Our newest tour is built around one thing. Every May and June, tens of thousands of mobula rays gather off La Ventana, a short drive from La Paz, and The Hook Mobula Expedition spends the whole day finding them and getting you in the water with them.
What the Mobula Gathering Is
The rays are Munk's devil rays (Mobula munkiana), small cousins of the giant manta. They're about one meter (3 ft) across, dark on top and white underneath, with no stinger, and they eat only plankton.
The species lives along the Pacific coast from the Sea of Cortez down to Peru. People call what happens here a migration, but it's really a gathering: each spring the rays come together in the southern Sea of Cortez to feed and breed, in groups of up to tens of thousands. It's widely called the largest gathering of rays in the world.
A group of mobulas is called a "fever." From the boat the water can look like it's boiling, and the rays leap clear of the surface and land with a slap you can hear across the bay. Scientists have ideas about why they jump, from courtship to communication, but nobody knows for sure.
Snorkel or Freedive
Underwater the mobulas are shy and sensitive to bubbles, so we get in quietly and snorkel or freedive beside them. No certification is needed. It's a moderate skill level activity in open water, and strong swimmers will enjoy it most. Snorkelers and freedivers go out on the same trip, and your guide briefs you before you get in.
Some days we swim with literally thousands of them. It's never guaranteed, wildlife is wild, but the mobulas are why we go out, and we spend the day looking for them. As we search, we might also come across the other wildlife of our sea safaris: whales, dolphins, sea lions, giant mantas and, on lucky days, orcas. Mobulas are high on the orcas' menu, so where the rays gather, orcas sometimes follow.
How the Day Works
- 6:00 AM: our licensed van picks you up in La Paz, with breakfast on the drive (burritos or empanadas). Staying in La Ventana? We pick you up there on the way.
- Ensenada de Muertos: we launch into the La Ventana channel, toward Isla Cerralvo, and start searching for the aggregations.
- Lunch on the beach: burritos, snacks, ceviche and fruit. We can change it for dietary restrictions or allergies.
- Back out searching, then the van takes you back to La Paz at the end of the day.
Your guide shoots photos and video in the water, and we send them to you after the trip by email, WhatsApp or a video sharing link.
Price and What's Included
The Hook Mobula Expedition runs May and June only, with a maximum of 8 guests: 5,500 MXN per person, or 36,000 MXN for a private boat for your group. That includes transport, breakfast, beach lunch, drinks, high-quality snorkel gear with a full-length wetsuit, photos and video, and all the permits this activity requires. You're also welcome to bring your own gear.
We're a local Mexican company with over 6 years on these waters. Our guides are local and certified, many of them marine biologists.
Sources
Species, range and group sizes from the Manta Trust; the gathering and breaching from reporting in Dive Photo Guide and Ecoosfera.
Join The Hook Mobula Expedition
May and June only, 8 seats a day. Full refund if you cancel more than 10 days before your tour. If we cancel for weather, we'll move you to another day if we have availability — if not, you get a full refund.
Book The Hook Mobula Expedition → See the Tour