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Socorro and Revillagigedo
Giant mantas that approach divers
Here the giant mantas don't flee: they approach, they hover over the group, and they keep coming back. There's evidence they recognize individual divers.
In this guide you'll find out what these islands are and why they concentrate megafauna, what encounters with giant mantas are like and what behavior is expected, what other animals show up, when to go, and what level the destination demands.
It's one of the places in the world where interaction with giant mantas is most consistent, and a biosphere reserve where fishing is banned.
Geography and access
The Revillagigedo Archipelago is four Mexican volcanic islands in the Pacific, several hundred kilometers from the Baja California peninsula.
These are oceanic islands with no shelf: the walls drop from shallow water to very deep bottoms, and ocean currents hit them head-on.
That isolated position in the middle of the Pacific makes them a stopping point for animals crossing the ocean, and a system of cleaning stations for mantas and sharks.
The best-known island gives its colloquial name to the whole destination, although each of the four has distinct sites, and one of them is an active volcano.
Access is exclusively by liveaboard from the peninsula, with crossings of twenty to thirty hours depending on the island. There's no accommodation or shore diving.
The archipelago is a biosphere reserve and national park, with mandatory permits, a boat quota, and a total ban on fishing.
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