La Reina (Cerralvo Island)
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
La Reina is the little lighthouse rock off Cerralvo Island, a long panga ride from La Paz that regulars guard like a secret. A small resident sea lion colony works the shallows, boulder fields below hold green morays, big grouper, and clouds of Cortez reef fish, and the site's aging claim to fame - visits from giant mantas - has flickered back to life in recent seasons, with oceanic mantas reappearing here after years of absence. Nothing is promised: mantas are occasional, conditions are exposed, and the crossing is committing. But on the right late-summer day, sea lions below, mantas overhead, and blue water all around, La Reina outclasses sites with ten times its fame.
The moment you come for: Occasional returning mantas, quieter sea lions, big morays in the boulders
Topography: Rock reef and boulders around a small lighthouse islet off Cerralvo
Know before you splash
Hazards: Exposed crossing and site; current around the islet; long way from the dock.
Who you'll meet
California Sea Lion
Green Sea Turtle
Oceanic Manta Ray
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★☆ · Macro: ★★☆☆☆ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting