Well, this is the fun part! Wildlife photographers are a clever bunch! The underwater photos you see of gray whales are taken by leaning over the edge of the boat and holding your camera just under the surface. The whales get close enough to the boat that even a super wide fish eye lens can sometimes not be a wide enough.

What camera gear should I bring?  

Lets start with topside – personally I really like the Sony 100-400mm G Master lens for the gray whales as well as Bahia Magdalena in general. It’s a great combo of reach and being able to hold it steady on a small boat. I find 600mm lenses a bit too much to comfortably shoot from the panga style boats we see in Baja. I also carry Sony’s 1.4x teleconverter in case I want to get a little bit more reach. When the whales are close to the boat I’ll switch to the Sony 16-35mm as it gives me a bit of range. 

Underwater I’m shooting with my Sigma 15mm Fisheye in a Nauticam housing. You want as wide as possible for this. The visibility usually isn’t the best in the lagoons so you’re aiming for shooting when the gray whales are close and as we mentioned before they aren’t the smallest of animals. Plus keep in mind you will be essentially shooting blind so you want solid autofocus  and a close focus distance. Also highly recommend a Go Pro on a telescoping stick. This is probably the only time you’ll ever hear me say this as I hate humans running around with cameras on sticks shoving them everywhere. But this is one of those very rare occurrences it’s actually quite good to capture video. 

Last but not least, let’s talk drones. Some of the gray whale areas have banned drones and others are ok with it and some require permits. So definitely check the local regulations before you take off. Also if you haven’t flown from a small boat you may want to skip trying for the first time here. There are a lot of birds in this area – including some that see drones as prey like magnificent frigate birds, osprey, and bald eagles. With that being said there are some really incredible landscapes that really can only be captured via drone such as the mangroves or sand dunes. I’m currently using the DJI Mavic 3 Pro. I love the long battery life and the slightly bigger size makes it easier to take off / land from your hand while the boat is rocking or coasting with the wind. 

Why are these whales so special?

During the golden age of whaling, ships descended on these lagoons and hunted the Californian Gray Whale almost to extinction. They actually stopped hunting them only because there were so few left that it wasn’t commercially viable to hunt gray whales in the eastern Pacific Ocean any longer. You can find old accounts of the whaling activities in these areas that describe the waters of the lagoons turning red from all of the blood of these poor creatures being devastated for profit. It’s mind blowing and heart breaking to think that this was still going on in the last century. All of the gray whales that you see in these areas are the direct descendants of the few that survived the horrific whaling era. But bizarrely it’s almost as if they have come to forgive humans for the atrocities of our ancestors and are now very curious of us.

There’s a legend you will most likely hear of how a local fisherman back in the 1970’s reached out to the water and a gray whale lifted its head to meet the hand. Creating the proverbial peace treaty between the gray whales and humans. The story is quite sweet and will always be told that it happened in whichever area you are in at that moment. But it is a beautiful example of how humans and whales could potentially coexist in a positive way. The story requires a bunch of background as well as learning the history of Baja’s ‘devil fish’ to really understand why this moment was truly really special, so I’ll save that for a future article. In good news, the California Gray Whale’s populations have remarkably rebounded and are considered to be stable now. Currently the IUCN’s Red List of Endangered Species sets their conservation status as ‘Least Concern’. So when you are out on the water and lock eyes with one of these majestic ocean giants just in front of you, take a moment to appreciate how hard their journey has been to get to this moment — and how lucky we are to be able to encounter them.

Local Insider Tips

I highly recommend taking some time to explore the landscapes and ecosystems in the area. Some of the most important mangrove systems in all of Mexico are in this area. Cruising through the mangroves on the boat is reminiscent of being in the Florida Everglades and feels like you are in another world all of a sudden. There are also beautiful sand dunes to explore. Keep an eye out for little paw prints too and maybe you’ll get lucky and see one of the local coyotes that inhabit the area. Stop by Villas Mar y Arena for sunset as it has one of the best views for sunset this time of year. Make sure to send a ‘hello from Jay Clue‘ to the team for me too! Lastly, if you enjoy eating seafood everything in this area is actually artisanal caught right in the area. The area is very productive in terms of fisheries and that is the main industry. A lot of the whale watching captains work as fishermen when not taking out tours.  Make sure to ask your guide or captain to take you for lunch on the island if you are based in San Carlos. There’s a tiny restaurant right on the beach that is run by some of the local fishermen who live on the island.

Gray Whales Trip Quick Recap – TL:DR

When to go: Mid January through early April. My personal favorite is February and early March. 

Marine Life: Gray whales, humpback whales, dolphins, osprey, bald eagles, tons of sea bird species, and sea lions.

Air Temps: Average highs: 24-27C (75-80F), average lows: 14-18C (57-64F)

Photo/Lens Type:  Fish eye for underwater, then a wide angle & telephoto for topside. 

Experience Level: Anyone. This is a non diving trip.

Who to dive with: Dive Ninja Expeditions runs awesome 5 day gray whale expeditions as well as private trips & experiences ranging from 1 night to 10 nights.