Bottlenose dolphin

Resident pods that approach divers deliberately, most consistently at Cabo Pearce and Roca Partida.

RESOLVED BY TIER 1. CONANP, the Mexican protected-areas authority, states the tourist diving season as November to June, 07:00-18:00, with a park fee of $3,760 MXN per person per day. That corrects the commercial sources, which variously gave Nov-May and Nov-Jun/Jul. Encoded Nov-Jun open, Jul-Oct closed. The closure is operational and regulatory, not biological: mantas, silvertips and dolphins are resident through it.

Liveaboards run year-round; there is no closed season. The seasonal split is a quality trade rather than an access one: Jun-Oct rainy season gives the best hammerhead schooling and the worst visibility (9-20m), Dec-May dry season gives up to 30m visibility and less consistent schooling.

Resident pod at Tiputa Pass, habituated to divers over decades and known to initiate contact. Present year-round.

Open year-round with no closure. Jun-Sep is the peak tourist season and the drier half; Dec-Mar is warmer, wetter and carries the hammerhead window. The two headline seasons pull in opposite directions, which is the useful thing to know before booking. Low operating

Runs year-round with no closure, but the surf launch means individual days are lost to sea state far more often than at a sheltered destination. The two headline seasons are opposed: ragged-tooth Jun-Nov in cold water, tiger sharks Nov-Mar in warm water, overlapping only in November. Low operating