San Pedro Island

A great spot to snorkel, scuba dive, fish, kayak, or just go for a boat tour and nature watch.

A large grey shadow passed silently beneath me, and my heart skipped a beat. A school of brightly colored king angelfish had captured my attention and I momentarily forgot about the sea lions that surrounded me. I was snorkeling with sea lions at one of Sonora’s primary dive, snorkel and fishing sites, San Pedro Island.

After a two-hour motor boat ride, we had arrived at San Pedro Island, which is about 17 miles (27 kms) from San Carlos. We had come to swim with the year-round resident California sea lions. We found a group of about 22 sea lions in a small rocky cove at the island. We quickly put on our snorkel gear and jumped in the warm water.

The sea lions barked their greetings and warnings, and then slipped into the water to get a closer look at us. I had been told that the bulls can be aggressive, but that they rarely bite. Still, I was nervous around such large mammals. Adult males can reach 8 feet in length and weigh up to 600 pounds, while adult females can get as large as 6 feet and 200 pounds. The bull and several of the females looked like they had reached their full growth potential, and made for intimidating swim-mates. However, their playful curiosity quickly won me over and I began to relax and enjoy myself. A pup was particularly inquisitive, and would swim close to us, twirling around, and trying to get our attention.

There was excellent water visibility, and in addition to the sea lions and angelfish, we saw schools of numerous other fish including needlefish, wrasses, damselfish, blennies, and the ever-present sergeant majors.

Though it seemed like a “once-in-a-lifetime experience”, I look forward to again encountering the sea lions at San Pedro Island — maybe in a kayak next time!

Many companies in San Carlos offer boat tours to the island, which include diving, snorkeling and/or fishing packages.